It's hard to believe that many of the innovations that we may now take for granted in our everyday lives are only about 20-25 years old approximately. I listed the ones I could think of off the top of my head that I felt made the most significant impact, but maybe the rest of you can think of some others as well.

My two top picks off this list would be the CD/CD player - it still amazes me how you can easily you can listen to a compact disc and quickly press a button to skip over any songs you don't like; I also vote for my laptop as I spend countless hours on this thing surfing the net, sending e-mails, listening to music and playing games.  8)

I considered adding the VCR to the poll, although that might seem a bit dated now in the age of DVD's, but it was nice back in the day when you could use it to tape your favorite TV show to watch anytime you wanted.  :)

I picked post-its and nintendo but now I want to change my post its to other VCR. 

I don't even remember them having laptops in the 80s.

As for Cell phones, although the concept of car phones on chuck's chicks was a really cool idea (1977-81) actual cell phones were so freakin' huge they never seemed functional. I was a 22/23 by the time we entered the 90s so I couldn't have gotten a cell phone in the 80s anyway. It wasn't something teenagers had then only business folks who wanted to look important. 

You also could have included beepers/pagers those were more prevalent than cell phones.

I got my first VCR in 1982/83 it was a present for my 14th b-day but it sat in the living room for all of us to use. I got first cd player in 86 while I couldn't live without a VCR I could live without a CD player. I had hundreds of records & hundreds of cassettes and like 10 cds. I was buying cassettes into the mid/late 90s because my car stereo had a cassette player. I still have about half my record collection (there are some I just can't let go of) even tho I don't listen to them anymore.  Now I have 500+ cds and about 10 cassettes LOL.

I was not just the Lap Top that was invented during the 1980s, but it was the development of the computer as we know it today, thanks to IBM, Microsoft and Apple.

Another significant invention, the hepatitis-B vaccine,  invented in 1980.

The disposable camera too!

CD's and CD players get my vote. I think I have first seen some laptops towards the late 80's.

Why on earth is the "Playstation" on the poll?  That didn't come out until 1995.  You should have just said "Video Game System" (Referring to either Atari or Nintendo)

Off the top of my head though, I would have to choose the "CD Player".  Even though it's pretty much obsolete as of 2007 with the popularity of the iPod and all that, it was still an incredible thing to have throughout the 90's when the only alternative really was cassette.

But of course Video Gaming as well. I can't live without Video Games and Music  :)

Off the top of my head though, I would have to choose the "CD Player".  Even though it's pretty much obsolete as of 2007 with the popularity of the iPod and all that,
I'm gonna make a new thread.

But I picked: CD's/CD Players & Laptop computers. Basically computers in general, even though they were invented way before the 80s.

CDs were invented in 1979, but were not introduced to the market until 1983

I picked other because I cannot choose.  So many great inventions

How about the soft bifocal contact lens invented 1983?

leg warmers.

but CD's, seriously.

CD's and Computers 

I have a dated-yet-charming entry:

The Trapper Keeper.

This innovation marked the beginning of more advanced bookkeeping for High Schoolers and College students everywhere!

CDs... the happy medium between LPs and cassettes. I loved how the cd art was large but not too large. I hope cds stick around for decades to come. Downloads are the most boring form of buying music.

Cordless phones came out in the early 80's.

Does anyone still have a corded phone as their primary phone in their house anymore?

Post it Notes, my life would be lost without them!

Post it Notes, my life would be lost without them!
Never use them now.

Cordless phones came out in the early 80's.

Does anyone still have a corded phone as their primary phone in their house anymore?


We have one at my mom's house. It's not the real old kind, but fairly new. I actually like the corded phones better. I don't like the fact that people can tap into conversations with cordless phones, plus they get a lot of static a lot of times.

We have one at my mom's house. It's not the real old kind, but fairly new. I actually like the corded phones better. I don't like the fact that people can tap into conversations with cordless phones, plus they get a lot of static a lot of times.


I have one that I would use whenever there was a power failure but now I have vonage so now my phone is always down when the power is out.

I have one that I would use whenever there was a power failure but now I have vonage so now my phone is always down when the power is out.


Yes, that is one good thing about corded phones - when the power is out they still work.  :)

I have a dated-yet-charming entry:

The Trapper Keeper.

This innovation marked the beginning of more advanced bookkeeping for High Schoolers and College students everywhere!


That's right! I remember Trapper Keepers! I used to carry a blue one in elementary school and I loved it.  :) :D

That's right! I remember Trapper Keepers! I used to carry a blue one in elementary school and I loved it.  :) :D


I had a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper - still have it!

I had a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper - still have it!


I had a couple of Lisa Frank trapper keepers in junior high!  :D

Other.
I don't know why but I submit "Cinnabon".

From their web site:
Cinnabon® is the world-wide leader in the cinnamon roll bakery category. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1985, Cinnabon opened its first bakery on December 4, 1985 at Sea Tac Mall.

I had a couple of Lisa Frank trapper keepers in junior high!  :D


Yeah, we may have the same ones, lol  :) I got mine in 5th grade, late 1992. I have it still, with my old drawings of Beauty and the Beast, Ren and Stimpy, etc. I'm glad I never threw it out.

