We know what it’s like – with all the food, drink, presents and ‘family time’, it can be hard to keep up with everything online over the holiday season.
So, if you’re back in work today, here’s a quick primer to keep you up to date with the news stories you might have missed. We’ll also flag up some of the feature pieces we ran on The Next Web over the past ten days, and some must-reads from elsewhere.
In the news
- Christmas Day 2012 saw a record 17.4m Android and iOS device activations, 2.5x more than in 2011
- Developers begin seeing new Apple iPhone hardware and iOS 7 in usage logs
- Apple CEO Tim Cook’s compensation totaled less than $4.2m in 2012, down from $378m last year
- Poke down: Facebook’s Snapchat copy app falls from top ranks as quickly as it rose
- New services bypass Apple DRM to allow pirated iOS app installs without jailbreaking on iPhone, iPad
- Instagram outrage? Other apps that have ‘plunged’: Yahoo Social Bar, Pinterest, FarmVille, Spotify, Zoosk …
- Facebook recovers nearly all losses brought on by false Instagram story
- It’s done. China makes it mandatory for all Internet users to register with their real names
- Spotify the social network: A sneak peek at the unreleased follow features and Web profiles
- Netflix to launch social sharing in US next year after Video Privacy Protection Act update is signed
- Remember Lycos? It’s planning a new search engine for launch in 2013
- Yahoo completes its planned exit from South Korea
- Kim Dotcom promises a “press conference like no other” for the relaunch of Mega
- Twitter-owned Posterous finally lets users export their data – will it now close down in 2013?
- Foursquare updates privacy policy to show users’ full names publicly and share more data with venues
- An iRumor from Asia: Apple and Intel reportedly building a Bluetooth smart watch for H1 2013 debut
- Steve Jobs’ yacht is now free to sail as his heirs reach temporary agreement with Starck
- VLC for Windows 8 reaches $65,000 funding goal on Kickstarter with five days to spare
- EU Commission unwraps public beta of open data portal with 5800+ datasets, ahead of Jan 2013 launch
- Meet Ms.Mac 2012: “The average female Mac user is pretty hot, if awkwardly dressed”
Good reads
- Why we’ve decided to stop producing TNW Magazine for Android
- Founders: Learning should be your top 2013 New Year’s resolution
- 2012 in the crazy world of Brazilian memes and Internet culture
- Playtime’s not over: Why European social and mobile gaming companies thrived in 2012
- And don’t miss our lookbacks to the best apps of 2012 and how some of the biggest companies in tech fared this year.
Useful guides
- 13 web apps you need to start 2013 off right
- How to increase Pinterest traffic and direct it to your site
- New Year Resolution: Startups, improve your branding!
- New Year, new system: 20 things you can do to make this year your most productive
- Happy new year! Here are some tips to help you avoid dumping your resolutions before February
Interesting reads from elsewhere
- Tenth Grade Tech Trends [Josh Miller]
- Why Menus Suck + Other Deep Thoughts on the Food Tech Revolution [Dave McClure]
- Digital Diary: Facebook Poke and the Tedium of Success Theater [New York Times]
- Trying to be the one true social graph is like trying to hold water in your fist [Hunter Walk]
- Ryan Block: Why I’m Quitting Instagram [New York Times]
Image credit: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
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