And finally: the new 100 best sites, the 2006 roundup, next year's console winners, wind farms at home, Free Data overseas, and more

It's the last print edition of Technology for the year, and it's extra big (18% more pages than usual..). Give the changes in everyone's web use we've looked at the new 100 most useful sites - from activism and applications to video and zeitgeist. Plus much more...

• The new 100 most useful sites
  Two years ago most Britons didn't have broadband and Web 2.0 was barely a twinkle in a developer's eye. Things have changed - as our cream of the crop for 2006 shows.
• How the low-tech Wii won this year's console war
  Keith Stuart: As one of the most fascinating years in videogame history draws to a close, there is one story that stands out: the return of Nintendo.
• Are there really two million people using Second Life?
  You'd think so. With glowing press coverage, virtual world Second Life would appear to be going from strength to strength: last week it broke through the 2m sign-ups barrier.
• Why is it so much easier to use computers in films?
  Because if the computers in films were like the ones in real life, people would be endlessly turning them off and on again and standing around staring at the ceiling while they waited for a progress bar to inch across the screen.
• Motorola RIZR Z3
  A couple of months ago I took a look at Motorola's latest skinny clamshell phone, the KRZR. And I wasn't impressed. It seems that the company is still struggling to find a successor to the hugely popular RAZR. The RIZR, a sliding phone, is a step in the right direction.
• IPdrum IP Voice link
  A few weeks ago the 3 network unveiled a mobile phone that enables users to make Skype VoIP calls for free. It could be a while until other networks follow 3's lead, which is why there is an opportunity for devices like the IPdrum IP Voicelink.
• AA Navigator Vive
  In-car navigation system have suddenly hit commodity levels, with several devices now available for less than £100. The AA is looking for a slice of the action and it hopes that its brand will be enough to help sell this model, a rebadge of the Evesham Nav-Cam 7700.
• Cherish the BBC, the best innovator of all
  Victor Keegan: The BBC needs to be cut down to size because it uses the certainty of its licence fee to undermine entrepreneurial initiatives in the private sector. That is the accusation used by many of its rivals as they try to prevent the BBC from getting an above-inflation rise in its current licence application, a decision on which is imminent.
• Technobile
  Michael Cross: Email signatures are the mark of a tosser. So how do I stop my BlackBerry telling my friends that I am one?
• Batteries, Wii, spam: you must remember 2006
  Fires and delays held up Sony, rivals dissed the iPod, sex.com was sold for $1m and everyone got their 15 minutes on YouTube.
• When good ideas for government sites go bad
  Michael Cross: In the close competition for the most pathetic government website, we have a new contender. The deputy prime minister, John Prescott, told Parliament last week that his new departmental site "has recorded 2,771 separate visits and 6,836 page views since it went online in late August".
• Renewable energy runs into turbulence on the home front
  Big wind farms are doing well - but poor turbine design means it's not yet feasible for the home user.
• Commercial case for free data rises overseas
  Studies of other countries show that funding models for government data subtly affect their usefulness.
• Are we being ripped off over software?
  With sterling at nearly $2, the price difference between here and the US looks starker than ever.
• US internet giants fail to break into the lucrative Chinese market
  The lack of Chinese success for companies like Yahoo!, eBay and Amazon is down to 'lazy corporate culture'.
• Ask Jack
  Send your questions and comments to Jack.Schofield@theguardian.com. Published letters will be edited for brevity, but include full details with your query.
  Visit our Ask Jack weblog for daily updates.
• Letters and blogs
  Send your letters, comments, questions and rants to tech@theguardian.com, including (please )your name and post town.
• Newsbytes
  Optical joystick phone | Digg redug | Radio consultation | More portable viewers | Sky no limit | Games creator | Vista readiness | ThinkFree or buy