YouTube is truly one of the tent-poles of the Internet, being one of the few websites known and loved by all. And with good reason. It’s the home to millions of video clips covering all genres, no matter how niche. Sure, there’s an overabundance of funny cat videos, but hey, there are also movies and genuinely funny parodies too, so it’s all good. But wait, there are also music videos galore, from professionals and amateurs alike.

Smartphones are rapidly changing the world, bringing the once-humble mobile phone kicking and screaming into the 21st century. While feature phones (as the mobiles of old are now named) were great for opening up new lines of communication, smartphones go way beyond that. The simple connection to the Internet they offer means a wealth of new features and opportunities have been opened up to us as we go about our daily lives.

Tetris is fast approaching its 30th birthday, having originally been released in the USSR in 1984. What’s absolutely amazing is that Tetris has lost none of its appeal in those three decades, gaining new fans along the way and pleasing each generation in turn. It’s arguably now more popular than ever, with millions of copies of the game finding their way on to mobile phones in recent years. This popularity is mainly due to insane addictiveness.

We’re now a whole week into 2013, and hasn’t the time flown by. Why, it feels like only yesterday that fireworks were lighting up the night sky, and only the day before yesterday that those with time and money to spare had impressive animated lights displays in their front gardens. In 12 months time we’ll be able to do it all over again. Until then we have lots to occupy our minds, including what’s happening on the technology front, whether in the industry or in our own lives.

I’m rather obsessed with the weather. It’s not my fault, it’s just that I was born and brought up in the U.K., and all British people are obsessed with the weather. I think it’s because the weather is rather changeable on this little island butting up to the European mainland. Over the course of a single week we can experience hot sun, icy frosts, torrential rain, deep snow, and gusts aplenty.

The year that’s just passed was an important one for technology, with new gadgets and services finding their way on to the market, bigger companies acquiring smaller companies, and innovations spilling out from the underground to find a new mainstream audience. But technology never stands still, with the next big thing always on the horizon. This makes it an exciting industry to watch, be involved in, and to write about.

A new year is upon us, with 2012 having morphed into 2013 before our very eyes. For MakeUseOf this passing of one year into another actually means very little. We’ll keep producing content designed to appease our readers’ needs for being entertained and educated, and hope you return the compliment by keeping your browsers pointed in our direction. The year that’s just ended was an epic one for MakeUseOf

Playing video games isn’t the harmful activity some politicians and media outlets would have you believe, otherwise every single gamer out there would have psychological problems brought on by their hobby. However, playing video games is an expensive pastime to enjoy, with the price of games and the systems needed to play them potentially costing a small fortune over the course of just a few years. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be the case.

Like social networking sites as a whole, Facebook can be a force for good. The problem is Facebook can also be a force for evil, but it’s more about how we, the people, use Facebook, than it is about how Facebook uses us. Essentially, if you stay on top of your account, maintaining your profile and not letting the data it leaks get out of hand, you can control Facebook rather than letting Facebook control you.

The PS3 has a deserved reputation for the quality and quantity of its exclusives, with the Xbox 360 lagging behind. With the exception of the Halo and Gears Of War series I doubt Sony would swap any of their exclusives for Microsoft’s exclusives. The PS3 has a number of great PlayStation-only titles due for release in 2013, and what follows are five of the best that are definitely worth getting excited about.

However, as good as 2012 was for gamers everywhere, 2013 is shaping up to be even better. The Wii U will be coming of age, there’s the strong possibility of at least one (and possibly two) new consoles being released, and the list of games worth playing is growing by the day. What follows are five cross-platform video games due for release in 2013. Each one is looking more than worthy of everybody’s time and attention.

The digital age we’re now living in has changed our ideas of ownership and copyright. For better or worse. It’s also changed the way we do various things. In the field of photography moving to digital formats has made a huge difference. Most of it positive. However, there is one aspect of the switch that may not be so positive, and could in fact come back to haunt many of us in years to come.

MakeUseOf may not have been the dominant thing in your life in 2012, but it probably played a part in your daily routine. To think, we don’t even charge for this stuff, giving most of it away for free. It’s now your turn to give something back, not only to us but also to your fellow readers. It’s easy enough, all you need to do is nominate one or more pieces of content as your favorite MakeUseOf post of 2012.

We asked you, What Is Your Favorite Tech Innovation Of 2012? There was a healthy response to the question, even when the attempts to game the MakeUseOf Rewards system are filtered out of the equation. Innovations were put forward in all of the categories: Websites and Web services, apps and programs, and hardware and gadgets.

At this time of year more than any other there will be a host of new console owners getting to grips with their system. And after they get bored of the games bought alongside their console of choice, they’ll need to know which titles to get next. Which is where this article comes in: what follows are the 10 best games money can buy for the Xbox 360.