Finland is probably most famous for regularly being named the happiest country in the world. This is not surprising given that people who live in the country have access to excellent healthcare, good incomes, and a top-performing education system.
Aside from these obvious attributes, Finland has also given some very important tech to the world. It’s interesting to look at some of the best examples.
Angry birds
When it comes to mobile gaming, Angry Birds is one of the most famous titles. It may not be as hugely popular as it once was but it has led to a whole array of related merchandise and even a movie.
The game began life in Finland, at Rovio Entertainment. It has gone on to be a huge influence on mobile gaming entertainment. It’s not just in this area of gaming that Finland has been influential. Play at an online kasino (casino in the Finnish language) and you will get the benefit of top-end graphics and creative gaming.
Linux
Linux is still a favored operating system with many developers. It was originally created by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds, who went on to be a well-known inventor. Torvalds originally created Linux to use on his own computer. Then he decided to make it available for everyone. It still is freely available today.
IRC chat protocol
Jarkko Oikarinen first created IRC while he was working at the University of Oulu. The system was the first one that used a central server that people were able to connect to for text chats.
This was an important development in the advance of the Internet. It paved the way for the creation of online chatrooms and bulletin boards. Of course, things have come a long way since then, with the development of other features like text to speech. However, Oikarinen’s creation was a vital step in getting to where we are today.
Erwise
You may not realize it, but the first web browser was created in Finland. Erwise was a very early version of the web browsers that we use today.
It was created by a group of students who did the work as part of their Master’s degree course. Unfortunately, the students did not continue with their work after they had completed the course as they could not afford to. This was despite the fact that Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the Internet, had tried to persuade them to.
This meant that Erwise was never developed to its full potential. It was an important forerunner to today’s browsers though.
Heart rate monitors
The first wearable wire-free heart monitor was created by the Finnish company Polar Electro, in 1977. Prior to this device being invented, there was no truly accurate way of recording heart rate during training.
Seppo Säynäjäkangas, who founded Polar Electro, created the Sport Tester PE 2000 after time spent on a cross country skiing track. Today, Polar Electro devices have advanced a lot and are widely used.
They are not just used as a device to aid training either. Polar Electro products are often put to use during scientific studies. They are also used by universities and throughout the scientific community, for research purposes.
Nokia phones
There is no doubt that mobile technology has come a long way since the first mobile phones were created. The smartphones that are used today are far removed from those early devices.
However, if it was not for pioneers like Nokia, we would never have got to this point. There was a time when almost everyone had a Nokia phone. They were reliable and long-lasting devices which were hugely popular.
These Nokia phones may seem ancient by the standards of today’s technology, but they were revolutionary. They turned mobile phones from what many considered to be simply a ‘trend’ into what is now considered to be an essential item.
In summary
Finland may be the happiest country on the planet, but it’s far more than that. It’s the home of many creations that have helped to shape life the world over. Some of these creations have been forgotten as time has passed, but that does not make them any less important.
The mobile games that are played today have been influenced by Finnish creativity. The same applies to the smartphones that are in use the world over. Even the web browsers that we rely on so heavily owe something to the creativity of Finnish students.
Given the influence that Finland has had on the world so far, it will be interesting to see what it has yet to give.
