greatest technological inventions of the past 25 years

Complex loves Mother Earth. We know the batteries disposed of by millions of people does more harm than good. That s why we try our hardest to use only rechargeable batteries. That, and the fact that it saves us mad dough throughout the year. Never having to buy new batteries for your remote controls? Priceless.

In 1993, there were two competing digital video disc standards duking it out for industry domination: Multimedia Compact Disc, backed by Sony and Philips (the guys behind Blu Ray), and Super Density disc which was backed by Toshiba, Time Warner, Pioneer, and JVC. Thankfully, looking to avoid another format war, dudes at IBM decided to convince the two warring sides to come together and develop a single standard. What we got was the more acronym friendly digital video disc. Able to hold up to 9.4 GB (double layer), it changed the way we watched video.

The ability to record CDs was the first chink in the RIAA s armor. The CD R empowered an entire generation of bootleggers. Canal St. and Jamaica Ave. owe a lot to Philips and Sony for introducing what was once called the CD WO (write once). Though developed and released in 1988, it wasn t until 1990 that consumer systems able to record to blank discs were made available.

Looking to take the middle man out of stock trading, companies that gave power to the individual began to sprout up in the mid 90s. Now average Joes able to research their own stocks and bonds had the ability to invest in whatever they felt was about to pop. Who needs Wall St.?

If weather channels never moved over to pulse Doppler radar technology a system that sends out multiple microwave bursts to determine density and severity of storms knowing whether or not to wear your Jordans would be a complete guessing game. And, yes, they wouldn t be able to accurately predict where large storms would hit. So, it s a win/win.

Though still a developing standard, the last codec to come out of the Moving Pictures Expert Group allowed for people to compress HD video and send it around the Net. Think of any popular online HD video store, and you ll find it uses a form of MPEG 4.

People thought Steve Jobs was crazy when he announced Apple computers would stop being built with floppy disk drives. They also thought he was crazy when his MacBook Air had no CD drive. He knew that eventually we would all be using solid state memory for our storage needs. And he was right. As the price goes down on flash memory, we ll no longer only use it to transfer files between computers it will replace traditional hard drives in our computers. The lack of moving parts means smaller applications and better durability. Sounds like the future to us.

Developed by Ericsson back before the brand became irrelevant in America, Bluetooth was meant as a way to wirelessly send files between your phone and your computer. Since then it s gone through seven iterations and can now be used to stream music through wireless headphones. You can find it in everything from phones to fridges. And, of course, in the ears of every self important douche bag able who can afford a wireless earpiece. Thanks, Ericsson!

This is another military technology brought to the masses. A space based series of satellites that connect together to provide accurate location detailing, it was developed in 73 so the armed forces could have better navi while overseas. It wasn t until 1996, though, that it became available to us civilians when Billy Clint issued a policy calling for a dual use GPS system. Fast forward to 2010 and navigation is a billion dollar industry. No more getting lost in the hood for you.

Some music historians say recorded music was the death of the real musician. Well, if that s the case, digital audio workstations like Pro Tools must have finished the rest of them off. It gave you the power to professionally mix, master, and record, all from a single computer for a sliver of the price of an old studio. Wild, right? And it s probably the single reason the music industry, with its yearly budget cuts, is still able to function today. Here s a fun fact: Livin la Vida Loca was the first No. 1 single to be completely made in Pro Tools.