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Continuing revelations of the US National Security Agency's massive spying apparatus redefined the term "surveillance state" in 2013. But researchers are developing new technologies to preserve online freedoms, including private, secure wireless networks and ways of disguising web traffic.
The year has been about more than just spooks, of course: robots are taking architecture to superhuman heights
We also launched ButtonMasher, our new column about video games and gaming culture. But while technology is undeniably making our lives better, easier, and more entertaining, 2013 will be remembered as the year we learned that it brings a risk we hadn't fully realised.
Submarine internet cables are a gift for spooks
Shortly after the first news of the NSA's spying dragnet became public, we learned that the agency siphons information directly from the backbone of the internet
Meshnet activists rebuilding the internet from scratch
Worried about the NSA snooping on your email? Maybe you need to start creating your own personal internet
Throw off the spooks by disguising your web traffic
The NSA's massive dragnet could be ripped apart by tools that make it impossible to know what you are doing on your computer
ButtonMasher: DIY video game tools put you in control
In the first edition of our column about video games and gaming culture, New Scientist finds an exploding community of amateur gamers who are creating new games from the ground up
Digital shrinks find depressed faces and body language
Automatic systems that analyse gestures and facial expressions may soon be helping psychologists pick up the easily missed symptoms of depression
Beyond 3D printing: The all-in-one factory
3D printing not enough for you? Meet the device that's a self-contained manufacturing plant
Virtual reality: Get your head in the game
VR is making a comeback, fuelled by the Oculus Rift, a 3D headset that promises a mind-blowingly immersive experience
Multi-shot video can identify civil rights abusers
A video shot during a protest may look like hard evidence, but software that stitches together multiple perspectives helps ensure the full story comes to light
Making your own phone is easier than you might think
Tired of all phones looking the same? New Scientist learned that the best way to be unique is to build your own
Robot builders deliver architects' dreams
Unlike humans, robots have no problem building tremendously intricate designs that push the boundaries of modern architecture
Citizen cartographers fill the gaps in maps
People in the developing world are charting everything from slums to rural footpaths, providing online maps that can be crucial for urban planning or in times of disaster
Kindergarten coders can program before they can read
New Scientist sat in on a classroom where kids as young as 4 years old are learning programming as part of an effort to bolster computer science in schools
Google Glass has its electronic eye on health
Early adopters of the headset computer are using it to transform our view of medicine
Hacked Google Glass recognises finger gestures
Google's experimental Glass headset has been hacked to respond to a wearer's hand movements
Frugal science gets DIY diagnostics to world's poorest
From bicycle pumps to pressure cookers, researchers are turning common objects into ways of delivering healthcare to people in the developing world
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