Related link: http://www.mobilepcmag.com/features/2005_03/top100gadgets.html
Mobile PC magazine’s feature article on history’s top 100 gadgets — defined as small tools with either electronic or moving parts — is immensely fun to read. (Supposedly the T and S in Taser stand for Tom Swift.) Part of the pleasure is reminiscing about the gizmos that have passed through your hands.
Given the source, it’s not surprising that laptop computers dominate the list, but I would have booted a few in favor of gadgets like LED keychain lights and digital drum machines. The electronic quantization of rhythm had more effect on world culture than the HP OmniBook 300’s pop-out mouse (#76).
It will be interesting to revisit the list in ten years, when I imagine laptop computers will seem as awkward a bump in history as the Ronco in-egg scrambler (#84).
What else did they leave off the list?
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TASER Acronym Confirmed
A TASER consultant confirmed that the letters do stand for Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle, as introduced in the Tom Swift book series. See this TASER manual. —David Battino