2006: Web connects people more
Gilster: Let's look at the themes that characterized 2006. They're spread out over a variety of applications and in some cases have to be teased out of ongoing product development. But they'll affect how we use computers for a long time.
Gilster's gift: Handy Web sites
Computers: Looking for an ingenious Web site that can ease holiday shopping pressures? Try Boddit at boddit.com.
Too soon to buy Microsoft Vista
Computers: With Microsoft's new operating system Vista coming in January, many Windows users are thinking about how and when to upgrade.
Ask.com advances searching
Computers:Ask.com is starting to grow on me. The alternative search engine -- as in "alternative to Google" -- has been generating a small buzz for some time.
Sony Reader a disappointment
Gilster:You would think that designing an electronic device for books would be straightforward.
Big deal, short clips, small screen
Gilster:YouTube's story takes you back to the days of the tech bubble, doesn't it?
Firefox: More holes, faster fixes
Computers:Firefox, the browser I love for its speed and the extensions that can significantly increase its range, led a recent report with 47 discovered security vulnerabilities.
Anonymizer, proxies help protect Web searches
Computers:I've always thought that too many Web users were in a hurry to lose their privacy.
Life There distracts from here
Computers:It's a good thing that There.com's software doesn't run under Linux, or I would probably get a lot less work done that I do.
Connecting the dots on AOL
Gilster:Try as I may, I can't seem to work up much sympathy for America Online.
Digital tools help the Web evolve
Computers:We're at one of those stages in computer evolution where ideas are popping like they did in the "tech bubble" days of the late 1990s.
Sites offer free video uploads
Computers:Online video is all the rage, the subject of endless buzz, not just in Web logs and chat rooms, but on network TV and wherever big media congregate.
Putting your PC in pocket
Gilster:Easy access to data no matter where you are is clearly the wave of the future, but I notice the trend is forking in two directions.
Browster offers sneak peeks
Gilster:We're all creatures of habit when it comes to computers. We get used to pulling down a particular menu for a given task, or clicking on a series of icons. Then a snappy add-on like Browster comes along and changes the normal order of business.
Technology often sacrificed for frills
Gilster:We burden our computers with too much overhead.
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