2011

CES has always been the biggest show for consumer electronics. It's unlikely that anyone can actually visit all of the exhibition booths and demos, and see every single new product. I know I can't.

So it's helpful to have some ideas of what you can expect at the show. If networking and storage are among your interests, here are a few of my educated guesses on what will be showcased at the show.… Read more

We asked CNN technology writer Mark Milian to come into the studio today to wrap up the last show of the year, and he surprises us with Peter Ha from The Daily in tow!

Our two favorite guests join us for a discussion about the tech trends of 2011 ("hacking," privacy, mobile OS wars, Tumblr, and Reddit), and we'll also take a look at Mark's new book, Letters to Steve: Inside the E-Mail Inbox of Apple's Steve Jobs.

It's a collection of e-mails sent from the legend himself that shows his dedication to customer service and Apple fans. Some of them aren't so nice, though, as Mark tells us a few stories about his lesser-known messages.

I know you're probably super upset that this is the last episode of the year, but we'll be publishing exclusive Yuletide and Throwback episodes throughout the break, all the way up until we start our block of CES shows, live from the CNET stage at the Las Vegas Convention Center!

Thanks to everyone who helped us out this year--too many names to list, but we wouldn't be here without all our awesome guests, fans, moderators, producers, callers, and co-workers!… Read more

Oh, dear. As much as I love presenting my picks for the 10 best games of the year, there's also a certain morbid joy in divulging the year's worst games and trends.

Just like the film industry, a lot of titles get released in a single calendar year. There's a few winners, a whole lot of stuff that falls somewhere in the middle, and a select few that stand out as the worst of the worst.

So sit back, relax, and be proud you didn't buy any of these truly awful games. And if you did, well, I'm sorry. … Read more

It's that time of the year again: a time to look back at 2011 for its gaming prowess, to pay tribute to those elite pieces of electronic interactive entertainment that reside in a league all by themselves.

Just like last year, 2011 treated us to a few new franchises, but ultimately the sequels once again hogged the spotlight. While 2010 stumbled toward the end of the year, 2011 went out with an absolute bang, seeing nearly a dozen blockbuster titles hit store shelves within just a few weeks.

To see my list, check out the slideshow, or click through.… Read more

A mobile phone that never materialized and the late co-founder of Apple found their way onto the list of the 10 most popular searches at Google this past year.

Revealing the hottest and fastest-growing search terms for 2011, Google found a number of tech-related items in the Top 10.

The company's own Google+ social network took second place, just behind American pop singer Rebecca Black. Battlefield 3, a new first-person combat game from the folks at Electronic Arts, was the fifth most popular search term.

Perhaps most interesting was the item in sixth place--namely the iPhone 5, a device … Read more

Yesterday Microsoft released updates for Office 2008 and Office 2011 for OS X, which include patches for a couple of vulnerabilities in PowerPoint and Word.

In the security bulletin accompanying the Office 2011 update, Microsoft warned that the vulnerabilities include exploits in which an attacker can use specially crafted Word files to gain access to the system. In addition, the updates address the reliability and stability of Excel and Outlook, fixing problems in which the programs could exit unexpectedly or give improper password expiration notifications.

For the Office 2008 update, the vulnerability is similar in that opening a specially crafted … Read more

With all of the brouhaha over tablets, smartphones, and thin PCs, it's easy to overlook the fact that quite a few noteworthy things happened in the venerable TV category this year.

It's my job to keep track of such things, so, yeah, I'm biased, but when considering a year-end article to write, it really wasn't difficult to come up with 10 TVs that actually deserve the title "important." The models below, arranged in no particular order, might qualify because of picture quality, bang for the buck, 3D technology, slick design, or even sheer size, but each one interests me in its own way and potentially sets a trend for 2012 and beyond.

Disagree with any of my picks or want to nominate a more-important-to-you model? Let me know in comments.

… Read more

The wireless router is arguably the most important piece of the networking setup at your home or your office.

It's the central gateway that connects to the Internet, then shares that connection with all of the devices connected to it, via a network cable or Wi-Fi signal. Other services depend on the router, as well, such as file sharing, voice over IP, remote access, and VPN.

A router generally has to be on and functioning 24-7. There are thousands, if not millions, of data packages going through it every day, and you expect it to work without any hiccups. Ironically, it's also the device that most people pay the least attention to. In fact, the only time it's noticed at all is when it's not working right.

That said, it's very important to pick a router that's not just fast and feature-rich, but also reliable. Following is the list of the top five wireless routers I've reviewed this year that fit that description.… Read more

It was a bittersweet year for Apple. In 2011, the company broke sales records and pulled in its biggest profits ever, but lost CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away in October.

Jobs began the year by taking what would be his last medical leave of absence from the company, once again leaving COO Tim Cook in charge. Jobs maintained his position as CEO for most of the year, emerging in public only to help launch the iPad 2 in March, and iCloud and iOS 5 at Apple's WWDC event in June. His last public appearance was to … Read more