2012

Global smartphone adoption, particularly of Apple iOS and Google Android devices, has exploded over the past year. Research firm Flurry Analytics released a report this summer showing that iOS and Android adoption has grown 10 times faster than PC adoption at its peak in the 1980s. And these mobile platforms have amassed new users twice as fast as the Internet itself did during the go-go days of the Web in the 1990s.

This rapid growth in mobile has shaken up the Internet space as companies like Facebook and Mozilla race to keep up with users that are increasingly accessing the … Read more

A lot has been written about security online. But Wired writer Mat Honan's heartbreaking story about being hacked earlier this year resonated with people in a way no number of security analysts' warnings could.

Through a series of clever steps, a pair of hackers exploited holes in Apple's and Amazon's security policies, gaining control of Honan's Google, Twitter, Amazon, and Apple accounts. They eventually took control of his MacBook, wiping it clean of all of his documents, e-mails, and every photo he'd taken since the birth of his daughter.

Amazon immediately made changes to its security policy … Read more

Mike Daisey was a complicated figure for the tech industry in 2012. On one hand, he forced us to pay attention to working conditions at the sprawling contracting manufacturing plants in China. On the other hand, he made stuff up, offering heartbreaking stories of suffering that simply weren't true.

Perhaps you can get away with embellishments in the theater, where Daisey makes a living, but his mistake was to air those same prevarications on respected radio show "This American Life." Daisey's reappearance on the show and his subsequent roasting by clearly peeved host Ira Glass was … Read more

Up-and-coming hardware designer and phone maker Huawei has been making a name for itself of late. But expanding into the U.S. market hasn't been easy.

The company was dogged all year by accusations that some of its employees might actually be spies for the Chinese government. Huawei issued several statements to the contrary. And after 18 months of investigations, a White House review reportedly found no evidence to this effect.

But even if that report turns out to be true, some in Congress weren't satisfied. Regardless of whether there are currently spies working at Huawei and fellow … Read more

"All rooms have every movie ever made -- in every language -- anytime, day or night."

It was a sci-fi vision of the future when the bored motel clerk in the 1999 Qwest TV commercial suggested that the guest could choose among tens of thousands of movies, rather than just a dozen or so pay-per-view options. But just 13 years later, that lofty "everything on demand" entertainment utopia is, by and large, our day-to-day reality.

Appointment viewing? Fuggedaboutit. "Live" network TV ratings are sliding, even as the overall consumption of those programs is actually … Read more

2012 was the year the entire world went "Gangnam." In November, indigenous locals from the Andean hills in northern Ecuador gathered at a Saturday market in the nearest town, but the day didn't seem to truly get underway until someone plugged a flash drive into a boombox and South Korea's Psy began chanting "Op op op op oppan Gangnam Style!"

Psy and "Gangnam Style" have achieved a lot in just the second half of 2012. Not only did the K-pop sensation make galloping cool again, it made it a requisite dance move … Read more

Reed Hastings can't catch a break. The Netflix CEO started 2012 trying to repair the damage from price-hike mistakes he'd made in 2011 and ended the year with an investigation notice from the SEC, which apparently did not like the way he announced some company news on Facebook and on a blog. There was good news, too. Netflix landed a coveted deal to stream Disney-owned content and the total number of streams served by Netflix continued to grow.

Nonetheless, the year reminded Silicon Valley that even the best of executives can make blunders that take months or even … Read more

There's bad blood, and then there's Apple and Samsung. A little more than a year after Apple sued the South Korean tech giant for copying its products, followed by Samsung filing its own suit right back, the two frenemies finally headed to court for a trial that would last a little over three weeks.

In the end, a California jury sided almost entirely with Apple, finding that Samsung had, in fact, infringed on a handful of Apple's patents and the look and feel of its products. That resulted in a $1.05 billion damages bill and a … Read more

War is hell. But technology wars can be great for consumers and innovation, as it was in 2012. The tech wars escalated on several fronts, especially mobile and social, resulting in better, faster and cheaper devices, and hundreds of thousands of new apps.

Apple continued its strong growth with the iPad, and introduced the iPad mini to better compete with the 7-inch tablet crowd. Android-based players, including Samsung, Amazon and Google, were inspired by Apple to raise their games.

The iPhone continued its success streak, selling in record numbers, but Android phones are now outselling the iPhone by six to … Read more