iTunes Store, App Store and Other Apple Services Experiencing Outage [Mac Blog]

According to Apple's System Status page, several of its services are experiencing downtime. Some users may be unable to access the iTunes Store, App Store, Mac App Store, and iBooks Store.



The page also suggests some users may be experiencing issues with the Apple TV, iTunes Match, iTunes Radio, iTunes U, and OS X Software Updates.





The downtime appears to have started just after 3pm and is ongoing. We have received several emails and tweets from users who are unable to access the App Store or can only access certain parts of the App Store.



App Store Top Charts, for example, have been unavailable since the downtime originally began, and while some app categories were also blank, those seem to be reappearing, suggesting the outage may be short.



Today's App Store outage is the second Apple has seen this week.

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Posted in 2015 at 11:14PM, March 26

Meet Pivot, the amazing app that offers location-based ‘tunnels’ to the past

What if you could instantly pick up your phone to learn more details about a certain historical landmark or your location and then get visual cues about how that particular place changed over time? That’s what a new application called Pivot looks to offer smartphone users: A way of traveling back in time and staying connected to the history of a certain place, as long as there are available pictures of that place to tell its story.

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Posted in 2015 at 09:30PM, March 26

Could the Galaxy S6 edge be an even bigger hit than Samsung imagined?

A new report from South Korean publication ETnews reveals that Samsung is scrambling to increase Galaxy S6 edge production, as the device is a lot more popular with its retail partners than initially believed.

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Posted in 2015 at 07:51PM, March 26

Apple Watch Apps Begin Showing Up in the App Store Ahead of Apple Watch Launch

Ahead of the Apple Watch's upcoming April 24 launch, apps that include Apple Watch support are beginning to be released in the App Store. As of today, several popular iOS apps have been updated with built-in Apple Watch apps, including Evernote, Dark Sky, Things, and Target.



Additional apps with Apple Watch support will be rolling out over the course of the day, giving us a first look at how many of the apps on the device will function. We'll be updating this post with a list of Apple Watch apps that are available as they come out in the App Store.



According to Evernote's app description, for example, users will be able to dictate notes into the Apple Watch, which will be transcribed and synced to Evernote. Users will also be able to see recently created, updated, and viewed notes, and get reminders about items that are due. Dark Sky's weather information will be brought to the wrist, and according to the app release notes, it's been designed from scratch to fit on the smaller screen of the Apple Watch.





As we've mentioned before, Apple Watch apps are bundled into existing iPhone apps because the iPhone powers the app while a UI is extended to the Apple Watch. This helps to preserve battery and it controls the amount of access developers have to the watch. Apps that run fully on the Apple Watch are coming in the future, but are not available yet.



The Apple Watch will be available for pre-order and try-on sessions at Apple retail stores beginning on April 10. Third-party Apple Watch apps have likely started popping up today to allow Apple Store employees to install content on demo Apple Watches that will be shown off to customers.

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Posted in 2015 at 07:17PM, March 26

How to Digitally Sign a PDF Using Preview on Mac [Mac Blog]

When you receive a PDF document by email that you must sign, the process of printing out the file, signing on the dotted line with a pen, scanning the signed document and sending it back can be a rather tedious task. Fortunately, Apple introduced the ability to digitally sign a PDF document using Preview, a program that comes preinstalled on every Mac, on OS X Lion or later.





The steps involved to digitally sign a PDF using Preview on Mac are quite simple and will save you valuable time, especially if you have multiple documents, contracts, forms or other paperwork to sign. If you are worried that your digital signature will look bad, rest assured that you can create your signature by using the trackpad or holding up your signature on paper to a Mac's built-in iSight camera.

Steps to Digitally Sign a PDF Using Trackpad

1. Open the PDF file you need to sign in Preview.
   


2. Click on the briefcase icon () and then the signature () icon.
   


3. Click on Create Signature > Click Here to Begin. Draw your signature on the trackpad. Click any key when finished. Click Done.
   


