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The year 2009 was witness to the rise and fall of technology and gadget trends. It was characterized by intensified video gaming blow outs, a new approach to mobile phone use and computer portability, and an endless quest to create better and more advanced gizmos.

As the New Year unfolds, video game expert and technology analyst Scott Steinberg unveils at Digitaltrends.com a sneak peek on the “what’s what” in technology for 2010.

1. The year 2010 may be the time for eReaders and eBook Players — digital tablets designed to simulate the customary reading-on-paper experience — to come into their own. Expected innovations in 2010 include selections powered by Android OS, more affordable models and full-color eReaders with touch screen and wireless 3G support.

2. Smartphones will continue to shine in 2010, but with added surprises. Android-run and Windows Mobile-powered smartphones will create an established market. Cell phones will likely be run by applications that offer more power and flexibility, allowing these devices to evolve and potentially replace laptops. Adapting to lifestyles, Smartphones will be must-haves in 2010, and Google’s Nexus One Smartphone is to watch out for.

3. The household names in television manufacturing are keen at beginning a new era of TV viewership. Shops filled with a display of cutting-edge three-dimensional TVs, as well as Blu-ray players that power 3D flicks, will be anything but extraordinary in 2010.

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The year 2009 underscored an enormous economic meltdown that brought many United States businesses to their knees. But for some of America’s most famous moneymakers, the year brought enormous luck and vast gains. America’s top 25 stock gainers — composed of large stakeholders in publicly traded companies — made a combined $81.5 billion in 2009, Forbes.com reports.

Check out Forbes’ esteemed list of the ten biggest gainers in 2009:

1. The founder of Google, Inc., Larry Page raked in a whooping $8.4 billion between January and mid-December 2009. At 36, Mr. Page is ranked as the 26th billionaire in the world and the 11th wealthiest person in the United States. Technology stocks are enjoying broad boost with the economic rebooting, according to Forbes. As such, Google made a rise of 90% since January 2009.

2. Sergey Brin, the Russian-born American co-founder of Google, Inc. gained $8.2 billion in 2009. The 36-year old Internet titan gets a rebound after losing $11.7 billion in 2008 amid the collapse of Internet companies’ shares.

3. Oracle Corporation and NetSuite gave 65-year-old founder Larry Ellison a $7.9 billion gain in 2009. He made it to fourth spot of Forbes’ list of richest persons as of September 30, 2009.

4. Microsoft magnate Bill Gates generated $7.6 billion in 2009. The computer software company he founded with Paul Allen consistently places him on the list of the world’s richest. Over half of Mr. Gates’ fortune, however, is held outside of Microsoft. At 54, Mr. Gates grabbed the top spot overall as the wealthiest person in 2009.

5. At barely 46 years old, Jeffrey Bezos has made Amazon a household name. The online retail company gained $7.3 billion in 2009 amid a 175% surge during the past 12 months. Amazon’s shares hit an all-time high in early December 2009.

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One of the hottest gaming consoles out on the market today is the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3). As of March 2009, more than 170 million PS3 games have reportedly been sold.

With the recent release of the PS3 slim model last September 2009, even more games have made its way into the market. Here are 5 of the most recent and yet-to-be released PS3 games:

1. James Cameron’s Avatar
One of the most-awaited films of the year, Avatar promises to be a huge hit. The film breaks into cinemas worldwide on December 18th. However, its videogame adaptation, released earlier on December 1st, has proven to be a disappointment. Set as a prequel to the film, the game’s rich graphics and cool 3D environments suffer greatly from a thin plot and weak gameplay elements. Avatar: The Game is reportedly bland and mediocre, where you run around a beautiful world, meet characters that deliver boring dialogues, and shoot weird, unexciting enemies. IGN gives it a 6.8 rating, while GameSpot gives it a 5.5. The verdict? Don’t play the game before watching the movie!

2. Assassin’s Creed II
One of the best games to come out for the PS3, the sequel to Assassin’s Creed not only addresses most of the issues and glitches of the original game but also offers some great new elements. The game features a beautifully rendered environment that makes you feel like you’re really walking around Renaissance Italy. It presents a compelling, detailed storyline that merges historical facts seamlessly into the game, and introduces an extremely appealing character in Ezio Auditore di Firenze. New missions, an economy system, and additional character abilities complete the sequel. Some gameplay and video glitches may occur. Released last November, Assassin’s Creed II has a general rating of 9.0 and above.

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Everybody wants to be a billionaire. The big question is: How? Forget Ivy League schooling or wishing that you were born rich. Get into these businesses now!

