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PC World 's Best 100 Products of 2007

javipas writes "The popular PC World magazine has published its annual list of the 100 best products of the year, with a few surprises on it. Google Apps Premiere Edition ranks first, with 4 other service products on the list. Apple has six products on it, with Tiger — a two-year old OS — on the ninth position. Microsoft and Dell have four each, and Canon and Nikon, three. Ubuntu 7.04 has made it, and has entered on the 16th position. That makes you think about the kind of ranking process, doesn't it?"

106 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Rubbish by Edie+O'Teditor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Save it for December already!

    --
    If X is the new Y, and Y is "X is the new Y", solve for X.
    1. Re:Rubbish by eln · · Score: 4, Funny

      Come on man, we have to get the jump on these things. VH1 is scheduled to show "I Love 2007" on Friday, with "I Love 2008" being shown the following week. There will be a retrospective on the 2000-2010 decade in June, with the extravaganza "I love the 2000s" covering the greatest hits of the entire 21st century to air on July 4th, 2007.

    2. Re:Rubbish by Animaether · · Score: 2, Insightful

      where's my mod points already? Troll? More like INSIGHTFUL. Even though it shouldn't take any insight to realize that you can't claim "car of the year 2007" in february either - but I guess it's more profitable not to be insightful. Perhaps the Troll mod that parent poster got is evidence thereof.

    3. Re:Rubbish by geekoid · · Score: 1

      I don't think it's a list of 2007 released stuff.
      I think it's their 2007 list of stuff. If you see what I mean.

      And 2007 cars came out last year, 6 months into 2006.
      As they always have.

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    4. Re:Rubbish by Convector · · Score: 1

      2007 cars have always come out 6 months into 2006? They didn't only do that once? Likewise, I'm sure that more than 2,007 cars came out last year. It's clear what you meant, of course. I'm just being amused by the phrasing.

    5. Re:Rubbish by bkr1_2k · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not to mention some of the products aren't even from 2006, much less 2007. OS X Tiger was released in April 2005. How is that relavent to 2007? Or is it preemptively supposed to say Panther and they just screwed up?

      Even as an Apple user, I call bullshit on this "100 best list"

      --
      "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."
    6. Re:Rubbish by KarmaMB84 · · Score: 2, Funny

      That was supposed to be Windows Vista but they got confused about which product they were using.

    7. Re:Rubbish by syousef · · Score: 1

      with the extravaganza "I love the 2000s" covering the greatest hits of the entire 21st century to air on July 4th, 2007

      I prefer the title "I love the naughties".

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  2. Printer friendly link by dalmiroy2k · · Score: 4, Informative
    1. Re:Printer friendly link by oik · · Score: 1

      s/less/fewer/ :)

    2. Re:Printer friendly link by Mystery00 · · Score: 1

      Ads? What ads?

      --
      "we've got trenchcoats and bad attitudes" - John Constantine, HellBlazer
    3. Re:Printer friendly link by eMbry00s · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What's the point of doing that when the article itself is a humongous ad?

      (don't answer, I know)

    4. Re:Printer friendly link by rtb61 · · Score: 1
      Talking about adds and PC world this article comes to mind http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/03/181023 9. So lets just call a spade a spade, this is the PC world top advertising clients of 2007. Those clients who not only spent more money advertising in 2007 but promise to do the same in 2008.

      Bearing in mind some non-marketing companies products are thrown in to create an air of authenticity, and some products are just so bad, not even the CEO of PC world can shove them up to the top of the list with out wincing or at least demanding more money than the advertising client is willing to spend.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  3. Um? Time Warp? by ericdano · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is something messed up over there at PC World? Vista clocks set wrong?

    How can you do a Best of 2007 when we aren't even half way through 2007????? Seriously. 2009 cars coming out next week?

    I like compression and all, but moving political primaries up, now this.

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    1. Re:Um? Time Warp? by mabu · · Score: 1, Interesting

      The whole story is basically one long advertisement.

      These days there is no distinction between editorial and advertising, thanks to the Fairness Doctrine being eliminated. While the FD never affected specialty print publications like PC World, the fact that for the most part, all mainstream media shamelessly panders to their advertisers has made the notion of objective reviewing almost nonexistent.

    2. Re:Um? Time Warp? by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 4, Funny

      How can you do a Best of 2007 when we aren't even half way through 2007?????

      It's like how I get my May issue in April, or my May 6 issue on April 29, or do my 45-minute hour with my consultant, or buy my 1.5'' x 3.5'' two-by-four, or buy my 1080p PS3 that downscales to 720p, or have a mortgage rate of 5.9% that really means a 6.1% annual interest rate, or learn about an inflation rate of 2.5% that jumps to 3.5% if I have to do anything crazy like buy food or energy.

      (Btw, anyone know how to get Canon's powershot to upload to YouTube without making the sound out-of-sync?)

    3. Re:Um? Time Warp? by untaken_name · · Score: 1

      On a related note, I saw the first Christmas displays going up the other day. Only what, 216 shopping days left?

