The Future Is Here: Technology Then and Now

Pictured: Martin Cooper (left), cell phone inventor next to Steve Jobs (right), cell phone re-inventor.

<b>Then: Cellphones</b> Before built-in music players, cameras, and multi-touch screens, cellphones were just portable phones that, well, made phone calls. Minus the portable. Pictured: Motorola DynaTAC (1983) (Motorola)

<b>Now: Smartphones</b> These days, smartphones don't just make calls, they're an electronic extension of our lives, keeping us connected, prepared, and entertained. Now if we could only find a way to increase battery life. Pictured: Apple iPhone 4S (Reuters)

<b>Then: Game Consoles</b> Even without the glitz and the glamour of 3D graphics, 1985's 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System provided fun in bundles, introducing us to classic characters like Mario, Zelda, and Mega Man in all of their pixelated glory.

<b>Now: Interactive Gaming</b> Playing Nintendo is no longer the pastime of couch potatoes -- it's a full body experience on the Wii. And the Xbox Kinect offers a similar way to get into the game. With the introduction of motion sensing technology, video games have actually become a workout. (AP Photo)

<b>Then: Pong (1972)</b> Two lines and a dot -- what more do you need? Pong was simple yet surprisingly effective. This minimalist combination would catapult the game to icon status.

<b>Now: Top Spin 4</b> Modern day gaming is all about stunning graphics. Instead of a 2D paddle, we get life-like motion-captured renderings of our favorite pros, the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic -- at our disposal in full glorious 3D. (2K Sports)

<b>Then: First Person Shooters</b> This is the game that spawned an entire generation of gaming goodness, aptly earning the title: "grandfather of 3D shooters." Without Wolfenstein 3D (1992), Halo or Call of Duty might not exist. (Apogee Software)

<b>Now: First Person Shooter</b> You won't find many pixels amidst the graphics glory of modern day shooters. Today's processing power calls for a truly immersive experience, fitting for what is now a multi-billion dollar industry. The latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise, Modern Warfare 3 bested the box office total of Avatar in just 16 days. Not too shabby. (Activision)

<b>Then: Videotapes</b> VHS cassettes were (are) truly awesome. Not only did they conveniently bring movies to the living room, the ability to record revolutionized the way we consumed video content.

<b>Now: Blu-ray</b> Two words: high definition. That is all.

<b>Then: Portable Gaming</b> Nintendo's Game Boy introduced portable video gaming to the masses in 1989. Perhaps the best part was the ability to connect two consoles so you could battle your friends (or enemies) in a fierce game of Tetris -- all in beautiful 8-bit monochrome graphics.

<b>Now: Nintendo 3DS</b> Dual screens, stereoscopic 3D effects, and... a stylus?? Handheld gaming has certainly come a long way but these are troubling times for traditional console makers like Nintendo and Sony, as mobile gaming continues to migrate to the smartphone. (Nintendo)

<b>Then: IBM Personal Computer (1981)</b> The launch of the IBM 5150 officially married the term "PC" with IBM and IBM-compatible machines and would mark the beginning of a new era in personal computing, a movement helped by one of the machine's first killer apps -- word processing. (IBM)

<b>Now: Thinkpad</b> A sign of the times, IBM has since sold its PC division to the Chinese. To their credit, Lenovo has done its best to maintain and grow the legendary Thinkpad line of laptops, originally developed by IBM. The latest X1 model is razor thin, ultraportable, and plenty powerful. Today, tech looks good -- that's for sure. (Lenovo)

<b>Then: Portable Apple Computer</b> The Macintosh Portable (1989) was probably a tad ahead of its time. The compromises made for portability just didn't suit general use and it was discontinued after only a year.  

<b>Now: Apple Laptop</b> Two decades later, we're graced with hardware that reminds us that we're living in the future. The MacBook Air is impossibly thin and light as a feather while still providing the necessary oomph for even your more taxing computing needs -- all for under $1000 ($999 to be exact). (Apple)

<b>Then: Portable Music Player</b> For music on the go, there was only one: the Sony Walkman (1979).

<b>Now: Portable Music Player</b> The king is dead. Long live the king. No device has yet come close to usurping Apple's iPod from its reign of supremacy. See-ya Sony. (Apple)

<b>Then: Television</b> Though revolutionary, small curved screens, black and white picture, and a dearth of content meant televisions from the 1950s were much less fun, especially given their relatively high price. (National Archives and Records Administration)

<b>Now: Television</b> Televisions these days have monster screens yet are preposterously thin. They've also got high definition and in some cases, 3D. Find the right deal and not only are these babies awesome, they're awesomely affordable. Pictured: Samsung C9000 (Samsung)

<b>Then: The Vinyl Record</b> The vinyl record is in the unique position of being almost 100 years old yet still widely relevant, popular among music enthusiasts who swear by its richer, warmer sound. (Felipe Micaroni Lalli)

<b>Then: The Compact Disc</b> Ah, the ubiquitous CD, one of the first technologies that began the transition from analog to digital. They're still widely used but audio CD sales are down 50% from their peak in 2000.

<b>Now: Digital</b> For all intents and purposes, the vast majority of us now experience music in 1s and 0s without the need for actual physical media, relying instead of digital music services that allow users to purchase or stream songs such as Apple's iTunes Store and Spotify (pictured). (Spotify)

<b>Then: Digital Personal Assistant</b> Compaq's original iPAQ (2000) was clunky and monochrome alienating most casual users. (Andreas Steinhoff)

<b>Now: Tablet Computers</b> It's funny the difference a single letter and ten years can make. Apple's iPad has redefined an industry. (Apple)