Since the debut of TechFlash in late October, we've tried our best to bring you the most compelling stories about the Pacific Northwest technology community. It's been a fun ride and we look forward to continuing the coverage in the new year.  But, first, here's a look back at the most read stories on TechFlash 0f 2008.* What do you like reading? Scoops, scandals and Microsoft executives who quit.

Bill Gates' mysterious new company -- Months after leaving his full time gig at Microsoft the software billionaire forms a new entity called bgC3, described in trademark filings as a "think tank."

Turn your iPhone into a credit card terminal with a $49.99 application -- Derek Del Conte shows off an entirely new way to use the iPhone, turning it into a mobile credit card processing terminal.

Live Search GM leaving Microsoft -- Brad Goldberg's departure followed a string of Microsoft execs jumping ship.

Key data center architect leaves Microsoft, headed for Amazon -- With the cloud computing battle raging, James Hamilton departs Microsoft for Amazon.com.

Youth sports programs missing funds, say Bellevue firm failed to pay -- Terry Drayton's Count Me In finds itself in hot water after failing to pay registration fees that it had collected on behalf of little leagues, lacrosse clubs and other kids' programs.

Counting the missing funds at Count Me In, now more than $1 million -- Responding to frustrated clients of Count Me In, TechFlash begins tabulating a list of the organizations missing money.

Veteran Microsoft exec retires -- Joe Peterson retires after 13 years.

Mag regrets Count Me In CEO story, says it went to press before scandal -- The saga continues with Seattle Business Monthly running a cover story on Count Me In's Terry Drayton.

Complaints surge over Count Me In -- The Washington State Attorney General's Office fields numerous complaints about the online registration company.

IE users advised to switch over flaw -- Nothing like a Microsoft product failure to grab a little attention.

*(Note: We didn't get Omniture set up until November and we had a few glitches here and there where some stories weren't counted. One example was the scoop on Microsoft's first iPhone app, Seadragon Mobile. That story got huge traffic and probably was among the top five most popular.)