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Thinking about trying iCloud Music Library? Don't. It's a bag of hurt. iCloud Music Library's problems start showing up after installing iTunes 12.2 on your Mac or Windows PC. Apple's forums are full of comments from users saying their album art, song names, and album titles get jumbled. The Who's Quadrophenia album art, for example,…

Apple releasing iOS 8.4 an hour before Apple Music launches Apple Music is Apple's new streaming music service, Internet radio station, and social platform for artists. Full access costs US$9.99 a month, although you can listen to streaming music and Beats 1 radio for free. The service officially kicks off at 9AM pacific time tomorrow,…

My thoughts are with the victim's families in SC.Let us honor their lives by eradicating racism & removing the symbols & words that feed it. — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 21, 2015 Mr. Cook's comments aren't specific, but have largely been interpreted to refer to the presence of the Confederate flag in South Carolina and…

Apple's planned Ireland data center meets with local resistance The concerns stem from Apple's environmental impact statement, which details the company's plans to generate its own power for the 24,505 square meter (about 263,769 square feet) facility, new trees, landscaping, and an amenity walkway. It also notes Apple plans to build an outdoor classroom for…

Samsung follows Apple with major Galaxy smartphone security flaw The security flaw was discovered by NowSecure security specialist Ryan Welton. He found that SwiftKey is getting language pack updates via unencrypted server connections in plain text. In other words, it's about the most unsecure way Samsung could've found for installing an update. Mr. Welton found…

Episode #127 As you may recall, Apple kicked off its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco last week with one of the longest keynotes in recent memory — nearly two and a half hours — offering up a roadmap for the next generations of its three major operating systems, namely OS X, iOS, and…

Mr. Mims's premise is that Apple is stretched thin. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Car, iCloud, Apple Pay, iBooks, iTunes, Apple Music, OS X, and iOS. That's just to name the company's major products. He furthermore argues that Apple's executives are only human, and that the company would be better able to “maniacally” focus…

All of Vemedio's app pages, including Instacast, now say “discontinued” In an email to subscribers, developer Martin Hering said, I am sorry to inform you that Instacast andin fact all of Vemedio's products have been discontinued. I will cancel your upcoming membership payment shortly. We'll keep the servers running as long as we can. Instacast…

Apple Maps vans: Coming to a city near you Apple now has a webpage showing where its Maps vans will be between June 15 and June 30, which includes parts of Ireland and England, as well as cities in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas, Utah, and Washington. Apple…

Sony says Apple unveiling music streaming service at WWDC Mr. Morris was very clear on when Apple would unveil its new Beats Music-based streaming music service. “It's happening tomorrow,” he said, meaning Monday. He also said Apple's entrance into the Spotify and Pandora's market will be a tipping point for streaming music services. He said,…

“We will start to see more technology embedded in garments—magic woven in,” Mr, Newson said. “There are some incredible things that are going to happen.” Marc Newson, Driving a 1952 built Yellow Ferrari 225 with Phil Poynter during a time trial at 1000 Miglia race on May 12, 2011 in Brescia Photo by Roberto Cerruti, courtesy of…

Recycling center has $100,000 for mystery Apple I donor Employees at Clean Bay Area said a woman dropped off a few boxes filled with old electronics parts in April to clear out space garage space after her husband passed away. She apparently had no idea what she was leaving at the recycling center and didn't…

Episode #124   I thought I’d try something completely different this week and write a column about Texas BBQ, which we cook “low and slow” over oak or hickory. I know what you’re thinking: What does BBQ have to do with technology? Allow me to explain.  For as long as I’ve lived in Texas (nearly…

Firefighters work to contain a blaze at Apple's Mesa, AZ former sapphire factory Apple purchased the structure and then leased it to GTAT for sapphire glass production. The company failed to produce the glass needed and ultimately filed for bankruptcy protection while leaving Apple without the material it needed for watch and phone surfaces. Apple…

“After reflecting upon Apple’s tremendous success,” Mr. Icahn wrote, “we now believe Apple shares are worth $240 today. Apple is poised to enter and in our view dominate two new categories (the television next year and the automobile by 2020) with a combined addressable market of $2.2 trillion, a view investors don’t appear to factor…

Apple buys precision GPS navigation company Coherent Navigation Instead of the usual 3 meter accuracy typical GPS services offer, Coherent says its system is accurate within a few centimeters. That accuracy comes from using a mix of high altitude GPS satellites and lower orbit voice and data satellites from Iridium. Terms of the deal haven't…

Apple and A123 Systems settle employee poaching lawsuit A123 filed its lawsuit against Apple and the five employees the iPhone and Mac maker hired. All were named in the filing. The company said Apple hired their CFO Mujeeb Ijaz, who then lured away four more employees over an eight month window. A123 said they were…

Dave Klein announces the day’s events at CocoaConf Portland. Photo: David Sinclair. I'm a firm believer in the conference, more so in today's hyperconnected world. It comes down to one simple reason: The “hallway track.” Getting coffee and bumping into someone whose work you've followed for a long time, or having lunch with people talking about…

Fiat and Apple CEO meeting backs up Apple's car plans Mr. Marchionne said Tim Cook is “interested in Apple's intervention in the car, that's his role,” according to Reuters. He didn't elaborate on what he meant, but his comment does add more weight to reports that Apple is designing an electric car. The Mac Observer's…

iPads to help check up on senior citizens in Japan Currently postal workers check in on the elderly on their delivery routes as a paid service. Putting iPads in the hands of senior citizens will make it easier to check their status and, thanks to the apps IBM is developing, will help them stay in…

Apple wants to launch Apple Watch sales in more countries in June “Right now, Watch demand is greater than supply. We've made progress over the last week or so,” Mr. Cook said during Apple's second fiscal quarter earnings conference call. “We're in a good position, and by late June we anticipate we can begin to…

And if you're having trouble reading between the lines, Sony's device, the Xperia Z4 smartphone, doesn't qualify as the “best” in their minds. Jame Bond Only Uses the Best The basic story is that Sony offered Daniel Craig an endorsement fee of $5 million dollars, as well as $18 million in supporting marketing for the…

Some USB battery chargers are just ho-hum with nothing special about them. But the Just Mobile TopGum 6000 mAh charger takes everything a step further. It has a magnetic charger stand with two input modes, dual outputs, a hideaway Lighting connector and even a gold color option in addition to silver and black.   ____________________…

After 14 amazing years at Apple, it's time to move on and see what adventures life holds for me next! pic.twitter.com/9oFp3lGcMB — Natalie Kerris (@nataliekerris) April 22, 2015 Ms. Kerris was a fixture in Apple PR who came up under the reign of Katy Cotton. She was excellent at her job, especially when that job…