article: Here we highlight some of the stories that readers enjoyed the most during the course of the year. No year could pass without a major product launch and this year's most read was the announcement in September that Apple was entering the crowded wearable market with a smart watch of its own. Every year could be described as the year of the hack but 2014 saw some pretty significant ones, not least the Heartbleed bug which put security experts into a tailspin in April. Meanwhile one of the most read stories of the year was also one of our last (of the year, not ever I hope). Prof Stephen Hawking's assessment of artificial intelligence offers a tantalising glimpse into what we might be reading more about next year - the endless rise of the intelligent machine. January: 'Super-rare' Nintendo games hits eBay Fans of old video games were queuing up to get their hands on a copy of Nintendo World Championships, one of only 116 copies made as part of a special event in 1990. A first bid of $4,999 (Â£3,000) set the tone for the eBay auction. Even though the cartridge was in poor condition, its rarity - designed for a competition and never put on general sale - meant it would be something of a holy grail for keen collectors, according to gaming experts. The game eventually sold to a bidder for over $99,0000 - although the winning bidder later backed out. February: Flappy Bird creator removes game from app stores The game theme continued into February when everyone was talking about the new gaming sensation - Flappy Bird. Seen as a natural successor to Angry Birds, it proved short-lived when its Vietnamese creator Dong Nguyen announced that he was removing the game from online stores. Many questioned whether the real reason was because he may have faced legal action from Nintendo as the main characters resembled those in Super Mario Bros. By the time it was withdrawn the game had been downloaded more than 50 million times, making it the most popular game of the year. For those who had it installed on their phones, it put an immediate premium on the device with people selling handsets on eBay for $1,000 until the online auction site put an end to such trades. March: Thousands make #nomakeupselfie donation error Before the ice bucket challenge took hold this summer, another charity-raising craze hit social media in the spring - taking a self portrait wearing no make-up. Once the picture was posted on social media, users were asked to donate to Cancer Research UK. But unfortunately not all of the funds raised by the stunt went to the intended cause. The BBC discovered that thousands of pounds were accidentally donated to Unicef instead of Cancer Research UK, as people sent money by texting DONATE rather than BEAT. Unicef told the BBC that over Â£18,000 had been identified as being accidentally pledged to it and that it was working with Cancer Research to transfer the money. April: Heartbleed Bug: Tech firms urge password
summary: Privacy, bugs and naked selfies - just part of a day's work for the BBC technology team in 2014.