    4. Re:Um? Time Warp? by weg · · Score: 2, Funny

      How can you do a Best of 2007 when we aren't even half way through 2007?????

      Well, as a result, Mac OS X Tiger (released April 2005) barely made it in.. ;-)

      --
      Georg
    5. Re:Um? Time Warp? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Don't forget that most of the articles in the May edition of Magazine were written back in March.

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    6. Re:Um? Time Warp? by crossmr · · Score: 1

      The same way I just bought the August edition of my favourite comic?

    7. Re:Um? Time Warp? by ronadams · · Score: 2, Funny

      I had to make sure and reply to this and voice my disagreement with the Fairness Doctrine, and it's insane precepts of controlling free speech in the interests of assuring minority (or even majority) opinions are given a free platform, at the cost of our most precious first amendment rights. I just had to make sure and do that, you see. ...I'd hate the parent to get modded down for violating the Fairness Doctrine.

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    8. Re:Um? Time Warp? by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      ...or how stores sell summer clothes in Dec and winter jackets in Sep, "free" means free with $20 shipping and handling, colleges charge almost as much in fees as they do in tuition and scholarships only cover tuition, a low-cal food has tiny serving sizes and low-fat means lots of sugar...

      --
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  4. Top 100 advertisers? by lintocs · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Reads like a who's-who of PC World Advertisers...

    Did they rate them by number of ads, or total dollars spent?

    1. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by leandrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Indeed, they totally ignored the excellent 4/3 "standard" in use by Olympus, Panasonic and Leica, to choose totally proprietary, unexceptional Nikon and Canon cameras. I bet Nikon and Canon have far bigger digicam ad budgets.

      --
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    2. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by jmitchel!jmitchel.co · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Eh - 4/3rds just isn't an especially lovable standard. It pushes the sensor size a bit smaller than a lot of DSLR people would really like to see. I'd have to use some pretty ridiculously wide lenses to get a decently wide Field Of View. The 1.5x crop sensors that the rest of the DSLR makers (Nikon / Canon / Pentax) use are already a bit small.

      I could almost forgive the small sensors if the manufacturers were really doing nice, innovative things with them, but the 4/3rds cameras are (unless I've missed something) staying relatively clunky/large, and features like live preview aren't being done well yet.

    3. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by thetable123 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Both you and Nikon are missing the point of the Nikon lens mount. The beauty of it is (or at least should be that you can take any lens of any Nikon and put it on any other Nikon. I have a 40 year old lens I can still shoot with it on my brand new Nikon. When you buy into a camera, you are buying into a lens system too. (That is unless the lenses are nothing to write home about.) The lens puts the picture on the film (or sensor), the body just holds everything else in place. Nikon lately has started missing the boat on the low to mid level cameras with compatibility. If I can't use my old Nikon lenses with a new Nikon camera, then I have no real reason to stick with Nikon.

      As to TFA, I can't be the only one is is sick of "Top XX" articles from an (at best) mediocre advertising supplement.

    4. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by blackmonday · · Score: 1

      From your wikipedia link:

      "Four Thirds is not an open standard, however, as it does not meet the "allowing anyone to use" criteria commonly accepted as the definition of an open standard."

    5. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by epine · · Score: 1

      As to TFA, I can't be the only one is is sick of "Top XX" articles from an (at best) mediocre advertising supplement.


      If XX represents a quantity greater than 10, the article is worthless, unless the complement is "of all time" and even there it's dicey for most categories Y.

      The human brain can track roughly 200 people among our immediate social network and community. For art forms with a strong infusion of human personality (the auteur factor) we might manage a "top 100 movies of all time" list. For consumer gadgets, a top ten list (of all time) is already pushing things, unless the list documents nostalgia rather than greatness.

      For any other values of XX and Y, the list is a modern day equivalent of a trenchcoat lined with watches.
    6. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by maxume · · Score: 1

      What about my top 1 favorite gadget of the moment?

      --
      Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
    7. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by Achromatic1978 · · Score: 1
      The standard is in use by Olympus because, shock horror, Olympus was one of the writers of the standard. In fact, "Four Thirds" is a trademark of Olympus. You'll forgive me if I'm not peeing my pants in pride.

      And, uh, Canon's EF lens range has been around for decades. Are you seriously advocating that Canon and Nikon users should disenfranchise users of their lenses (which run up to $10,000 apiece - I myself have five Canon lenses, the cheapest $400, the most expensive $2700), for the sake of Olympus' and Kodak's new "standard"?

      Color me confused.

    8. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by leandrod · · Score: 1

      Who's arguing that? I am arguing that this is the only standard in the area, yet these cameras (not only Olympus) were ignored. Canon and Nikon win only because of proprietary lock-in, and the magazine should help prospective buyers discern that.

      --
      Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
      DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
      GNU Project, Debian GNU/Lin
    9. Re:Top 100 advertisers? by leandrod · · Score: 1

      4/3rds just isn't an especially lovable standard. It pushes the sensor size a bit smaller than a lot of DSLR people would really like to see.

