Year: 2014

Apple puts into effect 14-day return policy on digital purchases in Europe

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 29, 2014

Apple typically handles refunds of digital purchases on a case-by-case basis and with an “All Sales Final” provision. But now, Apple's reportedly switched to a 14-day return policy for movies, TV shows, music, books and apps in most European markets, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and France, German blog iFun.de [Google Translate] reported Monday.

Apple's updated policy in these countries states that customers can now cancel their digital purchase within fourteen days from when they received their receipt “without giving any reason,” with the exception of iTunes Match, Season Pass, Multi-Pass and iTunes Gift Cards and Allowances that can't be refunded once you have redeemed the code or activated the service.

It’s easy to create a fingerprint from smartphone photos of someone’s finger

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 29, 2014

Admittedly, Touch ID has popularized and mainstreamed biometric security on mobile devices using an impression made on a surface by the inner part of the top joint of a finger.

Having debuted on the iPhone 5s, Apple's in-house sensor built into the Home button is based on a sophisticated technology by Israeli smart sensor maker AuthenTec, which the Cupertino firm snapped up in July of 2012 for a reported $356 million.

However, existing fingerprint-based security solutions could be easily bypassed by generating a fingerprint image from a series of photos of someone's finger, no physical print necessary whatsoever, according to claims by Chaos Computer Club, Europe’s largest association of hackers.

As relayed by VentureBeat, the hackers have now successfully demonstrated a proof-of-concept by copying the thumbprint of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen.

They used a close-up photograph of von der Leyen’s thumb, obtained during a news conference in October, along with photographs taken from different angles, said Jan Krissler aka “Starbug” at the 31st annual Chaos Computer Club convention in Hamburg, Germany.

Apple names hilarious platformer Icycle: On Thin Ice its new Free App of the Week

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 29, 2014

Apple's promotion that makes hand-picked apps and games available at no cost for a week typically falls on Thursday.

Given the holiday iTunes freeze, which ended on Sunday, Apple's editors couldn't make changes to the App Store so they haven't gotten around cherry-picking another Free App of the Week until yesterday evening.

A cool adventure platformer called Icycle: On Thin Ice by UK-based published Chillingo, now a division of Electronic Arts, is available at no cost until next Thursday, normally a $2.99 value. Regardless of the fact that it includes optional In-App Purchases, Icycle scored some rather favorable reviews and it fits the holiday theme perfectly so you should give it a whirl.

iOS again beats out Android in Christmas Day mobile shopping

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 29, 2014

Just like last year, Apple's iPhone and iPad again dominated online shopping traffic and online mobile sales during Christmas Day, according to an IBM survey first shared by VentureBeat.

Based on data from IBM's real-time Digital Analytics Benchmark, which tracked approximately 800 retail websites in the United States, iOS devices were responsible for an average of $97.28 per order spent online versus $67.40 for Android users, a difference of 44.3 percent.

In other words, a commanding 57.1 percent of online shopping via mobile during Christmas Day was carried out using an iPhone or iPad, an increase of 8.3 percent versus the previous year.

Step into a world of fantasy with The Last Monster Master

Lory Gil ∙ December 28, 2014

Choice of Games is an up-and-coming app developing company that I’m definitely keeping my eyes on. You may recall that my last weekend app list included “Creatures Such as We” as one to look out for. This week, the company launched another choose-your-own-adventure book and this one is filled with giant, toothy, scaly creatures.

The Last Monster Master is a text-based multiple-choice game book that puts the reader into the character of a Monster Master, which is a telepathic person with the ability to communicate with the beasts of the underworld. As a Master, you are charged with training monsters, as well as making sure they don’t turn on humanity and destroy everything.

Apple Pay reportedly to hit UK in first half of 2015, negotiations proving tricky

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Apple's NFC-powered mobile payments service Apple Pay is due to hit the UK market in the first half of 2015, after gaining some ground in the US at the end of this year, reports The Telegraph.

The British publication didn't name which banks specifically are in talks with Apple, but reported "at least one of the biggest banks" has been tricky in negotiating with the company.

The Interview is now available on iTunes, as iTunes Connect comes back online

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

The Interview is now available for download or stream from iTunes, after Apple originally chose not to carry the film at the same time as Microsoft, Netflix, and others.

Apple not running free 12 Days of Christmas promotion this year

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

For the last six years Apple has been running its "12 Days of Christmas" promotion in the UK, and did so last year in both the UK and US "12 Days of Gifts". It joyed customers by giving away iOS apps, music, films and books over the twelve days following Christmas Day. However as noticed first by MacWorld, it appears Apple is discontinuing its holiday tradition in 2014/2015.

We're now three days out of Christmas, and any type of promotion can't be found. MacWorld reports from a reliable source that we're definitely not seeing the "12 Days of Christmas" app this year.

Apple’s Beats Music reportedly wants to fuel engagement with exclusive album releases

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Apple's Beats Music, with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre at the helm, is looking to form partnerships with artists for exclusive releases, mirroring success iTunes has had in the past, reports New York Post.

Specific artists haven't been named, however Beats Music has strong partnerships with artists already, from its promotion and endorsements of Beats headphones. Nicki Minaj frequently stars with Beats products in her music videos. Will.i.am, Pharrell, Kanye West and Gwen Stefani are said to be friends of Iovine and Beats lovers.

Happy new year 2015 wallpapers for iPhone and iPad

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Today marks the last Wallpapers of the Week post for 2014! We are completing the first calendar year of the series, which started mid-2013. Earlier this year, we celebrated the one year anniversary of the series with our top images.

This year we published more than 52 Wallpapers of the Week posts, including some special edition mid-week releases for important events. Some of the most popular posts include: Interstellar; Apple's 5K iMac Retina image; October 16 Keynote wallpapers; a pre-release of the iOS 8 flower wallpapers, which received almost 1,000 media shares; September 9 Keynote wallpapers; geometry style; and galaxy images.

Take a step inside to celebrate 2015 and another upcoming year of wallpapers.

10 new tweaks released this week

Sébastien Page ∙ December 28, 2014

The song says "it's the most wonderful time of the year." It is indeed, unless you're expecting tons of apps and tweaks to be released, in which case, you'll be sorely disappointed. This past week was pretty slow in terms of new tweaks, but it made up the low quantity by great quality. Among the notable tweak releases of the week, we'll definitely note Ignition and Auxo 3, two highly anticipated tweaks that will sure make their marks on your devices.