Apple is partnering with Broadcom to bring super-fast 802.11ac networking to upcoming Macs  —  While it's believed that Apple's 2013 Mac lineup will feature the same designs as their late-2012 counterparts, they are set to include a range of updated internal features and hardware.

Ubuntu phone OS announced, first devices shipping in early 2014  —  As already teased and promised, today Canonical is taking the wraps off the mobile version of Ubuntu, which is built around the existing Android kernel and drivers, but doesn't use a Java Virtual Machine and promises to use “the full power of the phone.”

Apple says Do Not Disturb scheduling bug will correct itself automatically after January 7, 2013  —  In a support article on its website, Apple has acknowledged that a bug is keeping iOS devices' Do Not Disturb feature active past its scheduled time.  It says that the bug will automatically correct itself after January 7, 2013.

Tumblr: David Karp's $800 Million Art Project  —  David Karp is in the midst of a rite of passage that seems universal for the young tycoons of the Internet's social era: He's buying himself a proper swank pad.  And like Mark Zuckerberg's luxe but dowdy $6 million manse in Palo Alto …

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt to visit North Korea  —  SEOUL, South Korea — Google's (GOOG) executive chairman is preparing to travel to one of the last frontiers of cyberspace: North Korea.  —  Eric Schmidt will be traveling to North Korea on a private trip led by former New Mexico …

Microsoft: Google Is (Still) Blocking Us From Building YouTube for Windows Phone  —  Microsoft today said that Google executives have blocked a full-featured YouTube app for Windows Phone, via a blog post from one of its chief lawyers.  —  The company is trying to put a little public antitrust pressure …

Vehicle rental giant Avis acquires car sharing company Zipcar for $500 million  —  Happy New Year, and welcome to the ongoing rise of the sharing economy.  —  Vehicle rental services company Avis Budget Group (Avis) today announced that it has agreed to acquire car sharing network Zipcar …

Samsung Loses Bid to Seal Sales Data in Apple Dispute  —  Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) lost a bid to keep sales data of some of its products sealed in a U.S. patent dispute with Apple Inc.  —  U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose yesterday denied Samsung's request to keep …

Intel's Push Into Web TV Hits Delays  —  Intel Corp.'s effort to develop an Internet-based TV service and associated hardware is taking longer than expected, people familiar with the company's plans say, in part due to delays in reaching content agreements with media companies.

Amazon Wins Dismissal of Apple's False Advertising Claim  —  Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) won dismissal of Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s claim that the online retailer's use of the term “app store” for Android device software is false advertising.  —  U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland …

Apple May Have Tapped Taiwan's TSMC For A6X Processor Production  —  Apple is looking to shift production of its mobile device processors to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company sooner rather than later, according to Taiwan-based newspaper The Commercial Times (via AppAdvice).

Walt Mossberg Look Ahead to 2013 - Talk Gets Cheaper, TV Gets Smarter  —  Personal technology never stops changing.  Some new products and services are game changers, like Apple's iPhone and iPad.  Others are clever twists or refinements, like each successive version of Google's Android platform, which gets better and better.

Putting 2012 To Bed  —  I'm typing this on my phone as our plane is starting to descend into the NY metro area.  We will land at JFK within the hour.  —  I've wanted to write a year end post for days.  I actually wrote one and stored it as a draft.  But it comes across as a whiny complaint about the s**tty year that 2012 was.

Apple to play wearable computer game, says analyst  —  Summary: Could an Apple wrist watch ultimately replace the iPhone?  Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster makes the case.  —  Apple is expected to plunge into the wearable computer game ala Google's Project Glass with a wrist watch …