Square confirms adding Apple Pay support in 2015

Square, the increasingly popular mobile payment and processing firm, is going to support Apple Pay soon. That's the gist of a comment CEO Jack Dorsey (who co-founded Twitter) made speaking with CNN Money. Apple Pay integration in the Square Reader will require a new hardware iteration of the accessory with built-in NFC circuitry.

Apple Pay, which also relies on NFC, will become available as an option for Square users sometime in 2015.

How to reliably check Apple’s firmware signing window

If you accidentally upgrade to iOS 8.1.1 or any other non-jailbreakable firmware in the future, it's always a good idea to go out and check Apple's signing window to see if you can downgrade your device to a previous firmware. For example, if I upgrade my device to iOS 8.1.1 today, or if I want to check out Apple's iOS 8.2 beta, I know that I can do so and downgrade back to iOS 8.1 with no issue.

But remember, Apple's signing windows are subject to relatively quick closure. It's been four days since Apple released iOS 8.1.1, but the signing window for iOS 8.1 is still open, making it possible to downgrade now. That can, of course, change at any time. In fact, Apple could decide to close the signing window as you're reading this post.

For that reason, its a good idea to downgrade now if you ever want to jailbreak iOS 8. But it's also good to get familiar with how to check the signing window, and this handy website allows you to do just that.

Certify your English proficiency using Duolingo Test Center for iOS

The language certification industry commands some surprisingly insane fees so how about fair language certification for all?

Your prayers have been heard: the free learning platform Duolingo on Friday released an iOS app which allows anyone to certify their English proficiency right on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Not only can Duolingo Test Center certify your language skills right on an iOS device, but does so at a significant lower price, too.

And because there's no need to travel long distances to examination facilities available only in select major cities, you can get certified in the comfort of your home, in under half an hour.

Google’s new Bookmark Manager surfaces in latest Chrome Beta

Following Wednesday's release of a stable version of the 64-bit edition of Google Chrome for Mac, the Internet giant issued a new version of Chrome Beta for Mac, Windows and Linux that includes an all-new Bookmark Manager feature that previously leaked via screenshots (it was called Stars).

With Bookmark Manager, it will be a lot easier for Chrome fans to manage their saved bookmarks, delete unwanted ones, file them under folders and more.

And when creating a new bookmark, Chrome will let you select an image and add a note or snippet so you can find it more quickly later. “Google will also suggest a folder if it seems like it could be a fit,” the team said in a blog post.

iWork for iCloud gets new languages, fonts, easier file renaming and more

As first reported by German blog Macerkopf.de [Google Translate], Apple has refreshed its iWork for iCloud suite of productivity web applications with several new features and improvements. Pages is now available in eight new languages:  Deutsch, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, with bidirectional support for Arabic and Hebrew.

Keynote and Numbers have gained support for the same languages with the exception of Arabic and Hebrew. All three web applications have gained easier file renaming and a couple other editing features.

Shipping times improve for select iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models

With the all-important Black Friday shopping weekend just around the corner, Apple continues to improve supply of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Shipping estimates for select models of the handsets have recently ameliorated for Apple's US online store and in other countries.

Both 64GB and 128GB iPhone 6 models, as well as the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus, are now showing ship dates 7 to 10 days out for all colors across all major US carriers. And the 16GB iPhone 6 is now shipping in 5 to 7 days, with Personal Pickup available at a number of Apple Stores.

Disney Store app updated with support for Apple Pay

The Disney Store app has received an update, bringing it to version 3.2.1. Just in time for the holidays, the update includes support for Apple Pay, allowing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users to pay for their purchases using Apple's new payment method.

While in-app Apple Pay is supported by the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, it doesn't appear the iPad version of the Disney Store app takes advantage of it yet. It also looks like folks utilizing Apple Pay will still have to enter all of their shipping info.

EA Mobile teases upcoming game “Need for Speed No Limits”

EA Mobile has posted a new teaser trailer for its upcoming game "Need for Speed No Limits." The game is being built by Firemonkeys, the combined teams of Firemint and IronMonkey Studios, who both have racing backgrounds.

The video features professional rally driver Ken Block, of the Hoonigan Racing Division, playing the new Need for Speed on his iPhone 6. The gameplay footage shown is fairly impressive, flaunting sharp graphics and intense gameplay.

Best Buy launches pre-Black Friday sale with discounts on iPods and iPads

Joining Walmart and other retailers looking to get a head start on next week's Black Friday festivities, Best Buy today began offering limited-time deals on a number of products. Among those products is a first generation iPad Air, and fifth-gen iPod touch, both of which have been significantly discounted.

For the next three days, Best Buy is taking between $80 and $100 off all iPad Air models—the discount depends on the model you buy. While the original Air is more than a year old now, it still features a newer hardware design and packs plenty of power. The 16GB Wi-Fi-only model is a steal at just $319.

Apple seeds first OS X 10.10.2 beta to developers

Apple has seeded the first beta of OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 this afternoon. The update, labeled build 14C68k, is available through the Update tab in the Mac App Store and the Dev Center for all registered Mac developers.

Today’s release comes just a few days after Apple officially launched 10.10.1 to the public, which featured bug fixes and Wi-Fi improvements—although some users are still complaining of Wi-Fi issues after updating.

How to downgrade to iOS 8.1

If you want to jailbreak iOS 8.1, but you're running iOS 8.1.1 or the new iOS 8.2 beta, you can downgrade your firmware to iOS 8.1 and jailbreak as long as Apple is still signing the iOS 8.1 firmware. As of this post, 8.1 is still being signed, but that will change in the future, so use this post to determine whether or not this tutorial is still valid.

If Apple is signing iOS 8.1, it's extremely easy to downgrade your device, even if you're running the iOS 8.2 beta or iOS 8.1.1. Neither of those firmwares are jailbreakable at the moment, but iOS 8.1 is jailbreakable, hence the need to downgrade. Follow our simple tutorial after the break to downgrade your device back to iOS 8.1.

Billboard to begin incorporating streaming services in top 200 chart

On Wednesday, December 3, Billboard says it will premiere its biggest upgrade to its 200 chart in more than 23 years. The chart, which currently tracks the top 200 albums of the week by sales, will be the first to include on-demand streaming and digital track sales.

To do this, the chart will incorporate streaming service data measured by Nielsen Entertainment by way of a new algorithm. Billboard says it's the "most substantial methodology update since 1991," when Billboard began using point-of-sale data to measure album sales.