The 90’s was a phenomenal decade with many inventions changing the world forever as we moved beyond brick-sized phones and floppy disks.
A decade of groundbreaking innovations propelled us into the future with many of them still a part of our everyday lives. We head down memory lane with the ten best inventions of the 90’s:
10. The Tamagotchi (1996)
The Tamagotchi taught 90’s kids the responsibility of how to feed, clean and play with a pet even if it was a pixelated virtual version. So distracting and demanding was our new digital pet, most schools banned them.
So connected were we with our Tamagotchi, we mourned their deaths harder than our real life pets but we only have ourselves to blame for neglecting them and failing to feed them.
9. Napster (1999)
Napster launched in June 1999 and at its peak had reached almost 80 million members. The file-sharing platform led a rebellion against the music industry with music from stars including Metallica and Madonna being shared and downloaded on Napster before they were even released.
Endless Lawsuits due to copyright infringements saw Napster shutdown eventually shutdown in 2002, but not before causing mass digital disruption which shook the music industry to its core.
8. Amazon (1994)
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and after originally selling books, has expanded into selling everything you can imagine and is now the largest online marketplace.
From its beginnings as a bookseller, Amazon is now a tech company that has reached over $2 trillion. Had you invested $1,000 in Amazon shares during the 1997 IPO it would be worth around $2.5 million.
7. SMS Text Messages (1992)
The December 3, 1992 “MERRY CHRISTMAS” text message sent by engineer Neil Papworth in 1992 turned us from socially awkward speakers to digital wordsmiths with rizz.
Although text messaging has declined following its peak in the early 2010’s with app-based messaging services that has data, text messages has completely transformed how we communicate and the language we use.
6. DVD (1996)
The replacement of the VHS cassette, the DVD was first released in 1996 and was game changing. The dual-layer DVD was capable of storing up to 8.5 GB and its preference for distributing movies saw DVD players overtake VCRs in 2001.
DVDs were lauded for their ability to store any kind of digital data and were able to offer much higher storage capacities than the CD. The only downside of DVDs was their vulnerability for scratches, but you could always use the old petroleum jelly or toothpaste trick to try and restore it.
5. Nintendo 64 (1996)
Nothing screams more 90’s pop culture than a pixelated version of Super Mario leaping through kingdoms and navigating past turtles. The Nintendo 64 was the next evolution of the Game Boy and brought Mario to the big screen.
The PlayStation might be the console of the 90’s but Nintendo 64 games are arguably better with Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time scoring a rare perfect 10 rating from IGN.com, GoldenEye 007 and of course, the flagship Mario 64.
4. The Sony PlayStation (1994)
You didn’t grow up in the 90’s if you didn’t have a PlayStation. This was the video game console that was cool and gave us games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo to make our childhoods a little more interesting.
The Sony PlayStation’s security was easily defeated early on and everyone seemingly “chipped” their PlayStation with a jailbreak mod which allowed gamers to play pirated games and unlock a massive library of games for cheap.
3. Nokia 1011 (1994)
The Nokia 1011 launched in November 1992 and was the first GSM phone that went into mass production complete with a two-lined display And a battery life of 720 minutes on standby or 90 minutes talktime.
This was the ultimate brick phone of the 90’s and it had the weight to match, weighing in at 1.09 pounds (495 grams) and more suitable for lifting weights in the gym than sitting in your pocket.
2. Google (1998)
Google practically runs our lives now after its humble beginnings of the first version release in August 1996. The search engine launched in 1998 and the very next year Excite.com had rejected purchasing it for $750,000.
The search engine could very well have been named “BackRub”, and thank goodness they didn’t. After it’s success of its search engine, Google has exploded with its web-based services and basically owns the internet now.
1. WorldWideWeb Browser (1990)
Before Google’s domination the WorldWideWeb was the first ever web browser launching in December 1990. WorldWideWeb was eventually renamed to Nexus to avoid confusion with the World Wide Web internet.
WorldWideWeb was developed and used on the NeXTSTEP platform which was created by NeXT Computer, who was founded by Steve Jobs. You can even check it out here how it was to navigate the internet using the world’s first web browser back in the 90’s.
