The 100 Best Products of 2008

The 100 Best Products, Numbers 41 through 50

41. Google Gmail (e-mail, free) Google scores another coup by adding IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) support to its free e-mail service, enabling users to read Gmail messages on mobile devices and on other desktop mail clients. Site

42. Electronic Arts Rock Band Controllers (game controllers, Guitar $60, Drums $80) Much of Rock Band's success involves the accompanying toy musical gear--a microphone, faux Fender guitar, and a (very fun) plastic drum kit--for playing the game. Electronic Arts manufactures and markets the controllers, which are available both bundled and separately, under a codevelopment agreement between EA and Rock Band developer Harmonix (which is owned by MTV Networks). Video review | Check prices

43. Mozilla Thunderbird (e-mail, free) Thunderbird 2 has a strong feature set, is easy to customize, and has solid defenses against spam and phishing. Review | Download

44. Dell XPS 420 (desktop PC, $2730) The XPS 420 multimedia computer--with Intel's 2.83-GHz Penryn Q9550 processor inside--handles everyday tasks with aplomb and even lets you indulge in some fairly hard-core gaming. Review | Check prices

45. Washington Post (news site, free) The Post has made the most of its consistently fine coverage of government, policy, and politics by posting it on an easily navigable Web site--and through narrated slide shows and video. Site

46. Yelp.com (online social reviews, free) At Yelp, customers write critical appraisals of everything from theaters to public restrooms. It's the "wisdom of the crowd" in action. Bravo. Site

47. Nikon D60 (digital SLR camera, $750) This small, easy-to-use model supports 10.2 megapixels of detail and offers convenient extras such as in-camera editing and stop-motion animation. Review | Check prices

48. The Consumerist (blog, free) Part news, part activism, and part how-to, this site supplies you with the tools you need to be an informed--and in all likelihood outraged--consumer. Tagline: "Shoppers Bite Back." Site

49. AdventNet Zoho (office suite app, free) Zoho's seemingly endless array of free online office applications has brought sharing and collaboration to business software. Review

50. OpenDNS PhishTank (security site, free) PhishTank is an information clearinghouse where you can report or find data on phishers, spammers, and anybody else who's trying to rip off nice people on the Internet. Site