The year in DIY-IT: Our project recap for 2014

We've done a bunch of projects in 2014. In this article, we'll take a look at the big ones, along with pointers for how you can get started in any of them you wish.

Written by David Gewirtz, Senior Contributing Editor on Dec. 15, 2014

Wow. 2014. I don't know about you, but for my family and me, it's been one heck of a year. It's also been a big year for projects and in this article, I'm going to run down the big projects we did in DIY-IT in the hopes that they will serve as inspiration going into 2015.

Here are many of the projects I've been involved in. Rather than present the articles in purely reverse chronological order, I'm ordering them in a way that would make sense if you're just diving in now and discovering them.

Productivity hacking

This was a big year for hacking productivity. In the attempt to squeeze 30 hours of work into every 24-hour day, it became necessary to find ways to do more, more effectively. Here are a few articles that may also help you get more done.

The big Mac project

In early November of 2013, I bought an iMac and then proceeded to push it as far as it would go. Here are some of the stories about how much I could get it to do. I'll start with the original 2013 pieces, just for perspective, and then take you into the entire series.

From Office 365 to Gmail

As shocking as it might be for an old diehard Outlook user to admit, I've grown tired of Outlook. It's not that Outlook isn't a great product, it's that there are better productivity choices for me. This year, I moved from Office 365 to Gmail. As you can see from one of the earliest articles, back in March, I was still very much involved with Office 365. Six months later, not so much.

Discovering Chromebook

One of the more interesting trends this year has been the growth of the low-cost Chromebook. I've been doing some exploration of them, and have found that I often recommend a Chromebook instead of a Windows machine. Here are some of those stories.

Exploring Windows Phone

Reasoning that I had never had used Windows Phone, it seemed unfair to write about it, either positively or negatively. With a loaner from Microsoft, I spent a couple of months digging into Windows Phone and getting to know it. The verdict? Well, better than I expected.

The business of software

As a former software company entrepreneur, I often get questions about getting started in the software business. This year, I answered some of those questions with some instructive articles.

Google Voice revisited

This year, after seeing all the reader letters I was getting on the subject, the editors and I decided it would be time to revisit my earlier Google Voice series and update it. Here are the updated articles.

Onto 2015

Well, that's about it for 2014. It's time to wind things down in preparation of a quiet transition from 2014 to 2015. We've got a lot more coming to you next year, including our new Automating Android series that will debut in January.