It’s Christmas Eve and, just like Santa in “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, I’ve been making a list, and checking it twice it, but mine is for my own personal gadgets of the year – and I’ve decided to name the naughty ones as well as the nice.

First, the best: I judge the best gadgets to be the ones that are well- des-igned, value for money and mature but nevertheless innovative products that make a qualitative difference to my life.

My choices might seem a little mundane at first – for instance, a monitor makes it on to my list. But I would argue that having a wider screen with deeper blacks and more vivid colour makes a huge difference to my long hours at the computer, so I really appreciated ViewSonic’s VX2450wm 24in LED monitor, available at a very reasonable discounted price of $180 (￡183 in the UK).