2012

It's actually somewhat difficult to track down CNET's lowest-rated reviews of 2012. Our whole site is designed to surface the best, most-worthy products to the top and help you make a smart shopping decision. The losers all tend to sink into obscurity. But with some careful sorting I was able to cobble together all of the reviews of the past year rated under three stars.

But we're a pretty ruthless bunch here at CNET, so narrowing the list down to just five selections wasn't easy. For this list, I went with my personal picks. That meant leaving out the abysmal ZTE Score M, since I already roasted that thing in my "Top 5 phones to avoid." I also left out products like the HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9z and Kodak ESP 3.2 All-in-One Printer, because they were more chronically disappointing than truly awful. … Read more

CES is almost here, but it's important to keep in mind that the biggest consolidated electronics show of the year is often a mixed indicator of the year's actual tech trends. Case in point: consider CES 2010, where "big" products included smartbooks and Cell TVs, but the major wave of Android phones and the iPad were nowhere to be found.

With that in mind, let's look at CES 2012's Best Of awards winners and see where they are now that the year's about to come to a close. Were they Editors' Choice winners? … Read more

It may have been a rough year to be a videogame, but what would the end of the year be without some lists? You've already had the displeasure of seeing this year's most disappointing, so why not reward yourself this holiday season with a list of the best games 2012 had to offer? … Read more

Apple has once again named its top picks for software released on its various application stores.

Formerly dubbed iTunes Rewind, Apple's gone back to a simple "Best of" header, with editorial choices from the App Store for iOS and OS X.

Taking top honors for the iPhone was Bad Robot's Action Movie FX, the software that adds computer generated action sequences to video you've shot on your iPhone or iPad. The software actually came out last December, though its developers put out version 2.0 this October. Meanwhile, Ubisoft's $2.99 Rayman Jungle Run … Read more

Each year we're treated to 12 months worth of games all competing for your hard earned cash. Some are must-buys, some are just average, but only a select few can be labeled the year's most truly disappointing.

This year I'll take a look at the games and trends that induced the most head-scratching and face-palming reactions from an entire calendar year. Brace yourselves. It gets ugly here on out.

Feeling nostalgic? Here's what stunk in 2011.

The United States flew its last official space shuttle mission in 2011, but this year Americans got to say goodbye to the spacecraft in the venerable program's fleet. Throughout the year, NASA delivered the remaining shuttles to final resting places around the country. People turned out in droves to catch a glimpse of the shuttles as they did flyovers en route to their final destinations.

But as the federal manned space program came to an end, the private sector stepped in to take over. In May, Space Exploration Technologies -- or SpaceX -- made a successful demonstration flight to … Read more

Offering convenient, and cheaper, ways to access tailored services like ordering a private car, renting out a vacation home, or running personal errands, the "concierge economy" rose to a new level in 2012. Services -- like Airbnb, Uber, and TaskRabbit, just to name a few -- were sprinkled among news headlines, becoming more than just fringe services. Airbnb helped 4,000 Hurricane Sandy victims find shelter from generous home and bed owners, Uber came up against major friction in Washington D.C. over its taxi services, and TaskRabbit popped up in the iPhone 5 lines.

In addition to … Read more

Groupon, the company that made daily deals popular for consumers, has had a tough tumble. After finally going public late last year, the company faced massive competition, slowed growth in revenue and a decimated stock in 2012. In its early days, Groupon was a tech superstar, charging along on a mission to become the fastest-growing company in history. But as the months passed, the company was plagued by slumping stock, a shareholder lawsuit and the rumored unrest from employees trying to leave the company.

Much of the blame has fallen on the shoulders of CEO Andrew Mason, who once had … Read more

Devil or martyr? For Julian Assange, it appears there's no easy answer. The WikiLeaks founder has spent six months holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearing the moment he steps outside he'll be arrested and deported to Sweden, where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault. Assange says he'd return to Sweden if the government would guarantee that he won't be extradited to the United States, where he fears he could face espionage charges related to a massive leak of classified military and diplomatic documents.

The man accused of providing those documents, of … Read more