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Hardware

Top 100 Gadgets of All Time 415

Posted by CmdrTaco from the com'on-rubiks-cube dept.
akintayo writes "Mobile PC released its list of the top 100 gadgets of all time. The number one gadget was the Apple Powerbook 100. And the list does include some older gadgets, most notably the Abacus at #60. The BBC also has an article on the list."
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Top 100 Gadgets of All Time More

Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

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  • #79 is the best one (Score:5, Funny)

    by nizo ( 81281 ) * on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:44PM (#11746137) Homepage Journal
    I prefer #79 (TASER X26, 2003) If you have one of these you can probably eventually get everything else on the list.
    • I prefer #79 (TASER X26, 2003) If you have one of these you can probably eventually get everything else on the list.

      Pfft! Build your 0wn! All you need is a small high current cell, a high voltage transformer, an cheep motor to switch between charge/discharge of the primary coil, some light guage twisted pair and some bait stickers. (Test it on people who irritate you first, to make sure you don't have it set to deadly.)

    • If I had #34567 (spear, 123434 BCE) you would not get near me!
    • Ahh but I could blind you with my #63 and then take you out with my #20.

  • swingline stapler (Score:5, Funny)

    by oscast ( 653817 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:45PM (#11746143) Homepage
    personally, I would have opted for the red swingline stapler.

  • Abacus (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Infonaut ( 96956 ) <infonaut@gmail.com> on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:45PM (#11746147) Homepage Journal
    So the abacus, in use for centuries, comes in at #60 of all time, but the PowerBook 100, which was in production for a few short years is ranked #1?

    The PowerBook 100 was a great machine and all, but let's be serious.

    • 86. TAMAGOTCHI, 1996 Could the overwhelming success of this pocket-size virtual pet -- 40 million were sold worldwide -- make this the strangest cultural phenomenon ever? I mean WTF? It's was nothing new then it it's nothing new now.

      An also, they feature a satellite wireless mobile phone developed by a company that flopped through the ground. Well done! Worst list EVER. These lists should be seious. It looks like a list Barbie would have made.

    • Re:Abacus (Score:4, Informative)

      by Carbonite ( 183181 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:49PM (#11746187)
      Keep in mind that this list was in Mobile PC magazine.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Centuries? Try millenia! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by jd ( 1658 ) <imipak@ y a hoo.com> on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:09PM (#11746446) Homepage Journal
      The abacus is unquestionably the oldest calculating machine still in use today, and it is positively ancient. It also has no buffer overflow problems, doesn't require software patches, and isn't subject to patents.


      However, it is not the only gadget that is misplaced or missing. There is no mention of the Babbage Difference Engine. Where are all of Sinclair's devices and gizmos? Where's all the award winners of the Prince of Wales Awards for Innovation?


      Where's 99.9% of the stuff invented between 10,000 BC and 1970 AD?


    • I might also have wished, ideally, for a nod to the astrolabe [britannica.com], somewhere there, within a listing of the most incredibly nifty gadgets of all time.

      As far as pre-modern computing goes, I can think of few devices more compelling.

    • Re:Abacus (Score:5, Informative)

      by cyngus ( 753668 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:29PM (#11746689)
      All ratings of this type tend to be biased towards the present. I think this is because how good a thing is roughly equates to someone considering how their life was prior to invention of product and how their life was after invention. In the case of the abacus, we can only speculate at the effect the device had on the lives of people when it was invented. With things that are more recent, we do not need to speculate, we know. Additionally newer things tend to have more funcitonality than previous items, and therefore are more useful in an absolute sense (I can only do math with my abacus, but with my PowerBook 100, I can play solitaire).

    • Re:Abacus (Score:3, Insightful)

      by antifoidulus ( 807088 )
      You gotta love these top ---- of all time articles on /., it's like VH1 for Nerds, countdowns that don't matter.

    • Re:Abacus (Score:3, Informative)

      by LoudMusic ( 199347 )
      So the abacus, in use for centuries, comes in at #60 of all time, but the PowerBook 100, which was in production for a few short years is ranked #1?

