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Learn about the latest news for iOS, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV apps

Apps for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS power our modern world. 9to5Mac will update you on the latest news, review, and updates for all types of apps. “There’s an App for that”.

The term came became part of our vocabulary when Steve Jobs announced The App Store as part of the iPhone 2.0 software update in 2008.

Over the years, the term has become as common as kleenex for describing applications on all of our devices. Apple’s platforms have apps for just about anything from finance, banking, sports, social media, podcasting, music, and more. We have a guide for helping you discover the best ones as well. Apps are now on everything from our TV, to our smartphones, on our laptops, and all the way down to our wrists.

As new ones are released or existing ones have major updates, the team here at 9to5Mac will bring you the latest news and reviews. If you want to follow along with video footage, be sure to follow 9to5Mac on YouTube. Scroll down below our latest updates on all things relating to applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.

AppGratis CEO explains App Store removal, says Apple is destroying value in its ecosystem

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After receiving some clarification from Apple last night over the removal of discovery app AppGratis, CEO Simon Dawalt is weighing in today with a statement posted on the AppGratis website explaining that the situation has been “absolutely crazy” to deal with:

And that is pretty much where we stand, still stunned that Apple took the decision to destroy so much value within their own ecosystem, but more than ever convinced that what we’re doing is good, and accomplishing a much needed mission in a broken App Discovery world.

While explaining that App Gratis has gone through a number of rejections for breaking App Store guidelines in situations that were later resolved with Apple, Dawalt shed some light on what happened on Apple’s side:
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Chrome for iOS gets updated scroll, AirPrint/Cloud Print and save PDF to Google Drive options

Google updated its iOS browser today with a number of fixes and feature improvements. Notable changes include the ability to save webpages as PDFs in your Google Drive account or print web pages to either Google Cloud Print or AirPrint printers.

iPhone and iPod touch users can now go full screen in Chrome giving you access to more of the web page. Perhaps most interesting is a new scroll feature that lets you scroll the toolbar off the page and then scroll back to get the Omnibar again.

Also Google says it has done some  stability / security improvements and bug fixes.
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Google’s interaction designer talks revamping Google Search on iOS (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fpggknHC2c

In a recent “Life at Google” video (above), Interaction Designer on Google’s search team Noah Levin walks us through his work building the latest version of the Google Search app on iOS:

After just three months at Google, Interaction Designer Noah Levin helped change the way our users interact with Google Search on the iPhone and iPad. Learn how he takes a complex system and makes it a simple user experience for our most well-known product: Search.

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HBO Go iOS app updated with AirPlay multitasking & new interactive features for Game of Thrones

HBO has pushed out an update to its HBO Go app in at least the US today. Version 2.1 brings AirPlay multitasking support, allowing videos from the HBO Go app to continue playing while users navigate to other apps. Also included in this release is enhancements to the interactive features experience for the network’s popular Game of Thrones series and the usual performance enhancements:

– Includes AirPlay multitasking capability — other apps can be used while video continues to stream via AirPlay.
– Enhancements to the interactive features experience for Game of Thrones
– General performance enhancements

HBO Go version 2.1 for iPhone and iPad is available from the App Store now.

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Apple App Store bug incorrectly claims Facebook, Instagram, other apps offer in-app-purchases (Update: Fixed)

In-App Purchases bug affects Facebook, Instagram

The iTunes App Store is incorrectly featuring the “Offers In-App Purchases” badge on select apps that do not include In-App Purchases, as David Smith noted today on Twitter.

Facebook and Instagram, which are both free and offer no In-App Purchases, are the most prominent apps to feature this bug. The bug can be seen on both the iOS variant of the App Store and via the iTunes application on computers.

The warning is problematic in that it could deter customers from downloading a free app that does not actually include in-app purchases.

It is possible the bug is related to changes made last week to the App Store that make age ratings more prominent and features an “Offers In-App Purchases” warning that satisfies a class-action lawsuit.

UPDATE: Apple appears to have resolved the In-App Purchases bug in its App Store.

Avid announces Pro Tools 11 & new creative tools alongside first iOS-compatible interfaces

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With NAB kicking into full gear today, Avid has announced the latest version of its industry standard digital audio workstation with the launch of Pro Tools 11 alongside its first iOS compatible portable audio interfaces and much more.

