No foolin‘—the 2010s were a crazy decade for tech
Look, we can't do this without at least mentioning the 2013 Qualcomm CES Keynote, perhaps remembered best as "Born Mobile." It had everything: over-enthusiastic millennials, Guillermo del Toro, Maroon 5, NASCAR, surprise Steve Ballmer, and Big Bird in a tie. Watch it sometime. (credit: Lee Hutchinson)
It's been quite a decade. Tech surfed into the 2010s upon a huge wave of optimism and connection (Facebook!) but eventually wiped out on the shoals of cynicism and tribalism (Facebook!). Along the way, we cavorted with porn trolls, wept over the corpse of net neutrality, and stared into the unblinking eye of the digital surveillance state.
Here are the trends and tales that defined the last ten years of tech in the eyes of Ars. Treasure them in your hearts, for one day you might be called upon to retell the Legend of Prenda Law or to let your grandchildren know what it was like to believe in social media as a force for good. And lo, verily, they shall gaze upon you with wide eyes and ask, "No foolin'?" And you shall nod sagely as you stare off into the far distance and say: "No foolin', kids. I lived it."
Who is Dread Pirate Roberts, again? [credit: Aurich Lawson ]
It's hard to look back at anydecade in science and technology without a few cameos from the legal system. The 2010s, of course, were no different: Apple v. Samsung just ended a long battle over smartphone feature patents that impacted the marketplace (and company pocketbooks). And Oracle v. Googleis about to spill into the 2020s and potentially reverse a disastrous decision regarding software APIs.
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