      So you are sacrificing the future for the past -- for noise problems at fringe conditions that are mostly a past issue now.

      the 4/3rds cameras are (unless I've missed something) staying relatively clunky/large

      Not. The E-410 is a thing of beauty, and so is the E-510. The E-330 with its live preview is also nice. The Leica and Panaonic are bigger, but quite robut.

      --
      Leandro Guimarães Faria Corcete DUTRA
      DA, DBA, SysAdmin, Data Modeller
      GNU Project, Debian GNU/Lin
  5. Nikon D40X in 23rd by denisbergeron · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wow ! I realy don't know why this on was there, but, every photographer out there think that a bad camera because the lack of AF-motor and the impossibility to use half the lenses of Nikon !

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    1. Re:Nikon D40X in 23rd by T-Bone-T · · Score: 1

      How can two Nikons rank higher than the one Canon they put on the list? They obviously forgot about the 1D MkIII. Seriously, a camera that shoots 10 10-megapixel pictures in one second deserves to be on the list.

    2. Re:Nikon D40X in 23rd by jmtpi · · Score: 1

      How can two Nikons rank higher than the one Canon they put on the list? They obviously forgot about the 1D MkIII. Seriously, a camera that shoots 10 10-megapixel pictures in one second deserves to be on the list.

      I don't think the 1D MkIII (a pro-level camera) is the market that PC World is interested in. I am surprised to see that the Canon 30D made the list but the 5D did not. (Since the 5D has brought a full-frame sensor to the "consumer" market.) They also put the Nikon D40x above the Nikon D80. This is arguably reasonable but indicates strongly that price plays a big role in their listing. So clearly their list is aimed at the electronics consumer who wants a spiffy new dSLR, not the hobbyist photographer. Hobbyist photographers don't read PC World for camera advice.
    3. Re:Nikon D40X in 23rd by JurassicPizza · · Score: 1

      The D40X isn't marketed to photographers. It and the D40 are marketed to "normal" people who want the benefits of a DSLR.

      If you're a photographer, get a D80, D200, or D2 series.

      --
      --- JurassicPizza
    4. Re:Nikon D40X in 23rd by denisbergeron · · Score: 1

      With the D40 you have the problem of DSLR (Dust, changing lens) without the benefits (number of lens, etc.) if normal people want a DSLR they have to look somewhere else!

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      Ceci n'est pas une Signature !
    5. Re:Nikon D40X in 23rd by jmtpi · · Score: 1

      I don't understand the D40/D40x bashing due to the lack of an autofocus motor. The market for the camera is not people who have a closet of Nikon lenses, nor is it people who will scour eBay for old lenses. The market is people who want to upgrade from point-and-shoot cameras because they want the option of changing lenses and they want to get away from the limitations of a tiny image sensor. There are plenty of AF-S lenses to satisfy this market.

      The exception is in prime lenses, notably the cheap and useful 50mm f/1.8D. Nikon clearly thinks consumers are uninterested in these and I think they are making a mistake. But I don't think this issue alone makes the D40 a crappy camera.

  6. Ratings Race by ch-chuck · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...annnnd coming around the halfway mark it's McAfee SiteAdvisor edging out Canonical Ubuntu 7.04 by a length with Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite hot on their tail. Pioneer Elite 1080p PRO-FHD1 is neck-and-neck with RIM Blackberry 8800 but wait ... Apple Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" is coming up strong on the outside turn passing Adobe Premiere Elements 3.

    --
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  7. Missing cool item by Sciros · · Score: 1

    How about the Samsung u740 cellphone? It's the size of the Motorola razor, but isn't held together by hopes and dreams, and has a handy-dandy keyboard for texting (and of course it flips both up and to the side for calling and texting, respectively). Probably the best mobile phone I've owned, as it's compact but very functional and well-built.

    Yes there was totally an ad for it on this particular Slashdot page just now :-P which is why I thought of it, but I do think it deserves a spot if something like the latest GeForce card is there (can it mow my lawn for me yet or it still just for marginally better graphics?).

    --
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    1. Re:Missing cool item by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      How about the Samsung u740 cellphone? It's the size of the Motorola razor, but isn't held together by hopes and dreams

      I've dropped my V3i from waist height onto concrete (result: battery compartment flew off, not a scratch on the unit) and onto carpet (sometimes no result, sometimes battery compartment flies off) also without damaging it.

      In addition, the thing rattles around in my pocket, an environment that has seen the demise of no less than two palmpilots and two handspring visor deluxes.

      People who claim that the razr is weak are selling something.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Missing cool item by Sciros · · Score: 1

      It's been improved recently, I admit. 3 of my friends have one; though the UI is rubbish and the reception for a couple of them isn't killer. I think that both may be due to the service provider and not the phone.

      The battery compartment does fly off a lot when it's dropped, I know from experience myself :-) can't really say that's a good thing since the more crap flies off the more crap can be stepped on by accident or find its way under a couch or go down an elevator shaft, heh :-P

      Motorola still has no excuse for the HELLOMOTO song, though. Whenever I hear that thing, I just wish I had a real Hammer of Dawn so I could annihilate the offender ^^

      --
      I like basketball!!1!
    3. Re:Missing cool item by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's been improved recently, I admit. 3 of my friends have one; though the UI is rubbish and the reception for a couple of them isn't killer. I think that both may be due to the service provider and not the phone.