Cd's and cd players

Commodore 64,Colecovision,ahhhhhhhhhh

The 80s were the BEST for games :)

If I had to pick one it would have to be The 2XL robot.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ab/f7/cb/abf7cb41fa52dd665f58b0521c36e887---track-tapes-mel.jpg

In fact, somewhere online they do have a 2XL emulator where you can actually play with the robot for real.

If I had to pick one it would have to be The 2XL robot.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ab/f7/cb/abf7cb41fa52dd665f58b0521c36e887---track-tapes-mel.jpg

In fact, somewhere online they do have a 2XL emulator where you can actually play with the robot for real.


That was first released in 1978

Some might be wondering why I didnt say ATARI 2600... Well that was made in 1977 which is not really 80-89 so I left it out but certainly was a big part of the 80s!!!

Some might be wondering why I didnt say ATARI 2600... Well that was made in 1977 which is not really 80-89 so I left it out but certainly was a big part of the 80s!!!


I enjoyed The Atari 2600 during the early part of the 1980's.

This poll is quite dated, as many haven't listened to a CD in years (even in 2007, while already on its way out, most people still played them or had fond memories of them more clearly). You could have hung on to cassettes through the '90s and made the leap to MP3/Napster in 1999. I'd say "other": The Apple MacIntosh, since that created modern computing as we know it without primitive command prompt (DOS) menus, and of course Microsoft Windows was built off of it. It is also the way modern web browsers are built off of. Cable TV, VCRs, and video games became popular in the '80s and there were lots of important developments to each of those in that decade (i.e. scrolling and improved graphics, additional channels and stereo quality), but of course these came out in the late '70s.

I still avidly collect cds - but yeah mostly for the covers and inserts. I don't actually put the discs in anywhere lol. I still love cover art and getting to flip through the inserts with photos of the artist etc. That's what being a fan is all about surely? But I suppose it is now the mp3 / streaming generation.

I'm taking a different track, toward things that "grew up" or "matured" in the 80's (as opposed to being invented) which I found to be life changing:

- Microwave ovens.  Until the 80's, many people were scared of them, thus they didn't proliferate nearly as fast as they could've.  It wasn't until study after study calling them safe, office/college installations, small cute microwaves suddenly emerging in stores, mass marketing, and finally everybody's friend's got them, and then voila - we're in a microwave oven era.  No longer did we have to discard yesterday's mashed potatoes. If we came home at 2 am, we no longer settled for cold pizza.  And talk about stepping up those frozen dinners...

- Walkmans/Boomboxes/Portable battery-operated TVs - they really took off during the decade.  For Walkmans, it was new for someone to choose their own music and stick it in their pocket.  Prior to that, we were relegated to either an AM transistor radio or else a bulky low-fi hand held tape player.  Boomboxes were great because they were a walking party.  That kind of boom never came from those low-fi hand helds.  And portable battery operated TVs were nice because you can take the game with you or whatever you want, wherever you are - for the first time.  The types of technology doing those jobs today are different - but the concept is the same.

- VCRs - they gave us control over our watching experience like never before.  Prior to that, catching your favorite show meant setting an alarm - now it merely meant setting the VCR timer.  Plus, you could rent videos and return them later.  Freeing, indeed.

- Answering machines - Now we didn't always have to wait by the phone - very freeing.

- Home video game consoles (in general) - Never before was so much game power in one's own hand, in the comfort of his/her own home.

- Cable TV: before cable, folks were relegated to three or four channels, maybe 7 or 8 in large urban areas.  The reception was hit and miss.  Cable changed all that...

8)

I still avidly collect cds - but yeah mostly for the covers and inserts. I don't actually put the discs in anywhere lol. I still love cover art and getting to flip through the inserts with photos of the artist etc. That's what being a fan is all about surely? But I suppose it is now the mp3 / streaming generation.


CDs are more like collector's items now.

I'm taking a different track, toward things that "grew up" or "matured" in the 80's (as opposed to being invented) which I found to be life changing:

- Microwave ovens.  Until the 80's, many people were scared of them, thus they didn't proliferate nearly as fast as they could've.  It wasn't until study after study calling them safe, office/college installations, small cute microwaves suddenly emerging in stores, mass marketing, and finally everybody's friend's got them, and then voila - we're in a microwave oven era.  No longer did we have to discard yesterday's mashed potatoes. If we came home at 2 am, we no longer settled for cold pizza.  And talk about stepping up those frozen dinners...

- Walkmans/Boomboxes/Portable battery-operated TVs - they really took off during the decade.  For Walkmans, it was new for someone to choose their own music and stick it in their pocket.  Prior to that, we were relegated to either an AM transistor radio or else a bulky low-fi hand held tape player.  Boomboxes were great because they were a walking party.  That kind of boom never came from those low-fi hand helds.  And portable battery operated TVs were nice because you can take the game with you or whatever you want, wherever you are - for the first time.  The types of technology doing those jobs today are different - but the concept is the same.

- VCRs - they gave us control over our watching experience like never before.  Prior to that, catching your favorite show meant setting an alarm - now it merely meant setting the VCR timer.  Plus, you could rent videos and return them later.  Freeing, indeed.

