There was no shortage of good and bad news from the world of technology last year. Here’s 8 ways technology impacted your life in 2016.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was banned by airlines
The ban was enforced amid fears the phones would explode mid-flight.
The phone was well received by critics when it was first released. Not even a week later, the first report of the phone exploding came from South Korea.
Samsung recalled all Galaxy Note 7s, only having to recall them again when replacement phones started exploding too. Samsung has now permanently discontinued production of the Galaxy Note 7.
Apple users had to buy new headphones
Apple released the iPhone 7 in September. But, for the first time since the Walkman, the iPhone 7 had no standard 3.5mm headphone jack. New wireless headphones were needed.
Tech analysts described Apple’s decision to remove the headphone jack as yet another way for Apple to try and steer the technology market.
The Census Night Debacle
The 2016 census was conducted online for the first time. The website crashed on census night and didn’t come back online for 40 hours.
A DDoS cyber-attack from overseas was found to be the cause.
Virtual Reality became an actual consumer product
Facebook, Sony, Samsung and Google all launched virtual reality headsets in 2016. It’s not just for gamers, either. Alzheimer’s Australia is using virtual reality to help people with dementia, reducing the need for medication.
Australia’s own virtual reality industry is expected to grow to $US2.16 trillion by 2035.
We came one step closer to self-drive cars
The United States adopted its first nationwide guidelines on self-driving cars (including requirements that the cars make ethical decisions). Details about the first self-driving car to be developed in Australia were also announced.
Self-driving cars are expected to play a big role in reducing road trauma and congestion.
Pokemon Go got everyone going
Pokemon Go was reportedly installed on more smartphones than Tinder was. It was even said to have more daily users than Twitter for a short time.
Unfortunately, there were cases of people crashing cars while playing the game – even a report that a player in the USA discovered a dead body while searching for Pokemons.
You had to change your passwords
The risk of being hacked seemed to increase two-fold. Even Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president was impacted by an email hack, which the CIA now says Russia was behind.
In other examples, Yahoo revealed more than a billion user accounts had been stolen in one of the biggest hacks in history, and a group called Fancy Bears leaked private medical records of athletes from the World Anti Doping agency.
Fake news became the headline
Experts say the proliferation of fake news influenced the 2016 US election. Many fake news stories spread on Facebook, prompting the social media site to announce it would introduce tools to help users stop the spread of fake news.
The trend of fake news contributed to Oxford Dictionaries choosing the word “post-truth” as its Word of the Year. Post-truth describes circumstances in which appeals to emotion and personal belief become more influential in shaping public opinion than objective facts.
What to do for 2017
Multi IT & Telephony Solutions are IT industry experts. Contact us now for your IT plan for 2017. The 8 ways technology impacted your life in 2016 is just a slight indication of what is in store for 2017.