      No RAZR has good reception, although the V3i and later have acceptable service. The UI is indeed Motorola's fault and it does suck, but the next generation of RAZR is stronger yet slimmer (they used more metal in the phone) and runs Linux, with a brand-new interface.

      The battery compartment does fly off a lot when it's dropped, I know from experience myself :-) can't really say that's a good thing since the more crap flies off the more crap can be stepped on by accident or find its way under a couch or go down an elevator shaft, heh :-P

      While you have a point, the door is cheap and having it fly off is preferable to having something crack. Seems sort of like a French car, which has a tendency to explode in an accident instead of crumple, as an alternative means of dispelling energy.

      Motorola still has no excuse for the HELLOMOTO song, though. Whenever I hear that thing, I just wish I had a real Hammer of Dawn so I could annihilate the offender ^^

      Now you have reached a subject upon which you and I cannot agree more strongly.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. so the #1 product by asv108 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Is essentially a web e-mail service for businesses with extra applications, but there is no protection against data loss or leaks.

    Google's terms of service for Google Apps has some alarming boilerplate about the company not being responsible for lost data.

    I think a lot of organizations will have qualms about sensitive files living on some Google server somewhere.

    1. Re:so the #1 product by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      Which is what makes it boilerplate...

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    2. Re:so the #1 product by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      And the moment they add any sort of data loss guarantee, they'll start getting support calls from Sally in Accounting because she "accidentally" clicked the delete button, then confirmed twice that she really wanted to do it...

      --
      This guy's the limit!
  9. Don't worry too much about it by drinkypoo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The list is chock-full of piles of shit that have superior competition. It's paid advertising. Nothing to see here, move along.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  10. Re:Where's Vista? by HappySmileMan · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Well since Dell have had to continue selling XP after they stopped... Due to public pressure, I can safely assume it wasn't a good product. I haven't used it, but only one person I know who has used it actually likes it, and he moved straight from a Windows 2000 to Vista, everyone I know who had an XP prefers it to Vista.

  11. Re:I don't want to hear it... by philpalm · · Score: 1

    I'm putting on my sound blocking earplugs and ignoring the rest of the rants...

  12. how many people... by brunascle · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...just scrolled through the list to make sure vista wasnt there?

    1. Re:how many people... by LastStandingFootman · · Score: 1

      I did.

      --
      ... Nerd And Good Looking: The Next Step in Evolution
    2. Re:how many people... by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      Scroll? Nah, just . Scrolling is so 1994.

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  13. OS X Tiger by sootman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you want to be generous in your interpretation, maybe you could say they included it to make the point that, even at two years old, it's still better than most of what's out there. (Reference: see almost every Vista review out there. Their quip: "Name a good Vista feature that goes beyond what's in Tiger. Yeah, we can't either.") Speaking of Vista, it didn't make the list at all. Not 1st, not 99th, nowhere.

    Craigslist also made the list, and that's what, 10 years old now? I guess the list means "100 best tech products that you can still get this year"--in which case OS X and CL definitely belong. It's "The 100 Best Products of 2007," not "The 100 Best NEW Products of 2007." (CL just gets better and better, though I wish they'd make the jump from plain text to a database so I could RELIABLY find Macintoshes without having to look for Apple and Mac and Macintosh and IMAC (OMG CAPS!!!!!11) They don't have to go all the way and make people specify VRAM and 10/100 vs. gigabit, but mfg-make-model-speed would be nice. It could all be optional, so retards who don't want to mess with dropdowns can just accept that they'll get fewer views.)

    More than anything, any "best of" list that includes Adobe Premier is immediately suspect. :-)

    If you want to get really picky, you could point out that 2007 is not over yet. You know what it is? I think it's "We Felt Like Making a List of a Bunch of Things We Like." Thank you, Slashdot, for slavishly supplying them with pageviews.

    Suggested tag: slownewsday

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    1. Re:OS X Tiger by schiefaw · · Score: 1

      More than anything, any "best of" list that includes Adobe Premier is immediately suspect. :-) I haven't used it in years, but I've heard in various podcasts (by FCP users) that the new Premier has a lot of nice features. As I recall, I heard that many of its features are directly applicable to podcasters.

      Sorry, I don't have more details.
      --
      Angleyne: You can't bend that girder - it's unbendable! Bender: Well I don't know anything about lifting, so that ju
    2. Re:OS X Tiger by Glove+d'OJ · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "The 100 Best Products of 2007," not "The 100 Best NEW Products of 2007."


      If this is the case, then where are:

      • Airplane
      • Automobile
      • Penicillin
      • Democracy / Democratic Republic
      • Electric Lightbulb
      • Radio
      • Personal Computer
      • TCP/IP
      • CAT-5 cable
      • Space Shuttle
      • Ballpont Pen
      • Cat's Eye Road Reflector
      • Phonograph


      Each of these is available (potnetially under a branded name, i.e., Ford Mustang vs. generic "automobile") as a product in 2007.


