SFist Chuck: New Year's Revolutions
I'm opening my Christmas gift from SFist now: the opportunity to write without the editorial "we" and with opinions I don't have to disguise with any pretense of objectivity (or being entirely San Francisco- or technology-related). Here are my picks for the best of 2005 and what I'm looking forward to in 2006:
Best Gadget of 2005
The iPod Nano. As pernicious as my gadget fetish is, I still get more than a little unnerved when people talk about consumer electronics using words like "sexy" and even worse, "lickable." It's creepy, it's wrong, and it's disturbingly appropriate when talking about the Nano. I can't rationalize actually buying one for myself, but I might have to. Just to be able to fondle one without the unwelcome stares of other people in the Apple store or the people who give me theirs "just to look at it for a second."
Runner Up: The Mac mini, as cool (and quiet) as the G4 cube, but actually practical.
Gadget Resolution for 2006
Rationalize getting a Motorola Q smart phone. Almost as small as the now-ubiquitous RAZR, but unlike the RAZR, actually practical, useful, and almost worth the exhorbitant cost.
Runner Up: Think Secret's rumored Mac mini media center, assuming such a device exists.
More of the same, then thinking outside the SFist Tech Labs box, after the jump
Image of the Nintendo Revolution controller from Nintendo's Web Site
Best Web Gargantuan of 2005
Google. Huge growth, plenty of attention and growing criticism, but so far the company's managed to stay true to its core philosophy. It doesn't hurt that its stuff goes from innovative beta phase to indispensible in less than a month.
Most Anticipated Web Gargantuan of 2006
Yahoo. I was criticial of the company a while ago, but I genuinely think it's got the right idea with the recent acquisitions of Flickr and delicious and the 360 blog/homepage service, emphasizing the social side of web tech. The Yahoo Answers site has a well-done interface and is an interesting concept. I suspect it's doomed to be dragged down by the Lowest Common Denominator aspect of any social-driven website on the internets, but if nothing else it's a neat experiment and a sign that the company isn't stagnating. If they can only make the right decision in a key hiring move this month, they'll be in good shape for 2006.
Best Videogame of 2005
Shadow of the Colossus by Sony. It's the most frustrating game I've ever played, but it's also the one that I point to without a second thought when anyone asks if videogames are capable of being works of art.
Runner Up: Civilization IV by Firaxis Games. The only reason I haven't played it more is because I need to eat and go to the bathroom and at least make a token attempt at leaving the apartment.
Most Anticipated Videogame of 2006
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion by Bethesda Softworks. No telling if the game itself is going to be any good, but the last entry kept me playing for at least 80 hours. At less than a dollar an hour of mind-numbing diversion, that's entertainment value.
Best Movie of 2005
Serenity. I was never a "browncoat," and could take or leave the series, but Serenity wasn't just a great sci-fi movie, it was a great story. Even without the budget, it met the spectacle level of the science fiction blockbusters, and I have to say I cared a lot more about what was happening than I did about the other big movie of the year, the one I've been waiting since I was six years old to see.
Runners Up: King Kong, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Most Anticipated Movie of 2006
X-Men 3 because it's got my imaginary girlfriend.
Best TV series of 2005
"Arrested Development." I was late to jump on the bandwagon, but the "For British Eyes Only" storyline got me hooked, and I still think it's the best thing the series has done.
Runners Up: "Lost," another party I came late to.
Most Anticipated TV series of 2006
"The Venture Brothers." What could've been a cheap-shot parody (like "Jonny Quest," but edgy) turned out to be just a brilliant series, and Patrick Warburton's involvement can't be just a coincidence. We've all been stuck watching reruns for too long.
Best Geek Moment of 2005
Getting the chance to say "Aren't you a little fat for a stormtrooper?" at the WonderCon at Moscone Center.
Runner Up: SFist Rain's joke about something that Tom Cruise has never seen before.
Most Anticipated Geek Moment of 2006
I can only await it in quivering anticipation.