Perhaps the biggest Apple related announcement for Avid today is the launch of its first two audio interfaces with direct support for iOS devices. There are many audio interfaces for iPad and iPhone (we’ve reviewed some), but this is the first time Avid is including a USB port and direct support for iPad with its high-quality I/O and Pro Tools software…
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Adobe reverses decision to collect App Store royalty on Director 12 iOS apps

Users of Adobe’s just launched Director 12, which introduced the ability to publish iOS games, weren’t too happy in January about the company’s decision to collect a 10 percent royalty on earnings above an initial 20K for paid iOS apps. Following the feedback from users, Adobe has now reversed its decision and will no longer require any royalty fees or registration for iOS titles published with the platform.

Adobe provided us with the following comment:

Since launching Director 12 in February, Adobe conducted detailed conversations with members of the community to understand concerns with the licensing model. After analyzing all viewpoints, we decided to allow users to publish to iOS without registration or royalty fees on earned income.

Adobe is yet to update its end-user license agreement for Director 12 that states users are required to report revenue and (sic) “PAY ADOBE 10% OF THE REVENUE PAID BY APPLE INC. AND / OR ITS AFFILIATE(S) TO CUSTOMER IN RELATION TO SUCH PAID IOS APP IN A QUARTER.” Adobe’s Director 12 site still claims “*Additional Fees Apply,” linking to the end-user agreement, but Adobe will likely update the site soon to reflect its decision.

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Twitter iOS app updated with ability to install and launch apps from tweets, performance enhancements

Twitter has updated its iOS app today with new features that allow users to “discover, install and launch” apps from within tweets. The feature won’t support all apps at first, but Twitter explained in a blog post how developers could implement the feature using its newly unveiled “Twitter Cards” app linking features. So, eventually, you’ll likely see more apps offering the ability to install or launch (depending on if you’ve install the app already) directly from a tweet:

One of the most important features in the new Cards is the ability to allow users to download your app (if the user doesn’t already have it installed), or deep-link into your own app (if the app is already installed on the user’s mobile device). The ability to enable app installs and deep-linking is globally available across all Twitter Card types – you’ll just need to add a new set of markup tags as detailed below.

Quicker launch times, performance enhancements, and the ability to tap “Retweeted by” within Tweet details are also included in version 5.5 of the iPhone and iPad app. The updated app even added bug fixes:

What’s New in Version 5.5

Twitter for iPhone now helps you discover, install and launch your favorite apps from Tweets. This update also includes the following improvements:
• Faster launch times and general performance upgrades
• “Retweeted by” in Tweet detail is now tappable
• Fix for reply-to-self in conversations
• Fix for bug that prevented undoing retweets in some cases

Apple allows Microsoft SkyDrive 3.0 update into App Store following delays

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Update: Microsoft provided us with the following comment noting that “people interested in buying additional storage will do so via the web versus in the app.” In other words, it doesn’t look like Apple will be getting a cut of additional storage purchased, but users won’t be able to do so via the iOS app:

We worked with Apple to create a solution that benefited our mutual customers. The SkyDrive app for iOS is slightly different than other SkyDrive apps in that people interested in buying additional storage will do so via the web versus in the app.

Back in December we heard reports, later confirmed by Microsoft, that Apple was delaying updates to its SkyDrive iOS app. The delays were apparently over a dispute regarding whether or not Apple should receive its usual 30% cut for additional storage that users purchased through the app.

While there is no word yet on exactly how Microsoft and Apple resolved the issue, Microsoft announced today on its Windows SkyDrive blog that a new update is available for the iOS app via iTunes starting today.

Version 3.0 of the app, the first update to SkyDrive for iOS since June, brings support for iPhone 5 and iPad mini, a revamped user experience, enhancements to photo features such as the ability to download full res photos to iPad and iPhone, and much more:
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Safari’s mobile browser market share lead increases past 61 percent in March

According to the latest data from Net Applications for the month of March, Apple is steadily increasing its lead for mobile browser share over Android and many other platforms with Safari capturing 61.79-percent of mobile browser web traffic during the month. That’s a nice jump up from the 55.41-percent it had in February, while the stock Android browser lost market share by dropping from 22.82-percent in February to 21.86-percent in last month.

Opera Mini maintains its third position while dropping from 12.72-percent in February to 8.40-percent in March, with Chrome slowly closing the gap jumping from 1.96-percent in February to 2.43-percent in March.

(via AllThingsD)

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Duke Nukem 2 gets 20th anniversary re-release on iOS, now available on App Store

We knew it was coming through previous teasers released for the title, and today Duke Nukem 2 has officially landed on the App Store as a 20th anniversary re-release of the original 1993 title. Publisher Interceptor Entertainment and 3DRealms are including the full 32 level experience, “Insane VGA Graphics”, and the usual touchscreen control enhancements, new artwork, and much more.

