Mike Beasley

Apple has reportedly been working with several national retailers about supporting its mobile payment system, and now a new report suggests that two pharmacy chains, CVS and Walgreens, have agreed to join up with Apple to roll the system out in their stores. The system is expected to be built into the iPhone 6 when it launches later this month.

Re/code notes that while Apple and Walgreens decided not to comment on the matter, CVS apparently issued a bit of a rebuttal, indicating that the company had no idea what type of payment system Cupertino was working on and had no way of knowing if they’d be able to support it.

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Marc Newson has joined Apple’s design team under Jony Ive, according to a new report which was confirmed by Apple. The duo have previously worked together to create such products as a special edition red Mac Pro and a similar Lieca M camera, so it’s no surprise to see Newson officially join forces with his good friend at Cupertino. As quoted by Vanity Fair:

“Marc is without question one of the most influential designers of this generation,” Ive said in a statement provided to VF Daily. “He is extraordinarily talented. We are particularly excited to formalize our collaboration as we enjoy working together so much and have found our partnership so effective.”

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Earlier this week, iOS users discovered that the App Store was experiencing some technical issues that caused every item for sale to become unavailable. Now, only two days later, the company’s status page indicates that the App Store on Mac and iOS, iBooks Store, and various iTunes services such as the music store and Radio, are all suffering from even more downtime.

According to the status page, the issues first cropped up around 4:30 PM and have persisted for about three hours so far. A notice on the page states that only “some users” are having difficulty accessing the store, but there’s no mention of exactly how many users could be impacted.

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The Rdio music streaming service is preparing to release an updated version of its mobile app later today will place a new focus on its free “stations” feature as competitors like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple’s one-two punch of iTunes Radio and Beats Music crank up the pressure on the service.

Rdio claims its free music library is as much as fifteen times bigger than those of competing apps. Like other online radio services, the new Rdio will automatically create playlists and stations from that library based on a user’s music preferences. Curated stations from musicians and other celebrities will also be available, much like in iTunes Radio.

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The iOS App Store seems to be suffering a major outage, though Apple’s system status page doesn’t yet say that there are any issues (update: now it does). Users took to Twitter to point out that every single application listed on the store is now returning an error stating that it is “no longer available.” Typically this error is reserved for applications that have been pulled from sale.

The Mac App Store seems to be fine and still allows downloading applications. However, both the desktop and mobile versions of the iOS store are experiencing the issue.

Update: Apple has acknowledged that “[some] users may be unable to access multiple stores or make purchases.” The page lists issues for the App Store, the iBooks Store, and the iTunes music store. It also indicates that the issue is ongoing, though a few people have noted that they can now download apps.

Update 2: Apple System Status now says systems are functioning normally, 7 hours after we initially reported the outage.

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Apple is reportedly in talks with department store Nordstrom to join as a partner for the company’s mobile payment system, as noted by Bank Innovation. As has been previously reportedly, Apple is also in talks with several other retailers about the possibility of accepting iPhone-based payments, and has deals in place with MasterCard and American Express as well as Chinese payment processor UnionPay to support the feature.

According to the Bank Innovations report, people familiar with Nordstrom’s systems have confirmed that the company’s current point-of-sale hardware is purchased from Apple and recently received a software update to work “with the latest iPhones.” These devices are said to be the same updated EasyPay systems implemented recently in Apple Stores across the country.

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Image via MacRumors

Apple has started sending out invitations to AppleSeed users inviting them to take advantage of a new beta seed for Windows, as shown in the screenshot above. The beta will enable features that would normally be reserved for OS X Yosemite or iOS 8, such as iCloud Drive, on the Microsoft-built operating system.

Developers were previously able to download this software for testing, but this is the first time that non-developer users have been granted access. Only a limited number of applicants have been added to this program so far, it seems.

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AnandTech founder and EiC Anand Shimpi announced last night via a post on the site that he had decided to retire from technology journalism, but didn’t specify what he’d be doing instead. Today, Re/code reports that Shimpi will be going to Apple, as confirmed by the tech firm’s representative, though his exact role is still unknown.

Earlier this year AnandTech’s Brian Klug also left the site for a role at Apple with a focus on building mobile processors for the company’s iOS lineup. It’s possible and perhaps likely that Shimpi will be taking up a similar role in quality assurance or marketing.

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Apple is reportedly planning to include NFC in the iPhone 6 for secure wireless payments using chips sourced from a Dutch company called XNP, the Financial Times reported today. It’s not the first time this rumor has cropped up before an iPhone launch, but other recent reports seem to indicate that this year it might just be happening.

In fact, earlier this year Apple was said to have reached a deal with China UnionPay, the nation’s only domestic mobile payment processor, to include NFC support at countless retailers in the next iPhone. What’s perhaps even more interesting is that the technology may not be limited solely to the handset itself…

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Apple has updated its iOS 8 terms of use, according to The Guardian, to note that developers are not allowed to resell any information gained through the upcoming HealthKit framework. The HealthKit software was announced as part of a larger event earlier this year, but it was only with the most recent beta that Apple made note of this restriction.

The move is not unexpected, as it would be very much against Apple’s modus operandi to allow developers access to such crucial data without some restrictions on its use in place as a protection for users. Similar restrictions exist for the Touch ID API, which doesn’t allow developers to access user fingerprint data at all, let alone store it.

There is one exception to this rule, however…

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File sharing software CloudApp has gotten a significant update with today’s launch of version 3.0 of its Mac client. The software already supported features like private and public sharing links, live view counters, and automatic screenshot uploads, but today it adds even more tricks to its bag.

The biggest addition to the application is support for something called CloudApp Motion. This handy feature will allow you to quickly capture all or part of your screen, then automatically upload the captured footage to the web as a sharable animated GIF. At the moment the GIF output is a bit choppy, so don’t expect buttery smooth playback, though the company has promised that high-fidelity GIFs are coming soon.

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=savBvN9Jz5g]

Earlier this month, 2K Games announced that it would be bringing its landmark horror-shooter BioShock to the iPhone and iPad. Tonight, the game finally arrived on the App Store in most of its original glory. The story, game mechanics, level design, and audio have all be ported to the mobile devices, though the graphics have been toned down to make it run on phones and tablets.

BioShock is set in the underwater would-be utopia of Rapture, which has been overrun by its own psychotic, drug-addled citizens on one especially-unfortunate New Years Eve. Players take on the role of Jack, who arrives in Rapture after a plane crash that leaves him stranded in the middle of the Atlantic, and must utilize a selection of upgradable weapons and genetic enhancements to track down Andrew Ryan, the madman running what’s left of the city.

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Just in time for the iPhone 6, an internal memo sent to employees at Costco stores indicates that the company will begin offerring AppleCare+ on iPhones and iPads sold through its wireless kiosks tomorrow. The notice details the process for selling the extended warranties and states that the offer only applies to “connected/embedded iPads” sold at the kiosk, not those sold on the sales floor.

The wholesaler only recently started carrying Apple’s mobile products again earlier this year after a multi-year spat that resulted in the decision to remove them from Costco shelves. The devices are available both through the company’s website and in-store through its specialized mobile sales kiosks.

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