Seriously O/T... the two best inventions of the last 40 years

[Dane Hawker]

Titleist Pro V

Iphone

[Tim Martin]

[Garland Bayley]

In my line of work,  the UNIX operating system (actually 43 years old)  and its various incarnations and the Web browser (which made the Internet useful to the masses).  C programming probably a close 3rd.

I am such a nerd.

I'm sorry Craig, but the C progamming was one of the worst inventions. Created hoards of lazy bug creating hackers, with lifetime employment through their lack of productivity.

[Craig Van Egmond]

Garland,

     I first learned Fortran, then Cobol, so C was very freeing.. no worries about columns or how to spell environment correctly.

     I only write bash scripts these days, with some perl, awk and sed thrown in.

[Bill_McBride]

In my line of work,  the UNIX operating system (actually 43 years old)  and its various incarnations and the Web browser (which made the Internet useful to the masses).  C programming probably a close 3rd.

I am such a nerd.

I'm sorry Craig, but the C progamming was one of the worst inventions. Created hoards of lazy bug creating hackers, with lifetime employment through their lack of productivity.

You guys are dorks and need to get a life / play more golf!   

[Bill_McBride]

The Thermos Bottle

"How do it know?"

 

[Sam Morrow]

I know McBride is anti microwave.

[Joe Leenheer]

The iPhone....I'm not sure how I operated before having one and I don't ever want to go back.

It has the internet.
It has GPS (how did I ever know how to get anywhere with it)
It is my Digital Camera.
It is my iPod/MP3 Player
It is my video for lessons with built in Swing Apps.
...this list could go on for a while.

2nd Place....these are both a shade over 40 years but Duck Tape and WD40 are pretty amazing as well.

[Bill_McBride]

I know McBride is anti microwave.

How do it know?

[R_Paulis]

It's early in the game, but Apple has my vote for the best inventor or reinventor of products and markets since the 90's

The iPod was certainly a game changer for both Apple and the recording/music industry. Then came the iPhone and it grabbed a decent chunk of the smartphone market particulaly in the US. Big deal said the Android backers as the adoption rate for that platform soared. However, iPhone owners spend a whole bunch on applications where Androiders with its fragmented hardware selection spend only a fraction on apps. Then the iPad is introduced and it totally dominates this new category. Not only impacting the sales of laptops, but changing the way consumers view video based content and likely slowing new television hardware purchases.

Streaming Netflix or accessing your DVR content via Slingbox on the iPad changes viewing habits. Other "channels" like Hulu or using iTunes to purchase content is nice, but using HBOGo is an amazing example of video on demand library. I gather Apples next target for reinvention is the television...

BTW - I've never owned a Mac computer.

[Jim Nelson]

this is easy

zip ties and thongs, in no particular order.

[Tom MacWood]

My wife is a big fan of the heated seats and I like the TV remote, but I've got to say IMO the best invention are those leotard-like extremely formfitting pants worn by many young women. I'm sorry I don't know what they are called. There are exceptions but for the most part those who should wear them, do, and those who should not, don't, which is a key factor in my belief. As a warning I should add I've discovered as a form of appreciation its considered bad form to spank the best examples of this art....usually.

[Howard Riefs]

Howard:

From wikipedia:

The new oven was shown at a trade show in Chicago, and helped begin a rapid growth of the market for home microwave ovens. Sales volume of 40,000 units for the US industry in 1970 grew to one million by 1975....By 1986, roughly 25% of households in the U.S. owned a microwave oven, up from only about 1% in 1971.

The internets technically date back to at least the 1960s.

Got it. I evidently cited the date of a microwave intended for commercial use.

On October 8, 1945, Raytheon filed a US patent for Spencer's microwave cooking process, and an oven that heated food using microwave energy from a magnetron was soon placed in a Boston restaurant for testing. In 1947, the company built the "Radarange", the first commercial microwave oven.

[Sam Morrow]

I know McBride is anti microwave.

How do it know?

We were talking about something and David talked about how he didn't have a microwave until he moved out of the house. I almost spit out my beer I laughed so hard.

[Jason Topp]

I recently stayed at a hotel with a heated toilet seat.  That was more of a treat than I care to admit.

[Sam Morrow]

I recently stayed at a hotel with a heated toilet seat.  That was more of a treat than I care to admit.

What part of the world was this in?

[Tommy Williamsen]

trying to keep this golf related--the two ball putter.  Kept me in the game.

[Jim Nelson]

trying to keep this golf related--the two ball putter.  Kept me in the game.

OK, geez.  Sorta boring now, but the new fabrics for shirts that keep you cool and don't show sweat.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Doug Siebert]

The double strap carry bag
Soft spikes (not that I wear golf shoes, but its nice teeing off on #1 without hearing that sound during my backswing!)

[Sean Leary]

The double strap carry bag
Soft spikes (not that I wear golf shoes, but its nice teeing off on #1 without hearing that sound during my backswing!)

Funny, I feel the opposite. I like Single strappers and miss that sound terribly....

[Doug Siebert]

The invention of double strap carry bags doesn't stop you from using a single strapper, anymore than the invention of the typewriter or word processor caused people to quit writing things by hand.

[Sean Leary]

The invention of double strap carry bags doesn't stop you from using a single strapper, anymore than the invention of the typewriter or word processor caused people to quit writing things by hand.

 

Correct. I was just noting two things that you list as the best 2 inventions are replacing things that I miss.

[Sam Morrow]

I need to nominate Trues, or Rob Rigg.

[Dan Herrmann]

For golf - high definition TV.
For GCA - minimalism.
For Golf Course Maintenance - new chemicals that are much safer

[Brock Peyer]

Wrinkle free pants