KEY POINTS:
Hopefully some of you will be reading this on bright, high-resolution new computer screens as you test-drive the laptop or desktop computer left under the tree for you this morning.
Merry Christmas, enjoy your gadgets and remember three things - file the receipt away in a safe place, don't destroy the packaging just yet (it may need to go back) and read the instruction manual! Also, install the software drivers for new gadgets before plugging them into your computer.
I wonder what the best selling gadget is this year. I just heard Noel Leeming boss Andrew Dutkiewicz on the radio saying personal technology was a huge seller this year - the iPod Nano seems to have sold well and the mobile phone category went off.
Anecdotally, the devices consumers seem to show most interest in when I start talking tech with them around the barbeque/dinner table/pub bench are DVD/hard drive recorders and flat-screen TVs. They're both big ticket items but it is staggering how quickly the prices for them have dropped.
The commoditisation of technology is really changing how we all live. My mum is still getting her head around the idea of plugging an mp3 player loaded with her favourite music into the new Philips Micro System stereo I bought her for Christmas. She's been shuffling the same scratched CDs around for years, now she has her entire music collection on one sliver of silicon.
Some of the best writing I've read this year has examined the impact on society of these new technologies. I did a trawl of the web and found that the University of Michigan conveniently gathers together some of the best articles - all free to read on the web. Here are its picks for 2006, the 2007 selection will no doubt be posted soon. They may make thought-provoking holiday reading for you...
Wired magazine was on fire this year, producing some of the best tech journalism. Memorable for me was Fred Vogelstein's excellent analytical piece looking at how internet giant Yahoo dropped the ball in the search engine market handing control of this lucrative business to Google.
Fred also had a huge story fall into his lap this year when Microsoft's PR company accidentally emailed him a dossier it had gathered on him. The detail of the 5000 word plus document is scary, but makes for some Thom Yorke and David Byrne on the real value of music is also very interesting.
This Rought Drafted article tracks in great detail the origins of the HD-DVD Bluray high-definition format war - worth a read if you're interested in the technology.
Slate's Chad Lorenz looks at the decline in email use among youths in The Death of Email.
Danny Bradbury writes in the Guardian about dodgy tricks to boost web traffic.
Did any decent technology features catch your attention this year?
