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Every weekend, we comb our memories and archives to compile 10 useful items addressing a specific topic you may have forgotten about, or just happen to be excellent. Here are the list(icle) posts that proved the most popular in 2009.

1. Top 10 Tiny & Awesome Windows Utilities

The best boxing doesn’t always happen at the heavyweight level. Likewise, some of the best things you can load onto your Windows system are tiny little guys that just make day-to-day writing, working, and surfing better.

2. Top 10 Must-Have Firefox Extensions, 2009 Edition

We didn’t change everything from our original 2006 list, but we did mix up our favourite add-ons for our favourite browser with a few essentials that Lifehacker editors, and readers, have found indispensible.

3. Top 10 Windows 7 Boosters

Just before Windows 7 dropped, we put together the apps that developers had updated or released new to integrate with Windows 7. Some add in things missing from Microsoft’s latest OS, while others improve on what’s already there.

4. Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features

To think that Firefox 3.5 was almost labelled 3.1, a small iteration. The latest release included a lot to crow about, including much-needed performance improvements, but also many subtle refinements.

5. Top 10 Underhyped Webapps, 2009 Edition

Gina had only compiled her list less than two years ago, but the web’s become an even bigger playground for developers since then. The truly helpful and useful ones, without gigantic advertising budgets, were worth highlighting. Photo by thievingjoker.

6. Top 10 Tricks MacGyver Would Be Proud Of

This was Adam’s favourite Top 10 of at least the year, if not possibly all time. Either he’s really into short, goofy fan fiction, or just appreciates a number of 1980s pop-culture references sprinkled into his listicles. Either way, it’s fun to make like everyone’s favourite duct tape enthusiast with these clever hacks. Image by PoweredByLarios™.

7. Top 10 Ubuntu Downloads

Free software rocks, and free software running on a free platform is heavenly stuff. Check out the apps that make Ubuntu a better place to work, play, and explore. Image by Andrew Mason.

8. Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips And Tricks

Modern batteries help us feel like we’re living in the future, with mobile phones that can do anything and laptops that can work anywhere—when they’re fully charged. Otherwise, getting the most out of them requires some old-fashioned cleverness and energy frugality, detailed in these tips. Photo by conskeptical.

9. Top 10 Cheap or Free Home theatre Upgrades

Once everything’s hooked up, it’s easy to just point your HD TV in the right direction and call it a day on your home theatre setup. Take on a few of these projects and pointers, though, and you’ll get a nicer-looking, better-performing system. Photo by chunkysalsa.