Oh, how we love our hi-tech gizmos and gadgets! Today’s technological wonders didn’t just land on store shelves suddenly, however, it took plenty of engineering smarts plus tons of trial and error to get there. These 105 examples of essential technologies travel the long and winding road from radical concept to retail conquest.

Evolution of 10 Essential Gadgets & Technologies

More power in a smaller package – that’s the typical trend when it comes to tech. From cell phones and computers to TVs and music players, our fave tech toys just keep getting littler and better. Remember how it all began? As exciting as these new products were in their time, it’s good to know that time itself is a one-way street. Click Here for more examples of Essential Gadgets & Technologies and how they’ve evolved.

Evolution of the Mouse: From Classic to Cutting-Edge

Where would we be without the trusty computer mouse? Believe it or not, computers (such as they were) functioned quite well for decades without them. We’ve come a long way since 1964 and so has the humble computer mouse. Though the popularity of laptop, notebook and now netbook computers is making the mouse less essential, designers have some great concepts in mind that’ll keep us a’clickin’ and a’scrollin’ for decades to come. Click Here for more Classic to Cutting-Edge Computer Mice

10 of the Wackiest & Coolest USB Gadgets

What is is about USB that brings out the best, worst and wackiest in hardware designers? It seems that everything but the kitchen sink can be plugged into a USB port – and there’s probably someone working on that right now as we already have USB refrigerators and hotplates. USB gadgets keep us warm, keep us cool, but most of al keep us amused. Click Here for more Wacky & Cool USB Gadgets

It’s Terminal: A Dozen Scenes of Early Office Computing

The first computers took up entire rooms and sported scary-sounding names like Eniac and Univac… both of which rhyme with maniac. It’s hard to imagine now but computers once hunkered down in chilly, climate-controlled rooms, incrementally reading data off of slowly spinning reels of magnetic tape while dozens of feeble humans punched the blocky keys of dumb terminals. Almost like The Matrix, though with less special effects. Click Here for more Scenes of Early Office Computing

Start to Over: History of 10 Game Systems

Video and computer games have evolved so fast, many current gamers can recall playing Pong, arcade games, Intellivision and the NES. Games and game makers have come and gone over the past few decades; some left their marks and others were gone so fast we hardly knew it. The biggest difference between then and now is, when it’s Game Over, you could lose much more than just a quarter! Click Here for more History on 10 Essential Game Systems

From Boob Tube to YouTube

Those were the days… more than All In The Family’s theme song, that old cliche describes a distant, black & white time when the whole family settled around a tiny, flickering screen to watch bottle humor (Dean Martin) and canned laughter. Society changed and so did its tube-watching habits – as did those tiny TV screens… now we take them with us or paste them on our computer desktops. Click Here for more History of the TV from Boob Tube to YouTube

History of Stereos, Speakers and Home Audio

Home audio used to mean glowing vacuum tubes, gorgeous wood cabinetry and a stack of nickels on the tonearm to keep the needle firmly in the groove. Times have changed – those nickels aren’t worth as much! Most of us also don’t have needles, grooves, tonearms or tubes to kick around anymore… we use them to create Steampunk art. Click Here for more Stereo, Speaker and Home Audio History.

15 Cool Space Projects for Today and Tomorrow

Nothing says technology like space exploration, and these days everyone wants their piece of the pie in the sky. The sixties space race aside, exploring the high frontier is still pretty much in its infancy – though you may be surprised to learn just who’s looking up when it comes to looking ahead. Click Here for more Cool Space Projects for Today and Tomorrow