      The PowerBook 100 was a great machine and all, but let's be serious.

      Actually the Powerbook 100 [apple-history.com] didn't even get produced for a full year, just 10 or 11 months (Oct 91 - Aug 92). And it had a predecessor, the Macintosh Portable [apple-history.com]. For the day it might have been cool, but it classifies as a luggable these days. And besides, It's not like Apple invented the laptop

      • PowerBook 100 (Score:3, Informative)

        by green pizza ( 159161 )
        Actually the Powerbook 100 didn't even get produced for a full year, just 10 or 11 months (Oct 91 - Aug 92). And it had a predecessor, the Macintosh Portable. For the day it might have been cool, but it classifies as a luggable these days. And besides, It's not like Apple invented the laptop. Surely there were other better laptops at the time. Otherwise things would be different these days.
        The PowerBook 100 shipped at the same time the PowerBook 140 and 170 did. The PowerBook 100 was basiclly a microsized

  • Top Gadgets? (Score:5, Funny)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:45PM (#11746148) Homepage Journal
    I thought this looked an awful lot like a geeks Christmas list...

    d33r 54nt4, 1 b33n v3ry 1337 th15 y34r..

  • here's the list (Score:3, Informative)

    by Jane_the_Great ( 778338 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:46PM (#11746150)
    100. nsi bedazzler, 1970s filler characters
    99. swingline 747 stapler, 2002 filler characters
    98. pez dispenser, 1927 filler characters
    97. mattel intellivision, 1980 filler characters
    96. olympus zuiko pearlcorder, 1970 filler characters
    95. carl zeiss victory 8 x 42 t*fl binoculars, 2004 filler characters
    94. schick electric razor, 1931 filler characters
    93. columbia graphophone dictaphone, 1907 filler characters
    92. popeil pocket fisherman, 1950s filler characters
    91. polar wireless heart rate monitor, 1977 filler characters
    90. maelzel metronome, 1816 filler characters
    89. rubik's cube, 1974 filler characters
    88. black & decker dustbuster, 1979 filler characters
    87. radio shack trs-80 model 100, 1983 filler characters
    86. tamagotchi, 1996 filler characters
    85. hohner harmonica, 1857 filler characters
    84. ronco inside-the-shell egg scrambler, 1978 filler characters
    83. accusplit memory stopwatch, 1972 filler characters
    82. alliance genie garage door opener, 1954 filler characters
    81. zippo windproof lighter, 1932 filler characters
    80. fisher space pen, 1967 filler characters
    79. taser x26, 2003 filler characters
    78. korg wt-10 electronic tuner, 1975 filler characters
    77. hasbro lite-brite, 1967 filler characters
    76. hp omnibook 300, 1993 filler characters
    75. laser pointer, 1980s filler characters
    74. lux minute timer, 1936 filler characters
    73. traxxas t-maxx rc car, 1999 filler characters
    72. master lock padlock, 1924 filler characters
    71. tyco toys tickle me elmo, 1996 filler characters
    70. atari pong c-100, 1976 filler characters
    69. cuisinart food processor, 1973 filler characters
    68. nokia 5100 series cell phone, 1998 filler characters
    67. leatherman pst, 1983 filler characters
    66. iridium satellite phone, 1998 filler characters
    65. mattel football ii, 1978 filler characters
    64. u.s. army p-38 can opener, 1942 filler characters
    63. maglite flashlight, 1979 filler characters
    62. sony wm-f5 sports walkman, 1983 filler characters
    61. motorola bravo numeric pager, 1986 filler characters
    60. abacus, 190 a.d. filler characters
    59. sextant, 1731 filler characters
    58. panasonic toughbook 18, 2003 filler characters
    57. mattel magic 8-ball, 1946 filler characters
    56. polaroid polavision land video camera, 1978 filler characters
    55. super scissors, 1990s filler characters
    54. the car alarm key fob, 1990s filler characters
    53. powell & lealand compound microscope, 1861 filler characters
    52. sony cfs-5000 boom box, 1980s filler characters
    51. irobot roomba, 2002 filler characters
    50. etch-a-sketch, 1960 filler characters
    49. casio cassiopeia e-10, 1996 filler characters
    48. sony digital mavica mvc-hd5, 1997 filler characters
    47. canadian signal corps c-58 walkie talkie, 1943 filler characters
    46. texas instruments speak & spell, 1978 filler characters
    45. silva compass, 1933 filler characters
    44. fuzzbuster, 1968 filler characters
    43. handspring visor, 1999 filler characters
    42. h4 marine chronometer, 1761 filler characters
    41. rim interactive pager, 1996 filler characters
    40. falcon dust-off, early 1970s filler characters
    39. apple newton messagepad 120, 1994 filler characters
    38. sandisk compactflash card, 1994 filler characters
    37. jvc gr-c1 camcorder, 1984 filler characters
    36. pulsar quartz digital watch, 1972 filler characters
    35. screwpull corkscrew, 1979 filler characters
    34. garmin gpscom 170, 1997 filler characters
    33. bose quietcomfort headphones, 2000 filler characters
    32. radiolan backbonelink and pc cardlink, 1997 filler characters
    31. trek thumbdrive, 1999 filler characters
    30. jvc hr-3300 vhs vcr, 1976 filler cha
    • OMG the calculator watch didnt make the list!
    • Clearly, the list is completely biased. Why is the PowerBook the only thing without any filler characters? They're obviously on the take from Apple.

