Tech Review

This year is a holding pattern for internet 2.0 things. Facebook and Myspace are still popular amongst the hip and nerd alike, but not growing. Digg and some of the interest sharing traffic generators are neat to look at on occasion (but have a ponzi quality to them). Blogs are old news, but indispensable. "Online presence," "my life is internet-dependent" things like Twitter are ridiculous.

Then there's stuff like blogshares which I'm a part of, I guess, but don't know what it's for.

Computers have gotten faster for no reason. Despite the million-fold increase in performance, I can't think of anything I did in 2007 that I couldn't do in 2001 except for wireless networking.

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD aren't a huge leap in entertainment: I don't need to see every pore on Jessica Alba's face.

Streaming radio and podcasting jogged in place.

Best Tech of 2007:

The winner by default, then, is the iPhone. It added nothing new to the mobile phone experience except a sleeker interface and and a lower shelf for some notoriously confusing tech like GPS. Some of the teachers at my school have them as well as some of my students and they love them. They're all women. In fact, I don't know any men with an iPhone. Why? Don't kill me for stating obvious things, but in electronics, women are all about ease-of-use and style. Like in high-end-stereo, cars, and computing, only guys care about mega-this or frequency-that. Apple made internet-connected phones simple and cute, period.

yooZoo Silicone Skin Case for Apple iPhone with Screen Protector - Sunset Pink

The runner-ups are movies-on-demand and DRM-less music downloads, both of which I used this year and found convenient. Specifically, Amazon's high-quality 256kbs mp3s is the best for music (if they carry it) and Netflix and iTunes make downloading and streaming video easy. Walmart is OK, but it's Walmart.

Honorable mention:
Cheap GPS devices that are as good as 2005's high-end products.

Navigon 2100 3.5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator

Bluetooth peripherals for computers.

Logitech V270 Cordless Optical Bluetooth Mouse- Charcoal

Worst technology developments of 2007:

Besides non-detonating North Korean nuclear missiles, the worst tech product of the year is Microsoft Vista. I'm not a Microsoft-hating Linux nerd or Mac zealot; I bought Vista the day it came out and upgraded my Dell laptop the same evening. After making my computing life a string of annoyances for six months, I uninstalled it after I came back from Army training.

Vista is a puzzling phenomenon; a sign of societal degeneration, actually, for here is a product that makes computing harder, slower, and more prone to error while adding only the ability to see through menu bars.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium FULL VERSION [DVD]

The runner-up goes to Microsoft Office 2007. If there's any product that makes me think there's a conspiracy afoot in Redwood, it's Office 2007. First, computer trainers must have paid Microsoft for adding a built-in IQ test in the form of a bar, called a ribbon, that requires one to memorize a series of symbols. Text-based learners have no recourse: You can't go back to the normal intelligence-oriented menu bar used by millions for fifteen years.

Second, by default, Office 2007 saves documents in a format only only Office can read. Is there a good reason for this?

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007

Honorable mentions:

Wavy keyboards.

Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Set

Apple reducing the price of the iPhone by $200.00 one month after Apple's biggest fans camped-out to buy them on launch day, making them feel like suckers.