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Apple's plans to increase the number of retail stores it operates around the world are in full swing in Germany.

The company posted to its German site today that its first store in Berlin will officially open its doors on May 3. Oddly, Apple will open the store at 5 p.m. local time, rather than in the morning, as it has in previous store openings.

The Berlin Apple Store will be open from 10 a.m. local time to 8 p.m. local time Monday through Saturday. It'll be closed on Sunday.

(Via 9to5 Mac)

Students who impress Apple by creating their own app have a chance at attending this year's Worldwide Developers Conference for free.

Apple's WWDC 2013 scholarship will reward 150 winners with one free ticket apiece to join the conference, which runs from June 10 to June 14 in San Francisco. To qualify, you must be a full-time or part-time student, 13 years or older, and a current member of Apple's iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer University Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program, or Mac Developer Program.

Assuming you meet those qualifications, what's your homework assignment to score a … Read more

Microsoft and its partners have cracked the tablet market, according to a report from Strategy Analytics.

Windows 8 tablets (which include Windows RT) took 7.5 percent of the global tablet market based on operating system (OS) market share in the first quarter, Strategy Analytics said.

PC makers (including Microsoft) shipped 3.4 million units worldwide in Q1 2013, "for a niche 7.5 percent share," Neil Shah, a Strategy Analytics analyst, said in a response to an e-mail query.

But the market research firm said things could have been better.

"Very limited distribution, a shortage of … Read more

As Apple waits for the city of Cupertino, Calif., to give the final thumbs-up for the design of its new spaceshiplike headquarters, the company has been tinkering with the details.

Cupertino published the software giant's project update for the headquarters on the city Web site on Wednesday. Included in the documents are the project description, site and landscaping plans, floor plans, renderings, and a bicycle plan.

While a ton of information was submitted, it appears that the basic essentials haven't changed too much. The building still looks like a circular spaceship; in fact, many of the renderings in … Read more

Is there a Kindle TV box on the horizon?

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the answer is yes. Amazon is said to be readying its own streaming-TV box to take on the likes of the Roku, Apple TV, Xbox, PlayStation -- and every TV manufacturer that now builds smart-TV apps like Netflix and Vudu directly into televisions.

The Seattle-based e-tailer already has an ambitious home video strategy. Amazon Prime customers get thousands of free movies and TV shows (in addition to free shipping of real-world goods) with the $79-per-year membership, and the company is ramping up production of original series as … Read more

An Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro is the "best-performing" Windows laptop? Yes, says a PC services company that has done "frustration analytics" on some of the best-selling PCs.

The MacBook Pro won out over established PC makers like Dell, Acer, and Lenovo, according to Soluto, which was quick to explain its finding.

A main factor in this machine's metrics is the fact that every Windows installation on it is clean. With PC manufacturers loading so much crapware on new laptops, this is a bit of an unfair competition. But, on the other hand, PC makers should … Read more

Tim Cook likes to talk in religous tones about Apple's higher calling. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology conference last month, Apple's CEO laid out his credo, noting that the only thing the company will never do is produce "a crappy product."

"That's the only religion that we have," Cook said. "We must do something bold, something ambitious, something great for the customers, and we sweat all of the details."

In the meantime, customers and investors are waiting for Apple to do something bold and ambitious again, and Cook is calling … Read more

Apple released on Tuesday a small update to its Apple Store app for the iPhone. The update added the ability to add your wireless account to the app and receive an alert once your line is eligible for an upgrade.

Adding your account to receive upgrade alerts only takes a few seconds. Before you add your account, you'll need to know the last four digits of the account holder's Social Security number, the billing ZIP code, and the account password. At least this was the information I needed for a Verizon account; your experience may vary.