Unlike Taylor Swift and her James Dean daydream lover, technology can and does go out of style. We take it for granted now that we’re connected to our invisible airborne internet while we tap away on our laptops to order dinner, buy our groceries and check in with old mate on the other side of the world. But our lives definitely didn’t always look this way.

This is the result of a long history of people continually seeking a faster, better and easier way to do regular things and, as a result, we’ve always needed technology to become more flexible, more compact, and more advanced.

Lo and Behold

Did you know the first word ever sent over what we now know as the internet was, simply, “lo”? It’s fitting that the first word was a typo. They meant to type “login” but the system crashed. Considering how autocorrect barely works in 2017, let alone on October 20 1969, it’s hardly surprising that something went wrong.

The computer used to send this first message was about the size of a house and it could barely do what we’re now able to do on a device the size of our palm. Since the advent of personal computers, these devices have been through so many changes. Laptops were first introduced to the market 36 years ago when the Dulmont Magnum (known internationally as the Kookaburra) — one of the first computers to ever use a 16-bit Intel processor — went on sale in Australia.

They’ve been functional, they’ve been pretty, but nowadays they are thankfully a mix of both, blending efficient technological needs with sleek and modern designs. A few years ago you were choosing between a laptop or tablet. Now you can have one that works as both. Today’s laptops as thin and as lightweight as they have ever been, and somehow pack a soundsystem that’s way beyond the quality of your first (and last) boombox.

Right Here, Right Now

Back in the day you would meet somebody at a bar, trade numbers, go out for dinner and a movie. Nowadays the “night out” part often doesn’t get you much further than throwing out the pizza box into the recycling bin.

But the world of on-demand services isn’t limited to your Netflix and Deliveroo. New clothes can show up in hours, and your weekly meal plan waits patiently at your door. It’s an “at the tap of a button” mentality that began when some genius realised they could sit in a cafe and open five global newspapers on their laptop at once. Since then, our expectations have driven changes in behaviour that, in turn, change our expectations again (and in more profound ways than being able to chomp through all the Tim Tams on a 4am TV binge).

Take, for example, today’s kids. They’re practically born as tech natives who could put the vast majority of us adults to shame when they pick up a tablet. Our languages evolve as email and Skype changes how we talk. Businesses well rooted in centuries of 10am – 4pm trading hours (we’re looking at you, banks) have no choice but to be accessible online and 24 hours a day.

Getting Down To Business

There’s no greater example of the impact technology has than in the workplace. And no, we’re not just talking about the automation of cashiers and the demise of the video store.

The last day to rent a movie from a Blockbuster store is this Saturday, Nov 9. What will your last rental be? #BlockbusterMemories

— Blockbuster (@blockbuster) November 7, 2013

Sorry, mates.

15 years ago, working from home was laborious at best; another 15 years before that it was straight-up impossible. But when your laptop weighs less than a carton of milk and folds into a tablet for the train ride home, you could probably be doing it more than your boss would like to admit.

A look over to the creative industries reveals a truly tectonic shift and no, I’m not just talking about how (or where) I wrote the first draft of this article. The touch-screen has put a digital canvas in the hands of millions of people. The powerful guts in today’s hardware means musicians can take their studio virtually anywhere. Thanks to the power of the internet, the ability to reach your own audience has been democratised, and borders shattered.

So, as you sit in the living room, likely reading this on your laptop while Netflix auto-plays the next episode on your TV, it’s best to remember how fantastic the very concept of all this is, and how often we take for granted.

This has all happened in just one generation — imagine what we can do in the next one.

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