stores

Is Apple app fatigue starting to show among developers?

By some measures, over a million iOS apps have been developed by this point, and Apple reports over 40 billion total app downloads from the App Store. Yet there are some indicators that developers are becoming less interested in continuing to push out more grist for the Apple app mill.

According to data from Freelancer.com (PDF), which maintains the biggest online outsourcing marketplace in the world with 4 million job postings and 7 million users, iOS development job postings dropped in the final quarter of 2012 for the first time ever. iPhone jobs dropped 3.8 percent to 5,… Read more

Office 2013 desktop suite pops up in Windows Store

Microsoft's Office 2013 desktop application has a home in the Windows Store.

The Windows Store hosts apps for Windows 8 and RT, which you can download directly. But it also serves as a pointer for traditional desktop applications. Instead of letting you download desktop programs directly, the store aims you at a Web site where you can download and purchase the product. And that's the case with Office 2013.

Running a search for "Microsoft Office" in the Windows Store displays several results, including one for Office 2013. Click on that result, and you'll see an … Read more

500px photo app back in iOS app store after porn allegations

Apple allowed 500px's photography app back into the iOS app store today after booting it last week over porn allegations.

The app now includes a "report" button to flag questionable content and is labeled for ages 17 and up. The age restriction means the app has "Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity," according to the store.

"We take the content that appears on our site very seriously," 500px COO Evgeny Tchebotarev wrote in a blog post today. "If we find content that is in violation of our terms of use, we remove … Read more

Apple polishes iTunes 11 with an all-new look and lots of new features

An all-new Apple iTunes? No need to tempt us: We'll bite! The look is pure Apple, but the new iTunes 11 is also lighter, sleeker, and faster than the old app. It also comes with many new features and refinements, such as improved iCloud integration that lets you play your iTunes purchases right away on all your devices or pause play on one device and pick it right up on another. New Library Views clean up media collection clutter. Expanded views display album notes in place so you don't have to click back and forth. The new MiniPlayer … Read more

Apple quietly pulls 'editors' choice' of Twitter's Vine

Following recent controversy over nudity found in Twitter's Vine service, Apple has recanted its promotion of the software in the App Store.

The software itself remains available, though it's unclear whether that will continue to be the case. Popular photo-sharing service 500px was recently removed by Apple from the App Store following issues over nudity, which is not allowed under Apple's App Store Guidelines.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment on the choice.

The change, which was noted earlier by Business Insider, follows controversy over Twitter's Vine app, which facilitates the creation and exploration of short-form … Read more

Shocker: B&N to cut a third of stores over next decade -- WSJ

Barnes & Noble plans to close as many as a third of its stores over the next decade as it continues to grapple with consumers' move to digital books, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

The Journal, citing Mitchell Klipper, chief executive of Barnes & Noble's retail group, said the company will have 450 to 500 stores in 10 years, down from 689 as of Jan. 23. It also currently has a separate chain of 674 college stores.

Barnes & Noble has shrunk its retail presence over the past several years as e-book readers and tablets have become more … Read more

Dish said to shutter 300 U.S. Blockbuster stores

As more Blockbuster video rental stores slip into the red, its parent company Dish Network has decided to shutter 300 stores across the U.S., according to Reuters. The closing of these stores could mean that as many as 3,000 employees would also be laid off.

After Dish bought Blockbuster in 2011, for $320 million, the company said it planned to keep 1,500 of the chain's rental stores open and maintain 15,000 employees. However, with profits dropping, and with video streaming and downloading popping up all over the place, Dish ended up keeping only about 850 locations open. … Read more

Apple and 500px app commingle in naked controversy

The naked body lobby is the most enthusiastic and powerful political movement in America.

It's clear that people in possession of naked bodies can harm society in a multitude of ways, warping the minds of children and adults and inciting acts of unspeakable cruelty.

Since the days of Steve Jobs, Apple has always been keen to ensure that naked bodies are strictly controlled, even though it's still quite hard to stop anyone for searching for them using, say, Safari.

Cupertino's latest step against naked bodies and the people who promote them is, purportedly, the removal of the 500px app, … Read more

Apple eyes retail revival in Indonesia

Apple will invest between $2 million and $3 million in opening a new retail store in Indonesia, according to one publication, after filing an application with the country's investment board.

According to NZWeek, Indonesia's Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) announced it approved the application earlier today, which will see Apple debut in the online space in the country first, with an eye toward opening its first Apple Store in Jakarta, the country's capital city. 

The move will push Apple further into Asia, while still keeping the spinning plates of China's retail stores ticking over, as the … Read more