farmdoc's blog post number 558

Today’s ‘List Friday’. Counting today there are 62 days to go until the end of 2009. Yet already ‘best of 2009’ lists are starting to appear. That’s weird, since almost 17% of 2009 remains. But it’s great for a list-man like I am. And especially for one who devotes a blog post each week to a list. Today’s list is PC World’s 100 Best Products of 2009. My first reaction to this list is that it’s selected by the Editorial Team of PC World – who aren’t your average Joes when it comes to technical knowledge of electronics products. So the hardware, software and service products they choose almost certainly won’t coincide with a list compiled by the ‘wisdom of crowds’. And who knows what inducements Editorial Team members received to get an item put in the list. Or if not that, to have it tested/reviewed by PC World during the year. So whilst taking the list’s methodology with a pinch (if not a grain) of salt, it’s still interesting to see what’s on it. Number one is the iPhone App Store. Apple coined the word app, and set up an online store that stocks 85,000 free or inexpensive apps, and moved 2 billion units in 16 months. That’s 4.15 million each day. So while I’m not an iPhone owner, I have no issue with the list’s number one item. The remaining 99? Ho hum.