In 1965, Intel co-founder Gordon Moore's article describing the rapid progress of computer chip technology observed that the number of transistors on a chip has doubled every year. The phenomenon became enshrined as a principle known as Moore's Law, which is used both as a benchmark of technical advancement and, among technologists and technophiles, a measurement of the state of the industry overall.

More than 40 years later, as chip manufacturers near the upper threshold of their ability to physically cram microscopic components onto a silicon wafer, technology's progress continued to march along in 2006.

The big news began at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco on Jan. 10 with a major shift for Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first of the company's computers that use chips by Intel Corp. as the brain of the machines.

Jobs announced the plan to switch from the PowerPC chip co-developed by Apple and IBM to a stunned audience at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2005. There, he explained Intel chips' low power consumption would make the new machines two to three times faster than other Macs. By the fall, the company's entire line of iMac desktop computers had switched to Intel chips.

A couple of months later, on March 3, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. agreed to pay NTP Inc.of Arlington, Va., $612.5 million US to settle a long-running patent dispute over the wireless e-mail and communications device. There were concerns that BlackBerry service could be interrupted, potentially causing major disruption to businesses and governments, and millions of dollars in economic fallout. The legal manoeuvrings against Waterloo, Ont.-based Rim began in 2001.

Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD

Consumer, industry and media attention soon turned to another fight, this time in the home entertainment arena. Electronics giant Toshiba Co. Ltd. beat high-definition blue-laser DVD competitors to the market on March 31 when it shipped the first HD-DVD format player in Japan. A stand-alone player for Sony's rival Blu-ray standard was not available to consumers until June 25, after Korean electronics maker Samsung shipped its device to the U.S. following a two-month delay.

Many industry observers believe the blue-laser DVD war – which recalls the VHS-BetaMax videotape battle of the 1980s - will be decided by the battle between video-game console makers. Owners of Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 can add an optional external HD-DVD drive made by Toshiba, and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.'s newly released PlayStation 3 console has a Blu-Ray player built-in.

Battery recalls

The end of the summer and early fall saw Sony embarrassed by a series of laptop battery recalls around the world after reports emerged of the lithium-ion batteries exploding or catching fire, and airlines began banning affected computers. Starting in August, Dell, Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo, IBM, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Sharp were among computer makers that issued recalls for the Sony-made batteries, forcing Sony to issue its own worldwide recall. By the end of October, Sony said some 9.6 million laptop batteries were affected.

The seriousness of the battery problem gained widespread awareness after clips posted to internet video-sharing site YouTube.com showed the aftermath of laptops that had exploded or caught fire. The effect was just a small demonstration of the popularity of the online community, which prompted internet search giant Google Inc. to buy YouTube in an all-stock deal valued at $1.65 billion US. Google has set aside $200 million US to deal with lawsuits over copyright infringement claims from rights holders, the company's filings with stock regulators revealed. Some videos uploaded to the site include music or images for which the creators may not have obtained a licence to use.

Video games take spotlight

The ability to play video on computers has been aided by advancing generations of graphics chip technology, and Oct. 25 marked a major milestone in that sector. The world's No. 2 computer chipmaker, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., agreed to buy graphics chip-maker ATI Technologies Inc. of Markham, Ont. in a cash and stock deal valued at $5.4 billion US. The deal included $4.2 billion US in cash as well as 57 million of AMD's shares. ATI has been at the forefront of graphics chip technology and is popular among video-game fans for its high-performance chips. ATI's chips are used in Microsoft Corp.'s high-powered Xbox 360 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii consoles.

Video games were in the spotlight in November as Sony's high-end, next-generation PlayStation 3 video-game console launched in Japan on Nov. 11 and in North America on Nov. 17. The launch was marked by shortages, with fans lining up for days to buy one after production problems largely related to the device's Blu-ray DVD drive resulted in delays.

Sony's approach differed from Nintendo Co. Ltd., whose Wii console had its global debut in North America on Nov. 19. Whereas the PlayStation 3 concentrates on high-resolution graphics, the Wii captured gamers' imaginations with its motion-sensitive controller that translates physical movement into actions in the game world, while using older technology for its visuals.

Enthusiasm for Nintendo saw some gamers losing grip on the control device with enough force to snap a securing wrist strap, sending the gadget crashing into TVs and other gamers. Nintendo said it would replace the straps upon request, but the controller inspired at least two lawsuits in the U.S. One was a patent infringement claim and the other sought damages for the breaking strap.

Microsoft launches Windows Vista

Meanwhile, Microsoft, which launched its Xbox 360 in 2005, focused its attention on the launch of the first major update to its Windows operating system in five years. On Nov. 30, the world's largest software maker debuted two of five versions of Windows Vista, both of which were available only to businesses. The three consumer versions launch on Jan. 30, 2007.

The year was also marked by rising volumes of spam – as many as 61 million unsolicited e-mails a day that clog up inboxes. Some industry experts estimate that as much as 85 per cent of e-mail was spam soliciting people, carrying viruses or were themselves weapons designed to crowd an internet connection.

Another trend that continued was plummeting pricing of flat-panel TVs as LCD and plasma screen manufacturing increased, creating a glut in anticipation of demand for high-definition DVD players and HDTV services.

Research into TV viewing habits also suggested that some people were turning off and casting their gaze toward computer screens, spending time on so-called Web 2.0 offerings that revolve around social networking opportunities on sites such as MySpace, photo-sharing service Flickr and YouTube. The services were all part of a renaissance that internet industry watchers say is beginning after the dotcom bust of 2001.

Worth noting

In other news from 2006:

• Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on June 15 said he would end his day-to-day duties at the company by 2008 to concentrate on charitable work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Hewlett-Packard Co.'s former chairwoman, Patricia Dunn, was charged along with four others on Oct. 5 for violating California's privacy laws. HP announced on Sept. 22 that Dunn had resigned after Newsweek ran a story on Sept. 5 that said she had hired investigators to spy on other board members and journalists to find the source of an information leak.
• Rivals Novell Inc. and Microsoft announced on Nov. 2 that they would partner to improve the interoperability of their software in a deal with a net value of $308 million US.
• Sony BMG continued to settle lawsuits over the so-called rootkit software Sony included on music CDs in 2005.

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