The year is all but over. All over but the counting. Actually, we got the counting done early, so it's truly just over. We finished the year early! Yay!

And as a reward you'll be getting a bunch of Top 5s all at once. Starting with this one, the best products of 2009. The ranking is based on the editors' rating our CNET reviewers gave the products with editors' choice awards, and your user ratings are used as tie-breakers.

So watch the video, then head back to this post and answer the trivia question in the comments below.

There are lots of really good gifts to give and to get this year. We're giving one away in this top 5! But there are also a lot of really bad mistakes you could make. So don't make them. Watch the Top 5, heed the warnings, then come back to this blog and post a comment for a chance to win a Sony Reader touch edition, courtesy of Sony Electronics. It's easy.

So, how do you win this CNET Top 5 giveaway of the Sony Reader touch edition? Let me enumerate the basic rules. Please read them carefully.

Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the "Join CNET" link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, no need to register again.

Leave a comment below. We asked a trivia question in this episode of the Top 5, but you can leave whatever comment you want.

Leave only one comment. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.

Winner will be chosen randomly. Winner will be chosen on or about December 21, 2009. The winner will receive one (1) Sony Reader touch edition. Approximate retail value of prize is $299.95.

If you are chosen, you will be notified via the CNET internal-messaging system. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.

Entries can be submitted until Friday, December 18, at 5:59:59 p.m. ET.

And here's the disclaimer (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 5:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday December 18, 2009. See Official Rules for details.

Official Sweepstakes Rules

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Sponsor, Administrator and Prize Provider: CNET, a Division of CBS Interactive, Inc. 235 Second Street, San Francisco, California 94105.
Prize Provider: Sony Corporation, 16530 Via Esprillo, San Diego, CA 92127

Sweepstakes Entities: CBS Interactive Inc. ("CBSI") and Sony Corporation 1. Acceptance of Rules. By entering the CNET's Top 5 Giveaway (the "Sweepstakes") operated on the CBSI web site accessible at the domain "cnet.com" (the "CNET Service"), you hereby accept and agree to these official rules (the "Official Rules") of this Sweepstakes, and the decisions of the Administrator in connection with this Sweepstakes, whose decisions are final.

2. Eligibility. This Sweepstakes is offered and open to persons who are (a) Registered users of the CNET Service (b) legal residents of one (1) of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia; and (b) at least 18 old or age of majority in their state of residence or older at the date of entry in this Sweepstakes.

For purposes of these Official Rules, "Registered User" means a person who has successfully completed the registration form and has obtained a User Identification ("ID") and associated password ("Password") on CNET.com.

If you are not a Registered User you may become a Registered User and obtain an ID and a Password by completing the CNET Service registration form by going to cnet.com and clicking on the "Join CNET" link at the top of the page. There is no fee or charge to become a Registered User.

Employees and directors, and their immediate family members, of the Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies, advertising and promotion agencies and legal and financial advisors are not eligible to participate in this Sweepstakes. For purpose of the foregoing "immediate family" means parents, spouses, children, siblings or any members of the same households of such employees and directors. This Sweepstakes is void outside of the 50 U.S., in Puerto Rico, all U.S. territories and possessions and where prohibited by law.

3. Promotion Period. The Promotion begins on December 14, 2009 at 7:00:00 AM ET and ends at 5:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday December 18, 2009 (the "Promotion Period").

4. Entering the Sweepstakes. To enter this Sweepstakes register into the CNET Service, sign into the Top 5 community/blog area of the CNET Service and post a comment on the blog entry associated with the Sweepstakes. Limit one comment/entry per person. Users submitting more than one entry will be disqualified. User information will be verified through a validated CNET account.

5. Prize. The prize ("Prize") consists of one (1) Sony Reader touch edition. Approximate retail value is Two Hundred Ninety-Nine Dollars and Ninety-Five Cents (US $299.95.) 6. Prize Restrictions. No assignment, transfer, conversion to cash or cash redemption or substitution of the Prize is permitted, except Administrator reserves the right to substitute the Prize with a prize of comparable or greater value should the Prize become unavailable. Prize is solely for personal use and may not be used in conjunction with any other promotion. All Prize details are at the sole discretion of the Sweepstakes Entities.