Duke Nukem II is everything you’d want from an action game. Duke blasts his way through your screen with enough firepower to wake your neighbors. In 1993 Apogee released Duke Nukem II. Its explosive action made it an instant side-scrolling classic. 20 years later, Interceptor Entertainment and 3DRealms have teamed up to bring Duke Nukem II back. Duke Nukem II for iOS lets you experience this 90′s classic all over again on the most popular gaming platform in the world!

Duke Nukem 2 is available as a universal iPhone & iPad app on the App Store now for $1.99.

Key Features
– Smooth Side Scrolling Action
– Insane VGA Graphics
– 256 Eye Popping Colors
– Kick A** Weapons
– Amazing Interactive Environments
– 32 Action Packed Levels
– Full Touch Screen Support
– Brutal New Artwork and Music
– Save/Load, Replay and Track Your Highscore

Screenshots below:

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Algoriddim’s ‘djay’ apps get Audiobus support alongside new features & enhancements

Following Apple’s decision to update GarageBand with support for the inter-app audio routing system known as “Audiobus”, the popular djay apps by developer Algoriddim have been updated with Audiobus support alongside a long list of new features.

On top of support for the Pioneer DDJ-WeGO and DDJ-ERGO controllers through the Pioneer DJC-WeCAi iPad Connection Cable for the iPad version of the app, both the iPhone and iPad djay apps get the following new features and enhancements:

What’s New in Version 1.6.4

✔ Introducing Audiobus support: Now you can stream live audio directly to other Audiobus-compatible apps! See http://audiob.us for more information
✔ Added support for Pioneer DDJ-WeGO and DDJ-ERGO controllers (requires Pioneer DJC-WeCAi iPad Connection Cable, sold separately)
✔ “Shuffle” setting is now also applied to Automix Queue
✔ Pause audio when disconnecting headphones or dock audio
✔ Gain is no longer reset when “Reset EQ” setting is off
✔ Allow sliding crossfader up after tapping to leave it centered
✔ Improved handling of iOS audio system errors
✔ Improved caching
✔ Improved Vestax Spin 2 mapping: allow tempo fine-adjust using Shift & +/– buttons
✔ Changed ION iDJ 2 Go jog wheels to scratch during playback (the previous pitch-bend behavior can be enabled using “Jog Pitch Bend Mode” in the MIDI settings)
✔ Fixed playback issue after loading error with specific files
✔ Fixed audio distortion when using Key Lock with Bluetooth audio
✔ Fixed lock screen audio controls starting both turntables
✔ Fixed possible crash when editing Automix Queue while Automix is active
✔ Bug fixes, performance and stability improvements

djay for iPhone is available on the App Store now for $0.99, and the iPad version is available for $4.99. The free, LE versions of the app also gained Audiobus support today.

Algoriddim even updated its vjay apps that allow users to mix music and videos with many of the new features—minus Audiobus support—included in the djay updates.

Google releases free Quickoffice iPhone app for Google Apps for Business customers

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After releasing a free version of the Quickoffice iPad app for its Google Apps for Business customers in December, Google today announced free iPhone and Android versions of the app exclusively for its Apps for Business customers.

Google Apps for Business can already edit Microsoft Office files using Quickoffice on an iPad, and starting today they can do the same on iPhone and Androiddevices. From Word to Excel to Powerpoint, you can make quick edits at the airport or from the back of a taxi and save and share everything in Google Drive… iPad and iPhone users can open and edit Office files directly from the Drive app. Just open Drive and select the file, make edits using Quickoffice and save it back to Drive.

Google noted the updated apps also bring new features including support for multiple Google Drive accounts, improved chart rendering, ZIP folders from multiple files, and the ability to sort Drive files by “Shared with me, Starred, and Recent”:
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Adobe releases preview 2 of Edge Reflow, gives first look at ‘CSS Designer’ Dreamweaver features

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSgbZPlWlQs

Adobe today announced the second preview of its responsive web design tool known as “Edge Reflow.” Adobe first released a public preview of the app to Creative Cloud members in February, and it today added “more styling and layout capabilities” in the release of preview 2.

In terms of layout, one of the most frequent requests we have received from web designers is the ability to leverage absolute and fixed positioning, as well as their z-index.  These new layout types provide the flexibility to create the responsive designs you envisioned.

Adobe also provided a sneak peek at a new ‘CSS Designer’ feature that will be available to Dreamweaver users later this year through Creative Cloud. Adobe said the feature “gives users the ability to visually apply and set different media queries for web content to be presented in different sized media.” A video showing off the CSS Designer below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF20ozzviwg

Adobe is currently offering 60 percent off Creative Cloud memberships through its website.

