Microsoft Opens Minecraft Marketplace For In-App Purchases

As part of the Discovery update, Microsoft is also bringing a new feature to the game called Marketplace. Minecraft Marketplace is coming to the Windows 10 platform, as well as Minecraft Pocket edition for mobile platforms. Players can create and sell items in the Marketplace using a form of game currency called Minecraft Coins. When a player creates an item to sell, they can set their own prices as well as take a small percentage of the sale. Once you sell something, such as a custom skin or a map, the app platforms will take a 30% cut. Players can access items they buy through their Xbox Live account. This means that you can access your purchases no matter what platform you use. Microsoft will launch a public beta on Android in mid-April. The beta will test the Microsoft Coins so you won’t see any player creations yet. Microsoft is also hosting a Reddit AMA on April 20 from 9AM-12PM PST.

TMO Background Mode Interview with KGW TV Anchor & Digital Trends Host Stephanie Stricklen

Stephanie Stricklen has been a career-long KGW TV Portland, OR News Anchor. She tells the story about how when she was younger, it wasn’t her plan to be in front of a camera. “It just worked out that way.” But the seeds were there. She became the EIC of her high school’s newspaper and decided on print journalism as a career. In college, via internships, she discovered the “adrenalin inducing” experience of TV news. Stephanie has covered the Olympics for KGW, and that took her to Salt Lake City, Greece, Italy, China, Canada and Russia. A tech nerd and Apple fan, she’s also into aviation and has flown with the Navy’s Blue Angels. Today, she works with Digital Trends as a host and still anchors with KGW. Amidst all that? Raising a daughter with her husband.

Jay Z Comes Back to Apple Music

Whatever behind the scenes drama Jay Z was having with Apple Music seems to be resolved because the songs and albums he pulled from the streaming music service on Friday were back by Monday morning. His catalog disappeared from Apple Music and Spotify at the end of last week without any notice, and is back without any fanfare, too.

iOS 11 May Not Include 32-bit App Support

Apple plans to drop 32-bit app support completely in iOS 11, or at least that’s what seasoned developer Steven Troughton-Smith is hearing. That means apps that haven’t been updated with 64-bit support won’t run at all even though current iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch processors still support both 32-bit and 64-bit code.

Physical Security Matters, Too – Mac Geek Gab 652

SMC Resets, Migration Assistant tricks, Auto-Upgrade solutions and Renting vs. Owning your Cable Modem are just the beginning for your two favorite geeks today. S/MIME is taken to a whole other level with guest Jeff Butts who helps us all understand how to make this work on both macOS and iOS! Then it’s time to dive into your system certificates – and which ones you can touch vs. those that you can’t. Security is always on the mind and a quick VPN discussion rounds that out. Then John and Dave move on to something more pleasing to the ear: sound, and how best to manage it on your Mac!

A Brief Salute to Retiring Walt Mossberg

Walt Mossberg announced Friday that he will retire in June. Mr. Mossberg came to fame in the 1990s as tech columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He consistently dinged Apple until shortly after the return of Steve Jobs. His career rose sharply as tech exploded and became an ever-more important part of modern society. He was one of the few journalists blessed by Steve Jobs, and was often given advanced access to Apple’s leadership and products. He and journalist partner Kara Swisher also got Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and other Apple execs on stage for the AllThingsD conference, as shown in the image below, and later at Re/code’s Code conference. I didn’t always agree with Mr. Mossberg, but he contributed greatly to our understanding of what the tech world was up to. Accordingly, salute, Mr. Mossberg, and enjoy your well-earned retirement!