20 Years in Australia: From Clunky Desktops to Talking Watches

May 27th marks 20 years to the day since I arrived in Australia — jet-lagged, pasty white, and blissfully unaware that I was walking straight into one of the most extraordinary periods of technological change in human history.

It was 2005. “Cloud” meant rain, “streaming” meant tears, and “collaboration” meant printing out a document, scribbling on it with a red pen, and leaving it on someone’s desk with a Post-it note saying “thoughts?”

From Desktops to the Cloud

Back then, software lived on your computer – literally. Installed via CD-ROMs, it ran on chunky Windows desktops and was about as flexible as a filing cabinet. Updates were rare, integration was nearly non-existent, and “customisation” usually involved hiring someone with glasses and a lot of stress.

Now? We’ve moved to web-based interfaces, SaaS platforms, and cloud-first everything. You can manage an entire business from a browser tab on your phone while waiting for your oat flat white – assuming the café has decent Wi-Fi.

The Smart Revolution

When I first arrived, there were no iPhones, iPads, or smartwatches. Phones made calls. Watches told time. Tablets were for sketching or were suspiciously large vitamins.

Now? Our phones unlock with our faces, remind us to hydrate, and let us message clients while dictating emails to our watches. And tablets – well, they’ve gone from novelty to necessity.

And here’s something right out of science fiction: self-driving cars. In 2005, they were the stuff of futuristic thrillers. Today, there are cities where you can literally summon one to take you to your next meeting – still with a steering wheel, yes, but without anyone sitting in the driver’s seat.

Communications Overload (In a Good Way?)

In 2005, we had email, landlines, and the occasional SMS if you were good at tapping out words with a numeric keypad.

Now?....

Slack, Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Messenger, iMessage, Instagram DMs, LinkedIn messages, Discord, Facebook Groups, Yammer (or Viva Engage, if we’re being current), Snapchat, Twitter (X), Clubhouse (remember that?), Skype (RIP), Mattermost, Viber, WeChat, Line, and even the occasional smart toaster that reminds you of your next meeting…

breathe...

The list of messaging tools is endless – and ever-changing – and still, someone will say, “Oh, I didn’t see that message.”

Entertainment Unleashed

The rise of streaming services turned Friday night trips to the video shop into relics. DVDs and CDs are now coasters, and we’re spoiled for choice with Netflix, Disney+, Binge, Stan, Prime Video, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and that one you signed up for to watch a single documentary and forgot to cancel.

The Data Tsunami

The last two decades have also seen an explosion in data – and with it, data lakes, APIs, integration layers, and event-driven everything. We’ve gone from local storage to global sync. From files in drawers to live dashboards on your watch.

It’s not just about having data. It’s about making it useful – and making it flow between systems without a weekly meeting to figure out why the spreadsheet broke.

Enter: Artificial Intelligence

AI used to be a subplot in dystopian films. Now? It writes emails, suggests headlines, reviews contracts, summarises documents, predicts outcomes – and, on occasion, recommends I take a break when I’ve been typing too long.

It’s reshaping how we work, communicate, learn, and even create. Sometimes unsettling. Often astounding. But here to stay.

The Real Win: Accessibility

Here’s where things get truly exciting. One of the most powerful outcomes of tech’s evolution has been the rise of mainstream accessibility.

Twenty years ago, people with disabilities were too often locked out of employment, education, and participation simply because the tools weren’t designed with them in mind. Talent was missed. Voices were excluded.

Now?

• Screen readers, voice control, magnifiers, and live captions are built into devices by default.

• Cloud-based tools support remote work, opening doors for people who might never have had the chance to join the workforce before.

• Smartphones and wearables offer independence and connection on a scale that would’ve seemed like magic two decades ago.

Tech is removing barriers – not as an afterthought, but as a feature. And that is something worth celebrating.

A Personal Note

Twenty years ago, I had slightly more hair, a few fewer wrinkles, a stronger English accent, and – perhaps most tragically – I could read the top two or three lines of the eye chart at the optometrist.

These days? I’d need to cheat to get past the first line. But thankfully, technology is moving faster than my eyesight is deteriorating.

Looking Forward

I couldn’t have imagined, back in 2005, that I’d one day dictate emails to a watch, have meaningful conversations with AI, or be part of a world where accessibility wasn’t a bonus – but a baseline.

We still have a long way to go. But we’re going. And if the next 20 years are anything like the last, we’re in for quite the ride.

Here’s to progress, to possibility – and to not needing a floppy disk ever again.