As an obsessive list maker I often find myself compelled to sum up each year with concise and brief "best of" lists. I usually limit my lists to movies, music and one other category, maybe live performances or books. Over the next week I'm going to list my Best of 2004 in 5 categories; The Web, Books, Music, Film and Personal Best. Today I'm kicking it of with Best of 2004: The Web.
Overall
1. Firefox 1.0
My deepest thanks and appreciation goes out to all the contributors at Mozilla who made this browser happen. Firefox is the standards compliant, customizable, open source browser the world has been waiting for. Hopefully its release will make the fools over at Microsoft realize how far behind they are with IE and soon all browsers will be standards compliant.
2. Typepad
Typepad didn't launch this year but I first started using it in March. Typepad's super-intuitive CMS, robust assortment of backend features and low price combine to create an easy and affordable way for people to express themselves on the web.
3. gmail
Google's email service, which launched to massive hype then praise this year, trumps the competition. The 1GB of storage is worth registering for alone but the threaded message format is also a thing of beauty.
4. Wikipedia
Wikipedia really came to fruition in 2004. I use it anytime that I want to find out about anything that isn't easily or definitively represented within the results of a Google search. History and Science subjects are especially concise and well written.
5. BitTorrent
BitTorrent established itself as the preminent P2P application this year. It's pretty much the only thing I use these days for filesharing. Plus "swarmstreaming" just sounds cool.
Best Blogs
1. boingboing
boingboing reigns over the blogosphere with absolute supremacy. Year after year boingboing has proven to be THE place for discerning geeks to gather and disseminate information. I also had the unique pleasure of having my own blog mentioned on it this year, which was rather thrilling.
2. Eyebeam re:blog
This perennially guest-blogged site is a fascinating treasure trove of tech-heavy art, innovative graffiti, and other general geekz0r wankery.
3. kottke
When Jason Kottke isn't busy obsessing over Ken Jennings or getting nastygrams from Sony lawyers he produces one of the finest design-centric blogs out there.
4. Airbag Industries
I like the self-reflexive ruminations about design on this site. It's sort of vanilla but that's okay, sometimes I like vanilla.
5. V-2 Organisation
Adam Greenfield's design blog / essay machine is a consistently great and engaging read.
Best Site Design
1. Coudal Partners
This was the best redesign of the year. Part blog, part agency site, and part webzine, Coudal have crafted the definitive CSS/XHTML multi-column layout.
2. Delicious Monster
A beautiful example of what can be done with a well executed balance of Flash and CSS.
3. Billy Harvey Music / Amplifier
SOFAKE build the most innovative user interfaces I've even seen. These are stunning Flash-only websites that stretch the conceptual limitations of site design.
4. No Pattern
This isn't exactly the slickest site around but Chuck Anderson's design & illustration work is so nice that it deserves a mention.
5. Absenter
Everything a personal site should be. If more people, myself included, had the dedication of this guy the personal web would be so much more interesting.
Best Resources
1. Google
What more is there to say about Google? There's the search utility which has permeated our daily lives, the best webmail service available, Google Local to find phone numbers and locations, Google News to peruse thousands of news sites at a time, and coming soon, books on demand. The Microsoft of the naughties, mark my word.
2. A List Apart
Everything you need to know about standards compliant web design.
3. 43 Folders
Merlin Mann presents effective tips and tools for life hacking. Central among these are moleskine notebooks, .txt files and Getting Things Done by David Allen. This and Danny O'Brien's "Life Hacks" showed us why plain text files are the new Rock and Roll.
4. New York Times
Even though the NYT's standards have fallen to previously unseen lows (i.e. Jonathan Kandell's slimeball Derrida obituary) it is still the best and most interesting newspaper in America. This site is the first place I go when I get to work and the last I visit before I get up from the computer every day.
5. Epicurious
My favorite place to read food articles and gather recipes. I also love that they have James Beard and Julia Child recipes going back to the 50's.
Best Services
1. Netflix
I've probably seen more movies this year than in the three previous years combined. I've also cut down to only about 4 or 5 hours of cable per week. Netflix makes this pleasing dichotomy possible.
2. Amazon
A wealth of product information, great prices and an amazing network of used booksellers had me jumping for joy this holiday season and the rest of the year as well. My wallet thanks you Mr. Bezos.
3. iTunes
The price, quality and great selection of the iTunes Music Store compels me to buy music here instead of just downloading them for free from somewhere else. Of course, if I can't find it on here there is a 95% chance that I'm going to look for it via a P2P application. Record execs, are you listening?
4. Basecamp
This web-based project management application is a godsend for creative teams. It's a great way to keep track of milestones, share files and generate dialouge. A must for any creative manager.
5. Mapquest
Although Google Local is turning out to be almost good enough to replace Mapquest, they still provide the best mapping service on the web. Using this when I'm out of town or in unfamiliar parts of the New Orleans metro area makes the unfamiliar easily navigable.
you suck.
Posted by: ray morneau | December 23, 2004 at 06:03 PM
i'm just kidding. sweet list. long-live firefox!
Posted by: ray morneau | December 23, 2004 at 06:04 PM
Thanks for the kind words about TypePad! We get all our inspiration from the creative people who express themselves on TypePad, so you should take some credit too. :)
Posted by: Anil | December 24, 2004 at 12:18 AM
*sigh* Man, Crown Dozen didn't make it on any of the "best-of" lists this year... Even with over 400 reviews and Top Twelve lists... Oh well, we'll just have to try harder in the 0-5!
Posted by: Shane Bryant | December 28, 2004 at 03:27 AM
"In classical times when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, 'How well he spoke,' but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, 'Let us march.'"—Adlai Stevenson
I am marching through the list ... To boot, it is free! (priceless smile)
Posted by: Jozef Imrich | January 03, 2005 at 09:38 AM