​From NASA's pioneering coders to the future of cybersecurity: TechRepublic's Cover Stories of 2017

In TechRepublic's Cover Stories series we dig deep into the tech-related tales that really deserve to be told.

These stories usually involve in-depth reporting and often involve weeks of effort to get right. In 2017 we published 10 of these in-depth features, reporting on a wide range of subjects, from the world of Tesla fans and how their electric car has taken on the Detroit giants, to the inside story of Google Fiber's expansion.

We've also looked at the vital subject of the state of women in computer science and what can be done to improve the gender balance in tech. Sticking with education, we also reported on the rise of Massive Open Online Courses and whether they really can create the next generation of coders.

Two stories even took us to space. We interviewed the pioneering NASA coders who helped put men on the moon and pushed the boundaries of technology as they did it. And also met with the first African astronaut, Mark Shuttleworth, who also went on to set up one of the biggest open source companies—Canonical—with its own flavour of Linux—Ubuntu.

Tech security is a vital story and we've worked hard to get to the story behind the headlines in three different cover stories this year. We travelled to Estonia to watch one of the world's biggest cyber defence exercises unfold, and took a careful look at what the development of cyberweapons means for all of us at home. And we met with the next generation of start-ups who are working with Britain's intelligence agency on the future of cybersecurity.

We've already got big plans for next years' set of cover stories, and you can expect the first to drop in just a few weeks.

But until they arrive enjoy the list below: all of TechRepublic's 2017 cover stories in order of publication. If you prefer to read the magazine versions of these articles, check out the free PDF downloads.

• How Mark Shuttleworth became the first African in space and launched a software revolution (PDF download)
• Google Fiber 2.0 targets the city where it will stage its comeback, as AT&T Fiber prepares to go nuclear (PDF download)
• The truth about MooCs and bootcamps: Their biggest benefit isn't creating more coders (PDF download)
• Elon Musk and the cult of Tesla: How a tech startup rattled the auto industry to its core (PDF download)
• Cyberweapons are now in play: From US sabotage of a North Korean missile test to hacked emergency sirens in Dallas (PDF download)
• Defending against cyberwar: How the cybersecurity elite are working to prevent a digital apocalypse (PDF download)
• The state of women in computer science: An investigative report (PDF download)
• NASA's unsung heroes: The Apollo coders who put men on the moon (PDF download)
• The secret to being a great spy agency in the 21st century: Incubating startups (PDF download)

And if that's not enough, check out some more big features we've published this year, too.

• Field of digital dreams: Why MLB is betting its future on big data, Wi-Fi, apps, and AR
• Why businesses are lining up behind Amazon Alexa in the virtual assistant race
• How egg-freezing is keeping more women in the tech industry: The inside story

Also see

• Tech's leaps, limps and likes: The 7 trends that defined 2017 (ZDNet)
• NFL Wi-Fi, cyberwar training, and hacking diabetes care: TechRepublic's cover stories of 2016 (TechRepublic)
• From the early days of Apple to the future of cyberwar: TechRepublic's cover stories of 2014 (TechRepublic)
• Hacking the Nazis: The secret story of the women who broke Hitler's codes, PDF download (TechRepublic cover story)
• NASA shows the world its 20-year virtual reality experiment to train astronauts: The inside story, PDF download (TechRepublic cover story)