I usually sit at the dining room table updating Droid Today with the pleasantly subtle noise of cable news in the background. This morning my ritualistic trance scanning a zillion web sites was broken by the news that Newsweek Magazine has compiled a list of the 10 most indispensable inventions of the decade. Given the list members, I’m more inclined to call this the 2 useful-but-you-can-live-without them and 8 questionably important inventions of the decade.
1. Wikipedia
Seriously? Number one? I use Wikipedia occasionally for technology related education because I can’t imagine there’s a better starting point for researching any given topic. However, if I have questions about American History or drug interaction in my pets or how to reset the computer in my truck when I change the oil, there’s plenty of other more reliable sources of information. Here’s an interesting take on the reliability of Wikipedia given the demographic of contributors and editors.
2. Youtube
Arguably one of the most entertaining inventions in the last 10 years, but I can’t think of a lot of video I’ve either watched or uploaded that was indispensable to anyone. Sharing video with every single person on the planet tends to bring humanity and “realness” to the anonymous internet in more palpable ways than before Youtube came along, so perhaps this one is reasonably rated if you put a high bounty on human connection.
3. iTunes
Hardly! The most indispensable invention for music (although iTunes handles more than just music) was the MP3 and I suspect the only reason it didn’t make this list is because it was un-officially invented in 1997. There are a variety of services that provide paid music downloads that are just as capable and have an equally well-stocked selection.
4. DVR
This is a matter of opinion and experience. In my opinion and experience, Yes, this invention is truly indispensable. If you are one of those people who have TV programs that you just can’t miss, this is an indispensable tool. Aside from being able to record TV programming while you are away or busy, it also offers you the ability to skip commercials. If this item made the Newsweek list due solely to the ability to skip commercials, a recent study suggests that people aren’t skipping nearly as many commercials as we were led to believe and that ratings for TV shows are actually higher as well.
5. Gardasil
6. Chipotle
7. TMZ
Rediculous.
8. Red Bull
9. Free Credit Reports
Perhaps the reference here speaks to one’s ability to obtain a free credit report and not to those annoying TV ads I routinely skip on my DVR. Although, I have yet to find a place that gives you a true, fully detailed credit report without needing a few bucks for the service.
10. E-Tickets
Indispensable for heavy travelers. For occasional or light commuters, the indispensability of this invention (chosen presumably because you gain convenience by avoiding the ticket counter) has been usurped by hour-long lines waiting to get through security, 100% full flights where the only seats available are in the middle, and crappy on-time ratings for airlines whose company name doesn’t start with “S” and rhyme with “out west”.