This month the world lost Steve Jobs, creator of Apple. For fans of Apple products, it was a day of sorrow.
Apple shaped our lives in many ways with technology like the iPhone and the iPod. But there are tons of companies out there that are a daily part of our life, whether we realize it or not.
Do you find yourself checking Facebook more than twice a day? Are you Tweeting your daily routine? Are you often stricken with boredom when the Internet goes out? If you answer yes to any of those questions, than chances are the companies on this list are a major part of your life.
Here is the UP’s list of the Top 10 electronic companies that shape our life in the 21st century:
10. Gamestop
Before the time of GameStop, a gamer would have to fork over $50 to $60 to buy a video game like Halo from an electronics store. If you couldn’t afford that, you would have to rent one for a few days from places like Blockbuster. Then, in 2005, GameStop merged with EB games and became the premier video game store. Essentially a pawn shop for video games, the store made buying video games cheaper. You can buy a used copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops for $40 instead of the full $60 for a new copy. With more than 5,000 stores across the nation, it seems as though GameStop, like Starbucks, will soon be on every corner.
9. Best Buy
In 2009, Circuit City closed it 567 nation wide stores after filing for bankruptcy. This paved the way for Best Buy to become one of the premier electronics stores in the U.S. Best Buy sells everything from movies, video games and computers to phones, TVs and even kitchen appliances and washing machines. Not only that, but Best Buy’s Geek Squad service will take care of all your computer ailments. They will even come directly to your home.
8. Sony
When Sony’s Playstation Network (PSN) got hacked in April of this year, the internet community went bonkers. It seemed like that was the only piece of news on the major electronics news sites Techcrunch and PCWorld. Not only were people’s profiles hacked, their credit card information was stolen. This caused a panic among PSN users. Not only that, but if you’re buying a high-def movie, you’re buying it from Sony. The company battled Toshiba over the high-def market until 2008, when Sony’s Blu-Ray won and became a household name.
7. Netflix
Ah, Netflix. You made it so much easier to watch movies and TV shows with your home delivery system and lack of return dates. Then you pissed everyone off by raising your prices and attempting to switch your DVD delivery service over to another company. Netflix is available on pretty much any electronic device, including your smart phone, game system, Blu-Ray player and even the Nintendo 3DS. (No 3D movies yet). Having movies and TV shows on demand is fantastic.
6. Microsoft
Computers are a daily part of everyone’s lives. In fact, almost everything on this list requires a computer. Windows XP was arguably one of the best operating systems ever created. There are still some businesses that use it on their work computers. Microsoft is such a significant company is that it is a part of our work and play on a daily basis. In fact, this article was written in Microsoft Word on a Windows computer. Programs like Word, Excel and Powerpoint have become so popular that even Apple has versions of them for the Mac.
5. Amazon
Amazon started as a place to buy books, but expanded. Now you can buy movies, video games, posters and more. But Amazon never forgot its roots, and soon we had the Kindle. Now you can buy books from Amazon and download them directly to the Kindle. And with books on demand, we’ve now moved into a new era of technology with all forms of entertainment being instant and easily accessible.
4. Twitter
Myspace started a social network craze, Facebook made it better and Twitter made it simple. You tell the world what’s on your mind in 140 characters or less, and people who care can follow your tweets. According to Twitter, there are one billion tweets posted every week. Lady Gaga currently holds the most followers, at over 14 million. Twitter is on our phones, computers and even video game systems.
3. Apple
The passing away of Apple creator Steve Jobs was truly a sad day for the world. Jobs had left behind a legacy of technology that changed the way we live our life. iMac, iPhone, iPad, iTunes and the billions of users world wide are proof that Apple put a hallmark on our society. Things like downloading music directly to your computer or even accessing your home computer from your cell phone was something that was once thought impossible.
2. Facebook
According to their website, Facebook currently has more than 800 million active users around the world. It started as a social website for college students, and turned into the most popular social site on the Internet. 50 percent of Facebook’s active users log on at any given time every day, and more than 350 million of those users are logging in on their cell phone. It’s on phones, video game consoles and even in car navigation systems. There are so many people using Facebook that it’s more of a challenge to find someone who isn’t.
1. Google
Google will take over the world. That statement is bold and completely opinionated, but probably true. Google is the modern day Cyberdyne, and if you get that cinematic reference, you know how scary it will be. Google is more than just a search engine these days. Google does mail, web documents, calendars, maps and now a social network with Google+. They have even gone as far as to create a smart car that drives itself, which, according to them, was a secret project for several years. If you’ve never used a Google program in some way, then you’ve been living under a rock.
