Will Twitter take 2013 to gear up for an IPO early next year? So suggests Greencrest Capital, which, according to Forbes, has “produced some of the better analysis” on public tech giants like Zynga, Groupon, and Facebook. “You can begin to see Twitter’s potential flight path toward public trading because of some recent management hirings,” Forbes writes, citing Greencrest. 

In December, Windows 8 gained 0.66 percentage points -- from 1.11% to 1.77% -- according to the latest data from Net Applications. That represents “solid” growth for Microsoft’s new operating system, according to The Next Web. But, “The real jump for Windows 8 will come in January, after all those shiny new PCs get a full month of online usage,” it predicts. 

Among other challenges, an absence of apps could prevent Google Glass from going mainstream in 2013. In an interview with Ieee Spectrum, Google Glass head Babak Parviz says of apps: “This is a complicated thing. This is not a laptop or a smartphone. It’s an entirely new platform.” Also, at least for now, Parviz says Google has no plans of pushing display ads through Glass. 

Crystal ball in hand, Walt Mossberg is making a slew of predictions about the year ahead. Among other reckonings, the respected tech watcher expects tablets to keep cutting into PC’s marketshare; the continued convergence of hardware and software; a complete “rethinking” of the television led by Apple’s latest crack at connected TVs; and cheaper smartphones, which will accelerate the growth of the mobile Web.     

Difficultly reaching content deals with media companies is holding up Intel’s effort to develop a Web-based TV service, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing sources. The chip maker originally said it hoped to launch a service by the end of 2012. “Intel has pitched media companies on a plan to create a ‘virtual cable operator,’ which would offer U.S. TV channels nationwide over the Internet in a bundle,” WSJ reports.