WATCH: How Technology Has Taken Over Our Desks
Back in the ’80s, desktop real estate was at a premium. You had to have space for your huge desktop computer, keyboard, rolodex, calculator, clock, reference books, fax machine, cork board, calendar, telephone and plenty of pens and Post-its. Then, modern technology came along and started gobbling up all the things on that desk as more and more of them became absorbed into one machine — the laptop computer. The producers at bestreviews.com put together this cool video that runs through the dramatic evolution of the desk over the last 30-odd years, check out Designboom’s version of it below:
“We wondered what it would be like to recreate the desktop from the 1980s and then emulate its transformation through the computer age,” the team explains. “We wanted to illustrate how technology has changed our world, un-cluttering our desks and simplifying our lives. While gradual change from year to year is often hard to perceive, the longer snapshot gives us a much more dramatic view of the technological progression we have experienced.”
In the video you realize all those seemingly intangible things were actually tangible. Like those notepads you had to use to keep track of your random thoughts and reminders are now housed in Evernote.
And the inspiration you used to throw up on corkboards is on Pinterest. Even that picture of your dog can be on your laptop or phone background instead of the wall, and you’ll probably see it just as often. We’re glad that we got to keep those rad sunglasses through it all though.
How do you see the desk changing in the next 30 years? Let us know in the comments!
(Videography: dougthomsen.tv Engineering: Anton Georgiev)