Top stories of 2012: Unreasonable at Sea to set sail on 100-day accelerator cruise with 11 startups and Desmond Tutu

A first of its kind type of accelerator is preparing to hoist anchor and set off on a unbelievable journey. Unreasonable at Sea, the startup accelerator taking place entirely on a boat, has announced it would be setting sail around the world starting on January 9. On board are 11 entrepreneurial teams, selected through the Unreasonable Institute and the non-profit Institute for Shipboard Education, that have a desire to advance their companies internationally.

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12 of the best educational apps of 2012

If you have a penchant for learning at home or on the move, 2012 saw a slew of handy apps that could help you in your endeavors.

Indeed, The Next Web covered thousands of apps throughout this year, from nifty new browser extensions, to the latest game-changing Android and iOS apps, so we sifted through the archives and pulled out some of best educational apps of 2012…just for you.

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14 of the best apps from 2012 for designers, developers and creatives

If you’re a creative with a penchant for eking out the best tools to help you produce the goods, 2012 saw a slew of handy apps that could help you in your endeavors.

Indeed, The Next Web Blog covered thousands of apps throughout this year, from nifty new browser extensions, to the latest game-changing Android and iOS apps, so we sifted through the archives and pulled out some of best apps for designers, developers and creatives in 2012…just for you.

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Top 10 IT skills stories of 2012

This year has seen some major announcements that have shaken, and occasionally angered, academics and the education community.

UK Education secretary Michael Gove announced in January that GCSE ICT was to be scrapped. His plans have been widely criticised for leaving the education sector without a clear direction for IT as a subject.

One body to air their concerns was the Corporate IT Forum Education and Skills Commission, which condemned the move. The organisation said it was disappointed that the government had not listened to its concerns about withdrawing the ICT curriculum from schools before the new programme is introduced.

The following are the top 10 stories:

1 Teachers share concerns and ideas for ICT in 2014 curriculum

2 BCS unveils first draft of ICT curriculum for review

3 A-level ICT student numbers drop 10%

4 If the popularity of ICT is on the rise, why are we scrapping the curriculum?

5 Technology students question whether university is good value for money

6 Young Europeans lack basic IT skills, says European Commission

7 STEM report on higher education recommends employers work closely with universities

8 Bringing back the romance of engineering: Technician Council unveils framework

9 Cisco launches ‘Out of the Blocks’ London 2012 initiative for secondary schools

10 IT managers take on more responsibilities with increased job security

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Nature: 2012 Review of the Year

From the discovery of the Higgs boson to the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars, 2012 was an eventful year in science. Nature's end of year round-up reviews the highs and lows in research and science policy. A great compilation.

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7 Most Important Tech Trends Of 2012

Ask anyone in IT about technology trends and you might get a sideways glance. After all, what seems like a novel idea- Google Wave, anyone?-can sometime die on the vine. Few of us are ready to proclaim whether Windows 8 is a raging success or another iterative release.

However, over the past year, a few trends did emerge. Some, such as 3-D printing, took a while to germinate in the basements of arm-chair engineers. Some popped out of nowhere and took the world by storm. These trends all dominated headlines-and, in some case, even changed how we do business and manage the world of IT.

1. Big Data Takes Center Stage
2. Online Training Now Crowdsourced
3. Near-Field Communication Fills a Need
4. Long-Range Biometrics
5. Super High-Resolution Displays
6. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)
7. 3-D Printing

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India's Most Valued Principals 2012

The third edition of ChannelWorld ‘Most Valued Principal – 2012’ survey provided a neutral platform to partners to rate the vendors they work with, in India. A total of 437 partner organizations participated in the survey, rating as many as 85 vendors across 14 technology categories. Did the principals get acknowledged for exceptional service or thrashed for dismal performance by the channel partners? What’s the report card of vendor companies in 2012? Read on...

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Tech Priorities 2012

Tech Priorities 2012

Confused over what technologies to embrace next year? Thenhow about a little help from your peers? We surveyed IT deci-sion makers from across various industries to understand theirtech priorities for the coming year in cloud computing, mobility, virtualization, and a slew of other technologies

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Top 10 BI predictions For 2012

Here are the top 10 predictions for business intelligence in 2012 by Boris Evelson, Forrester Analyst.

1. It’s all about getting things done. Standards, a single version of the truth, and enterprise-grade platforms continue to be important, but individual BI tools with the functionality to get things done trumps standards.

2. Enterprises will learn to live with multiple BI tools. Forrester client inquiries about how to live with multiple BI tools far exceed inquiries about platform consolidations.

Read the rest eight predictions