We rely on the internet every day for so many small things that sometimes we might forget just how much it’s given us. You likely no longer plan your day around being home and on the couch for a movie screening on TV but instead just open one of the many video streaming services that offer on-demand movies and TV shows. Here are four of the innovations you see around you every day made possible by the internet.
Smart Homes
There’s not enough space to explore everything that might be included in the smart home category, but at its root, it’s made possible by the interconnectedness of the Internet of Things. The increase in the availability of low power internet connected gadgets that can interact with appliances, lights, and entertainment systems with ease, and with a simplicity that anyone can use, makes smart homes affordable and accessible. Devices like Amazon’s Echo and its accompanying virtual assistant Alexa make up the hub for control of your home lights and voice activation and instruction of TV, music, and many other devices.
Online Shopping
Online shopping is huge, and it’s growing by the day, accounting for a bigger and bigger market share of all retail and sales. There are many internet technologies that enable us to make online purchases including internet encryption and security, online payment systems like PayPal, and credit card processing. These days we don’t give ordering something online a second thought. The rise of the mobile app has even started driving some of our other needs online, like taxis and food delivery. Even casinos find their home on the internet and you’ll find a huge number of online gambling services that all say “All you need to do to get started is just visit our website”.
Video Calling
We’re more connected globally now than we ever have been before. Video calling is nothing new and has existed in some shape or form for the better part of two decades, but it’s never been as easy as it is now. You can pick up your mobile and with a few taps be face to face with your family on the other side of the world, or you can save vast amounts of money on business travel by switching your business meetings to video conferencing and embracing the flexibility it offers over traditional ways of doing business. Even employees can work remotely, from home, or across vast distances using the technologies that the internet provides. There is nothing worse than being on a call and your connection dropping out, so it’s recommended that you invest in fiber internet Hot Springs, AR, to avoid this. Fiber internet is known for its reliability and fast loading speeds, so you will never experience frustrating call connection problems again.
On-Demand News
It might be difficult to remember a time when the only way you could get the news was to read the paper, listen to the radio, or tune in to the evening TV news broadcast. These days, most news companies have online services available where news is published minute by minute. You can also join discussions about these current affairs on social media where you’ll find like-minded, and opposite-minded, people ready for a heated discussion or debate.
There are many, many other things that we use that rely on the technologies provided by the internet each day, and listing them all is impossible.
Image credits: Dan LeFebvre/Charles Deluvio/Raj Rana/Obi Onyeador on Unsplash.
