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Review: Apple iTunes for Mac revamps its interface and improves performance

Apple iTunes for Mac continues doing its thing, managing and playing your media, constructing playlists, selling music, and renting movies; but the interface is always evolving.

We updated Apple iTunes for Mac via Apple's Software Update, upgrading 10.7 to 11.0.4 without any issues. A dramatically redesigned interface was apparent right off the bat. The sidebar was gone--it can be restored--and all our albums were displayed in a grid of album covers. We scrolled through our 2,231 albums, smoothly and precisely, but iTunes 10 could not handle a library of this size very well, making browsing … Read more

Windows Store hits 100,000 apps: Impressed?

Microsoft's Windows Store has hit the 100,000 apps mark in short order.

"Thanks for a great \\build! Just passed 100k apps in the Windows Store," Microsoft tweeted earlier today.

That was fast. Windows 8 was launched only last October.

How fast? Google took longer to reach that point -- roughly two years after the Android Market formally opened for business.

And it took about a year and a half for the iPad to garner 100,000 iPad-specific apps. "The platform has been out for 453 days, with developers getting access to its software development kit … Read more

Put Feedbin in your Mac's menu bar with FeedbinNotifier

Unless you've been living in a cave with no access to the Internet, you likely know Google Reader is now dead. If this comes as a surprise to you, you still have time to export your Reader data through Google's Takeout service. Be sure to do this before July 15th, when Google will remove Reader from its Takeout offerings.

One of the many Google Reader replacement services that has popped up since Google announced Reader's execution date is Feedbin.

Feedbin is a subscription service, costing $3 a month or $30 a year, with an API for developers … Read more

Get two free months of Next Issue unlimited digital magazines

Slowly but surely, Next Issue is getting better.

The service slings unlimited digital magazines to your tablet (or Windows 8-powered PC) for a flat monthly rate, and its catalog is closing in on 100 titles (quite a jump from the 40 or so it offered when it first launched about a year ago).

Haven't tried it yet? Now's your chance to double the usual test-drive deal: StackSocial is offering a two-month Next Issue Premium subscription for free. Normally that would run you $30.

Let me get one big caveat out of the way right now: This offer is … Read more

Colin McRae Rally races onto iOS

Codemasters' Colin McRae Rally holds a special place in the pantheon of racing games, earning legions of fans for its realistic simulation of breakneck rally racing.

If you're among those fans, or you just like a good high-speed race against the clock, you'll be glad to know Colin McRae Rally is now available for iOS.

CMR is all about off-road sprints, where you're effectively trying to beat the clock in order to unlock additional cars and stages. The game has 30 of the latter but only four cars, and in championship mode you must repeatedly finish "… Read more

Getting started with Boomerang for Gmail on Android

Boomerang is a service that works with your Gmail to send e-mail later, give you follow-up reminders, and notify you if you don't hear back within a specific time. To use the service in the past, you had to install an extension for Chrome or Firefox.

Now there's Boomerang for Gmail on Android, an app that allows you to use all of the same features you expect from the Web versions on your smartphone or tablet.

One big reason for using the app alongside the desktop version is that you don't have to wait until you're … Read more

Star Apps: American Idol Live! tour

Attention "American Idol" superfans: if you've been in major withdrawal since Candice Glover won Season 12 of Fox's blockbuster talent competition last May, you'll get your fix soon enough. On July 19, the American Idol Live! tour--a 30-stop national extravaganza, featuring the top 11 contestants--makes its way across the U.S. to a city near you. Expect to see Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor, Candice Glover, Curtis Finch Jr, Devin Velez, Janelle Arthur, Kree Harrison, Lazaro Arbos, Paul Jolley, and fan-saved Aubrey Cleland re-creating your favorite performances from this past season and surprising you … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions sent in by our readers.

This week, readers asked questions about whether or not a memory upgrade will result in more power draw and affect battery life, managing a nonfunctional SD card after a crash, how to dismiss update notifications for one application vs. another in the Mac App Store, and how to undo a command that forces the system to boot to Safe Mode at each start-up.

I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in … Read more

Could Google be next with a game console?

CNET Update hearts it:

In this episode of Update:

- Preorder a GamePop by Sunday to get it for free, or else get the GamePop Mini free with a subscription.

- Prepare for a Nexus Q comeback if Google relaunches it as an Android-gaming console.

- Leave your evening plans in the hands of Max, the new Netflix suggestion feature.

- Catch a glimpse of Android 4.3 leaked screenshots.

- Ditch the extra cable box this summer with Time Warner Cable's live TV app on Xbox.

- Bid farewell to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, which isn't getting an upgradeRead more

Google Now adds live TV info and coupons

CNET Update shops in space:

In this episode of Update:

- Pull up info on TV shows and coupons with Google Now.

- See what the world is like without clouds in the improved Google Maps satellite view.

- Say goodbye to 3G as Verizon plans to sell 4G-only phones in 2014.

- Ponder why Facebook is taking so long to create a Facebook app for Windows 8.

- Trek boldly with PayPal into the unknowns of space commerce.

- Try the new Digg app as a replacement for Google Reader.

CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in … Read more