      Or is this just a huge slashvertisement for the PC World advertisers?

    3. Re:OS X Tiger by Glove+d'OJ · · Score: 1

      s/potnetially/potentially/

    4. Re:OS X Tiger by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 1

      Dont forget the wheel and the inclined plane

    5. Re:OS X Tiger by GeneJoker · · Score: 1

      > Phonograph

      You misspelled pornography

  14. Re:Where's Vista? by fredricodagreat · · Score: 1

    Not so much. Adding Vista to the list would be like adding Windows ME to the list of the best products for 1999. It's a terrible OS, it hogs resources and there is no innovation.

  15. PS3? by pionzypher · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Absent from the lineup is Sonys wonderchild.

    --
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    1. Re:PS3? by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 1

      Absent from the lineup is Sonys wonderchild.
      And the Wii is #3.
      Maybe "Hi, I'm a Wii; And I'm a Playstation 3" is why.
      --
      No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  16. And again ... by PPH · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...online porn tops the list.

    --
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  17. Not too bad, but... by Aphrika · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I would've stuck the Core 2 architecture at #1 as it's made such a huge impact this year across all platforms; desktop, laptop and servers.. There are some notable omissions; the MacBook for one. Why is the overpriced MacBook Pro on there when the oh-so-cheap MacBook isn't? OneNote 2007 deserves a mention. I'd also like to think the Momento 70 digital picture frame should be on there - it's wireless and actually works properly with a PC.

    Stuff that shouldn't be on there? iTunes (yawn) - yes, it's iTunes and in 2007 it's done nothing different from what it did in 2006. As I'm in the UK I'd also wager Apple TV too. The concept's nice, but until Apple start selling video over here, it's not particularly inspiring sat under my TV. Ditto for Adobe CS3 - until they start selling it an a realistic price in the UK, it's not getting my vote at all. We're paying something like $700 for a Photoshop CS2 > CS3 upgrade for Pete's sake!!

    Oh yeah, and why are we doing top 100s in May again?

    1. Re:Not too bad, but... by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Well the MacBook Pro is actually a more powerful laptop then the MacBook is. ATI 256 Meg Video is a big thing, that makes it perform better then the MacBook. The Lumanating Keyboard, Light Sensor... The extras is what makes it better. Sure for most people the MacBook is a better value because it offers what most people need at a better price but if you need more the MacBook Pro is a better fit.

      --
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    2. Re:Not too bad, but... by jimbolauski · · Score: 1

      The Logitec Harmony Remote is hands down the best gadget I own, It beats out my WII, HD plasma, Ipod, OSX 10.4, Razor, and Myth TV (only because I haven't upgraded to HD yet). The harmony remote is a dream come true It's one of the few gadgets I would have the most trouble giving up. Sorry if this sounds like and advertisement but 98 is a joke.

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      P= W/t
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  18. Reminds of something by HangingChad · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The awards list reminds of a manure spreader: Not much accuracy but lots of coverage.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:Reminds of something by cbhacking · · Score: 1

      ... and don't forget that it contains a lot of shit!

      --
      There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
  19. #43, avsforum? by jeffmeden · · Score: 1

    Ok this is neither a consumer product (in the sense that it is sold for money) nor is it new for 2007! I suspect many other entries also fail one or both of these tests. So where is the top 100 list of things to smoke when writing for PC World to provide the most outrageous articles possible? Because THATS news I can use...

  20. Hmmm. by jd · · Score: 1

    This would be better done as a Murray Walker impression, complete with totally inaccurate predictions and a pants-on-fire delivery. Or, at least, it would reflect rankings and prognostications in IT better than the athletic commentators who are generally more sober.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  21. Re:Where's Vista? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 1

    I used XP since it came out, and got both Vista for my desktop and a Macbook Pro as a new Laptop at about the same time. Vista, to me, seems to be more.. idiot proof? You can't easily get to the network connections screen anymore, you have to open 2 other screens and find the small text only link to actually view your network connections. With my Mac, I don't know, the UI is beautiful, the apps run nicely, and it does everything I want. I've only got one complaint, and that's not Apple's fault, but there's not many games. Popcap games are fun, but I have to go to Vista to play 'em.

    I prefer Vista over XP, but OS X over both.

    --
    Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  22. Re:Where's Vista? by peacefinder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm not saying that it's good or bad; I haven't used Vista at all so I have no basis to judge. I'm just kinda shocked that PCWorld didn't include the latest PC operating system in a top 100 list.

    That's a conspicuous silence which speaks volumes about Vista.

    --
    With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter. -- William Lloyd
  23. Hmm by satellite17 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well I'm not sure about the integrity of the article but there are a couple of things that stand out

    Games:
    Wii at no 3
    XBox 360 elite at 18
    PS3 nowhere to be seen.

    The 360 has been out for over a year and I'm not sure how much 1080p and a bigger HDD make now, I guess in a couple of years when HD downloads become the norm this will make a difference. 1080p TVs have been quite rare in the UK until recently but I saw a very nice looking 40" Samsung the other day for about £1000 so I might treat myself at the end of the year.

