[HeyCori]

With so many sites doing their "biggest tech stories" of the year articles, what tech stories mattered the most to you? Here's my list in no real order.

• Microsoft reports record first quarter revenue. Is there anything Microsoft makes that isn't shrouded in negativity? The Xbox One, Windows Phone, Windows 8/RT, Internet Explorer, even Inori Aizawa was attacked and she's not even supposed to be taken seriously! And yet Microsoft has remained financially sound.

• Microsoft buys Nokia's hardware & services division. Can't say I'm too surprised as this was probably the next logical step for Microsoft. Nevertheless, this will play a significant part in Microsoft's future. Plus the H&S division will make for a nice little bump in revenue.

• The death Spiral of any phone company that isn't named Samsung or Apple. Some companies have stabilized while others remain in free fall. HTC, for example, might get purchased next year if things don't start improving. And gawd don't even get started on BlackBerry.

• Canceling my Xbox One pre-order. It's been a long time since I didn't get a new console at launch. I also considered getting a PS4 as well. Then I looked at the launch lineup for both systems and decided neither were ready for prime time.

• The new Kindle Fire HDX doesn't suck. The woefully underpowered OMAP in the original HDs drove me insane. Web browsing was practically impossible due to lag. I didn't buy one because of it. The new Snapdragon in the HDXs is great and makes the entire experience enjoyable. Bought one for the Misses.

• Buying a Surface 2. It has completely changed my mobile lifestyle. It's nice having a mobile device for both media consumption and productivity. It has come in handy a few times for work when I needed to type some stuff on the go. And I'm always reaching for my tablet now instead of my phone.

• AT&T gives in, starts offering discounts for people out of contract. $15 bucks off isn't much but it's a start. Maybe T-Mobile's UNCarrier strategy is actually having an impact. Even AT&T's CEO mentioned that the days of phone subsidies may come to an end and carriers have to find new ways to stay competitive/profitable.

[dznk]

As I'm a big user of Office, SkyDrive, OneNote, Windows Phone and have a W7 and W8.1 PC and laptop respectively, it means I'm heavily embedded into Microsoft's ecosystem, so the tech stories that matter the most to me, pretty much all involve Microsoft in one way or another. Some are the same as yours HeyCori, but I'll list them anyway as they are matter to me as well :)

• My first story is Steve Ballmer announcing his retirement. He hasn't gone as of yet, but the announcement of his retirement was big news. It will be interesting to see who they appoint as the next CEO, as they have a huge task ahead of them. With mobile tech moving at an unreal speed, the fall of the Desktop PC in peoples homes and trying to make the Nokia acquisition go smoothly, it will require a strong CEO to lead the company ahead.
  
  
• The above leads me onto this one, which is Microsofts acquisition of Nokia's hardware division. I personally was very pleased with this decision. I love Nokia products, and was pleased that Microsoft purchased them as they will now still live on in the WP world, albeit under a different name (Microsoft/Lumia). If Nokia hadn't have been purchased and they were to slip up and have a bad year or two, they would be the next BlackBerry. This move stops this from happening. It was important for both WP and Nokia that this deal was done.
  
  
• The release of Windows 8.1. I never used the preview so I installed Windows 8.1 along with a lot of other people, when it was released in October to the public. A definite improvement over 8 and it was an update that Microsoft desperately needed to do.
  
  
• BlackBerry's decline. This was expected in a way, but it was still a little strange seeing it really happen. WP now has comfortably passed it to become the third big player. BlackBerry have really now been beaten by the opposition, it's no longer just a prediction.
  
  
• The new Surfaces. Even though I don't own one yet, it was important for Microsoft to keep this line of products going. Superbly designed and built for performance, they're worth the investment in my opinion if you actually want to use a computer the way it should be used, not just to browse Facebook and play on Candy Crush.
  
  
• This one is not a specific story, but a trend I have noticed more than ever in 2013. The distancing between Microsoft's closest friends... it's OEM's. HP, Lenovo, Acer, Asus and yes even it's long standing buddy Dell have all sold Android devices and in most cases in increasing numbers/models of them. Perhaps the most painful one is the selling of Chromebooks. If you're Microsoft, this is obviously not good to see. They haven't dropped Windows in favour of Android or Google's Chromebooks and I don't expect them to, but it's a clear indication that Microsoft have a huge year ahead of them in 2014 if they want to win back, not only consumers they have lost to Apple and Google, but their important full support from OEM's as well.
  
  
• My last one is the fairly recent flurry of Windows 8.1 tablets for the end part of 2013. Dell Venue's, Lenovo Miix's, Acer Iconia's etc. This is a big step in gaining ground in the tablet market for Windows and one that will surely boost the numbers of Windows 8.1 quite significantly in the months ahead.

[jmshub]

Being security focused, the constant discussion of hows and whats of NSA spying on Americans has been the ongoing most important story for me in the last year.

[snowmutt]

Ballmer retiring would have owned it for me, if not for MS buying Nokia. That has driven every thought about WP and MS, as well it's new CEO, since. Just a HUGE story.

[Pete]

Xbox One was big for me.

But the highlight is Nokia single-handedly rescuing Windows Phone 8 from years of impending mediocrity. Thank you Nokia for putting the "Win" back into Windows Phone with this amazing range of handsets and the vision to support them with compelling apps and features.