  • Jeez, Slashdotted already... (Score:5, Funny)

    by aendeuryu ( 844048 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:46PM (#11746161)
    They might as well be running their webserver on #50...

    This might get modded funny if people could actually get to the site and figure out which one #50 is.

  • Well! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:47PM (#11746171)
    The BBC also has an article on the list.

    Congratulations to the BBC for making the gadets list!

  • Recent biases (Score:5, Interesting)

    by IANAL(BIAILS) ( 726712 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:49PM (#11746177) Homepage Journal
    After flipping through the list, it seems like the vast majority of the products are from recent years (or at least the past few decades). While I can understand this - they are the gadgets that are now part of our everyday life and of course they are extremely useful... but where are the technologies/inventions from the past that helped us develop all the fancy electronic gadgets that we have today?

    I would have thought the abacus (ranked on the list, but lost in the middle) would have been more important in the overall list than a Tivo... the transistor or vacuum tube before computers and digital cameras...

    • Re:Recent biases (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Carbonite ( 183181 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:54PM (#11746274)
      It would also seem sensible to rank the telephone above the ipod.
    • Absolutely. And the inclusion of H4, which was most definitely NOT a gadget, but one of the most advanced scientific instruments of it's time, makes the list suspect.

      Nothing to see here, move along.
    • Well, they do explain their own metrics. From the first page, now lost to a /.'ing (and evidently, a Farking as well):

      It has to be a self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device. The flashlight counts; the light bulb does not. The notebook counts, but the hard drive doesn't.

      So, while transistors and vacuum tubes are indeed cool (the radio in my '48 Studebaker uses vacuum tubes), they aren't considered gadgets.

      If you've ever seen James Burke's Connections series

  • so the serving is getting quite a workout.

  • Cosmonaut use of pencil myth yet again (Score:5, Interesting)

    by lowlypeon ( 232191 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:51PM (#11746227)
    Fun article, but could have been researched a little better. In its bit on the Fisher Space Pen, it repeats the myth that while we blew millions developing a pen that could write upside down, the Soviets just used pencils, which is a common myth [snopes.com]. As one cosmonaut said, "pencil lead breaks...and is not good in space capsule; very dangerous to have metal lead particles in zero gravity"

    • Re:Cosmonaut use of pencil myth yet again (Score:5, Funny)

      by the pickle ( 261584 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:00PM (#11746348) Homepage
      If the Soviet cosmonauts thought pencil lead actually contained "metal lead particles," it's no wonder they lost the Cold War...

      p
    • I have this pen with me right NOW! How cool is that?