- Answering machines - Now we didn't always have to wait by the phone - very freeing.

- Home video game consoles (in general) - Never before was so much game power in one's own hand, in the comfort of his/her own home.

- Cable TV: before cable, folks were relegated to three or four channels, maybe 7 or 8 in large urban areas.  The reception was hit and miss.  Cable changed all that...

8)




What video game systems did you own back then, AG? :)

CDs are more like collector's items now.

I think CDs are one of the WORST things that came out in the 80s! (I really hate digital)

I agree with this wholeheartedly. Although I have plenty of them, CDs remain the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the music buying public (back when there WAS a music buying public). During a big slump in the music industry they were introduced basically as a way to get people to re-buy what they already owned on vinyl, and also to generate attention of those who were not vinyl buyers.  The lies that accompanied the advent of the CD were beyond belief. "They are indestructible", "they don't scratch", "they will last forever". "They sound better than albums". HA! They DON'T sound better than albums, they sound CLEANER than albums, and there is a big difference between "better" and "cleaner".

All of this is moot now that CDs area thing of the past and people dumped them as fast as they dumped their vinyl LPs for CDs. And as for those people that so hastily dumped their LPs for the "indestructible", "better sounding" CD, all of them now wish they had kept them. I kept mine.

I think CDs are one of the WORST things that came out in the 80s! (I really hate digital)


Why do you say that Dude?  ???

- Answering machines - Now we didn't always have to wait by the phone - very freeing.

Back then a lot of answering machines used a small cassette tape so you could record your intro and speak into the small microphone and you would record about a minute of your intro till it got cut off and you would have to start all over again till you got it right which got kind of aggravating.

What video game systems did you own back then, AG? :)


I never owned any.  :-\\

By my early 20's, I was paying my own way, I had little money, and my priorities had become stuff like clothes, music, and keeping my old jalopies running, not to mention paying that high private college tuition.  After I graduated college (a little older than most graduating peers), I was "too grown" - or at least I thought I was - for video games.  To me, video games were "kid stuff".

I was probably only about 3 or 4 years removed from the video game console craze...

...you could record your intro and speak into the small microphone and you would record about a minute of your intro till it got cut off and you would have to start all over again till you got it right which got kind of aggravating.


;D

Despite being a total 80s kid, I never got into arcade / computer games. Yes we had them in the house, but that was mainly for my brother. I much preferred action figures and playing outdoors.

I never owned any.  :-\\

By my early 20's, I was paying my own way, I had little money, and my priorities had become stuff like clothes, music, and keeping my old jalopies running, not to mention paying that high private college tuition.  After I graduated college (a little older than most graduating peers), I was "too grown" - or at least I thought I was - for video games.  To me, video games were "kid stuff".

I was probably only about 3 or 4 years removed from the video game console craze...


I owned an Atari 2600 then after that briefly owned a Nintendo Entertainment System then after that I bought my very first Gameboy in the early 1990's and to this day it is stored in a box just collecting dust waiting to be played one day.

I used to have a Super Nintendo.. Lost interest in it quick quickly...........

I still have a GAMEBOY but im not interested in it either!!! (Screen too small) I did play KIRBY PINBALL for awhile on it....... Then last year I got a GAMEBOY emulator and I played it on my computer.... I got DIZZY playing those games!! (Even looking @ it on my big monitor) - I just got rid of the gameboy emu program.....

My favourites are Atari 2600 and colecovision (and early 80s arcade)

I used to have a Super Nintendo.. Lost interest in it quick quickly...........

I still have a GAMEBOY but im not interested in it either!!! (Screen too small) I did play KIRBY PINBALL for awhile on it....... Then last year I got a GAMEBOY emulator and I played it on my computer.... I got DIZZY playing those games!! (Even looking @ it on my big monitor) - I just got rid of the gameboy emu program.....

My favourites are Atari 2600 and colecovision (and early 80s arcade)


I have a bunch of games that I collected for my Gameboy during the early 1990's then after that the Gameboy fad just stopped. The Gameboy works but it's not in a fantastic working condition.

The World Wide Web (1989)

I used to have a Super Nintendo.. Lost interest in it quick quickly...........

I still have a GAMEBOY but im not interested in it either!!! (Screen too small) I did play KIRBY PINBALL for awhile on it....... Then last year I got a GAMEBOY emulator and I played it on my computer.... I got DIZZY playing those games!! (Even looking @ it on my big monitor) - I just got rid of the gameboy emu program.....

My favourites are Atari 2600 and colecovision (and early 80s arcade)


That came out in 1990-91, so it's '90s.

For those who criticized the quality of CDs, yes, it is prone to scratching, but remember, its main advantages were storage space (both in terms of storage and amount of time on the disc), repeatability, and more accuracy when finding the beginning of a track. Many of course clung to cassettes due to their lower price along with the fact that many people didn't have a CD player in their car until later in the '90s (my mother didn't even have a car with a CD player until 1999!).

The World Wide Web (1989)


As far as 1980s inventions, this one is way up there in the "life changing" category...