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The Evolution of Technology in the 90s

The Evolution of Technology in the 90s

The Technology 90s

When the 1990s began, movie studios were still shooting on celluloid and animation was a hand-drawn art. But things were about to change.

Tim Berners-Lee publishes his World Wide Web proposal. By 1993 Mosaic becomes the first web browser. The decade also saw the first mobile phones become affordable.

The Internet

The Internet is a massive network of interconnected computers that allows one computer to communicate with another across the globe. This means that one server can go down without impacting the overall functioning of the network. This was a major advancement that allowed business to be conducted online, products to be shipped and communications to occur quickly.

The ’90s brought us Kurt Cobain, ‘The Simpsons’ and the first Internet browser developed by Tim Berners-Lee. He figured out how to use hypertext and created the World Wide Web in just three months.

This revolution changed the way we work and live. It opened up opportunities for remote working and gave millions of people a voice. Sadly it also brought about tragedies such as the murder of Matthew Shepard, but it was a time for real change. It’s hard to imagine today’s world without the Internet. The tech 90s was a period of incredible advancements, and the world is still changing as a result of it.

Personal Computers

The era of personal computers has been one of the biggest changes to technology in the 1990s. These devices are now so common that it’s hard to imagine life without them. But it was not always so.

Computers for use by an individual were first made affordable in the early 1970s by the development of single-chip microprocessors. Several companies produced designs that could be constructed by hobbyists. These were typically much smaller than the large mainframe computers that had preceded them, allowing them to be more easily housed in homes or offices.

1977 saw the introduction of three mass-produced personal computers: Apple’s Apple II, Radio Shack’s TRS-80 Model I, and Commodore International’s Commodore PET. All had keyboards, a floppy disc drive, and the ability to store programs in memory. They were significantly less expensive than the mainframe computers they replaced. In 1983, Apple introduced the Lisa, which was the first PC to include a graphical user interface, replacing the previous command-based systems.

The MultiMedia Compact Disc

The compact disc is a molded plastic disc that can store digital data to be read by a laser beam. It has a large storage capacity (650/700 MB) and is less expensive than traditional media. It has also proven more reliable than floppy disks and tape cartridges.

The discs can be written to many times, which allows for the creation of a library of software, music, or movies. The CD format is also portable, which makes it easier to transfer information between computers.

By the end of the 1990s, the compact disc had almost completely replaced cassette magnetic tapes and vinyl phonograph records in high-fidelity recordings. Philips began to expand into multimedia products, aiming them at the High Street multiples and home computer market.

The Palm Pilot

One of the biggest contributions of the technology 90s came from a device called the Palm Pilot. It was a hand-held personal digital assistant (PDA) that revolutionised mobile computing.

Invented by Jeff Hawkins, Donna Dubinsky, and Ed Colligan of Palm Computing, a division of US Robotics, the Pilot offered many of the functions found in larger desktop computers but was much smaller and more portable. It featured a calendar, phone numbers and address book, to-do list, memo pad, and Graffiti handwriting recognition system. It was capable of hot-syncing with desktop software for Windows or Mac OS, and ran on a pair of AAA batteries.

Despite its success, the Pilot was not without its issues. Its operating system was plagued with bugs, and the company struggled to maintain market share in a shrinking market. It eventually lost out to smartphones like the iPhone and Google Android devices. Even so, the Pilot pioneered PDAs and third party app stores which are still in use today.

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AirTag’s Technology: Ultra-Wideband, Bluetooth Low Energy, Near Field Communication, and Find My iPhone.

AirTag’s Technology: Ultra-Wideband, Bluetooth Low Energy, Near Field Communication, and Find My iPhone.

What Technology Does AirTag Use?

Apple’s new AirTag is a location tracker that uses iPhones to help find lost objects. Unlike cheaper trackers that only chirp, the $29 gadget relies on a distributed network of iPhones to locate an object.

That means that Apple’s installed base of 1 billion iPhones is a physical network that is constantly looking for your stuff. So what technology does the AirTag use to do this?

Ultra-Wideband (UWB)

Ultra-wideband, also known as UWB, is a wireless communication technology focused on precise ranging and tracking. It uses low energy and operates on a wide portion of the radio spectrum, allowing devices to send pulses of radio signals to each other very frequently.

AirTags use this technology to communicate with your iPhone and transmit the location of the tag to your app. This is how your app can find lost keys or pets, for instance.

Like sonar, UWB calculates a device’s location by measuring the time it takes for short pulses of radio signal to travel from the transmitter, bounce off an object, and return to the receiver. The difference in time between the two measurements is then used to determine a device’s distance. Because of this, UWB is a very efficient and accurate way to locate items. It also allows for the use of small and inexpensive sensors.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

BLE is a wireless communication standard that consumes significantly less energy than traditional Bluetooth connectivity (classic Bluetooth) devices. It’s also a common feature of smartphones and mobile operating systems, so it doesn’t require specialized compatible hardware to use.

It’s the basis for retail geofencing, fitness wearables, smart home applications, and even Apple’s iBeacon offering on new iPhone models. Unlike classic Bluetooth, which only transmits data in packets over short distances, BLE sends periodic broadcast messages that allow nearby devices to detect the signal.

AirTag BLE signals are also picked up by the user’s iPhone, which uses a combination of network analysis and the U1 Ultra Wideband chip to zero in on an accurate location within about three feet. This makes it easy for event management companies to use the technology in ways that enhance the attendee experience. This could include gamification or auto check-ins, or providing recommendations during their visit to an attraction. The possibilities are endless.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

AirTags pair with their owners’ iPhones or Macs, sharing a cryptographic seed. They then start broadcasting Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) advertisements every two seconds, like smoke signals, to anyone nearby with a compatible device.

The first couple of bytes in those messages indicate to iPhones and Macs that the message belongs to an AirTag, and those devices then relay those AirTag messages up to Apple’s ‘Find My’ network. They also grab any other relevant data such as GPS, Wi-Fi and the device’s battery status, encrypting and bundling it with the AirTag messages before relaying them up to the network.

All of this is powered by the swarm of iPhones around the world, which give AirTags amazing range and accuracy. Anyone who finds a lost item with an AirTag can tap it with their phone to get the owner’s contact information so they can reunite them. That’s a powerful use case for Apple’s custom U1 chip.

Find My iPhone

Apple’s Find My feature works by relying on a network of iPhones and iPads running iOS 14.5 and later to share location data with one another. When an AirTag emits a BLE signal, it automatically connects to iPhones in the Find My network and shares its location with them. The feature has been criticized for potentially being used to stalk people, but Apple has introduced a security update that notifies users of an unknown AirTag that is “following” them.

When a new AirTag pairs with its owner iPhone, it shares a secret public key and begins broadcasting time-sensitive BLE advertising messages every two seconds that can be picked up by anyone with an iPhone in the vicinity. This crowd-sourced location data is stored in iCloud and shared among Apple devices. When a device is missing, owners can open the Find My app to locate it by tapping on the AirTag and following the onscreen instructions.

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