Jordan Kahn

Drexel University and the Free Library of Philadelphia are introducing what might be one of the first vending machines that lends out iPads to both students and local residents. The self-serve kiosk is located at the university and holds a dozen iPads that students and locals can checkout using their Free Library of Philadelphia card or Drexel student ID:
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Will the first generation Apple Watch become collectible? Or will your shiny new Apple Watch go the way of old iPhones and iPads in a year or two when the upgrade to a newer, likely more feature-filled model proves too hard to resist?

If Apple follows the release cycles of its other products, the Apple Watch could see at least a minor refresh every year and perhaps even a larger overhaul every other year, much like we see with Apple’s iPhones and iPads.

What might Apple’s second and third-generation Apple Watch collections look like? And what will that mean for owners of the current collection?
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Tesla unveils the Model W. Someone isn’t happy about Apple’s electric car plans. [tweet https://twitter.com/TeslaMotors/status/583357161960411136]

Apple today published a new iTunes section that recommends apps, books, iTunes U courses and other Apple educational content for educators and classrooms using iOS devices.
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The TweetDeck Mac app today received an update with a handful of new features including the ability to share account access with others, direct messages to groups, support for in-line GIFs and videos, and much more.
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[youtube https://youtu.be/9vy6M3qXbdQ]

The latest drone flyover of Apple’s under construction Campus 2 gives us our closest look yet at the site.
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In case you hadn’t heard, Jay-Z is this week launching (relaunching) the Tidal music service he recently acquired along with a lot of help from industry friends. The company is hoping its model is innovative and helps artists earn more, but its UI for the web app appears to be a shameless copy of Spotify, as you can see in the comparison screenshot: Tidal above, Spotify below.
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With just over a week before Apple Watch previews and reservations kick off in Apple retail and online stores, there are a few things to keep in mind if you’re planning on purchasing the device in the early weeks of availability.

Apple is making big changes to its retail sales process with a completely new approach to in-store demos for what is the company’s first product to cross over into the fashion world. There has been a lot of news surrounding Apple’s reservation and in-store sales experience for Apple Watch, so we’ve put together a concise list of FAQ’s for everything you’ll want to know for launch this month.
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Adobe today released a new iPad app dubbed Comp CC that offers “rapid creation of layout concepts for mobile, Web and print projects” that can later be used in Photoshop CC, Illustrator CC and InDesign CC. Adobe first previewed the new app last year when it was still an early prototype, but today the app is arriving on the App Store for all.
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Nanoblock brick ninja Christopher Tan built a replica Apple Watch out of Nanoblocks, a miniaturized Lego-like building block product from…

Apple Watch preorders, reservations, and sales are set to kick off in the coming weeks, so we’ve prepared a running list of the best accessories available to purchase and preorder online.

Companies aren’t waiting around for an official Apple third-party accessory program for the device, as a long list of straps, cases, charging docks, screen protectors and more are scheduled to ship next month in time for the Apple Watch launch. There are even solutions to attach traditional watch straps to Apple Watch, and portable power options for charging on the go.

There are bound to be more companies announcing accessories in the weeks to come, and we’ll be updating this list as they do.
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Update: Apple says all services are restored.

Following an outage of many Apple services earlier this week, several of Apple’s iTunes and App Store services are again today experiencing disruptions, according to Apple’s system status page.
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Little shits pretend to work at the Apple Store, confuse the elderly. Boring YouTube video ensues. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x364TSJTXuQ]

During its F8 Developer Conference today, Facebook announced a new Facebook Messenger Platform that will allow third-party apps to integrate with its popular Messenger app.
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The UK government has decided to equip all of its 650 members of parliament with an iPad Air 2, according to a report from The Telegraph citing an official announcement from the House of Commons Commission this week.

While some have been critical of the decision to lock into Apple’s ecosystem, it’s now official with all members set to receive a 16GB WiFi + Cellular iPad Air 2 at a cost of around £200,000 or almost $300,000 US a year:
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A $17.5 million project led and partly funded by Apple to increase the use of recycled water in Sunnyvale and Cupertino has been approved by city officials.

Mercury News reports that the Santa Clara Valley Water District has given the project the go ahead this week which will see the city of Sunnyvale, Apple and the California Water Service Company work together to lay 13,300 feet of pipeline to bring recycled water into Sunnyvale and Apple’s new campus in Cupertino:
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Apple has reportedly acquired database company FoundationDB, according to a new report from TechCrunch. The report cites sources and notes that the company is no longer offering downloads of its main database software product after posting the following notice to its website:

Thank you for your support of FoundationDB over the last five years. We’re grateful to have shared our vision of building the best database software and we strongly value your participation in this community. We have made the decision to evolve our company mission and, as of today, we will no longer offer downloads.

As noted in the report, Apple is likely looking to improve its cloud services with the acquisition:
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With HP’s deal with to incorporate Beats audio technology and branding on products ending with Apple’s acquisition of the headphone maker last year, HP announced today it will look to Bang & Olufsen to lend its audio expertise to future mobile devices and headphones as it officially replaces Beats.
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