    (for the record I've got a 360 premium and a wii, I'll probably end up with a PS3 if FFXIII is exclusive but not before, too expensive at the moment!)

    OSX Tiger at 9
    Apple TV at 11
    80GB iPod at 26
    Macbook Pro at 82

    No Zune
    No Vista
    I'm assuming that the HP DV900t 17" laptop runs Windows Media Center

    iTunes at 61
    WMP 11 at 91

    So it looks like Apple "wins" over MS in the home media dept

    Strangely on my XP box I use iTunes for music and WMP / VLC for Video. I just don't like Quicktime. No rational reason (now it plays video at full screen) but I just can't get on with it. It seems slow and unresponsive.

    Still it looks like Apple were right to drop the computer from their name and go for the media market. I get the impression that they've always had the Pro market and so the move to consumer seems to be quite easy for them. (now if they'd just drop the phone bit from the iPhone and sell me a widescreen touch sensitive iPod I'd be a happy man)

    1. Re:Hmm by geekoid · · Score: 1

      What, having a wide screen touch PDA that is alos a phone too much for you?

      Don't buy a service with it, ta da!

      yeah, I ahve better luck with VLC as well.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:Hmm by prockcore · · Score: 1

      Don't buy a service with it, ta da!


      That's impossible. You must buy a 2 year cingular contract with the iPhone.
    3. Re:Hmm by jZnat · · Score: 1

      What if you're already in a Cingular contract?

      --
      'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
    4. Re:Hmm by satellite17 · · Score: 1

      I see what you're saying, and for most people I guess it wouldn't be a problem, I'm probably in the minority but I'll explain why I'm frustrated by the iPhone

      **Ok it's turned in to a bit of a rant so the short answer is Battery Life / Storage / tied to a single service provider (compulsary contract). If that doesn't answer your question then read on ;-)**

      I live in the UK and it's by no means clear what sort of contract will be bundled with the iPhone. If the deal is the same as the one in the US (compulsary and tied to a single service provider) then it's likely I'll have to change service provider. This means paying extra to transfer my number or having to change my number. I play in a band and my moble number is probably in the hands of hundreds of Promoters, venue owners, other bands, record labels, radio stations, tv companies etc. it's on all of our promotional material that gets sent out to get gigs, radio play, interviews etc. Changing my number just isn't an option so it increases the cost. Of course at the moment this is all speculation and until Apple provide more details and I don't really know if this will affect me. If Vodafone happen to be the service provider they pick, or I can just buy one and plug in my sim card then problem solved ;-)

      My current phone will play mp3 and unprotected aac audio plus mpeg4 video. The screen is about the same size as a regular iPod and you can expand the onboard storage using a mini SD card. It's has an FM radio built in. (it's also 3G so I can browse the web and use it as a decent modem for my laptop via bluetooth or usb) it syncs with my calendar and email. It also supports java so there are apps and games available plus it means I can write my own software if I want, and if you ask it nicely it will make a great cup of tea. It's a Nokia 6280 and I like it a lot (I know a lot of people have had issues with the build quality of this model of phone but I haven't). So it already does most of what the iPhone does but without the slick interface. I think the nokia interface is still fairly good, but that might just be because I've used their phones for a while now. Having said all of that, I use it as a phone / modem and calendar and very little else, mainly because I want my phone battery to be charged when I need to take a call.

      Storage, Finally an iPod with a proper screen to watch video on and it only has 8GB of storage. My 4GB nano is full and that's a relatively small selection of my Audio collection. Add a couple of TV shows and a movie and the iPhone is full. I'm assuming Apple decided that form factor and robustness are more important on a phone than an mp3 / video player, but after seeing how cool the iPhone looks, I'm dissapointed I can't get an 80GB version so I can load up my entire music collection plus a whole load of video.

      The iPhone is a very cool bit of kit, but already having a phone that has similar functionality I've realised that I do want 2 seperate devices. Based on my current phone, If I use it to play music and the occasional game (whilst visiting the loo) then the battery will barely last the day. Add video to that and I can see the iPhone needing to be charged a couple of times a day. Now maybe Apple have some uber battery that will completely out perform my current Phone, but until I see real world results I remain unconvinced.

      I was going to moan about the price but I think that the US and UK markets are different and it would be an apples to oranges comparison (pardon the punn). In the UK it's fairly common to get the phone bundled with the contract or at least heavily subsidised. I don't think many people this side of the pond would pay £200 for a phone that tied them in to a contract. Even a very cool one like the iPhone.

      What I really want is a widescreen 80gb iPod, and I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

      Oh and GPRS is soooo last century....

      I feel much better now, thanks!

    5. Re:Hmm by satellite17 · · Score: 1

      Except both Apple and Cingular have announced that the iPhone will be tied to a 2 year contract.

      If it was just Mr Jobs spreading some roumours so he could do a "and one more thing" at the next macworld then I'd agree with you, but I don't think that's the case this time

  24. Price clearly wasn't a factor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    They went from a $4000+ gaming PC which is the epitome of poor value for money to freeware like Firefox and Audacity.

