After the bust
The decade began with the collapse of many dot-com companies, but the underlying growth of the internet continued. Over the next ten years, connections became faster and always on, websites became more interactive, and phones began to turn into pocket computers. The 2000s are in many ways the bridge between the early web and the mobile, cloud-based internet that followed.
Broadband
In 2000, a large share of home users in many countries still connected by dial-up. During the decade, broadband services using telephone lines (DSL) or cable television networks became widespread in wealthier countries. Speeds were far higher than dial-up, and, importantly, the connection did not tie up the phone line. People started leaving computers online all day, which made it practical to stream music, download large files and use web pages that behaved more like applications. Wi-Fi, the wireless networking standard, spread from offices to homes and cafes, and became a standard feature in laptops.
The pace of adoption was uneven. Rural areas and many developing countries lagged, and the gap between those with fast access and those without became a policy topic known as the digital divide.
Search and the web as a platform
Google grew rapidly after its late-1990s start, and its approach to link-based ranking helped it outperform competitors that had been popular earlier. Search became a daily habit for many people, and advertising linked to search results became a major business model for the internet. Other companies, including Yahoo and Microsoft, ran their own search services.
Technical changes made web pages more dynamic. Developers used JavaScript and related techniques to update parts of a page without reloading it, a style that popularized web email and online maps. Wikipedia, founded in 2001, grew into one of the largest reference works ever produced, built by volunteers. Blogs gave individuals a way to publish without running a server.
Social sites and online video
Social networking sites appeared and grew quickly. MySpace was popular in the first half of the decade, and Facebook, which began at Harvard in 2004 and opened more broadly in 2006, grew into a major service. YouTube launched in 2005, and Twitter followed in 2006. Early social media platforms changed how people shared photos, news and opinions, and raised questions about privacy and misinformation that remain open.
Online commerce grew steadily as well. Companies that survived the dot-com bust, such as Amazon, expanded, and in 2006 Amazon began offering rented computing power and storage over the internet, an early step toward what would later be called cloud services.
Hardware: flat screens, flash and multiple cores
Liquid crystal displays largely replaced bulky CRT monitors on desks during the decade, and flat panel televisions also spread. Flash memory in USB sticks and memory cards replaced many floppy disks and CDs for carrying files, and music players such as Apple’s iPod, introduced in 2001, made portable digital music mainstream.
Processor makers ran into limits on how much faster a single chip could be clocked without producing too much heat, so around the middle of the decade they began selling chips with multiple processing cores. Laptop computers became more affordable and more popular, and in some markets began to outsell desktops by the end of the decade, though this varied by country and kind of user. Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001, which many people used for years, and Apple introduced Mac OS X the same year.
The first smartphones
Handheld devices that combined calendars, email and phone calls existed early in the decade. BlackBerry devices became popular with business users, and Palm and Nokia sold models with more advanced software. Phones using the Windows Mobile system were also on the market. These early smartphones typically used physical keyboards or styluses.
In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone, which relied on a large touchscreen operated by fingers, with a full web browser. Its first version was criticized for limits such as slow cellular data and no way for outside developers to add apps initially. In 2008 Apple opened an App Store, and the first phone using Google’s Android system went on sale the same year. These moves set up the mobile app economy that became dominant in the next decade.
Security and other concerns
As more people were online, computer security problems became everyday news. Spam, worms and viruses spread through email and unpatched software, and phishing scams tried to trick people into giving up passwords. Companies began to take regular software updates more seriously. Debates about copyright, especially around file sharing of music, led to lawsuits and new licensing services.
Looking back
By 2009, the main features of everyday computing were visible: always-on connections, search, social platforms, streaming media and phones that ran apps. Many details were still immature, and the economy had been shaken by a financial crisis in 2008, but the change from the start of the decade was large.