The past year has left us with many innovations, scientific discoveries, trends, trends and development vectors. 2014 results in science and technology we have included in today's Top 10.
Smart things, pizza delivery by a drone, electronic wallets and much more in a review compiled from the resources of the Computerra resource.
10. Personal computer care
Mobile devices more than ever push desktop computers. Traditional PCs are a thing of the past, unable to compete with tablets, laptops and smartphones. Naturally, the trend affected the software market, where there are less and less innovations for stationary PCs, and more and more mobile applications.
9. Chinese smartphones
In terms of sales, the products of Chinese brands are increasingly getting closer to Apple, Samsung and HTC. In the Russian market, an increase in the exchange rate plays into the Chinese hands only - the demand for premium brands is falling more and more, while sales of budget smartphones from the Middle Kingdom are growing.
8. New operating systems
Neither Apple, nor Microsoft, nor Google in their latest versions produced anything particularly new and revolutionary. The trend of 2014 was stability and adherence to proven principles of work.
7. Protection of anonymity
The protection of personal data has become a real delusion among Internet users. The revelations of Edward Snowden, and then a number of other revelations did not go unnoticed. People are massively buying up “super-protected” smartphones, regularly changing passwords, etc.
6. Electronic money
In the United States, it was estimated that one in twenty purchases during the Christmas sales period was paid using Google Wallet and Apple Pay electronic payment systems. The cryptocurrency market is also actively developing. Bitcoin had a strong competitor, Ripple, in the fall of 2014.
5. Global Internet
The Internet celebrated its 40th anniversary last year. And despite the scandals with data leakage and global surveillance, a worldwide network is increasingly becoming part of each of us. Private companies have gained the right to register domain zones, and search giants predict the attraction of several billion new users to the network in the coming years.
4. Bionics
Flexible electronics was the discovery of 2014 in medicine. So, contact lenses from Google allow diabetes patients to continuously monitor their sugar levels. Also, thanks to bionics, scientists managed to reduce bulky medical equipment, for example, to create a dialysis apparatus weighing only 5 kg.
3. Wearable devices
It all started last spring with augmented reality glasses. And then the world learned about the Oculus Rift helmet. Modern gadgets get smart watches, fitness trackers and jewelry with electronic content.
2. Drones
Miniature drones are used in DHL, Google, Facebook and even in the Russian Dodo Pizza network to deliver orders. A separate area of work for drones is rescue services. Unfortunately, along with the number of drones, the number of accidents involving them has increased.
1. The Internet of Things
The so-called Internet of Things is gaining more and more adherents. The number of users of the “Internet of Things” has grown by 25% over the year. We are no longer surprised by “smart” Full HD televisions, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, watches and other gadgets controlled via a worldwide network. Scientists predict that in 5 years, 25 billion devices will be connected to the Internet of Things.