My Final Post

You may be wondering why you haven't seen or heard from me since the end of February—that's because I've decided to take a break on blogging every day to focus on some other projects. So this is my last post for Yahoo! Tech, where I've had the privilege and pleasure of ranting and raving about my favorite and least favorite gadgets and tech trends from the past several months.

The best thing about this gig, besides having this forum, has been hearing from readers about their own experiences with particular gadgets and technologies. Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and for the feedback.

I think my favorite post was the one about neighbors scamming on your Wi-Fi —it set off a bunch of responses. My favorite comment was the one from stocknewbie2000, who said that not using a WEP key on your Wi-Fi is like trespassing through your neighbor's house-which is why I wrote a follow-up post about it. Or the five-part love-letter to the BlackBerry Pearl that probably went a little overboard in length and detail (still, the new BlackBerry 8800 can't hold a candle to RIM's supremely successful little consumer smart phone).

The pinnacle of gadget-lust-fulfilled, for me, was the day I put together my ultimate home theater setup, which was followed by a month of watching that most excellent and powerful of TVs, the Pioneer Elite PRO-FHD1. I almost bought the thing, but it costs $8,000! So I think I'm going to wait until it becomes next year's marked-down model. Oh, and I can't forget to mention Zoundz, probably my other favorite toy of the past year.

My least favorite gadgets and/or experiences while serving as the Gadget Hound? Probably the coffee maker that tells you the weather (why?) and my iPod crapping out in the middle of a trip (I fixed it, after I got back).

It's been a fun and stimulating ride. I'm moving on to other pastures, but don't worry: the Gadget Hound will be back in the form of Ben Patterson, who, like me, has been covering technology for more than a decade. You will be in good hands!