The last decade has seen plenty of gaming failures—Nokia N-Gage anyone—but for every step back, there have been two forward. PM presents a timeline of the top 15 gaming milestones over the last 10 years.

If you thought 2009 was a great year for movies, look out for 2010: From high-tech spy thrillers to mind-melters to VFX masterpieces, the upcoming season is filled with flicks for geeks. Here are the movies we're most looking forward to.

This week's top DVD releases include the brilliant, action-packed Inglourious Basterds, the hilarious hit The Hangover, animated antics of Robot Chicken (with NEW Christmas episodes), and the cult classic, Decoder.

PM can recommend plenty of gadgets for holiday gifts, but what of wares for your more literary friends? Here are our editors' favorite books from 2009 (note: a brand new Popular Mechanics subscription also makes great reading-gift material).

This week, Terminator: Salvation proves that no machine is a match for the human heart, while Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian delivers a double shot of fun (and monkeys) that the whole family can enjoy.

The netbook formula is simple: Take one ordinary notebook, strip out some of its processing power, shrink its size by a little and reduce the price tag by a lot. New netbooks cram performance once reserved for full-size laptops and cost around $250 to $500. (Published in the December 2009 issue)

This week, Star Trek and Evangleion: 1.01 boldly reimagine two classic sci-fi franchises, while the gang from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia celebrate the joys of Christmas in their own "unique" way.

This week, Pixar's UP uses tens of thousands of balloons to lift a house, and our spirits, while Zack Snyder's Watchmen, Bruce Timm's Justice League and the animated G.I. Joe series all get definitive DVD releases.

Fans of G.I. Joe are served a double helping this week with the release of the live-action extravaganza G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and the gritty animated feature G.I. Joe: Resolute written by comic book scribe Warren Ellis.

This week, Number Six is not a number, but a man in The Prisoner: The Complete Series, while Night of the Creeps finally staggers onto DVD in time for Halloween. Also, the Dude abides The Achievers: The Story of Lebowski Fans.

When Dr. Tenma loses his son in a tragic accident, he creates a robot doppelganger that eventually goes on to save the denizens of Metro City. PM talks to director David Bowers about integrating real-life tech into Astro Boy's retrofuturistic world.

Today, Barnes & Noble announced the Nook—the book seller's debut e-book reader, and a direct assault on a market long dominated by arch-rival Amazon. So how does it stack up as an Kindle-killer?

Halloween has come early with the aptly titled Trick 'r Treat, but the rest of this week's offerings are no less horrific. Take for example Nip/Tuck's gruesome surgeries, Anvil: The Story of Anvil's dark lyrics and Man vs. Food's frightful challenges.

Sony's new portable gaming device is elegant, feels great and has enviable form factor, along with plenty of power under the hood. But it's still a device that is haunted by the shadows of what it could have been.

When The Guild goes mainstream on DVD, you know the geeks are winning the culture war.This week's releases feature other epic battles, including Lex Luther against Superman and Batman and, of course, Monsters vs. Aliens.