Apple dominated the news in 2011 (via WSJ) and 2012 is off to another strong start. All Things D reports that Apple is planning a big announcement in the Big Apple at the end of the month. It's not the iPad 3 or the AppleTV, but it will be media-related news (publishing or advertising). TechCrunch is hearing the same thing and adds that it will not include any hardware announcements and will be solely about iBooks and ePublishing. The last event Apple did in NY was launch the Daily, the first iPad-only magazine notes Gizmodo, and suspects it'll be related to iTunes or some kind of publishing deal. Then again, "This being Apple, nothing if not highly secretive, it's just as good a bet that the event-assuming it happens after all, and that's not a sure thing-will be about something completely different," Forbes reminds us.

It's been a big year for tech blogs, including a Britney Spears-style public meltdown (via Xconomy), a beautiful new startup from the ex-Engadget guys called The Verge and many other changeups and acquisitions (via Ben Parr's Entrepreneurial Musings). Which leads long-time VC blogger Jeremiah Owyang to declare that we're in the end of the golden age of tech blogging. "Kudos to him for sparking this conversation... feels like old times" writes Brian Solis. "While a chapter in the ongoing development of tech blogging is certainly coming to an end, in the overall story it's (finally) growing up...as it should." Um wait, sounds like an end? "He [JO] missed the point on this one, big time" writes Sarah Lacy - who's also rumored to be working on the next TechCrunch named PandoDaily. "Throughout the blogosphere the next generation is sprouting up, fired up with new ideas and resolve to build exciting new businesses that are different from wave #1 from the beginning." Longtime blogger Marshall Kirkpatrick also disagrees, and cites 3 things that will make tech blogging better.