While many aspects of technology to which we are now thoroughly accustomed – like the internet, social media and the smart home – did exist back at the turn of the millennium, they were very much nascent in their development compared to what you see now.

Here are several examples of tech staples that, over the course of twenty years, have evolved so significantly that they are now deemed icons of the modern world.

Mobile phones

In 2000, mobile phones were much fewer and further-between than they are now – and they were generally practical for little other than SMS texting and phone calling.

It wasn’t until later in the Noughties that cameras were built into mobile phones as standard. With the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, more people – other phone-makers included – started seeing the potential for web-surfing, social media usage, music-playing and more on a single handset.  

Television

Generally, when you wanted to watch a film or TV series back in 2000, you would buy it on VHS tape format if you didn’t get the chance to catch that content on one of the standard five TV channels. That’s because catch-up and streaming services didn’t yet exist.

They did eventually arrive, though – with the likes of BBC iPlayer, Netflix and YouTube all playable online and, consequently, severing our old ties to the traditional big black box.

Music

Similarly, if you fancied playing a particular piece of music twenty years ago, you would often need to do so on a physical format like a CD or cassette tape.

You would play those on a stereo system or portable music device such as a Sony Walkman. The iPod’s arrival in 2001 ushered in the era of downloading music online – but, now, we routinely stream music on our phones, saving us time as well as any need for a standalone music player. 

Social media

Though pre-2000 social media did technically exist in the form of the Six Degrees network, its concept of online profiles and friend lists didn’t go mainstream until a good few years later.

That’s when the likes of Friends Reunited and MySpace took off – though, of course, both have since been significantly superseded in popularity by Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Home automation

The concept of home automation is far from of twenty-first-century origin; it can actually be traced back to Nikola Tesla’s unveiling of remote control technology in 1898. However, since 2000, a flurry of new home automation devices has made the “smart home” more financially palatable than ever.

Today, the “smart” label is justifiably attached to various security, heating and audiovisual entertainment systems – and our own thoroughly trained and experienced team can install all of these smart home solutions and more in your London abode.