The Internet’s Greatest Tech Glow-Ups

Everybody accepts that the internet was the invention of the century.

15:35 28 August 2025

Everybody accepts that the internet was the invention of the century. But, some of the innovations that have come about from the internet have been pretty dazzling too. From Saturday night film rentals to that crumpled A–Z map book in your car glovebox, let’s take a tour of some of the internet’s greatest glow-ups.

From DVDs to Streaming. How Movie Night Got a Makeover

Cast your mind back 20 years, to movie night circa 2005. You’d rummage through a stack of DVDs, or - if you were really organised - rush to Blockbuster hoping somebody hadn’t already got their hands on that new release. There’s definitely a lovely, rose-tinted nostalgia about it. But, if somebody had got that new release first, it was really, really annoying. 

You’re back in your living room in the present day, and it would be fair to say that streaming platforms like Netflix have made DVDs almost entirely redundant with an ever-expanding deluge of new content, and at the same time, have changed the whole experience. There’s no waiting and blindly hoping anymore, no scratched discs, no late fees. Instead, there’s an almost overwhelmingly sprawling digital library, in your living room. Netflix alone had 17,000 titles globally as of 2023! Plus, to help you navigate all of that choice, there are now ever more sophisticated algorithms for recommending films based on your viewing habits. Some really good Blockbuster clerks managed it, but few nailed it time and time again! 

Arcades and Bingo Halls Go Digital

Games on the internet aren’t new, the first online casino games were created back in 1997 (yes really). But, they’ve changed a whole lot since then. Back then they were based on the games where you actually needed to be somewhere - a bingo hall, a smoky pub quiz, or hunched over a fruit machine in an arcade?

Now those same games live online, with sharp graphics and more features than you'll remember from the originals. Some of the most popular web casino games manage to exactly replicate the feel of the original but with a polish that's reserved for online only. Modern online bingo sites offer themed rooms, community chat functions, and event calendars. This isn’t new, it’s designed to mimic everything we loved about old bingo halls, but with total accessibility at the core. Fruit machines that were once bound to clunky cabinets, have been transformed into video slots with ever more imaginative bonus rounds, cinematic cutscenes, and some win caps that rival national lotteries.

Printing Directions is Gone Forever

Getting lost used to be part of the adventure. Some of you say you enjoyed it, but for most of us, it was downright stressful. Paper maps, postcode scribbles, and printed directions from AA Route Planner were the only way to make it from a to b. With map-reading not being part of the national curriculum, it was no wonder we spent so much time driving the wrong way.

When satellite navigation came in, it was mind-blowing, but obscenely expensive. Remember the bulky car-mounted TomTom? It was the latest thing and it was transformational, but even more transformational was the coming together of Google Maps and smartphones. They could provide traffic data, street-level imagery, and you could use them for public transport too.