Thanks to Chad for putting this together.

Technology Round-Up

Poll

Did you receive any cool tech-related gifts this Christmas? Discuss in comments.

Apple

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, received a 99% income decrease in 2012 .

Check out some neat 1980 Apple concept computers.

The iPhone 5 may be prone to bending (not a typo).

Following the release of iOS 6.0.2, check out the status of the jailbreak scene.

The Macbook Pro and Macbook Air will only be refreshed on the inside for a June 2013 release.

Google Finance briefly returned Apple's stock symbol for people who searched for"sell".

Internet

China is requiring citizens to register prior to being granted access to (their super-censored version of) the internet.

Instagram lost four milion subscribers after announcing plans to sell users' pictures. The company reverted to the old terms of service after only a day of complaints, but the damage was clearly done.

FourSquare will start displaying users' full names by default in 2013.

A site called Potential Prostitutes allows people to anonymously submit women, then it charges the women $100 to remove themselves from the list. Your round-up author imagines that this site won't last long.

The U.S. Government can still spy on your email.

Facebook lets people spam "happy new year" to friends, but the messages are public thanks to a permissioning snafu.

A list of the most pirated movies of 2012 has been released.

Wikimedia raised $25 million in nine days, so people who donated to Wikipedia can feel good about helping their cause, and cheapskates like your round-up author no longer have to feel guilty while closing the big request at the top of the site.

Yahoo! is no longer operating in South Korea.

Google

YouTube was unbanned from Pakistan after three months, then it was quickly banned once again.

Google has announced that free calling from Gmail will extend through 2013.

Electronics

Intel will release its own TV subscription service.

Marvell Technology Group (no relation to Stan Lee, who celebrated his 90th birthday this past week) has lost a patent dispute with Carnegie Mellon University for a whopping $1.17 billion in damages.

The FCC has announced new licensing rules for in-flight Internet service that will help it spread much more quickly.

Gamestop sold a Nintendo 3DS that had homemade pornography on it.

Sony has announced it will stop producing the Playstation 2 (after 13 years) in Japan.

See the recent plane crash in Moscow in action captured close-up by a driver of a BMW M3.

Westinghouse will show off a 110-inch 4K resolution TV at CES 2013.

Check out a review of the DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR which features five HD tuners and a one-terabyte hard drive.

Mobile

South Korea would like to censor teenagers' texts.

17 million iOS and Android devices were activated this Christmas season.

A United States International Trade Commission has recommended that Samsung devices infringing on Apple patents be banned.

Check out images of a Blackberry N-series phone.

A "Blackberry 10" device has been reported by the FCC.

The Notification Center for Windows Phone has now been released.

Apps

Get a new iPad or iPad Mini for Christmas? Check out the must-have iPad apps.

Or did you get a new Android tablet for Christmas? In that case, check out the must-have Android tablet apps.

Rotate your screen based on your body's orientation rather than just your phone's with GMD Smart Rotate.

An official app from the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows subway arrival times.

Instagram is available for Windows Surface devices.

Computer/Tablet

A new browser vulnerability affects Microsoft IE 6, 7, and 8, opening them up for remote code execution. Speaking of vulnerabilities, NVIDIA drivers are also vulnerable to an attack that would grant administrative PC access to hackers.

Microsoft decided that they don't really want to hear your complaints about Windows 8.

Linux won't be arriving on the Microsoft Surface anytime soon.

If you're planning to burn discs in 2013, buy the discs soon as prices will increase about 50% by the second half of 2013.

Tips/Tricks

Check out "40 [Tech] Tricks You Must Know for a Much Better 2013".

If you received a Samsung Galaxy S III or Galaxy Note for Christmas, register to receive a free flip cover and TecTile from Samsung.

This app will help you optimize your iPhone battery life.

If your iPhone proximity sensor is acting up, learn how to manually turn it on and off.

An iOS jailbreak adds in the topography feature to Google Maps.

Digitize your DVD library with the five best DVD-ripping tools.

Learn 10 ways to stick to your New Year's resolution.

Miscellaneous

Doctors in China are performing brain surgery to fix addiction.

Check out the biggest tech-related failures of 2012. Also, see the list of technologies that, for better or worse, didn't survive 2012.

A bottle that can contain and release sound has been developed.

Check out Ars Technica's top-20 games of 2012.

Microsoft has announced that they are opening 51 new retail stores in 2013.

Contributor

CyberInferno

Thanks for the solid round-up... I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who ignores Wikipedia's messages, haha.

I purchased a Google Nexus 7 with some xmas money and I would add the AVG antivirus app, the baconreader app (for you redditors), and the camera app because the Nexus doesn't come preinstalled with one.

Originally Posted by theagentcoma

I purchased a Google Nexus 7 with some xmas money and I would add the AVG antivirus app, the baconreader app (for you redditors), and the camera app because the Nexus doesn't come preinstalled with one.

I was thinking about getting the Nexus 7 as well, how's the battery life? I had the Nexus S and that phone drained so quickly, rad phone otherwise.

lots of cool stuff

yay for gmail phone calling!

The reaction time of that Russian driver was horrid. How did he not see a plane about to smash into the highway?

Originally Posted by Spencer Control

Thanks for the solid round-up... I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who ignores Wikipedia's messages, haha.

Thanks for reading! And glad that little quip about Wikipedia doesn't make me look too much like a jerk ;)

Originally Posted by skibby15

lots of cool stuff

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by CyberInferno

Thanks for reading! And glad that little quip about Wikipedia doesn't make me look too much like a jerk ;)


Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

The Nexus 7 is fantastic, best purchase I've made in a while. The battery life is fantastic; I've been able to get up to 8 hours playing games/streaming/browsing. I just charge it every night.

Good luck finding one, though. They are selling very well.