El Reg's festive top 10

7. Vista first look: Bugs and confusion

Back to Earth with a bump then... and Thomas Greene picked apart Windows Vista – once he'd saved up his cents to buy the thing. Thomas was partly impressed – but mainly because it reminded him of the Mac OS. He was less impressed by Microsoft's stances on pricing and "edition". You may have come to the same conclusion, which is why PC World is still suffering from inde-Vista-gestion a year down the line.

It's worth mentioning that back in February, when Bill Gates was quizzed as to why Europeans were being forced to pay substantially more for the product, he claimed that Microsoft "tries to keep prices largely in line country by country". Bill said he had "not followed how the exchange rates made that drift", and added that rates "can go out of alignment as currencies go up or down". Let's hope Bill's gotten a bit more of a handle on the global markets since then, otherwise he'll have a few surprises when it's time to put his tax returns together in the new year.

8. Windows for Warships nears frontline service

Yes, a lot of people decided they would stick with Windows 98, whatever Microsoft said. Even the Royal Navy was avoiding Vista, in favour of Windows for Warships. OK, what we're talking about here is essentially a locked-down version of Windows 2000. This was the OS underpinning the RN's latest generation of Type 45 destroyers.

Clearly, plenty of readers were horrified intrigued by the idea of Microsoft being responsible for defending HM's ships from air attack. Lewis put this in perspective, positing the idea of Windows being rolled out to the UK's nuke submarine fleet.

This was actually less scary than it sounds, Lewis concluded, as subs, unlike destroyers, are not poised on a hair trigger. Submariners were presumably reassured when Lewis explained that Windows for Warships was a software programme, not a refenestration programme.

9. Welcome indeed to the billionaire toyshop

Sticking with a nautical theme, Lewis whetted your appetites for the days when those stock options turn to gold before your very eyes – or when your lotto numbers finally come up.

Sadly, as Lewis pointed out – and one look at Bill Gates confirms – getting rich does seem to blunt the imagination somewhat. Apparently for all the megayachts out there, hardly any billionaire oligarchs have yet sprung for one with a built in personal sub. Similarly, the personal live-aboard sub has yet to find a mass market. Which leaves us thinking investing your pension in an air yacht or personal space station maker is probably not the best move.

10. Psion: the last computer

Talking of play things, Anderw Orlowski went truly nostalgic with what has to absolutely be the final word on the history of Psion. Think all those grey cases with yellow lettering are just a relic now? Think again. If it hadn't been for the late lamented so-much-more-than-a-PDA vendor, you might be finding your way home this Christmas by reading a map as you change discs on your portable CD player. Not sure what we mean by that? Read the piece to find out.

As always, it's interesting to see what didn't make the top 10.

Notable in the second 10 are the iPhone. Apparently the second coming of the Jesus Phone, otherwise known as the UK launch, was not quite the new Jerusalem some were expecting. Course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and we'll just have to see how many devices have been stuck in lofts, car boots, under beds, etc, waiting for a mass activation next week.

Paris Hilton – an old workhorse for El Reg if ever there was one - made it to number 14, as you thrilled to the news that the website ParisExposed was set to go live. Of course, the multi-talented heiress topped any possible embarrassment that the site could cause by going to jail later in the year, and, more recently, attempting to kidnap a smurf at a Christmas market in Germany.

And, as they say, finally, just outside the top 10 at time of writing, was the shocking news that the robo-"Santa" conversing with kids courtesy of MS Messenger was prone to discussing oral sex when he wasn't dispensing insults.

So there you have it. 2007 – if you can't remember all the above, you weren't there. Have a very merry break, and see you all in the New Year. ®