As the consumerisation of IT takes a tighter grip on IT users' daily lives, and BYOD becomes an increasingly common way to work, the importance placed on developments in the devices market has grown, even in the last six months.
Further reading
Top 10 cloud, data centre and big data stories of 2013 so far Top 10 telecommunications stories of 2013 so far Top 10 software stories of 2013 so far
Here are Computing's 10 most hard-hitting stories in this period, covering everything from device launches to patent wars to stock price plummets in a market whose capacity for rapid change is matched only by the huge demand for its output.
10 - Apple launches iPad Mini - upstages Microsoft, but joins zeitgeist
Apple launched the iPad Mini back in October 2012 which, while it fair took the wind out of Microsoft's promotion of its Surface RT – which hit the streets just before – was arguably also the first time Apple hadn't so much innovated as jumped on the bandwagon with a tablet to try and take on 7in devices like Google's Nexus 7.
9 - USB stick inventor declares his own invention dead
It's a sign of the times when even the inventor of the USB flash drive, Dov Moran, sounds the death knell for his own product.
Still, it's perhaps no wonder Moran wants to push the benefits of the cloud, moving as he is into an Android-based cloud TV business. But the fact remains: April 2013 was the date when the humble USB storage device was officially saluted to its grave in the first world, and officially downgraded it to developing world technology. "It's only just getting to South America, which is quite amazing," laughed Moran.
8 - ESSA academy shows off the future of IT in education
While Computing had reported on Bolton-based secondary school ESSA Academy's futuristic approach to education, it was only when we got our cameras there that we witnessed the true effect 600 iOS devices can have on teaching.
With a 'hot-desking' approach to educational spaces, VoIP communications throughout the premises and paper textbooks almost non-existent, ESSA has become an international template of the future of education when technology is thoughtfully embraced.
7 - Google Glass prepares to up the devices ante
"Project Glass" – or Google Glass at it came to be known – looked for a year or so like nothing more than a bulky, science fiction fantasy from the company who brought you the self-driving car and ill-faited social network Google Buzz.
But as the technology began to fall into the hands of specially-recruited testers, and daily life with the device began to be recorded and shared, it has become clear that Google Glass could be a serious innovation. It certainly carries more weight as 'the next best thing' than a handful of mobile phone-syncing watches, which seems to be all the competition can manage right now.
