A Review of 1998 Technology

I recently came across a dated issue of Time Magazine from 1998. It was a special edition issue that included a review of the years best technology.

Dell Dimension XPS R450: this thing came with 450-MHz chip, "scads of memory", and a 56K modem. Retail price was $2,729. The Jaklevic family was definitively upper-middle-lower class and this thing was way out of our range. I bet the kids that had one of these growing up are the present day doctors and CEOs of the world.

ViewSonic VP 150: This appears to be the first version of a flat-panel monitor. It's not just gorgeous, but it's the "supermodel of space-saving office gear." Retail price for the 15in./15lb. screen was $1,200.

Fujifilm Tiara ix 1010: Time magazine predicted that this APS system camera would be the future of photography and declared this "pretty little camera" a bargain for $500. Three years after this Camera was introduced Kodak put an end to the production of APS film.

RIM Interactive Pager 950: This $360 pager was the first to allow the sending and receiving of "email-like" messages to other people. The device did come with some limitations. The $25 monthly plan only allowed for the sending/receiving of 2,500 characters per month (this blog entry contains 1200 characters).

Here is the point: why did somebody just leave an issue of Time magazine from 1998 laying around?