Good morning.
Amazon.com has released its "Best of 2010" lists. Some notable tech-related milestones include:
Bestselling Products of 2010
Electronics: Kindle Wireless Reading Device (Wi-Fi)
Kindle Books: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson
Video On Demand: "Sherlock Holmes"
MP3 Album: "Speak Now" by Taylor Swift
MP3 Song: "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas
Video Games: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Wireless & Accessories: Samsung Captivate Android Phone (AT&T)
Computers: Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop
Software: Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student
Most-Wished-For Products of 2010
Electronics: Kindle Wireless Reading Device (Wi-Fi)
Kindle Books: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson
Video On Demand: "Dexter: The Fourth Season"
Video Games: Call of Duty: Black Ops
Computers: Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-Inch Laptop
Software: Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student
Wireless: LG KP500 Cookie Unlocked Phone
Most Popular Gift Products of 2010
Electronics: Kindle Wireless Reading Device (Wi-Fi)
Kindle Books: "Decision Points" by George W. Bush
Video Games: Just Dance 2
Computers: Toshiba Satellite TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop
Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 (Win/Mac)
Wireless: Nokia N900 Unlocked Phone/Mobile Computer
Maybe what I wrote was just common sense, but as the iPad 2 rumors heat up, I can't help but notice that the list of alleged coming changes is basically identical to those I mentioned in my article How Apple Can Fix the iPad in 2011. Probably just a coincidence. I'm never right, after all.
I will say this. If they fix the darned screen, I'll buy an iPad for everyone in my family. I say this knowing that they'll never acknowledge that anything is wrong with the screen.
And the winner of the most seriously misguided tech article of the day goes the New York Times, which published the curiously vaguely titled 10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology today. I could make a career out of debunking and correcting the "advice" in this article, but I'm busy, so I'll just point out a few of the obvious lowlights.
GET A SMARTPHONE.
How: This does not have to be complicated.
It does, however, have to be expensive. I'm curious why that was never mentioned.
STOP USING INTERNET EXPLORER.
Why: Because, while the latest version has some real improvements, Internet Explorer is large, bloated with features and an example of old-style Microsoft excess.
Please explain how it's "bloated," since IE uses significantly less memory and system resources than theChrome browser you do recommend. You should pick a browser based on features. More to the point: Your PC's resources are virtually unlimited from the standpoint of browser usage. This is ridiculous advice. You have x number of gigabtyes in your PC. Are you "saving" them for an emergency or something? You do know that it will dynamically configure itself for whatever is running right? It's not 1993 anymore. Geesh.
GET MUSIC OFF YOUR COMPUTER.
How: Using iTunes for your digital music? ... Have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad? ...
Have any non-Apple products in the house? This article won't help you at all. Apparently, only Apple figured out how to get your music off the PC.
This one is my personal favorite:
BACK UP YOUR DATA.
How: Go to sosbackup.com. Pay $80 a year. Install the software. Sleep easy.
Before "sleeping easy," you'll need to learn Portuguese. Because if you visit the one online backup service that I've never even heard of, you'll discover that the site comes up in that language by default. Go ahead, look. Yep. Unbelievable.
GET FREE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE.
How: Windows users should download Avast Free Antivirus.
Or ... get a better solution like Microsoft Security Essentials 2 or Panda Cloud Antivirus, both of which are also free. And this really highlights the problem with this article: Virtually every one of these tips only mentions one possible solution when there are in fact several other choices, most of which are better than the one he mentions. It's really weird.
Another favorite:
BUY A LOT OF CHARGING CABLES.
Why: Because you should never have a gadget’s battery die on you, and they are cheap ... Buy them by the gross.
I read this one to my wife over breakfast because she asked why I was laughing so hard. She said, "just what we need, more cables." And then she thought a second and said, "paper is cheap too. Should we stock up on that?" God, I love that woman.
Absolutely classic.
Disney Tackles Major Theme Park Problem: Lines. Nice to see those guys are on the ball. After all, Disneyland has only been open to the public for 55 years.
Samsung jumps the shark. While it makes sense to compete with Apple in the nascent new market for tablet devices, it makes absolutely no sense at all for a company to enter the well-established MP3 player market.