      The Fischer company developed the pen with their own money. NASA just used it. Same with Tang. Tang was a little known product until NASA 'discovered' it.

      The Space Pen is cool, but not the best pen I have ever used.

    • Re:Cosmonaut use of pencil myth yet again (Score:4, Informative)

      by SharpFang ( 651121 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @05:30PM (#11749109) Homepage Journal
      Sorry to say, but Snopes.com is extremely biased pro-american conservative site. (just compare the proportion of pro-Bush "Trues" and anti-Bush "falses")

      1) Pencil leads made of actual lead don't snap. Their writing properties are worse than those made of graphite (still readable enough though), but they are practically unbreakable. So no risk of snapping off, no lead particles, no burning either. A metal-cased graphite pencil is perfectly fire-proof and pretty much break-proof. True both graphite and lead are conductors, but so are almost all items made of metal, and there were quite a few of them. Only snap-off pieces could eventually get into the electronics, but lead doesn't snap so no problem.
      2) There was enough of easily flammable materials in the cabin so they would catch fire by themselves in atmosphere of pure oxygen. Not that it would matter, the astronaut wouldn't live long in pure oxygen either.

      And before you start about how poisonous lead is, people were using lead-based pencils for hundreds of years before they were replaced by graphite ones.

  • could only read 9 (Score:5, Funny)

    by frovingslosh ( 582462 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:52PM (#11746240)
    Any list that includes the POPEIL POCKET FISHERMAN in a list of greates gadgets isn't worth reading any further.

  • bad list (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:53PM (#11746255)
    what, no sex toys? the hitachi magic wand at least deserves a nod.
    • Awww, come on. I thought the packaging says that it's a "personal massage machine".

      Of course, the 2 attachments... well... aren't necessarily for using on your back.

  • What - no Rabbit? (Score:5, Funny)

    by The Steely Dan ( 861750 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:54PM (#11746258)
    My SO swears by hers!
  • They should have AT LEAST put items that were derivatives or dependent on other items in chronological order....I agree the list is biased, and for some of the numbers they were just fishing to fill spots...

  • I love those little babies.

    I have 2. Still using them today. Have managed to rack up enough spare parts to keep them going just fine.

    My 701CS still gets oohs and ahhs when I open it up and the keyboard slides out.

    I will be very sad the day they die for good.

  • Definition of Gadget? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dostert ( 761476 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @01:59PM (#11746325)
    A gadget is "a device that is very useful for a particular job" (http://www.wordreference.com/definition/gadget [wordreference.com]) Things by Ronco, space pen, laser pointer, etc are gadgets. A general laptop is NOT a gadget. Unless you define your job as 'using a computer' which as we all know if much more than just a single thing. Similarly, abacus and calculator are used for mathematics, engineering, etc, which again I think the 'field of mathematics' is much more than a single particular thing. If you want to make a list of the most useful inventions, many of these will go on there, but at least in my mind, a Powerbook is not a gadget.

  • Forgot the P-P-P-Powerbook! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Evil W1zard ( 832703 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:00PM (#11746341) Journal
    Now that is a gadget that deserves some recognition in the top 100! http://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/ [p-p-p-powerbook.com]

  • How about.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by J x ( 160849 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:00PM (#11746346)
    ..the printing press? I'm pretty sure most of this list couldn't exist without the proliferation of knowledge this allowed.
  • They list the Zenith Space Command TV Remote from 1956 as the first wireless remote. This was a great remote that gave us the word 'clicker' due to the way that it used ultrasonics to send the signal to the tv. However, the Philco Mystery Control [64.233.161.104] from 1939 is the first real 'wireless' remote that was made. It operated [64.233.167.104] much like a rotary telephone control and sent its signal by radio. (Links go to google cache).
  • Lessee, I've got:

    #80 - Fisher Space Pen
    #63 - Maglite (Solitaire on my keychain, AAA on my jacket pocket)
    #67 - Leatherman Pocket Tool
    #39 - Newton (MP 100 in my laptop bag for notes, ebooks and contacts and todo list)
    #31 - Thumbdrive (Kingston)

    and have had (just counting computers):
    #27 - NEC Ultralite (I'd've also included the Sharp PC-6220 / TI Travelmate / who else made it?)
    #26 - GRiD Compass (way cool machine --- it did have a battery though, but one could swap a power supply into the battery compartment

  • Portable massagers (Score:3, Funny)

    by chia_monkey ( 593501 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:02PM (#11746365) Journal
    I can think of at least one "portable device" that many women would think is THE best invention ever...
  • Damn, they actually included the Model 100 on the list. Those things were (and still are) extremely durable portable computers, useful for a lot of functions. Good to see that it hasn't been forgotten by everyone!

  • No Commodore Products? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by vjmurphy ( 190266 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:05PM (#11746415) Homepage
    Seems like the Vic-20 or Commodore 64 would be in there somewhere. Certainly they were much better gadgets than something like a Panasonic Toughbook or two flavors of Apple laptops.

  • Telephone (Score:2, Interesting)

    by SafteyMan ( 860733 )
    telephone at #23? Sure its not as fancy as a laptop but as changing the entire world goes, few things have done more.
  • Error, not for top page but for the user's own page 3:06 am at GMT+9 (Japan)

  • how about a list of pre-1700 gadgets? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by davidwr ( 791652 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:09PM (#11746455) Homepage Journal
    I'd love to see a "top 100 gadgets of the pre-industrial age" - say, anything before 1700 just to be arbitrary.

    Special notation to any gadget that was still in common use in the 20th century.

    The abacus of course, and the pen and the first hand-carryable printing press come to mind.

    The lantern and numerous gadgets used on the farm and by doctors and scientists would also make the list.

    If you have a favorite pre-1700 gadget, please reply here.
  • How about the pocketwatch? The disposable lighter? The vacuum thermos? The repeating rifle? That remarkable mechanical pocket calculator whose name escapes me?

    These lists are always pretty bad, but this one is just pathetic.

  • What about... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eno2001 ( 527078 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:10PM (#11746473) Homepage Journal
    ...the wheel? Most of the gadgets in the world could't live without one.

  • What a biased load of crap (Score:5, Insightful)

    by prgrmr ( 568806 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:11PM (#11746480) Journal
    The sextant and the abacus did more to shape the whole of humanity than the rest of the list combined. The abacus is still in use today, and probably by more people than there were Powerbooks made, let alone sold and still in use.

    The top ten items on the list are almost all entertainment based or related rather than scientific acheivements or technical enablers. They ought to have split this into two lists: one for "fun" stuff and one for science and industry.

  • Gadgets, not Technologies (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Speare ( 84249 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:13PM (#11746504) Homepage Journal
    Apparently, this list is ranking the popularity of "gadgets," not seminal or influential technologies. I read the word "gadget" as an indication that you get it and use it because you like it, not because it's somehow a world-changing concept.

    I mean, come on, #100 is the rhinestone-on-bluejeans-affixing Bedazzler?! Of course this isn't serious list of technologies.

  • #20 The Swiss Army Knife. I have not had a day go buy where I did not use mine. And I even open a bottle of wine with it once. :)
  • lead-acid battery if memory serves. It was either the 140 or the 160 that was the one you wanted back then.
  • seriously. Productivity during the summer months would drop off heavily because no one could get a good nights sleep

  • Dildo? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Himring ( 646324 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:21PM (#11746602) Homepage Journal
    Gadgets needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion.

    And no dildo? You call this news for nerds?...
  • I love the placement of the Slide Rule...

    oh wait
  • shd be read after reading this article. I mean, who on earth is silly enuf to take this seriously ? if u really think this is worth arguing about, let me know, i have some ocean front property in floriday u can have for a buck an acre.