4. Click on the signature created to insert it into the PDF document. The signature can be moved or resized like a regular image.
   

Steps to Digitally Sign a PDF Using Camera

1. Open the PDF file you need to sign in Preview.
   


2. Click on the briefcase icon () and then the signature () icon.
   


3. Click on Create Signature > Camera. Sign your name on white paper and hold it to be visible to the camera. Preview will draw a digital signature. Click Done.
   


4. Click on the signature created to insert it into the PDF document. The signature can be moved or resized like a regular image.
   

Tips

• If you are using the trackpad to create your digital signature, it is recommended that you look at Preview and go slow and steady with your finger to achieve the best result. For an even more precise signature, you can use an iPhone or iPad stylus, preferably one with a fine-tipped ending, to draw your signature on the trackpad.
  
  
  


• Signing a piece of white paper and holding it up to the camera is the easiest way of creating a digital signature in Preview, although this method does not always yield the best results. The signature will appear inverted when you hold it up to your Mac's camera, but Preview will automatically ensure that it reads properly from left to right.
  
  
  


• You can create a digital signature in Preview by following steps above even if you do not have a PDF document opened. By default, all digital signatures that you create are automatically stored in a list on Preview so that you can insert them into future PDFs documents and other files without needing to repeat these steps. Preview can store multiple signatures at once.
  
  
  


• Apple also provides a markup tool in the Mail app on OS X Yosemite to create digital signatures that can be directly inserted into emails.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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Posted in 2015 at 07:01PM, March 26

The Boy Genius Report Podcast: Episode 5

This week, Rene Richie from iMore joins as guest to add his perspective into what could be one of Apple's biggest inventions in years. Rene also adds new information about the upcoming Apple Watch launch and polarizing MacBook. There's also a Meerkat involved.

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Posted in 2015 at 05:02PM, March 26

Why releasing a 4-inch ‘iPhone 6c’ is the biggest no-brainer on Earth

Why would Apple want to release a smaller 4-inch device that's tentatively being called the "iPhone 6c?" My response is, why wouldn't they? Yes, phones with large screens are all the rage these days but there is still a market out there for smaller devices that fit comfortably in your hand and your pocket, particularly if you have small hands.

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Posted in 2015 at 04:42PM, March 26

Amazon Cloud Drive Now Includes Unlimited Cloud Storage Plans

Amazon on Thursday announced two new unlimited cloud storage plans for Amazon Cloud Drive, enabling users to store an endless amount of photos, videos, movies, music, and files. Amazon users can choose either the Unlimited Photos Plan for $11.99 per year or the Unlimited Everything Plan for $59.99 per year, with a free three-month trial available for each plan for customers that want to try the service.





The lower-tier Unlimited Photos Plan allows for an unlimited number of photos to be stored on Amazon Cloud Drive, alongside up to 5GB of additional storage for videos, documents and other files. The more expensive Unlimited Everything Plan allows for unlimited storage of photos, videos, files, documents, movies and music with no restrictions. Amazon Prime members are already provided with an Unlimited Photos Plan at no additional cost.

“Most people have a lifetime of birthdays, vacations, holidays, and everyday moments stored across numerous devices. And, they don’t know how many gigabytes of storage they need to back all of them up,” said Josh Petersen, Director of Amazon Cloud Drive. “With the two new plans we are introducing today, customers don’t need to worry about storage space—they now have an affordable, secure solution to store unlimited amounts of photos, videos, movies, music, and files in one convenient place.”

The addition of unlimited cloud storage makes Amazon Cloud Drive a more competitive alternative to other cloud storage services such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox. Apple does not offer unlimited iCloud storage, providing customers with tiered storage options of 20GB, 200GB, 500GB or 1TB for between $0.99 and $19.99 per month. Google and Microsoft also have capped storage plans, while Dropbox offers unlimited storage to business customers only.

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Posted in 2015 at 04:34PM, March 26