2011 was a huge year for technology! New devices hit the market, social media was used in revolutionary ways & old hats tried their hand at new things. Here’s our recap of the tech highs and lows of 2011…

1) Death of Steve Jobs:

This was certainly no highlight of 2011 but Steve’s untimely death gave everyone in the world a minute to think about his legacy. We re-read his wise words, discussed his demanding management style & daydreamed about Apple’s future without him.

2) Cloud Computing:

The cloud must be one of the most-used phrases of 2011. As more and more of us walk around with powerful computers in our pockets, more companies are finding ways to utilize the power of the cloud to expand their mobile reach.

3) Technology & the Arab Spring:

Tunisia, Egypt and Libya saw incredible revolutionary activity in 2011 & technology played a key role in the uprisings. Social media like Facebook & Twitter helped demonstrators organize organically and played an inspiring role in their move towards freedom.

4) Year of the Tablet:

Tablets were the it technology of the year. From the iPad 2 to the Samsung Galaxy Tab, if you don’t own one by now, it’s likely that you know someone who does. Let’s not forget the Kindle Fire either, which marked a milestone with Amazon’s entry into the tablet wars.

5) Social Media Competition:

The success or failure of Google+ is still to be determined but Google’s attempt to challenge the blue giant was a bold move. By acting as a fusion of Twitter & Facebook, Google tried to draw users away from the latter; many have argued Facebook has too much momentum to face a real threat from G+.

6) Cyber Monday:

Online shopping got its moment in the limelight with Cyber Monday, the Internet’s answer to Black Friday. While not the first year that Cyber Monday has been hyped by online stores, this year it got a real boost & made a name for itself.

7) 3-D Phones:

Making the sci-fi dreams of decades ago a reality, 2011 saw the rise of consumer 3-D mobile phones & televisions. Glasses-free phones like the HTC Evo 3D took the dazzle of modern smart phones one step further, while Toshiba, Sony & Panasonic all manufactured 3-D TVs.

8) HTML 5:

The war between Adobe & Apple over Flash may finally be over, as Flash takes a backseat to HTML 5. Microsoft revealed in 2011 that aspects of Windows 8 wouldn’t support flash & Adobe announced that it would quit supporting flash for mobile devices.

9) SOPA Proposition:

As I write this, Wikipedia & several of my favorite blogs stand blacked-out, in solidarity against the SOPA antipiracy bill which was introduced to Congress in late 2011. This bill would give power to copyright holders to pull the plug on sites that link to copyrighted material (like Wikipedia). Critics say that enforcement of SOPA will be impossible & that the open web and all its resources will be irrevocably harmed if this becomes law.

10) High Profile Hackers:

2011 saw the Playstation network brought down for weeks by hackers, not to mention San Francisco’s BART transit system & Bank of America. Groups like Anonymous & LulzSec were behind some of the hacking; other acts weren’t attributed to particular groups.

Sources: Gizmo, IBTimes.