To end our 13-part year-end special series, I have picked the best feature stories that TechTree has done in 2012. Now that 2013 has just started, you can perhaps reflect upon the larger issues surrounding our more serious stories; while the lighter ones are as funny as they were when first published.

There are plenty of links here to TechTree's stories, so do settle down, and be prepared for some fun as well as serious insights.

• Did you know that the very first iPhone was actually a landline. Yes, you heard us right. 
   
• If you are heading over to Wikipedia to look up 'iPhone', this is a good time to remind you that it knows only as much as you do (it's user generated content): It is not the authority on subject matters, the way it appears to be. If there is one source that comes close to being an authority of, well, everything, it is the  Encyclopaedia Britannica. If, like me, you studied in a school with a fairly well-stocked library and spent some time there, you would have seen big heavy volumes of the publication. And early this year, the Encyclopaedia Britannica went online.
   
• But here are things in the world that neither will tell you. The tech-world, like other thing shows two sides of every story. Manufacturers make pretty gadgets for you to buy, despite hefty price tags. But some get it horribly wrong too. Case in point: Five Ugly Gadgets. While you are  at that, I think you'd like this one too: Six Useless Gadgets.
   
• After all those light-hearted stories, time for a rather serious must-read article that discusses why you should watch what you say online. The Internet remembers, mind you.
   
• Sometimes, readers' response is bigger than the article itself. Here is one such piece we carried in late June this year, showing how our over-dependence on technology is making us dumb. Don't forget to check out the comments as well!
   
• If you are reading this on a desktop or laptop, in all likelihood there's a version of Windows powering your browser (Macintosh and Linux together account for less than 2.5% of our visitors in 2012). It's been 29 years since the very first version of Windows was launched, and set the ball rolling for PCs to become what they have today. Check out a brief peek into the history of the Windows, the most successful family of operating systems.
   
• Many messages propagated on Facebook are false (are you surprised?). From quotes falsely attributed to Einstein to a message that promises good luck if you get 10 gullible people to 'Like' a post, most of these are practical jokes with little or no immediate real-world effect (of course, they also make the Liker and Sharer look stupid, but that's a different matter). Now combine the propaganda powers of social networking with the fact that we Indians (for that matter, human beings, generally) love to hate something or someone, and you get an ingenious devil that  incites violence with blatantly false Facebook posts. Shame!
   
• After the last few serious stories, it is time for some fun again. Four ultra annoying viral videos takes a look at how seemingly ordinary works became a rage on the internet and in the real world as well. Whether you agree with the author or not, you'll like enjoy the read (warning: hardcore Kolaveri fans will experience blinding rage for a few moments). 
   
• I love technology; that's why I do what I do for a living. But more importantly, I also understand that technology is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. Which is why I get angry over the Aakash project. The problems in our education system are complex, and mostly revolve around human issues. So, when the goverment wants to spend my tax money to subsidize tablets for college goers, it gets my goat. Here's why I think the Aakash 2 is a stupid idea.
   
• Who would have thought of comparing mobile phones with cigarattes? Our capable copy editor, an old dog at writing off-beat stories just did!  Check out ten similarities between phones and smokes.

With the hope that you enjoyed our journey through 2012; with a promise to come up with more interesting insights, the TechTree Team wishes you a Happy New Year 2013!

Tags : Internet, Tablets, Mobile Phones, Government, Culture, Android, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Aakash, iPhone, 2012 Special, kailas