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ExtraBITS for 15 July 2013

After an Independence Day lull, our ExtraBITS are back in force. Adam Engst appeared on Your Mac Life and The Tech Night Owl last week to discuss the Apple ebook price fixing verdict. In more amusing legal news, a Tennessee lawyer is blaming Apple’s lack of Internet filters for his porn addiction. However, Apple could do a better job of filtering pirated apps from the App Store, which is an increasing problem for developers. Speaking of the App Store, Dave Addey has analyzed which apps Apple features, and has found some interesting global trends. But maybe you should take a break from those apps — it turns out that mobile devices can make you both timid and fat. Finally, PCWorld is ending its 30-year print run to concentrate on its
Web publication.

Your iPhone Is Making You Timid — According to a study performed by Harvard Business School, your iPhone is sapping your will. Due to the contracted body posture required to operate a smartphone or tablet, users actually grow less assertive than when using desktops or laptops. The reason is that your posture and gestures actually affect your body chemistry, decreasing testosterone and increasing cortisol levels. So sit up straight!

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Your iPhone Is Making You Fat, Too — It was bad enough to learn that your iPhone is making you timid, but now researchers say it may be hurting your fitness as well. Researchers at Kent State University have identified a correlation between heavy smartphone use and a more sedentary lifestyle among college students. Those who spent large amounts of time on a smartphone — up to 14 hours per day — were less fit than those who averaged only 90 minutes a day.

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Lawyer Blames Apple for His Porn Addiction — Nashville-based attorney Chris Sevier has filed suit against Apple in federal court for enabling his pornography addiction. Sevier wants Apple to enable an Internet filter in iOS devices by default, and allow it to be circumvented only upon sending a signed form to Apple. While iOS parental controls could use some work, Sevier’s request is rather over the top, to say the least, and we don’t anticipate needing to explain a judge’s decision in the case. Sevier was arrested earlier this year for stalking country star John
Rich, and the Tennessee Supreme Court has placed Sevier on disability inactive status for mental illness.

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An Analysis of the App Store’s Featured Apps — Ever wonder how Apple picks which apps to feature in the App Store? Dave Addey has published an extensive analysis of the company’s choices. Despite being a small minority in the App Store, games dominate the featured list, while business apps are rarely featured. Which apps are featured also differs by country. Brazil gets music apps, Asian countries see finance, education, and photography apps, while Germans and Austrians are presented with iPhone lifestyle apps. It’s a unique view of the world.

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Pirated Apps Sneak into the App Store — Jon Lipsky, the lead developer on TouchDraw, received an email complaint about a competitor’s app. He helpfully looked up the correct contact information, only to find that the competing app, Diagram Touch, was in fact a cracked and repackaged version of TouchDraw. Lipsky went on to discover a pirated version of OmniGraffle that was repackaged in the same way. Other developers have voiced the same issue in his post’s comments. Until Apple gets this under control, watch what you buy, and don’t take any wooden
nickels!

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PCWorld Magazine Drops Print for the Web — It’s the end of an era. The August 2013 issue marks the final U.S. print version of the venerable PCWorld magazine, founded in 1983. However, PCWorld will still publish on the Web, and the print magazine will continue in some other countries. PCWorld’s sister publication, Macworld, will continue to arrive on newsstands each month for the foreseeable future.

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Adam Engst Explains the Ebook Price Fixing Suit on YML — Curious about Apple’s loss in the ebook price fixing lawsuit (see “Explaining the Apple Ebook Price Fixing Suit,” 10 July 2013)? If you’d like to hear (or watch) Adam explain it, tune in to the Your Mac Life podcast with Shawn King. Adam’s segment starts at about 43 minutes in.

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Adam Engst Continues Discussing the Ebook Suit on the Tech Night Owl Live — If you can’t get enough of the decision in the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple for ebook price fixing, tune into Gene Steinberg’s Tech Night Owl Live, where Adam continues explaining Judge Denise Cote’s ruling.

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