Year of innovations, challenges

Year of innovations, challenges



"Google, digital music, wireless technologies and blogs all boomed in 2004. But there were also plenty of battles, such as efforts to fight human and computer viruses and reel in online ID theft."


Comments: Personal technology lived up to its name more than ever, with miniature devices that seamlessly delivered high-quality audio and visual content. However, the banes of Internet users everywhere -- spam, computer viruses and spy programs -- made surfing the Web much more aggravating and confusing.Apple's iTunes claimed to have sold more than 100 million songs by 2004, even as a host of other competitors sprang up to offer alternatives to peer-to-peer file sharing.SpaceShipOne became the first private spacecraft to leave the Earth's atmosphere carrying a passenger-size payload and return, making the flight three times to win the $10 million Anasari X Prize and become a beacon for space tourism. So 2004 was the best year for technology and science.