app store

Yelp iOS app updated with lots of 'awesomeness'

iPhone and iPad users who tap into Yelp will find a few enhancements in the latest version.

Rolled out yesterday, version 6 of the review site's iOS app has revamped its business pages. Click on the name of a business, and you'll see the location, contact info, photos, reviews, and tips all on one single screen.

Beyond reviewing a restaurant or other business, you can add tips to advise people on what to buy or what to avoid. You can compliment other people on their reviews of the business. And you can add photos of the business to … Read more

Tackling Mountain Lion download errors

Apple's Mountain Lion upgrade is available through the Mac App Store, and while most purchases are downloading just fine, a few people are experiencing a problem where the download will not complete. Instead of initiating a download, the Mac App Store issues a warning stating it could not complete the purchase because the product distribution file could not be verified, indicating damage to the file or an invalid digital signature.

People experiencing this problem have tried quitting and relaunching the Mac App Store, restarting their systems, and even trying Safe Mode, and have also tried waiting to see if … Read more

Apple quietly pulls Lion amid Mountain Lion launch

Apple today replaced last year's version of OS X with a shiny, new model. But in the process, it also quietly scrubbed that older version from its digital and physical stores.

Several readers have reached out to let us know that Lion, which was replaced with Mountain Lion today, can no longer be found on the Mac App Store. The same goes for the USB thumb drive Apple sold with a Lion installer for those who could not purchase it online. Links to Lion in the Mac App Store now show a warning message that the product is not … Read more

Apple updates iTunes U app with synced audio, video notes

The iTunes U app update includes several new key features sure to enhance any student's or teacher's experience. Most notably, version 1.2 supports the ability to take notes while listening to, or watching, lectures and then search those notes later.

Users are also now able to search posts, assignments, and other materials in any of their subscribed courses.

And, as Tim Cook promised, Apple has gone more social, giving students the ability to share their favorite courses with family and friends using Twitter, Mail, or Messages.

The update also helps teachers by adding the ability to create … Read more

Windows malware slips into Apple's iOS App Store

A Windows malware worm has been found embedded in an application being distributed in Apple's App Store for iOS. The worm is a relatively low-threat malware package that will not affect the iOS or the MacOS platform but may be harmful to those who manage the app in their iTunes accounts on Windows machines.

In a recent post to an Apple discussion forum, user "deesto" mentioned he had downloaded the free "Instaquotes Quotes Cards for Instagram" app from the iTunes store and noticed that his ClamXav antivirus program had flagged the downloaded file as containing … Read more

Take better notes on your iPad with these 5 apps

The iPad, along with competing tablets and even the growing list of highly portable ultrabooks, is quickly becoming a staple in the classroom for teachers and students alike. It seems more and more likely that taking notes with a pen and paper will one day be an antiquated practice we'll all reminisce about to our grandkids.

The iPad can be a great tool for taking notes, but the native iOS Notes app doesn't cut it for everyone. To take truly useful notes that can replace that spiral notebook, you're going to need the help of an app … Read more

App Store hacker says the 'game is over'

The creator of an exploit that let users purchase digital goods inside of iOS apps without actually paying for them said today that Apple's fix puts the hack out of business.

"Currently we have no way to bypass [the] updated APIs," creator Alexei Borodin wrote in a post on his development blog. "It's a good news for everyone, we have updated security in iOS, developers have their air-money."

Borodin says that the exploit, which requires the use of third-party servers and specially-installed security certificates, will continue to be up and running until Apple releases … Read more

In-app purchase hacker sets sights on Mac App Store

The exploit that allowed users to purchase digital goods inside iOS apps without actually paying has jumped platforms and now works on Apple's Mac platform.

The Next Web notes that programmer Alexei Borodin, who created the iOS in-app purchase exploit, now has a similar solution for apps purchased in Apple's Mac App Store. Like the exploit for iOS, this too requires that users install special security certificates on their machines, though it also requires the installation of an extra helper program.

Earlier today Apple said it had a fix coming in the next version of iOS, due out … Read more

Bitdefender's iOS privacy app yanked from the App Store

Bitdefender's iOS app that let users see what information installed applications had access to, has been removed from the App Store after being approved nearly two months ago.

In a statement, Bitdefender said Apple alerted the company to the removal of the Clueful app -- which was first released in late May -- "after initial approval and sale." A Bitdefender spokesperson elaborated on that, saying it was actually removed on June 29.

The software made use of a proprietary database, which told users whether a particular application gathered analytics or accessed things like unique identification numbers and … Read more

Steam's summer sale is great for Mac gamers

Online game retailer Steam is running a big summer sale right now, which makes it a great time to build out your Mac OS X game library, thanks to heavy discounts on some recent and not-so-recent games.

As we've noted previously, the Steam sale "offers daily deals, multiple random flash sales, and a unique community choice vote where voters choose on the next heavily discounted game (which revolves every eight hours)." While most of the games on sale are Windows-only, there is a healthy selection of Mac games. But more importantly, those Mac games are significantly less expensive than they are on Apple's own Mac App Store. … Read more