In celebration of BOWN's 20th anniversary: highlights of our best (and, yes, worst) predictions about the important technologies of decades past

bownretro_main_485.jpg

This week, we unveiled our 20th-annual Best of What's New-our year-end list of the 100 greatest innovations in the world of science and technology. In honor of 20 glorious years of picking the best of the best, we've decided to take a look at some previous recipients of our top tech honors.

Yes, some of it looks a little dusty these days, but it's still possible to trace many of this year's cutting-edge winners back to their ancestors from the past two decades; as they say, innovation begets innovation. Dig the Jawbone Bluetooth headset, a winner this year in the gadgets category? Check out the monstrosity that started it all. Excited that consumer-level holographic storage is just around the corner? Might want to scope our 1992 prediction. From the 3-D camcorder bound to revolutionize home movies to the V-22 Osprey (finally flying 19 years after we first covered it), join us in looking back at 20 years of innovation. As for the next 20, this year's picks are only the beginning.

Click here to launch the gallery of past winners.

Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science today, for less than $1 per issue!

0 Comments


138 years of Popular Science at your fingertips.

Innovation Challenges



Popular Science+ For iPad

Each issue has been completely reimagined for your iPad. See our amazing new vision for magazines that goes far beyond the printed page



Download Our App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone or Android phone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed


February 2012: The Future of Fun

Science is reinventing play, from extreme sports to gamification to ridiculous roller coasters to the playgrounds of tomorrow, and this issue is chock full of fun. Also, on a less fun note: Did global warming destroy my hometown?


circ-top-header.gif
circ-cover.gif