Year in review - Tech in 2006

The year 2006 began with Microsoft playing second fiddle to Google but promising big things in the not-too-distant future.

The year finished up much the same way, with Microsoft--again under pressure from Google, but still making big promises about breakthrough products over the horizon. In between, the past 12 months added up to a transitional year for the computer business as new technologies and new business models further scrambled the industry constellation of forces.