Overall, innovation ruled Apple in 2008

Looking back over the past year, the word that keeps coming to mind is innovation. Apple has always been an innovative company, but perhaps no more so than in 2008. Even as other companies pull back from exploring new ground because of the economic downturn, Apple continues to be a pioneering company on a variety of fronts. I won't speculate at this point about what's ahead for the company in 2009, but I expect that there will be at least one or two surprises.

And given that the 2009 Macworld Expo starts on Monday in San Francisco, we shouldn't have to wait long to see what , pulls out of the Apple hat.

Ryan Faas is a frequent Computerworld contributor specializing in Mac and multiplatform network issues. Find more about him at RyanFaas.com.