The best technology is the one that solves a problem. The focus is on “one”. Often when I write code or think of an idea that can save the world. What happens? The solution, be it technology or otherwise, will not do anything too well. Word Press is a good example of solving one problem – Making Blogging easy and it does it well.
On the other hand a simple networking protocol like TCP/IP and an even simpler concept like hyperlinking change the way we look for work, communicate and digest and create information. Well if you look at the fundamental paper, they were trying to solve a specific problem. Like TCP was trying to build end to end reliability into an unreliable IP protocol. Narrow problem, focused and elegant solution, amazing concequences.
I believe there are still many problems to be solved and great technology to be created, that will change the way we live. No Web 2.0 gimic, but it is more than that. We need to go back in literature and read the Memex paper by Vannevar Bush and you understand what I am trying to get at.