Apple completed the holiday shopping season by giving away free shipping on products from its online stores. First it offered free two-day shipping, and then it upped that to free next-day shipping this week. In addition, it seems that most Apple stores offer in-store pickup of items ordered online.
In iTunes news, Apple added a “Complete My Season Pass” to the iTunes store that allows you to purchase the entire season of a TV show at a reduced price if you have already purchased some episodes individually. This is similar to the “Complete My Album” feature already in place for music. And that feature has been updated to remove a time limit that previous meant you could only complete an album within 180 days of purchasing the first track.
Apple is in the process of buying flash memory and chip design company Anobit. Since the iPhone, iPad, iPod and even some Macs use Flash memory, it is important for Apple to continue to be a leader in this area.
A school in Charlotte, North Carolina is looking to get an iPad. The idea is to give at-risk students the opportunity to learn with the aid of an iPad and educational apps. Join MacMost in supporting this project.
“You want an iPad 3? Kid, I may be able to fly around the world and deliver presents to every child in a single night, but I can’t perform the impossible!”
Apple began offering iTunes Match in more countries this week, starting with Brazil and including some other countries such as the U.K, France, Australia and New Zealand. However, shortly after appearing for those countries the service disappeared and Apple refunded customers who had signed up. Apparently the service was turned on prematurely. It still remains available in the U.S. and Brazil. But this may indicate that a real international launch is just around the corner.
Apple issued a number of updates this week, including version 10.5.2 update for iTunes and a Thunderbolt display firmware update. Microsoft issued updates to Office for Mac 2011 and the previous version, 2008. They address security and stability issues.
A teacher in Milwaukee is looking to get an iPad for her students who have cognitive disabilities. They would use the iPad to help them communicate and to help them participate in regular classrooms. Join MacMost in supporting this project.
“I started using iTunes Match the other day. It works great, but everything I listen to now sounds a little more like Coldplay.”
We’re starting the annual quiet period for Apple news as Apple will not typically release new products or make announcements during the holiday shopping season.
Apple released minor updates this week to Keynote on the Mac and iBooks and Cards on iOS. iBooks new features includes new fonts and a nighttime reading theme.
An art classroom that serves 600 students in Defuniak Springs, Florida, some of whom have physical disabilities, would like to get an iPad 2. They will be able to use the Internet and art apps. Join MacMost in supporting this project.
“We have to move to a new cloud. This one is now filled with peoples’ crappy iTunes music collections.”