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Google Reader aftermath: Feedly iOS gets big updates, while Reeder for iOS/Mac goes free

Google announced on the Official Google Blog earlier this month that it will retire Google Reader on July 1, 2013, but the brains behind Reeder, a Google Reader client, clarified that development of its apps will continue after July 1. Moreover, since explaining what’s in store for Reeder, both the Mac and iPad apps are now free starting April 1.

[tweet https://twitter.com/reederapp/status/318766984487653376]

This doesn’t seem to be an April Fool’s joke, either, as Apple’s App Store and Mac App Store currently reflect the price drops.

Feedly for iOS, another Google Reader client, updated to version 14 today and brought a new and improved Feed Search and Discovery function, as well as a Title Only View, Must Read section, and more control over layouts.

The update also enhanced Sharing & Save for Later and allows customization of Favorite Sharing Tool to social networks and Favorite Save for Later Tool to Pocket. Version 14 even added a “mark as read” card at the end of each sections, a pull-to-refresh ability in the home selector, and fixes for a logout bug.

Nuance launches ‘Voice Ads’ platform to bring a Siri-like experience to mobile advertising

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kusQK7PCXTM

If Nuance gets its way with the just announced ‘Voice Ads’ mobile advertising platform, soon every mobile ad could include Siri-like functionality that lets you communicate with and ask questions about the product being advertised.

Nuance, the company behind the voice recognition module now used in Apple’s Siri, today announced a new project to bring its voice recognition technology to the mobile advertising world. The basic concept of the new platform, which Nuance made available through an SDK for advertising companies, is to bring a two-way, interactive conversation to mobile ads. As highlighted by Nuance in the video above, ads that implement the Voice Ads platform will allow users to engage in a Siri-like conversation with an advertisement:

Nuance Voice Ads gives mobile advertisers and creative agencies an opportunity to go beyond the limitations of the four-inch mobile device screen and create a conversation with consumers through the power of voice recognition. Voice Ads finally creates an opportunity for brands to deepen the relationship with their consumers, with targeted interactive ads that deeply engage their core audience – much in the way that the world’s most popular mobile personal assistants have deepened consumers’ relationship with their mobile phones.

In the demo above, Nuance shows an advertisement for a fictional deodorant brand that uses a magic 8-ball theme to answer any question that users might have. The ad of course ends in a pitch for the product in question, as you might expect. Other ads could allow users to ask specific questions about a product’s release date or specs…

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The Week in Tweaks: Automatic App Store updates, a new screen recorder, and more for your jailbroken iOS device

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Here’s a look at some of the most fun or useful jailbreak tweaks that came out this week. If you like these tweaks, but don’t have a jailbroken iOS device, you can check out jailbrea.kr to learn more about how to jailbreak your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Auto App Updater – $2.99

Auto App Updater is exactly what it sounds like. This great new tweak will automatically download and install updates to any of your App Store apps without any input from you. It comes with a ton of options for how often to check for updates, whether or not to use a celluar connection, whether to update apps when on battery or AC power, and even lets you blacklist apps from being automatically updated just in case there’s an app you’d rather keep at a certain version.

What’s more, for those of us who like to know exactly what we’re getting into with each app update, Auto App Updater will store the change log for any apps that it updates so you can check and see exactly what’s new. Of course, the only way you would know to check this change log is if you knew that there was an update to begin with. Since Auto App Updater installs the updates transparently in the background, you likely won’t even know there are change logs to read. To fix that, the tweak can show you a notification letting you know each time an update has been installed.

Auto App Updater is seroiusly impressive and it looks like a lot of thought went into making it the most comprehensive auto-update solution possible. You can get it now on ModMyi for the reasonably low price of $2.99.

Keep reading for more new tweaks

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MLB.com At Bat and At the Ball Park apps get redesign, classic games library and Passbook updates

April is almost here and that means Opening Day is almost upon us.  Getting its affairs in order, MLB issued two updates today. MLB.com At Bat 6.1.0 was released with the following updates

• Multi-platform live audio access for At Bat 13 subscribers (portable to Mac/PC with a valid MLB.com account)
• Universal support for At Bat 13 subscribers, accessible on iPhone, iPad and other supported smartphones and tablets
• New video section featuring more highlights and search (iPad)
• Sortable batting, pitching and fielding statistics (iPad)
• Re-designed individual team pages (iPhone)
• Updated news section interface (iPhone)
• Classic games library featuring more than 60 historic games dating back to 1952 (iPhone and iPad)
• Re-architected navigations (iPhone and iPad)
• Additional push notification options (iPhone & iPad)
• Closed captioning availability for live video (iPhone and iPad)

Meanwhile MLB.com At The Park gets Passbook integration for digital ticket delivery and storage for select clubs as well as other updates:

