1. 1. Collaborating with multiple people from almost any given country on the planet simultaneously on the same project [internet]
2. 2. Directions to virtually any destination without having to follow along with your finger on a map (not to mention real-time corrections should you change course) [gps]

However, innovation for these technologies developed long before such applications were conceived:

1. 1. Militaries could coordinate attack/defense strategies in real-time [telegraph]
2. 2. Being able to traverse the atlantic ocean on a boat [cartography]

So if we're talking about progress, we need to look at patterns in technology. Innovations on the other hand give us that big, mind-boggling leap forward. Those dont seem to happen as much since the niche previously reserved for the thinking-out-of-the-box inventors of the world has been replaced with an industry built around R&D.