Top 25: Technological breakthroughs
Advances that transformed how the world communicates are among the top 25 technological breakthroughs of the past quarter century, according to a panel of experts assembled by CNN.
Having a computer in almost every American home (No. 5) has changed the way the world conducts business and how people communicate. Computers have gone from whirring behemoths to devices that fit in every room -- or every pocket.
"We see them in our cell phones, our PDAs," said Suzanne Kantra of Popular Science magazine. "Kids' toys in particular have taken off in the ability to be smart."
And just as computer use worldwide is exploding, the brains behind them -- the processors -- are getting smaller. Computer chips made the list at No. 9, and today a chip that you can balance on your fingertip can hold massive amounts of data.
This ability to store (No. 10) tons of information in cell phones or digital cameras allows us to keep our smart technology portable.