• Re-architected My Journal section
• Manually enter all of your ballpark visits dating back to 2005
• Upload and share personal photos from your ballpark visits, dating back to 2005
• View team statistics and watch video highlights from games attended
• Ballpark and player entrance music
• Social media clubhouse, including social rewards for select clubs
• Updated tickets section, featuring special offers by club
• Seat and experience upgrade functionality at select ballparks*
• Passbook integration for digital ticket delivery and storage (select clubs only)
• Re-designed user interface

Apple Stores pushing new table-based sales strategy, minor emphasis on third-party product support

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Apple is slowly rolling out a new customer service initiative across its retail stores called ‘table selling.’ With the new strategy, Apple Store employees are assigned a product table where they are responsible for working with groups of customers with different needs, albeit the same device, according to people familiar with the strategy. Previously, customers were individually helped on a first-come, first-serve basis and organized by an “iQueue” system that often resulted in lengthy wait times and customers walking out.


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Amtrak for iOS updates with iPhone 5 support and Train Status redesign

Amtrak revamped its official app today with support for iPhone 5.

The support—like timing for its trains— is a few months late, but the latest version makes up for the wait with a complete redesign of the Train Status feature. Amtrak said the tweaked UI better presents information, but the national railroad corporation also recommended users update to iOS 6.1 before using the latest version of its app.

Check it out:

Version 1.5 also reduces Facebook alerts for Amtrak eTickets and removes the 24-hour-wait limit for creating a new account or changing an existing account. Moreover, new accounts are available immediately. Amtrak said changes will launch when the app starts, and it included numerous, unspecified big fixes to improve performance.


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TweetDeck for Mac updated with column & content filters, advanced search, wide columns, much more

Twitter today released a big update to its popular TweetDeck Mac App Store app, bringing a long list of highly requested features like enhancements to filters, columns, fonts, and key commands.

Version 2.7.1 of TweetDeck for Mac introduces new column filters, the ability to filter columns by content type, Users filters on columns, and a new ‘wide column setting’. Also included in today’s update is a new “powerful advanced search”.

When it comes to Content filters, you can now filter by “media, RTs, including and excluding terms.” Meanwhile, the new Users filters will let you view “verified users, members of a list and more.”

Other new features in today’s release include new font size settings, the ability close windows using CMD+W, verified badges when searching lists, and an option to enable infinite scroll in temporary columns. The release notes pointed out that Spacebar would also now trigger a page down event.

A full list of what’s new is below:

What’s New in Version 2.7.1

➤ Introduced column filters and powerful advanced search
➤ Added Content filters to columns and search including ability to filter by media, RTs, including and excluding terms
➤ Added Users filters to columns and search including ability to filter by verified users, members of a list and more
➤ Added wide column setting
➤ Added new font sizes to settings
➤ Spacebar now triggers page down event
➤ Cmd+W closes windows
➤ Social proof for favorites & RTs in detail view
➤ Added verified badge to list searches
➤ Enabled infinite scroll in temporary columns

Apple launching Final Cut Pro X campaign to win back skeptical professional users

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Apple is beginning a campaign today to win back the video-editing community that abandoned its flagship video-editing software after the release of its controversial Final Cut Pro X. The LA Times reported that following several updates to the software over the last two years to fix some of the criticisms, Apple is launching a number new ads on its website today that feature professionals using Final Cut Pro X. The campaign is apparently timed to lined up with upcoming National Association of Broadcasters convention and aims to win over professional video editors by featuring professionals such as editors at the Globe and Mail newspaper:

Now, after updating the software seven times since its release in 2011, Apple is launching a campaign Thursday aimed at winning back skeptical professional users.

Starting Thursday, the company plans to begin posting three stories on its website, including Liurette’s, aimed at changing the minds of folks like Miller by demonstrating how sophisticated users have embraced Final Cut Pro X. The stories will also feature Tsui Hark, one of the biggest names in Hong Kong cinema, and TV Azteca, which produces thousands of telenovela episodes every year.

From Adobe’s “Why Switch” Premiere Pro website

It’s no secret that the professional video editing community was up in arms over Apple’s decision to release what they viewed as a scaled-back, prosumer version of Final Cut Pro with the release of Final Cut Pro X almost two years ago. Despite the Mac App Store dropping the cost of FCP from almost $700 to $299, pro video editors complained Apple had stripped away some of the software’s core features to create a simple experience for the average Mac user and not professionals. It earned FCPX the nickname “iMovie Pro” and criticism in the mainstream media followed by a response from Apple and eventually even refunds of the app to unsatisfied customers.

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