Most popular videos of 2010

From the iPad to a bus siege in Manila to top model gaffes and bejeweled bras, 2010 was an eventful year. Reuters videographers were on the scene at many of these major stories to bring viewers the latest news, often at great risk to themselves as seen by the tragic death of a Reuters cameraman in Thailand.  Their work, sometimes daring, sometimes fun, prompted our audience to click and share. Here’s a look at the most popular video from each month.

JANUARY: Apple ready for big device debut

The launch of Apple’s iPad was a highly anticipated event and it propelled this preview video to the most popular for January.

FEBRUARY: Luge crash death overshadows Games

The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games began with tragedy after Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili was killed while on a training run. The horrific circumstances of the crash and what this meant for the upcoming Games kept viewers clicking on this video.

MARCH: A monorail that gets you pedaling 

Weird and wonderful technological advancements are guaranteed to peak reader attention and this pedal-powered vehicle was no exception.

APRIL: Reuters Thai riot video released

Reuters cameraman Hiro Muramoto was tragically killed during violent riots in Thailand. Seven minutes of film taken by Muramoto illustrated how the scrappy street protest turned deadly on a balmy Bangkok night.

MAY: Spanish bullfighter gored

Bullfighting, while often controversial, makes for compelling video footage as the drama is played out in the bullring. Perhaps the bull’s triumph against the bullfighter is what kept viewers watching this video?

JUNE: U.S. woman sets world’s fattest goal

In a culture that promotes weight-loss through popular culture phenomenons such as the “Biggest Loser”, this New Jersey woman’s attempt to be the world’s fattest woman at 1,000 pounds intrigued viewers.

JULY: Bank for India’s sex workers

The old adage of adding sex to a headline to catch people’s attention, certainly is true for this video that was released in 2007 but saw a resurgence of traffic this year.

AUGUST: Bloody end to Manila hostage drama

When a former policeman took a group of tourists hostage in Manila, the bungled police operation to rescue them played out on TV screens across the globe.

SEPTEMBER: Soros: Gold “not safe”

Whatever billionaire investor George Soros says is golden as this popular clip of his interview with Reuters Global Editor at large Chrystia Freeland shows.

OCTOBER: Red faces over top model gaffe

The excruciating moment when an Australian top model host realizes she has announced the wrong winner of the contest made for great TV and got our readers sharing this embarrassing video.

NOVEMBER: Bejeweled bra exposed in NY

The reasons behind the success of this video leave little to the imagination, as does the lingerie it exposes…

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The Best Free Software of 2010

Get what you DON'T pay for: Here are 196 programs that cost nothing but will make your computing life richer—all while keeping your wallet fat.

We don't want to make you feel bad, but, uh... are you really still paying for software? Wow.

Well, we're here to spread the word: There's no lack of free software to be found online. Some of it is as powerful, if not more so, than the name-brand packages found on shelves at Best Buy for big bucks. By free, we mean you don't pay a dime except for what it costs to download and install the software. There are even times when you don't have to install anything, since there are a lot of great Web-based applications available these days.

Knowing all this, every year PCMag puts together a fresh look at the Best Free Software. We check the previous year's picks to make sure they've still got the chops (and the $0 price tag) and cull through other options that have come our way. We concentrate on productivity apps and utilities for Windows users, but make note when a program also works for Mac OS X and Linux distributions. Every one of the products in this list that is classified as a Windows product is compatible with XP up to Windows 7—unless otherwise noted.

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In addition, we know there's plenty of free software available for smartphones, so we've made a notation if the app has a mobile component, but we'll leave the full list of no-cost apps for your phone to our mobile experts (See "The Top 100 Free Apps for Your Phone.")

Many of the apps rounded up here are also "portable," meaning that they have versions that can be placed on a USB Flash Drive and run without installation, sometimes as part of the PortableApp.com platform; we've marked them as such.

Did we miss any great no-cost programs? Leave a comment on the story and let us—and the rest of the world—know about your favorite freebie.

In This Story:

Anti-Malware	Instant Messaging
App Launchers	Maps
Audio	Media Manager
Backup/Synch/Storage	Networking
Blogging	Office
Browsers	Operating Systems
Calendar/PIM	Printing
Conferencing/VoIP	Process Monitors
Displays	Remote Access
Email	RSS Readers
File Transfer/Sharing	Search
File Viewers/Converters	Security/Encryption
Finance	Social Networking
Fun/Home	System Utilities
Graphics	Video

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The invention of the digital camera revolutionized the way we vacation: all too often, we spend our free time staring down a viewfinder or at an LCD screen instead of looking around us. Well, there’s a concept design that hopes to change that: the REC Camera.

Designed by Dongyeon Kim and featured over on the Yanko Design blog, the REC Camera is an interesting twist on the traditional compact: all the usual features are there, including an LCD display on the rear and a shutter button on the top, but it’s a truncated shape – square, rather than the more usual rectangular design of a compact digital camera.

The reason for this becomes clear when the REC is fully deployed: the LCD display on the rear is transparent, and swings out to the side to act as a viewing window. Whatever you see in the window, that’s what you’re taking a picture of – and whatever you’re taking a picture of gets to see you, too.

The designer likens it to holding your fingers and thumbs together to form a frame: it doesn’t get in the way of what you’re viewing, but rather allows you to compose the shot in the best way that you can. While zooming would require the screen to activate, shots taken at a standard 35mm zoom equivalent will appear almost exactly as they did when you framed them in the ‘viewfinder.’

The transparent screen also serves a secondary purpose: when images have been taken, they can be reviewed on the display – and because it’s a transparent LCD, the image is viewable from both sides, allowing both the photographer and the subject to see exactly what was taken.

It’s a neat design, and one that means that the subject gets to see the face of his or her photographer rather than it being hidden behind a plastic box – and it’s well within the realms of possibility, with several companies working on transparent displays for exactly this kind of purpose. While the technology currently feels more like tinted glass than the totally invisible display used in Kim’s creation, fully transparent displays can’t be too many years away.

Sadly, the REC Camera could be at least that far away from reality. Currently, it exists only as an imagined prototype in the mind of the designer, and Kim has yet to announce any partnerships with hardware manufacturers to bring his creation to life – never mind to market.

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Steve Jobs Takes Medical Leave from Apple

Steve Jobs is taking a medical leave of absence from Apple’s top job, raising serious questions about his health and ability to lead Apple into the future.  Despite having an amazingly successful couple of years, many people have noted his unhealthy appearance lately, which is perhaps linked to a liver transplant back in 2009.

Apple have not provided much information about Jobs’ current condition, so we are left guessing whether he is acutely ill or taking preventative measures.  However, Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling did refer to a note that Jobs wrote to his employees before he left.

In the note, Jobs mentions he will continue as CEO of the company and will still be involved in all major decisions.  However, chief operating officer Tim Cook will now be responsible for all day-to-day operations.  “I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can,” wrote Jobs, adding “In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.”

Steve Jobs is heavily identified with the Apple brand, and many people wonder just how well it will do without him if these health problems continue.  While the U.S share market was closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday, Apple shares took a big plunge in Frankfurt where they went 6.4% down.

Jobs’ medical history is well known, although Apple have normally only reported the facts after the event.  In 2004 Jobs underwent surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he received a liver transplant that only came to light two months after it was performed.  During both these periods Apple suffered a loss in profits, and many people are predicting the same result now.

However, despite the problems it may cause, Jobs is putting his health first which is very good news indeed.  Lets all hope he has a speedy recovery and gets back on the job as soon as possible.

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