7. Odds/Drawings/Winner Notification. Odds of winning the Prize depend on the number of eligible entries received during the Promotion Period. On or about December 21,, 2009 the Prize drawing will be conducted by Administrator, whose decisions are final and binding in all respects. The potential Prize winner ("Winner") will be contacted via email. Potential Prize Winner will be asked to provide their personal information such as their name, email address, physical address, date of birth and phone number in order to confirm eligibility and compliance with these official rules. If the potential Prize Winner cannot be reached after a reasonable effort has been made during three (3) business days from the first notification attempt, such person may be disqualified, with an alternate Prize Winner selected in accordance with these Official Rules.

8. Prize Taxes. All federal, state, local and other tax liabilities arising from this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, winning the Prize, will be the sole responsibility of the Winner.

9. Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release and Publicity Release. Winner may be required to complete, execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility/Liability Release, and where lawful, a Publicity Release (collectively, the "Release Forms") within five (5) days of notification of winning. Failure to return Release Forms timely, or if Prize notification or the Prize is returned as non-deliverable, or if a Winner is found not to be eligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, may result in disqualification with an alternate Winner selected in accordance with these Official Rules.

10. Publicity Release Terms. Except where prohibited by law, a Winner's acceptance of a Prize constitutes permission for the Sweepstakes Entities to use Winner's name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, voice, and address (city and state) worldwide and in all forms of media, in perpetuity, without further compensation.

11. Improper Conduct. Administrator, in its sole discretion, may disqualify any entrant from participation in or use of any or all portions of this Sweepstakes, and refuse to award the Prize, if entrant engages in any conduct Administrator deems to be improper, unfair or otherwise adverse to the operation of the Sweepstakes or detrimental to other entrants of the Sweepstakes. Such improper conduct includes, without limitation, falsifying personal information required during entrant registration or Prize claim, violating any term or condition stated herein, accumulating entries through methods such as automated computer scripts or any other programming techniques, allowing others to use entrant's personal information for the purpose of accumulating entries, or intentionally trying to defraud, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise tamper with the computer programs in connection with this Sweepstakes. Entrants agree that Administrator may void any part of a Prize that entrant may have won and/or require the return of any part of a Prize that entrant may have won as a result of such improper conduct. Entrant further acknowledges that any forfeiture of the a Prize and/or return of a Prize shall in no way prevent Administrator from pursuing other avenues of recourse such as criminal or civil proceedings in connection with such conduct. WARNING: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THIS SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, EACH OF THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCH ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

12. Integrity of Sweepstakes. If, for any reason, the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned by reason of infection by computer virus, worms, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which Administrator, in its sole opinion believes could corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Sweepstakes, Administrator reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this Sweepstakes and select the Winner from entries received prior to the action taken or in such other manner as Administrator may deem fair and appropriate.

13. Lost or Corrupted Entries. The Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, lost, late, incomplete, corrupted, stolen, misdirected, illegible or postage due entries or mail, if applicable; or for any computer, telephone, cable, network, satellite, electronic or Internet hardware or software malfunctions, unauthorized human intervention, or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of entry or other information, or the failure to capture any such information. The Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies, advertising and promotion agencies, are not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by registration information submitted by end users or tampering, hacking, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in this Sweepstakes, and assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to the Sweepstakes.

14. Damaged Property. Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, injury or damage to any entrants or to any other person's computer or property related to or resulting from participating in this Sweepstakes or downloading materials from this Sweepstakes.

15. Sweepstakes Errors. The Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you hereby forever waive any rights to any claim in connection with, errors and/or ambiguity: (a) in the Sweepstakes; (b) in any related advertising or promotions of this Sweepstakes; and/or (c) in these Official Rules. In the event of any ambiguity(s) or error(s) in these Official Rules, Administrator reserves the right to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes or to correct any such ambiguity or error(s) without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes.

