100 Amazing Inventions
51. Why was the webcam invented?
WEBCAM:
The webcam was actually invented by lazy students at Cambridge University who didn't want to waste a trip to the nearby coffee pot if it was going to be empty when they got there.
 |
| webcam |
In 1991, too many trips to an empty pot led Dr. Quentin Stafford Fraser and Paul Jardetzky to invent the world's first webcam to help late night studiers and programmers to keep an eye on coffee levels.
 |
| webcam |
When switched on, the camera provided an image of the coffee pot, and the level of the coffee remaining in it! Ironically, the 'webcam' was invented a couple of years before the web.
However, as soon as the World Wide Web went up, the service was connected to the Internet.
52. How have smart phones changed the concept of mobile phones?
SMART PHONES:
A smart phone is basically a cell phone that performs many of the functions of a computer such as e-mail or Internet browsing.
 |
| Smart Phones |
Today, almost about every one owns a smart phone, even though it is a fairly recent invention.
The very first concept of a smart phone is said to have been envisioned back in the mid-1970s, but that idea didn't come into reality until almost 20 years later, when IBM's Simon Personal Communicator was first launched in 1993.
 |
| Smart Phones |
Despite being able to send and receive emails and faxes, Simon was never technically called a smart phone. In 1996, Nokia released their first smart phone, and mobile phones were never the same again! It revolutionized the world.
53. What is a GPS?
GPS:
The letters stand for Global Navigation System. This system gives us information about location and time in all weather conditions, any where on Earth. It consists of 24 satellites that orbit the Earth.
 |
| GPS Logo |
Each satellite contains a computer, an atomic clock, and a radio and it continually broadcasts its changing position and time.
 |
| Mini GPS Tracker |
On the ground, all GPS receivers contain a computer that calculates its own position by getting bearings from three of the four satellites.
 |
| Navigating a Car using GPS |
The GPS has many scientific, military, civil and commercial uses, and is one of the most fantastic utilities ever devised by Man.
54. Why are USBs useful?
USB:
The USB - its full form is Universal Serial Bus - is a connection used to connect a computer to devices such as digital cameras, printers, scanners and external hard drives.
It was developed in 1994 by a group of seven companies. They were Compaq, DEC, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NEC and Nortel. Like a hard disk, a USB drive- or flash drive as it is popularly known stores information.
 |
| USBs in different shapes |
However, with a flash drive you can easily transfer that information from one computer to another. USB flash drives vary in size and shape and can hold gigabytes of information. USB flash drives are also called pen drives, key chain drives, key drives and memory drives.
 |
| Pencil USB drive |
When it comes to saving important digital files, the important of a USB drive can't be stressed enough. USB flash drives are not a new invention, but as the world becomes more and more digital, the need for these devices is growing rapidly.
55. What are CDs and DVDs?
CD & DVD:
CDs are one of the most popular ways of storing music and computer data. A CD is a thin, circular disc of metal and plastic which uses flashing laser lights to record and read back information.
CDs were originally used just for storing music. later, they were used for storing videos as well. Each disc could store 74 minutes of stereo sound. The technology behind CDs was invented in the late 1960s by James T. Russell.
 |
| CD or DVD storing Audio Notes |
An avid music fan, he longed for a sound-recording system that would reproduce music more exactly than LP records and cassette tapes.
 |
| Software DVD or CD |
The difference between CDs and DVDs is the amount of information they can store. A CD can hold 650 megabytes, or million characters of data, whereas a DVD can cram in at least seven times more data. In effect, a DVD can do any thing that CD does, and more efficiently.