Now and then – a noughties review
In just a few short weeks, the ‘noughties’ will draw to a close. The decade began with wild millennium celebrations and went on to bring us such wonders as the massively popular YouTube, although it also brought us the rather less lauded reign of Berti Vogts as Scotland manager.
Just for fun and with half an eye on the world of property, here’s a look back over some of the changes – for better or for worse – that the noughties brought us.
Then: MiniDisc. Like a CD, but it never skips! It sounded great, at least until….(or if you are not sure about what a minidisc is, we have found an ad on you tube which might help)
Now: iPod. Like a CD, but it never skips! And it can store nearly as many CDs as your local HMV. And it’s about the size of your thumb. Sometimes you just have to sit back and marvel at technology.
Then: The average price of a home sold by ESPC was £89,081.
Now: Despite the recent downturn, the average selling price jumped to £193,378 so far this year. Great news for homeowners, not so great for first-time buyers or those looking to move up the ladder.
Then: Craig Brown
Now: We’ll get back to you on this one. Twelve years without a major finals rather puts old Broon’s record in perspective though. So we have found one of his more memorable games (though Scotland still lost out 2-1 over the 2 matches)
Then: Multiple surveys
Now: Home Reports. Some say they offer buyers more information and save first-time buyers the cost of a survey. Others say the ‘sold subject to survey’ approach had negated multiple surveys anyway and point to problems with lenders accepting valuations leading to additional costs for sellers. The jury is still out on home reports, but there’s no question they’ve changed the way property is bought and sold in Scotland.
If you want more detail on Home Reports, please click here, or watch video put together by the Scottish Government.
Then: VHS recorders
Now: SkyPlus and V+. Pausing and rewinding live TV sounds like such a simple thing, but to have it is to love it. Wonderful stuff.
Then: Millennium Dome
Now: The O2 Arena. From oft criticised white elephant to a stunning modern arena for music concerts and sporting events alike. How times change.
Of course while some things change, others remain the same. The Segway Personal Transporter has not yet revolutionised the world as some had predicted. People still seem curiously attached to more conventional methods of getting from A to B such as “the car”, public transport and “walking”.
What the next decade has in store is anybody’s guess. Some inventions will be launched amid great fanfare and heralded as the future before disappearing without a trace, while others will come from nowhere to become part of our everyday lives. Predicting the future is a tricky business, but never afraid of a challenge, we’ll finish with our predictions of what will happen in the next ten years. We’ll grant you, some may be more likely than others……
- Standard for sale boards will be replaced by holograms. No more will you wake to find some ne’er-do-well has attempted to use your for sale board as a crude javelin!
- Where the Segway failed, Yves Rossy’s jet-powered wings will succeed (we have a video of this too below). If it isn’t how we’re all travelling to work come 2020, it really should be!
- The Christmas number 1 will be an X-Factor winner. Every year for the next decade and beyond.
- We will receive countless emails advising us that each and every one of the predictions did not come to pass. At least this one has a chance……
16 December 2009