Five Life-changing Gadgets that Almost Didn’t Get Made

Fate can be a funny thing – if carpenter Harrison Ford hadn’t been employed by George Lucas to put up some shelves in Lucas’ kitchen, we would never have enjoyed the acting of one of Hollywood’s finest. If old school friends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards hadn’t recognised each other at Dartford station we would never have had The Rolling Stones. Technology is not immune to these quirks of fate – here are five gadgets that almost didn’t get made.

iPhone

“We nearly shelved the phone because we thought there were fundamental problems that we can’t solve.” Said Sir Jony Ive two years ago – Apple apparently really wavered because of initial software hiccups, though thankfully they eventually got it together.

Bluetooth

Whilst not technically being a ‘gadget’ per say it is, nevertheless, an invaluable component of modern life. When the Swedish tech giant Ericsson came up with the idea other mobile companies were at first resistant to installing it in their devices – eventually they conceded that it was very useful and subsequently it’s used worldwide.

Tablets (any of them!)

When it comes to technology it is fashionable to think of Microsoft as an indolent sloth, whilst Apple is the go-getter – not true. Microsoft is such an innovative company that they released their first tablet eight years before the iPad. Unfortunately for Microsoft, this prescient foray into tablets was disastrous and most technology companies thereafter harboured serious doubts about the potential of tablets.

World Wide Web

The Internet owes its accessibility to Tim Berners-Lee who not only ensured that it got invented – but also ensured that it did not become a forum just for computer geeks. The Internet was an invention that was bound to happen; like the television or the light bulb – Berners-Lee ensured that it became part of everybody’s lives very quickly.

Electric toothbrush

The electric toothbrush was originally invented for U.S. navy submariners because they complained that eating soft canned food for months on end ruined their gums – the electric toothbrush would apparently keep their mouths ‘stimulated’. Skepticism has always greeted the electric toothbrush but somehow it has gone from being a military surplus gimmick – to household must-have.

By Guy de Vito

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