 Over the next two weeks, Tech Tips is going to take a trip down memory lane. We are going to wax nostalgic over the year 2009 and take a look at some of the top and bottom Tech for the year. Some will be product specific while others will be things that really caught fire or kind of fizzed out like a wet sparkler during the year. Of course we filter them through our special Geek “thick as a Coke bottle” glasses.
In this week's installment,we present the Top 10 Tech Winners for 2009, so without further ado we give you the WINNERS' CIRCLE!
 10) HDTV is king… officially!... finally!
Adios analog TV, we hardly knew thee. Or did we? 60+ years of the same old NTSC (in the States anyway) standard and it was time to pull the plug. In June of 2009 analog TV was pulled off life-support and HDTV officially now rules the roost! The King is dead, long live the King!
9) Video Streaming is here to stay
 Remember when just seeing video on a Desktop PC was a novelty? Or when video that was streamed over the internet kind of looked really bad? Or when watching your favorite episode of “CSI:Miami” meant checking the TV Guide? How about fuzzy YouTube videos of WKRP cut into three segments? Now with sites such as Hulu, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX (and a TON of others) all offer free, ad paid content just a click away – or Netflix offering commercial-free video streaming as part of their Unlimited Plans (even without a PC) video streaming quickly showed us in 2009 that it is a technology that is here to stay.
 8) All Android! All The Time!
It seems like only yesterday that the first Android phone was released (ok, it was late 2008 – so that was practically yesterday) and now in 2009, especially towards the latter-half it seems like it’s All Android! All The Time! Android, the Google Operating System developed for smartphones has had a sharp rise in users and phones in 2009 and all predictions are that it will soon be one of the dominant operating systems offered (pushing rivals Apple and BlackBerry out of the way).
7) Apple iPhone 3GS
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, Apple keeps rolling with it's iPhone line. They may not be the best phone or be paired with the best carrier – but it has a lot of marketing clout and users behind it. A smartphone for the masses that not only looks good, but is fun and cool at the same time.
6) Bing
Part of the Microsoft double entry into the top spot for this year, Microsoft’s Bing is the Anti-Google – not only does it give you hits that work but it gives you hits that are relevant. Oh, and it’s fun to use!
 5) Social Networking Hits High Volume
OK, you know that Social Networking just had to be in the top ten for 2009, especially when your grandmother tweets you to check out how she’s doing on FarmVille. Really, now social networking sites are hitting our phones as well as our laptops – when will the madness stop?!
4) Oh My Goodness! Cheap Netbooks are EVERYWHERE!
What started out as a cheap looking laptop “wannabe” using a processor that was designed for the 3rd world (and MIDs) has quickly become a phenomenon. In 2009 we’ve seen Netbooks absolutely explode (figuratively) and their popularity has seen no signs of waning. Pretty good for a product whose segment didn’t even exist a few short years ago.
3) Blu-ray players having a break-out year
 Remember the olden days of the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray “battle”? Did you blink? It was over before it really began – no protracted Beta vs. VHS battle here – Blu-Ray won and people stayed away from it in droves. Expensive players + expensive movies + expensive TVs + firmware updates every other day just to watch movies (maybe I exaggerate… a little) = peoples staying with DVDs. That was 2006, now fast-forward to 2009. Cheap Blu-Ray Players (new players advertised as little as $78 – yikes!) + cheap(er) movies + much cheaper and better HDTVs (really, why bother with 720p anymore when 1080p are so inexpensive compared to when they first came out) + BD-Live + Netflix streaming = a HUGE surge in popularity. OK, BD-Live units cost more, and those with Netflix streaming even more – but no where near the price tags seen when they came out a scant 3 years ago.
2) eBook readers coming of age
 eBook readers are not really that new of a technology, they have been the social wallflowers of tech for a long, long time - and some years they miss the party all together. They just seemed to never get off the ground (kind of like Tablet PCs) but what the lowly Kindle started in 2007 has become an eBook tsuami in 2009. Not only are they easy to use, but with book giants Amazon and Barnes & Noble (eventually) strongly backing them, it seems that the eBook reader is an idea that has finally come of age in 2009.
1) Windows 7
 Who would have thought that something good could come out of Microsoft not once but TWICE in the same year. Windows 7 seemed to do everything that Vista didn’t. It works, it’s stable, it has drivers for the stuff that’s out there and the UAC (User Account Control) is scaled back. Way to go Microsoft - this earns you our coveted number ONE SPOT in this year's list of Tech Winners.
Honorable mentions
- Green Tech - Starting as a swell now, but it may take a couple of years to really catch on
- Palm Pre – ok, more for those weird ads – and it can truly multitask
- The Tech of Minority Report – face recognition digital signage from NEC; gestural computing from MIT ; what’s next? Precogs sitting in a Jacuzzi and people being iced for pre-crime?
Next Week: Top 10 Tech Losers for 2009.
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