Twitter and Wikileaks, Facebook and privacy scares, the iPad and cutbacks - 2010 recapped

Twitter 'joke' leads to conviction

A major lesson for all of us this year was ‘watch what you say online' because the wrong words could land you in a lot of trouble.

The now infamous Twitter Joke Trial centred on the antics of Paul Chambers. Mr Chambers used the micro-blogging site to send a jokey message saying he would blow up Robin Hood Airport in Nottingham.

He ended up with a criminal conviction and a £3,000 fine - a judgement upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Twitter users rallied round, criticising the judgement as a blow to free speech on the web and common sense.

Many members of the social networking site repeated Mr Chambers' original tweet with the hashtag #Iamspartacus, a reference to the Kirk Douglas movie in which fellow gladiators refuse to allow him to be singled out for punishment.

Many celebrities championed the cause, including Stephen Fry, who offered to pay the fine. Support for Mr Chambers came from some more unexpected sources, too.

Cold-call scams continue

One of the most persistent scams of 2010 involved fraudsters cold calling people to con them into buying fake anti-virus software.

The usual ploy was for the callers to say they worked for Microsoft, which had been alerted to the fact that the person's PC was compromised.

The claims were bogus but many people fell for this scam.

Computeractive recorded one of the calls that showed how the scam worked.

Sadly, the authorities were slow off the mark in tackling this problem. Although in July the Police Central eCrime Unit managed to shut down 19 websites linked to the con, the fraudsters are as active as ever.

Tablets on the rise

2010 was the year of the tablet computer. Unsurprisingly, Apple grabbed the headlines despite being late to launch its version.

Our review of the Apple iPad found that it was very impressive but since then the sheer number of tablets released onto the market is staggering.

Everyone seems to want a piece of the action - from clothing retailer Next to better-known manufacturers and technology retailers such as Dixons, Samsung, Viewsonic and Novatech.

Smartphone interest increases

There has also been renewed interest in smartphones and now Apple's iPhone isn't the only cool handset to own.

Mobile phone retailers have been swamped with interest for phones such as HTC's handsets using Google's Android operating system. In October Microsoft launched its latest mobile operating system - Windows Phone 7 - and now people have even more choice.

Consumer Focus axed

The Government has pledged that to save money it would get rid of useless quangos and overlap in departments.

In a move that stunned consumer protection experts, the coalition announced it would close Consumer Focus and consumer-protection work carried out by the Office of Fair Trading.

Their work will be farmed out to Trading Standards and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Jim Killock, of the Open Rights Group, said it had "all the hallmarks of a rushed decision" and that nobody had "really thought about the consequences".

Wikileaks and ‘cablegate'

Unquestionably the biggest and most high-profile technology story of the year has centred on Wikileaks.

The controversial whistle-blowing website continues to dominate the headlines as more diplomatic cables are released almost daily.

With the supporters of Wikileaks now campaigning against those who want the website closed down, this story is far from over.

Streetview privacy error

Other data and privacy protection stories have also made the headlines.
Google had to eat humble pie after its Street View service was revealed to have inadvertently captured 600GB of personal data from unprotected Wifi networks.

The Information Commissioner said the error was a "significant breach" of privacy but didn't impose a fine.

‘Check-in' with Facebook

The social-networking site is never far from the headlines regarding privacy. It again raised hackles when it launched Facebook Places, a location-based service that allows users to ‘check in' to a specific place or event and share this or let others ‘tag' or check friends in at a location, provided they are on Facebook.

The company's various controversies and domination of the web led to founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg being named as Time magazine's person of the year. Wikileaks' Julian Assange was a runner-up.

Security claims rejected

Worries continued to surface about online security - worries that sadly, in some cases, were fuelled by misreporting.

Perhaps the best-known stories concerned the Stuxnet worm. Coded to specifically damage industrial computer systems it has been widely reported that Stuxnet may be traded on the black market and fall into the hands of terrorists.

These claims are roundly derided by the technology industry, with one expert labelling it "a sorry dishrag of a story".

Concern over Digital Economy Act

Despite deep concerns, the Digital Economy Act (DEA) managed to wend its way into law in the dying days of the Labour government.

Under the Act, people accused of illegally downloading copyright materials could lose their internet connection. But because the bill was rushed through without what many believe was proper debate, it still has a few hurdles to leap.

BT and Talktalk have been granted a judicial review of the Digital Economy Act by the High Court because certain clauses may breach European law.

What did we miss?

Be sure to let us know what technology stories have made an impact on you this year. Have we missed something important out? Leave a comment on this article by clicking the Comment on Article link below.