5. Petrochemicals
Environmentally damaging or not, oil and petroleum is still the world’s hottest commodity. With most industries and consumers needing it every single day, petrochemical products are in hot demand and there is no indication that the demand will wane soon.

Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani owes his fortune to petrochemicals.

4. Retail
Even with the economic downturn, people will still need to buy things. That is why retailers are still earning big bucks. Having a good sense of what people want, going with the trends, and offering value for money on your merchandise remain to be a retailer’s biggest challenge. However, if you get it all down to pat and you have built your brand better than your competitors, you are in for a great surprise.

Ikea’s Ingvar Kamprad is Sweden’s richest man. The 83-year-old is currently worth around $22 billion and runs an empire that spans more than 30 countries. Germany’s richest man, Karl Albrecht also made his billions in retail through his discount supermarket Aldi Sud. Other billionaires in retail: Jim, Christy, Robson Walton of Wal-mart,

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Shopping for the latest technological gadget is a very tempting way to spend that hard-earned money during pay day. But do you really need to splurge on the latest version of iPod or iTouch when you have a perfectly functional music or video player? Here are guaranteed ways for you to resist incurring unnecessary gadget update even in the most enticing conditions.

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The competition for quality and high paying jobs has heightened with the global economic recession. This has resulted in freeze hiring and company retrenchments. Companies have become even more demanding in admitting only the best candidates. Put your best foot forward and land on that dream job with an outstanding resume that will capture the attention of any employer. Check out these updated techniques to beef up your resume and win that desired post.

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Notebook or netbook? One of the key features that separate a netbook from a notebook is the presence of an optical drive.

Now Asus comes and blurs that line with its newest installment for the Eee series – the Asus Eee PC 1004DN. This shiny new creation sports a ‘super-multi optical disc drive’. In other words, it is a CD/DVD writer. How’s that for revolutionary, eh?

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In the future, your mobile phone will be your computer. It will allow you to connect to a central database of files where you keep your spreadsheets, documents, unedited blog posts, pictures: anything and everything you’ve ever kept on you current desktop will be on that central database. You dock your phone onto a device that allows you to view everything from a bigger screen, and a standard sized keyboard. Wherever you are, you have all these with you, and it will all fit into your palm.

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Recent years have seen the rise of broadband, the capability of connecting to the Internet at connection speeds of more than 200 kilobits per second, or 1.5 megabits per second (depending on who you ask, the required speeds for broadband vary).

Apart from the faster connections, however, the advent of broadband did away with the tedious task of calling your ISP, waiting for an open line, and logging in before you could surf. Now, you only have to power on your computer and you’re instantly connected. And it has been met with widespread, and even increasing, acceptance. By February 2004, 48 million American homes already had broadband connection at home, representing around 24% of American adults, and signifying a 60% increase in adoption rates from a year earlier. You can only imagine what the adoption rates are currently at.

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The interactive technology is so upon us; so all over us. And everybody loves the action. But feeling the real thrill are those among us betting on the ‘business-to-consumer’ or ‘business-to-business’ transaction concepts and raring to go the online way. Good thinking. But getting the most out of the dot-com magic is another story.

Strategy, strategy, strategies…seem overwrought, but we are sharing just the same: “Five Internet Dot-Com Guides and Strategies.” We actually like the “footing” part because it charges us to get a good grip of what the web has to offer. Because just when we think we are completely in the web of things…these five guides poke on us.

Posed wistfully as questions — and then the bottom-lines:

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Can we regulate the Internet? For years, many experts have come from both sides of the fence. The arguments for and against the possibility of Internet regulation ran the gamut of reasons and explanations: from technological to ethical aspects.

First let us present the moral aspect of the question. Internet regulation will curb pedophilia, porn, violence, tutorials on how to make bombs and ways to commit suicide or murder. This is what proponents say. The Internet has evolved such that anything and everything is easily accessible and immediately available to those who look for it. Even to children. Hence, it should be censored. People against regulation have postulated that the free nature of the Internet became the way it is now: progressive, innovative, and responsive to the times. Regulating it would curtail all that these represent.

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Making money online, just like any types of business (whether it’s selling shirts, golf equipments, or content writing services) needs constant preparations. You can’t just barged in and say “Hey people I have a new online business! Come and shop to my store!”. If you are new to this kind of industry, electronic commerce, or more commonly abbreviated as Ecommerce, is also like putting up a conventional brick and mortar store. The only difference is, online business revolves around “technology”. To some people, doing an internet-based business is only for the “techno-geeks”. However, ecommerce is for everybody’s grab. In fact, most people who earned a lot online are the same people with no backgrounds in computer programming or HTML. What they have are the cravings and the right plan (plus, of course, a little financial capability).

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