The Top 10 Tech Stories of 2012

Posted by bzgoldman on December 30, 2012 06:18 pm 2

2012 was a year of scandal. A year of buyouts. And most importantly, a year of innovation. Every year, we go through and try and figure out the top 10 tech stories of the year. This year was pretty big, and it is hard to narrow it down to just 10. But we think we narrowed it down pretty good. Let's take a look.

10. Facebook goes Public

On May 18, Facebook had one of the biggest, and most controversial IPO launches in history. The IPO launched at just under $40 a share, but after issues with trading in the first few hours of launch, the stock closed around $20 a share. It currently hovers around $25 a share.

via www.washingtonpost.com

Read More about It:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/17/facebook-ipo-is-official-38-per-share-on-sale-nasdaq-fb/
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/17/3027211/facebook-confirms-100-billion-ipo-at-38-a-share
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/20/3032753/facebook-ipo-nasdaq-glitch-robert-greifeld
http://gizmodo.com/5911896/nasdaq-we-really-messed-up-the-facebook-ipo

9. Facebook Buys Instagram

On April 9, Facebook shocked the world by announcing it was buying Instagram, for just over a billion dollars. At the time of the announcement they promised not to remove integration with other social networks, such as Twitter. The FCC approved the deal a couple months later.

via i.i.com.com

Read More About It:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9195460/Facebook-buys-Instagram-a-desperate-attempt-to-stay-cool.html
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-buys-instagram-alarming-users-two/story?id=16107176#.UN3EgonjnD0
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57411433/facebook-buys-instagram-user-love/
http://www.npr.org/2012/04/10/150372288/instagram-sells-for-1-billion-despite-no-revenue
http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/09/facebook-to-buy-instagram/
http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/9/2936375/facebook-buys-instagram

8. The McAfee Files

On November 12, Belize police started a search for John McAfee, the founder of McAfee Anti-Virus, for the murder of his neighbor. This story is way to long to summarize, so check out the links to learn more!

via a.abcnews.com

Read More About It:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/12/ff-john-mcafees-last-stand/all/
http://gizmodo.com/5965295/vice-magazine-just-accidentally-revealed-where-john-mcafee-is-hiding
http://gizmodo.com/5959812/john-mcafee-wanted-for-murder?tag=john-mcafee
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/02/tech-mogul-john-mcafee-captured-according-to-his-blog/
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/business/media/in-pursuit-of-john-mcafee-media-are-part-of-story.html?_r=0

7. The Microsoft Surface

Whether or not you're a fan of it, you can't deny that the Surface was actually really big news this year. On June 18, Microsoft sent out secret invites to a presentation to occur that same day, there, the Surface was announced. It was unveiled in two different models. The first, released October 26, running Windows RT, starting at $500, and the second is to be seen

via cdn1.mos.techradar.futurecdn.net

Read More About It:

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/microsoft-announces-surface-tablet-834465
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/18/microsoft-announces-surface-for-windows-8-pro/

6. The Nexus 7

On June 27, Google probably made one of the biggest announcements in the tablet industry since iPad, the Nexus 7. The tablet, which was announced at there yearly Google IO convention, features a 7-inch display, Android 4.1, and Quad-Core processor, and best of all, was only $200.

via www.wired.com

Read More About It:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/nexus-7-review/
http://gizmodo.com/5921827/nexus-7-tablet-hands-on-brave-new-world/gallery/1

5. The iPad mini

Another achievement of Google's because of the Nexus 7 was getting Apple to do something Steve Jobs swore would never happen. Apple making a 7-inch tablet. Announced on October 23, the iPad mini features a 7.9-inch display, 4G LTE, and an A5 processor.

via images.apple.com

Read More About It:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/23/apple-ipad-mini/
http://gizmodo.com/5953978/ipad-mini-everything-you-need-to-know
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/23/3539828/ipad-mini-apple-announcement

4. SOPA

This year, SOPA, or the Stop Online Privacy Act, was an act that congress was trying to pass to, well stop online privacy. The act would allow the government access to shut down all websites, with the support of Hollywood, to stop pirating. The internet was not happy. On January 18, in protest, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, AOL and more had a blackout for the day, asking people to contact there congressmen to stop the act. The act was trashed on the 20th. The same day Megaupload was shut down (more on that later).

via www.filmindependent.org

Read More About It:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/26/2738948/new-details-sopa-collapse-mpaa-emi-vp-urban-development
http://www.theverge.com/2012/1/20/2721418/sopa-bill-withdrawn-by-lamar-smith

3: $1 Billion Apple VS Samsung Trial

On August 24, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple a whopping $1.049B in there series of patent trials.

via phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com

Read More About It:

http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/24/3266571/apple-decisively-wins-samsung-trial-what-it-means

2. Another Year without BB10

That's right, we went another year without BB10. This was #3 on our list last year, and a failing RIM can't go another year without it. We have a announcement date, January 30, but lets hope we get a release date this time.

via i0.wp.com

1. Megaupload Shutdown

After SOPA failed to pass, the Hollywood industry was mad that the US government was unable to help them in stoping pirated content. In order to make them happy, on January 20, the same day the bill was trashed, Joe Biden, along with the Government of New Zealand, arrested Kim Dotcom, the CEO of Megaupload. While ceasing his house, the FBI shutdown Megaupload and Megavideo and arrested 3 more mega executives. The internet has so far defended Kim Dotcom overall, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak who said "If someone mails something illegal, you don't shut down the whole post office."