  • Where is ... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Dana P'Simer ( 530866 ) * <dana DOT psimer AT dhptech DOT com> on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:30PM (#11746695) Journal
    The IBM PC or the Apple I or II?

    These are much better examples of classic gadgets then the Powerbook 100. The Powerbook line should have been mentioned once not twice.

    The IBM Thinkpad 701 was mentioned but I think it has clearly had more impact on the way people work and the laptop market in general then the powerbook.

    I was gratified to see the Tivo mention and in light of the deathwatch [engadget.com] , maybe this offers some hope.

  • Some gadgets they missed.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wfberg ( 24378 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:39PM (#11746813)
    In no particular order..

    Perhaps it doesn't appeal to the stereotypical geek, but the vibrator [goodvibes.com]. The pocket calculator as well as; The calculator/remote control/radio controlled/FM radio *wristwratch* (surely the pinnacle of minitiaturization!).

    Of course, the bonefone: link [pocketcalculatorshow.com]. The transistor radio. The world receiver radio. The wind-up/clockwork radio/charger. [freeplayenergy.com] The intimidating maglite flashlight. Glowsticks! Neither electonic, nor moving parts, but who can resist luminecence!

    7" 33 1/3rpm vinyl gramophone records; or I can do you even better than that - 7" 33 1/3 rpm plastic gramophone records that were given away as inlays with MSX Magazine, that you'd dub on tape, and you'd "load" programs off of the tape using the regular "data cassette recorder".

    CB (Citizen's Band, 27 "megacycle") radio. ZX80. C64. Nuff said. The lava lamp! Duh! The strap-on (wait for it) keyboard (keyboard guitar). [sonicstate.com]

    The hearing aid. The answering machine remote control/handheld DTMF tone dialer. Also; the blue box! The minox sub-miniature "spy" camera (as seen in james bond). The SLR Single Lens Reflex camera. Automatic tweezers [google.com] (They don't work particularly well, but they have a gadget-esque movement)

    The portable DVD player. Toys robots (remote controlled, especially; the robosapiens is a good stab at the concept). Magnesium firestarters. [mountainlandoutdoor.com] (I'm the firestarter!)

    Personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons [sailgb.com](P-EPIRBs) RC cars, helicopters. E.g. [gadgetshop.com] The translator pen [wizcomtech.com] (scans text when you move across it, translates) The penman robotic plotter [asamnet.de] and of course the closely related concept of the Logo [vicnet.net.au] turtle..

    The random movement printer [printdreams.com] (If and when it becomes widely available..) Lego mindstorms (programmable bricks..)

    The most important hand-helds historically; the Smith&Wesson and the AK47.

    Also, though not an autonomous device, nor mechanical, nominated for achievements in disrupting the global economy, I'd like to recognize bubblejet printer ink, for costing more than its weight in gold or oil.

    Aerosol spray canisters; specifically,
    every graffitti artist's friend: spraypaint and every gadget-minded geek's friend: deodorant (especially the miniature cans) and of course; aerosol cheese! Also, perhaps slightly more
    palatable, mace pepper spray.

    The electric toothbrush [rcn.com] (with induction-loop-charging-circuit magic!)
    Not the greatest gadget in history until you consider it's "dual use" nature, and the fact it's marketed so widely.

    Sattellite TV. Not the most portable of gadgets, but come on! Windscreenwiper glasses. (Though more of a chindogu) The mac. The iMac for doing it twice. The aibo.

    The "orgasmotron" [firebox.com] (actually just a head massager, not at all naughty) Stylish [urbanjunkie.co.uk] pin clock. The keyghost [keyghost.com] hardware keystroke logger.

    The digital camera. The digital photo frame.
    The credit-card sized Anything, but in particular, the cre

  • If only someone would invent... (Score:3, Funny)

    by sherpajohn ( 113531 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @02:41PM (#11746841) Homepage
    The "Unslashdotable Server".