16. Prize and Winner. The Sweepstakes Entities, and their parents, affiliated and subsidiary companies and advertising and promotion agencies, assume no liability and are not responsible for, and you/entrant hereby forever waive/s any rights to any claim in connection with, the selection and announcement of the Winner, the distribution of the Prize, the acceptance/possession and/or use/misuse of any part of the Prize and/or any injury or damage to any entrant's or third person's property related to or resulting from any part of the Prize or any part of this Sweepstakes.

17. Release and Indemnity. Each entrant in this Sweepstakes, including, without limitation, the Winner, hereby releases and agrees to hold harmless the Sweepstakes Entities and their parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies and their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to person, including death, and property, arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the Prize, participation in this Sweepstakes and participation in any activity related to this Sweepstakes.

18. Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL THE SWEEPSTAKES ENTITIES, THEIR PARENTS, AFFILIATES, SUBSIDIARIES AND RELATED COMPANIES, THEIR ADVERTISING OR PROMOTION AGENCIES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, REPRESENTATIVES AND AGENTS, BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SWEEPSTAKES OR THE DOWNLOADING FROM AND/OR PRINTING MATERIAL DOWNLOADED FROM THE SWEEPSTAKES. SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. CHECK YOUR LOCAL LAWS FOR ANY RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS REGARDING THESE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties. THE SWEEPSTAKES AND PRIZE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

20. Identity Disputes. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner based on an email address, the winning entry will be declared made by the Authorized Account Holder of the email address submitted at time of entry. For purposes of these Official Rules, "Authorized Account Holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational, institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address.

21. Binding Arbitration. The parties waive all rights to trial in any action or proceeding instituted in connection with these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes shall be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the commercial arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association. Any such controversy or claim shall be arbitrated on an individual basis, and shall not be consolidated in any arbitration with any claim or controversy of any other party. The arbitration shall be conducted in the State of New York, in the City of New York and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having jurisdiction thereof.

22. Governing Law and Jurisdiction. This promotion is governed by US law and is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrant and Administrator in connection with this Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, U.S.A., without giving effect to the conflict of laws rules thereof, and any matters or proceedings which are not subject to arbitration as set forth in Section 21 of these Official Rules and/or for entering any judgment on an arbitration award, shall take place in the State of New York, in the City of New York.

23. Winner List/Official Rules. For the name of the Prize Winner send a self-addresses stamped envelope for receipt by December 31, 2009 to "Winner's list, CNET's Top 5 Giveaway c/o CNET", a Division of CBS Interactive, Inc. 28 E. 28th St, New York, NY 10016. For Official Rules send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the above address marked "Official Rules: CNET's Top 5 Giveaway for receipt by December 21, 2009. The full name of the Prize Winner may be posted and the Official Rules will be posted on the CNET Service

J. Sperling Reich from Showbiz Sandbox joins us to explain why the TV and movies online are restricted the way they are.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

I want to forward all of my e-mail automatically onto Gmail, which Yahoo won't do unless I sign up to its premium version that I cannot afford. Is there a third-party way of automatically forwarding all incoming e-mail to Gmail from Yahoo?

First, go to your Yahoo address and set up a notice that will tell people of your new address.

Go to Options, then "Mail Options" in Yahoo. Select "Vacation Response." Check the box marked "Enable auto-response during your vacation." Set the end date as far out as you can. And write a short note explaining what's up.

I have two methods for actually forwarding the e*mail without paying for Yahoo plus. They each are met with varying success.

This first method works for me, but not for everyone.

Go to Gmail

Click settings.

Choose Accounts and Import.

Under Check Mail Using POP3, click Add a POP3 account

Enter your Yahoo address. Press Next.

Put in your password. Press Add Account

It'll take a bit, but in a few minutes, your Yahoo e-mail should start showing up in your Gmail in-box.