    This list is just a bunch of stuff some guy thinks is cool. If I cared about that I would read people's Amazon lists all day instead of Slashdot :)

  25. Counterexample by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    4 people modded this up, 3 people posted replies above me, and no one mentions the obvious counterexample: Vista with its $500 million marketing campaign doesn't make the list.

  26. Less Ads by andrewd18 · · Score: 1

    Less ads:

    Adblock Plus

  27. What about the monkey? by somegeekynick · · Score: 1

    What if Gutsy Gibbon turns out to be better than Feisty Fawn, which, btw, will be released in a few months? Also, 7.04 is not an LTS(Long Term Service).

  28. Re:yay abuse of moderation by heinousjay · · Score: 1

    Considering the whole list is one giant opinion, and your only real argument in favor of your position is that you personally disagree, I'd say troll is appropriate.

    --
    Slashdot - where whining about luck is the new way to make the world you want.
  29. Better of the video phones by Maznafein · · Score: 1

    I'm glad that SightSpeed beat out Skype on this list. The video quality of SightSpeed is far superior. Works better on my mac as well.

    --
    <happiness>beer</happiness>
  30. Re:yay abuse of moderation by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Considering the whole list is one giant opinion, and your only real argument in favor of your position is that you personally disagree, I'd say troll is appropriate.

    Considering that you clearly don't understand what Troll means, I'd say I hope you never get mod points.

    Trolling is making a statement that you do not believe in order to elicit a desired response.

    I believed what I said, and therefore I was not trolling.

    If you don't understand/agree with this, read the moderation guidelines until you do. They're not very complicated and they're written in fairly understandable English.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  31. December, try January! by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'd rather look back on the whole year rather than 11/12ths of it. Or are we just saying that December is totally irrelevant?

    This ridiculous game of one-upmanship that people play with each other to try to get their annual reviews in ahead of others, etc is just ridiculous. Frankly, it just makes them look stupid.

    And while I'm on the subject, why the hell does EA title the annual releases of their sports game for the following years rather than the years that they're published? Are people really stupid enough to think that when they buy Madden 2008 this year that they're somehow getting next year's game in advance?

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
    1. Re:December, try January! by Control+Group · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can only speak to two franchises, because they're the ones I've played, but:

      For Madden, the game is numbered according to the year the Superbowl takes place in. For the '07-'08 season, of course, that's '08.

      For the MLB franchise the name of which I can't remember, the game was numbered according to the year the Series took place in, which means that MLB '07 would represent the '07 season.

      --

      Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
    2. Re:December, try January! by Nyeerrmm · · Score: 1

      Also, since they are based on the real teams, it makes sense to put out the new game as soon as possible after the previous season. If I cared to play the games (I don't, but I know plenty who do, and I don't mind watching) I'd rather make it a preview of the next season rather than a repeat of the just finished ones. That is I'd rather play with Steve McGee as my quarterback rather than Reggie McNeal while playing Texas A&M.

    3. Re:December, try January! by Bastard+of+Subhumani · · Score: 1

      I'd rather look back on the whole year rather than 11/12ths of it.
      Depends which end of December you're talking about...
      --
      Only three things are certain; death, taxes, and apocryphal quotations - Ben Franklin.
    4. Re:December, try January! by gottabeme · · Score: 1

      For the MLB franchise the name of which I can't remember, the game was numbered according to the year the Series took place in, which means that MLB '07 would represent the '07 season.

      Each MLB season takes place within a single calendar year, including the playoffs and World Series. (Ah, how I long for the days that baseball really was America's pasttime.)

      --
      "Those who consume the bulk of goods are those who make them. We must never forget this secret of our prosperity."
  32. Products of 2007 by Z00L00K · · Score: 1
    Already in place (or almost):
    • The terabyte hard disk.
    • $500 (or cheaper) flat screen HD TV.
    • Eclipse 3.3
    • Fedora 7 (and maybe 8)
    • Debian 4.0
    • Windows Vista (yes HATE me for that one...)

    What we are waiting for:

    • Windows XP SP3 (any year now...)
    • Better roaming pricing four our mobile phones. (or as the US people calls them "cell phones" - which makes me think of prison cells :-) )
    • "Terminator" for president :-) (OK, I know, but watch "Demolition Man" first...)
    • The ultimate spam fighting application.
    • Fusion power plants. (Any decade now...)
    • Robots to do all the housekeeping, laundrywashing etc.
    • End of DRM and all the troubles it's bringing to ordinary consumers.
    • Cheap blue-ray/HD-DVD burners (or preferably better) so it will be easy to make backups of our new terabyte disks.
    • An operating system that's really secure without hampering the users by nagging them all the time.
    • The US going metric.

    What we don't want:

    • More spam. (spam, spam, spam)
    • First massively spreading Vista virus/worm/malware.
    • More "Big Brother" mentality from our governments.
    • Yet more US troops in IRAQ.
    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  33. Re:Where's Vista? by spisska · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm just kinda shocked that PCWorld didn't include the latest PC operating system in a top 100 list.

