The world population hitting 7 billion, an old NASA satellite falling to Earth in pieces in September, the revolution in the Middle East, the growing concern of Bangladesh regarding climate change — these are few of the instances, among the other notable ones, that come to our mind while rewinding the year 2011.
2011 has also been a notable year in the world of tech, with the release of smart phones, gadgets, games, apps, etc. So on New Year’s Eve, before the tech freaks make their resolution to be more tech-savvy, it is time they go through the technology of 2011 that has had the most impact and is the most talked about.
Released in January, the new Intel Core i5 & i7 processors were based on Intel’s second generation Core architecture. These new dual and quad core processors soundly beat all previous generations of Intel processors in terms of processing performance, heat, power use and features.
Whether one loves them or not, Apple products have made a significant impact on today’s computing world, its ‘i’ branded ones not to mention. In March, Apple released the iPad 2, the new improved version of the original iPad. Rated 4 stars out of 5, iPad 2 is dramatically thinner and improvements over the original include a 1 GHz dual core ARM CPU, massively increased graphics performance, among others.
However, the release of iPad 2 has not stirred the world in 2011 as much as the loss of Steve Jobs, the visionary figure whose ‘brainchildren’ we carry in our pockets and backpacks, today.
Those who have tried Windows 8 have definitely found it to be faster than Windows 7. In September, Microsoft released a preview version of Windows 8 as a downloadable ISO for anyone to try out. It included two major new features over Windows 7: the Metro user interface and secure boot.
Well, 2011 was no different for the gamer community. No different from its previous versions, the Call of Duty series tends to evoke a lot of comments of same old gameplay and graphics rehashed, as players find each revision plays just about the same as the previous ones and just seem to have a few variables changed to make a “new” game. While the game is substantially different in gameplay terms, it is basically first person shooters in a war setting.
A quick trivia for the readers: ‘Which is the top app of 2011?’ Well, no prizes for guessing this one, for we all know that Angry Birds by far is 2011’s top paid app. A puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile, that was inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple’s iOS. Angry Birds has been praised for its successful combination of addictive gameplay, comical style, and low price. With a combined 500 million downloads across all platforms and including both regular and special editions, the game has been called “one of the most mainstream games out right now” and “the largest mobile app success the world has seen so far”.
Greena term that lies in every aspect of our lives, 2011 was also an important year for green innovations and technological advancements. In the world of fuels, a number of strides were made. The use of biofuel for aviation is becoming a reality; solar technology also grew in 2011. Researchers at Notre Dame have invented a house paint that could one day be used to collect solar energy.
So guys, on New Year’s Eve as you make resolutions to be more tech-freaky and celebrate the new time, you also await the arrival of many more technologies making the year ahead more techy. On that note, A Very Techy New Year!
-With The Daily Star input
