2012

Facebook in 2012: 5 ways its IPO changed the social giant

Now that was a year Mark Zuckerberg will never forget -- even if he didn't celebrate each moment on Facebook, as he wants the rest of the world to do. Sure, he turned 28 and married longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, in a backyard ceremony at the couple's home in Palo Alto, Calif. But that's the stuff of ordinary men. Make no mistake: 2012 will go down as the year in which Zuckerberg came out from under his hoodie and tried to prove himself as leader of one of the titans of consumer tech.

Is he succeeding? So … Read more

Facebook: Five things to watch for in 2013

Mark Zuckerberg has built the world's largest startup. His is a giant company, for sure -- $5 billion-plus in revenue, a stock market value around $60 billion -- but it's as nimble as they come. Its engineers push out products and features at a near-constant pace, emboldened by posters around Facebook's campus that read, "Move fast and break things."

Zuckerberg, too, moves fast when he wants. He's even structured the company so that he can make huge decisions without his board's approval, and he hasn't hesitated to do just that. His surprise purchase of Instagram … Read more

2012: A year of patents, mobile fights, and one big IPO

Believe it or not, few in the business of suing people for patent infringement or defending against patent suits believe 2012 brought more patent litigation than any other year.

That's right. The tech industry is worked into a lather about something that's always been a problem and probably always will be a problem. Despite Facebook's giant initial public offering, the heated and often entertaining competition among smartphone makers, and Microsoft's new operating system, one story dominated them all this year: the U.S. patent system.

So why are people so upset?

Let's start with this: … Read more

'Gangnam Style,' Grumpy Cat top 2012 meme list

Whether you love them or hate them, memes -- culturally relevant multimedia often enhanced with a witty caption -- are here to stay.

In an attempt to crown the king of all that is viral, the meme maniacs at the site Know Your Meme analyzed internal page views, search interest on Google Trends, covers, and even parodies to suss out the top memes of 2012. … Read more

'Gangnam Style,' 'Barack vs Mitt' among YouTube's champs

YouTube watchers kept busy this year checking out videos related to "Gangnam Style," the presidential elections, and Facebook parenting for the troubled teen.

Rewinding back through 2012, YouTube yesterday posted its list of the Top 10 trending videos for the year.

A video devoted to Korea's "Gangnam Style" craze took the top spot. A music video of the song "Somebody that I Used to Know" by Canadian band Walk off the Earth took second place.

Going viral and taking third place was Kony 2012, a video campaign urging the capture and arrest of … Read more

The best-sounding audio products of 2012

I've covered a lot of great sounding budget gear this year, but the very best audio is far from cheap. That's hardly unique to high-end audio; the best cars, cameras, and clothes are always pricey, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that cutting-edge audio can be crazy expensive. What follows is a list of most astonishing gear I listened to this year. I love my job!

Google: Top 5 events from 2012

Known throughout much of its life as a premiere software company, Google in 2012 made a big push into hardware. The company expanded its lineup of Nexus-branded devices to include new smartphones and tablets, built (and then shelved) its first media-streaming device, brought out new Chromebooks, and introduced its first effort in wearable computing. And that's to say nothing of that other hardware -- the kind that drives itself.

Here's a quick look back at the year's biggest Google news.

1. A big move into hardware. Seemingly every month, there was a new piece of hardware that … Read more

A look back: The best and worst phones of 2012

Not only was 2012 a great year for handset technology like bigger and crisper screens and amazing camera phone improvements, it also witnessed a number of top-notch smartphones that were excellent in and of themselves.

From a brawny battery that liberated users from worrying about their power reserves throughout the day, to a novel design that turned the go-to black rectangle aesthetic on its head, there were a number of handsets that wowed us and pushed the standards of smartphone excellence even higher.

But, what's a year without a few regrets? During our time reviewing exceptional handsets, we also … Read more

Apple: Top 5 events from 2012

Apple spent 2012 much like it did the year before: relentlessly pushing out new products. But that's nothing new.

Instead, tech historians will likely look back at 2012 as one of the company's most transformative years. A time where we saw some of the first pieces of a post-Jobs Apple begin to take shape.

Five key news events marked Apple's 2012, from products to company controversy.

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of stories chronicling the top five events during 2012 for a handful of major technology companies, and technology categories. In the … Read more