2011 was a year of 10-year anniversaries for Apple, including the 10-year anniversary of its retail operations. Ten years of Apple Retail later, and Apple is one of the most successful retail chains in the world — but what's next for the Cupertino-based electronics company? AppleInsider take a look at what's in store for Apple Retail in the next ten years, and what other records will be broken by Apple during that time. The Mac App Store is also one year old as of a few days ago, and MacStories has a great insight into what happened during the first year of the newest download-only store, from the launch of various Mac App Store exclusive apps, to the user confusion when faced with re-buying apps (and the decision to do so based on what benefits the Mac App Store would offer them).

As per usual, 2011 was a great year of Apple predictions. Over at Macworld they've assembled the best of the best Apple writers around, and they take a look at how their scorecard was for 2011 — as well as gazing into their crystal ball and seeing what this year will hold.

A new year, a new start — GigaOM has a great guide on how to get started with cloud backups for your Mac. If you already back up with Time Machine and are looking for something a little more off-site, then this might just be what you're after.