  • always with the space pen myth (Score:4, Informative)

    by MustardMan ( 52102 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @03:41PM (#11747662)
    God damn do I hate the stupid space pen myth. Fischer developed the pen at his own expense, as graphite pencils had the potential to cause problems in the cabin. Remember, kids, graphite conducts electricity, and a tiny little pencil tip floating around the cabin could be a very bad thing. It takes all of ten seconds googling to debunk this stupid urban legend, but I constantly see it brought up over and over again.

  • Plenty O Gadgets missing (Score:4, Funny)

    by technopinion ( 469686 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @03:46PM (#11747744)
    Where's my grandmother's clamp-on-the-counter hand-cranked apple peeler? That thing could peel an apple in 5 seconds flat. Certainly more innovative than half the stuff on that list.

  • Things that should have been on the list ... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by scruffy ( 29773 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @04:36PM (#11748407)
    ... but maybe I just didn't see them.

    slide rule
    bound books (helluva lot better than scrolls)
    eyeglasses
    flush toilet (heh)
    light bulb (surely I missed this)
    whatever that thing is that surveyors use
    plumb line
    tableware
    knifes (ok, the Swiss Army Knife was there)
    more generally, any common tool
    keys
    credit cards, magnetic strip cards in general

    • If you RTA you will see that they specifically excluded the lightbulb as being a component of a larger device (an electric light fitting).

      The flush toilet is an example of another item that would be excluded by their definition of gadget - portable and smaller than a bread box.

      Surveyors use a sextant - which was on the list. It's just on a tripod now.

      The things you've listed are generally important inventions, but not necesarily gadgets.

  • Magic 8-Ball?! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wcrowe ( 94389 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @04:43PM (#11748505)
    Magic 8-Ball? Tickle-Me-Elmo? WTF?! How about the ratchet wrench? The cordless drill? The Simpson P260 Multimeter?

    Hey, next time your wife, girlfriend, or kid asks you to fix something, try waving your magic 8-ball at it, Sparky.

    (Sheesh!)

  • we want feedback -- no really (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Shooter6947 ( 148693 ) <jbarnes007@c3po.b a r n e s o s.net> on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @04:51PM (#11748618) Homepage
    at the end of the article:

    WHAT'D WE FORGET!? Our brains are only so big ... we're sure we forgot a handful of excellent gadgets. So tell us, what'd we leave off the list? We'll publish the most popular reader submissions in an upcoming issue, and we'll send the official Mobile PC Pez dispenser to the person who suggests forgotten gadget #1, along with a copy of this issue autographed by the entire staff! Send submissions (along with your full name and address) to
    null@mobilepcmag.com. Remember: Nominations have to meet the criteria outlined on this page!


    I'll bet! 'null' at pcmag.com? I think we all know where the 'suggestion box' chute goes to: the shredder!

  • Missing and Wrong (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dausha ( 546002 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @06:06PM (#11749509) Homepage
    The left off the vibrator.

    Seriously, though. The clock was left off. Without it, sailors would not have been able to accurately calculate their longitude. I saw the sextant was listed. However, the importance of gadgets to travel the oceans during the Age of Discover are, I'm sorry, more important than the iPod. Without them, there might not be European domniation of the planet and crackers like me in the US. What has the iPod done that compares?

    This looks more like an advertisement.

  • Nitpicking... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Sique ( 173459 ) on Tuesday February 22, 2005 @07:41PM (#11750492) Homepage
    Sorry to be nitpicking, but in the paragraph about the Pez #98, they quote the german word 'Pfefferminz'. And they write it with 'tz'! The horror!

    Every german schoolkid has to learn this: "Nach l, n, r, das merk dir ja, steht nie tz und nie ck!" (Remember this: No tz and no ck after l, n, r!) Ok, not everyone actually gets it... but anyway.

    It's schwarz and not schwartz. It's Maerzen and not Martzen. And it's Pfefferminz, not Pfeffermintz. (And pretzls are actually spelled Brezeln, but that' something completely different.)

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