As I said, that worked for me and I don't pay for Yahoo Plus. But it didn't work for a test account I opened new. The second method you can try involves running some programs on your Windows computer. This means that e-mail will only be forwarded when your computer is on and connected to the Internet.

Download these two programs: Easy e-mail forwarding from e-eeasy.com. Windows only, sorry Mac folks.

Ypops from ypopsemail.com

Install and run Ypops. This is probably a program you want to run any time you boot Windows.

Now install and run Easy Email Forward

Here's how to configure it.

1. Right click the Easy e-mail icon in the system tray and click Mail Settings.
2. Under Application, check Run at start-up.
3. Click the small red folder icon for accounts setup
4. In the accounts management window, put in your yahoo e-mail address
5. Under Account Type, select YPOPS.
6. Enter your Yahoo password
7. In Forward To, enter your Gmail address
8. You need to enter an SMTP address. Any one will do. If you have e-mail account from your ISP, use it. If you can't find one, use Gmails. It's smtp.gmail.com port 465 with SSL. Enter your SMTP username and password. And check Needs auth.
9. Click save. And close the accounts management window

Once you close the Easy Email window it will by default check Yahoo for mail to forward every five minutes

If your SMTP mail server needs SSL security, like Gmail does, you'll need a couple files known as DLLs to make sure it works

Look in the Easy Email readme file for a link to the DLLs.

Download the two DLLs and put them in your Windows system directory.

Now all of your Yahoo e-mail should be forwarded to your Gmail account. You can open the Mail Settings again and press the "Check For New Mail (Test Settings) button, to make sure it works. The thing is, this didn't work for me, though it did for lots of other people.

However I fully expect to hear from every fan of the video game characters that didn't make the list. Because let's face it, there are more than five good video game characters. So let your thoughts be known, but try to be gentle.

And among your comments, be sure to answer the lame prize question.

The answer to last week's lame prize question was: RIM BlackBerry Bold

Put the computer to sleep by tapping the power button so the sleep menu comes up, and then click sleep. Alternatively, you can go to the Apple menu and select sleep from there.

Once the sleep light starts blinking and you've confirmed the hard drive is no longer spinning, carefully close the lid so that you don't reactivate the computer.

Then remove the battery. The light will go out. The computer will be dead.

Now, either connect the computer to AC power, or put the battery back in and restart the computer.

You'll see a progress bar and then the computer will return right where you left it. Enjoy amazing your friends.

The University of Minnesota open-sourced its Gopher implementation in 2000 and has since shut down its Gopher server. But Gopher is not dead! Enthusiasts keep its spirit alive, claiming it provides a much cleaner and more efficient way of presenting text information than that unruly WWW thing.

Here's how to take a trip down the Gopher hole.

First you need a Gopher Client. Firefox will do. It never eliminated Gopher from its legacy Netscape code, though it could do with some updating. Serious Gopher users add the Overbite project plug-in for a more robust experience.

Then start off by perusing Floodgap.com's index of Gopher servers at gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/1/world You can link from there to Veronica-2, the successor of the original Veronica search engine of days gone by.

Further in, among the Python code and Gopher log entries you'll find a Twitter browser at gopher.floodgap.com/1/fun/twitpher? Put a username after the question mark to see the Twitter stream of just one user.

If you still rail against Mosaic and the graphical Web that ruined the Internet, take a peaceful walk down the safe image-free streets of Gopher. It's kind of like those working pioneer-villages that suck in tourists. It's a trip back in time, but don't forget people actually live there.

I want to thank everybody who watched Holiday Help Desk (hours one and two) either live or on demand. A few times during the show, I mentioned that I'd put links to things on our blog, so here they are.

Here are the instructions for downloading and running Chrome OS off a USB drive.

Here is our list of Best iPod speakers.

And if you'd like to replace the firmware on your router with something more functional, here's DD-WRT.

Also, here are Jeff Bakalar's really good arguments for why you shouldn't buy an Xbox 360 Arcade.