Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1960s

 1 The Pill

 2 The disposable nappy

 3 Contact lenses

 4 Satellite television

 5 Biometrics

 6 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

 7 The ring pull

 8 Touch-tone phones

 9 Equal Opportunities policy

10 Video conferencing

11 The fax machine

12 The plastic bag

13 The microwave oven

14 The smoke alarm

15 Kevlar

16 Aerosol deodorant

17 Computer-aided design (CAD)

18 The internet

1970s

19 The pocket calculator

20 Budget airlines

21 Email

22 The automated teller machine (ATM)

23 The computer game

24 Just-in-Time inventory management

25 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

26 VHS

27 The barcode

28 Electronic point-of-sale (EPOS) technology

29 The Global Positioning System (GPS)

30 Fibre optics

31 The electronic spreadsheet

32 The Walkman

1980s

33 The personal computer (PC)

34 Infrared remote controls

35 The Post-it note

36 The compact disc (CD)

37 The 20-70-10 rule

38 The digital camera

39 Remote keyless entry (RKE) systems

40 Dyson (Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner)

41 Tablet computers

1990s 

42 International overnight courier services

43 The smartphone

44 Search engines

45 Pay-per-click advertising

46 Pay-by-swipe technology

47 The hybrid car

48 The MP3 player

2000s 

49 Google’s 20% innovation time

50 The e-reader