…became “the center of your world.” So says technology writer/editor Joshua Topolsky — founding editor-in-chief of The Verge and former editor-in-chief of Engadget — in an year-end technology review for The Washington Post. It’s worth a quick read (emphasis added below):

As far as years in technology go, 2011 was one for the record books.

 

It wasn’t just about big battles like Apple vs. Samsung, Microsoft vs. Google, AT&T vs. the world, or Hewlett-Packard vs. itself. It wasn’t just about the growth of apps and the ever-increasing pervasiveness of the Web in our daily lives, though there were plenty of amazing developments both these realms. It wasn’t just about hardware or software. And it wasn’t just about towing the line or trying to hold onto it.

 

2011 was a year of incredible innovation, progress, and excitement in the world of technology. It was a year when — despite all the political and economic chaos around us these days — optimism ruled. And how many other industries can you say that about right now?

 

While some long-entrenched businesses like HP, Dell and Research In Motion found themselves challenged to do more and to do it better, other established players continued to wow consumers with their inventions. Apple and Google both had strong showings in 2011 with their flagship devices — the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S for the former and the Galaxy Nexus for the latter. Microsoft struggled to gain ground, but has started showing signs of life in its partnership with Nokia and early designs for Windows 8.

 

2011 will be remembered as the year that an explosion of new thinking happened in regards to how we interact with our devices. Whether it was the massive success of Microsoft’s Kinect gaming system or the interactive assistant Siri appearing on Apple’s iPhone 4s — it’s clear the way we interface with our devices is changing in a big way.

More after the jump…

» Read more: 2011: “The Year the Device in Your Pocket”…

msnbc.com’s Cosmic Log is out with its list of the top 11 scientific twists from 2011 this morning:

The past year brought us the supercomputer that trounced flesh-and-blood champions on the “Jeopardy” TV show … genetic discoveries that showed us the tangles in humanity’s family tree … a tsunami that shouldn’t have been as catastrophic as it was … and neutrinos that shouldn’t be going as fast as they seem to. Which scientific twist of 2011 do you find most intriguing? Now’s the time to cast your vote for the top science story of 2011…

 

In this list, I’m stressing the twists in science and technology that go against expectations — or set up great expectations for the year ahead…

At least three are rooted in advances in computing:

» Read more: “Top 11 Scientific Twists from 2011″