10 technologies that made me more productive in 2014

Hardware. Software. Services. We live in amazing times, and the technologies we use every day would have been considered magical just a few short years ago. Here are 10 small pieces of magic that made my life easier this year.
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It only looks like science fiction

Cortana, shown here, started off as a character in an insanely popular Xbox franchise. And then a funny thing happened:iphone 5s refurbished  The character became real, embedded into Windows Phones and actually working to make our lives more productive.

That theme played out over and over again for me in 2014, as hardware, software, and services that would have been impossible a decade or two ago became decidedly real.

In this gallery, I highlight 10 technologies that made the jump from science fiction to everyday reality for me this year.

It's a highly personal list, and it's highly likely that your list will be very different from mine.iphone 5s refurbished  I deliberately eschew Google products and services, for example, and my list of preferred products and services skews heavily toward the Pacific Northwest.

One theme that became apparent as I assembled this list is the amazingly competitive technology landscape we live and work in. Yes, there are some players who have staked out a dominant position, but recent history teaches us that those advantages can vanish in the blink of an eye...