Readers' choice: GCN's top 10 stories of the year
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We covered a lot of ground in our technology coverage during 2011, but there were two topics that really grabbed readers' attention.
What were GCN’s readers most interested in during the past year? In a word: mobility. In two words: mobility and security.
That’s the conclusion, at least, you can take from the following list of the most read stories on GCN.com in 2011.
Readers showed interest in a wide range of topics during the year, including emerging technology such as that displayed by IBM’s Watson and gigabit-speed networking and advice on how to safely use social networking. And specific events, such as the technology aspects surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden, also grabbed readers’ attention.
But in large part, stories that had to do with wireless communications, smart phones and tablets, and those covering cyberattacks and cyber defense, ruled. So here is a quick look back at 2011, in the form of the 10 most-read stories on GCN's website.
1. 8 top tablets for the discriminating fed
Five criteria feds should look for in a tablet, and how eight models measure up to those standards.
2. What is 4G broadband, and do any wireless carriers really have it?
All of the major wireless carriers claim to have superior fourth-generation technology for their phones, but, technically speaking, none of them have actual 4G. So what constitutes 4G, and why are carriers allowed to say they have it?
3. Secure Android kernel could make for 'classified' smart phones
A research team from Google, George Mason University and the National Security Agency develop a hardened kernel for the Android 3.0 operating system that could solve the problem of using smart phones in military operations and emergency response.
4. The HP TouchPad up close: What might have been
A hands-on review by the GCN Lab discovered a tablet that might have been perfect for feds. But Hewlett-Packard never gave it a chance.
5. 5 cyber threats to watch out for this year (plus a couple of bright spots)
We began the year with an in-depth rundown of the cyber threats most likely to menace systems and users in 2011. A year later, how does that list hold up?
6. 8 tech dinosaurs: Which would you kill?
Every office is cluttered with technologies and devices that are past their prime, to say the least. But which ones should be on the endangered list, which should be done away with, and which deserve to survive regardless of new digital evolutions?
7. The 25 worst passwords of 2011
If you want more proof that people are reckless with security, this list of the most common passwords from stolen logins that hackers posted online will lay the matter to rest.
8. Psst, want to see photos of bin Laden's body?
After Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, malware mavens saw a golden opportunity: sending spam e-mails promising pictures that were never released.
9. Einstein was wrong? Fire up the Falcon!
The discovery by researchers at CERN that neutrinos apparently can travel faster than the speed of light rocked the world of physics, raising doubts about everything we thought we knew about the universe. But it also opened up some awesome possibilities that Einstein’s theory had excluded.
10. How to use Facebook without getting fired
Social media is great. But social media can also be dangerous to your continued employment if you’re not careful about what you post and when you post it. Here are a few simple rules to ensure that you keep your friends and your job.
NEXT STORY: 2012: 5 reasons it's not the end of the world (and 5 reasons to worry)