    But they did include the latest. Ubuntu is at number 16.

  34. Say what now? by mcmonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Considering the whole list is one giant opinion, and your only real argument in favor of your position is that you personally disagree, I'd say troll is appropriate.

    So a whole article of opinion is worthy of the front page, but expressing an opinion on those opinions is troll?

  35. Re:yay abuse of moderation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    "Trolling" is posting in such a way as to illicit angry responses from people on the forum - getting them to "bite". Whether the poster believes what he's posting is irrelevant. The phrasing and intent are what matters.

  36. The what, now? by LMacG · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The popular PC World magazine "

    As opposed to the tired old rag that I see on the newstand occasionally?

    --
    Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
  37. Thanks! by RocketScientist · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thanks to PC World for not making this a 10-page article with 10 items on each page, with gloriously large ads for each of the 10 products.

    While we can argue on the merits of individual items on the list (which, arguably, is part of the reason to post such a list) the presentation format is top notch.

    1. Re:Thanks! by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      I would've liked a brief description on mouse-over for each one instead of having to follow links.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  38. Opera by DavenH · · Score: 1

    It's too bad Opera 9.x didn't make the list. Maybe they couldn't find the script to make google apps run on it.

  39. Re:Where's Vista? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Ubuntu is the recentest, "latest" means "most late" and applies to Vista.

  40. No Slashdot Firehouse? by Araxen · · Score: 2, Funny

    One of the best newest features on Slashdot and it's left off the list! Those bastages at PC World!

  41. Re:Trusted Computing and GPL3 FUD... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    IANAL, but if you don't RTFM you can STFU. YMMV.

  42. Took em long enough by coren2000 · · Score: 1

    I expected this article in the December 2006 edition! Lazy Lazy Lazy!

  43. Audacity? by PaulMorel · · Score: 1

    Clearly, the products on the list don't actually have to be from this year, or last year. I think Audacity is the bees knees, but it's been out for ... pretty much forever (in internet time), so why is it on that list? Is there anyone out there interested in Audacity who doesn't already know about it? really?

    --
    burrocrisy
    and that would be what? Ruling by jackasses? Never has a slashdot misspelling been more apropos
    1. Re:Audacity? by swordgeek · · Score: 1

      Audacity? That's a product that belongs on the 'worst products of all time list, not this one.

      I want to love Audacity. In fact, I just spent two weeks chopping up some recorded audio into named tracks. With some minor quirks, the interface and techniques are very well laid out (Not necessarily intuitive, but intelligent after you've learned them). This is a Good Thing. However, Audacity can't record in real time on moderately old gear, even though older versions had no problem with it. Furthermore, it cannot properly import to WAV on a machine that gets bogged down. When writing a file, it should be able to buffer and hold the input, but doesn't.

      Then there's the memory model. More than 15 tracks, and you're screwed. With 22 tracks, I had to wait 15 seconds after a mouse click for playback to start. (at 23 tracks, the program crashed for good.)

      It's almost a great program, but it's currently being developed by team who don't know proper programming practices. Pity.

      --

      "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
  44. Re:yay abuse of moderation by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

    Nope, back to "insightful"

    Don't feel bad. Jumping to wild conclusions (either when modding or in replies) is the pastime here on slashdot.

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  45. Re:yay abuse of moderation by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Obviously you didn't understand what you read. "This is a prank comment intended to provoke indignant (or just confused) responses." But when I write what I believe (not intended as a prank) and it is not intended to provoke indignant or confused responses, then it is clearly not a troll, and you are clearly still an idiot in addition to being a pusillanimous wimp.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  46. 100 products in a year? by swordgeek · · Score: 1

    OK, we all know that this is only May, and that many of these products are well over a year old already, but even so, I'm not sure that there are a hundred products in the last 'while' that are worth being on a list. Well, a good list at any rate.

    I've seen very very few products worth raising an approving eyebrow over in the last few years. The wii is one, OSX is one, Solaris 10 is one, and... I'm not sure what else. The iPod, I suppose. Either iTunes or WMP 10, but neither is without faults. Firefox 2.

    Video cards? No chance--someone will come out with a significantly newer, faster, better video card every six months or so, but the evolutionary phase is over. Same with printers--nothing new since cheap lasers and reliable photo-quality inkjets. Certain segments of computing are starting to mature, to the point that there isn't any significant gain in new products. (Hence why vendors are forcing obsolescence on their older products more aggressively all the time.)

    Then we have the downright bad products that make these lists. The blackberry provides one feature of questionable utility (mobile email--but it's a phone too, and that's already mobile!) and does it badly, dragging down its other functions at the same time. Office 2007, which was created for no reason other than (a) to sell an unneccessary product to people who already have a sufficient product, and (b) to disrupt the converging competitive standards. Google Groups. The list goes on.

    So what genuinely new and innovative (and also good!) products are out there? Without an artificial number to reach (10, 20, 100, etc.) I wonder how many have come out in each of the last five years.

    --

    "People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban