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ExtraBITS for 11 May 2015

In this week’s ExtraBITS collection, the developers of MacKeeper could owe its users big money, we get some hard numbers regarding the Mac App Store’s stagnation, a developer vents about Apple’s networking code, and Apple confirms third-party Apple Watch bands.

MacKeeper Owner ZeoBIT Could Owe Users $2 Million — Under proposed settlement terms for a 2014 class-action lawsuit against MacKeeper creator ZeoBIT, the company could owe customers $2 million in refunds. ZeoBIT has been accused of unscrupulous marketing, with system tests that flag nonexistent problems. Austrian firm AV Comparatives tested the latest trial version of MacKeeper on a fresh install of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and the software warned that the computer’s condition was “serious,” citing 500 MB of “junk” files.

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The Sad State of the Mac App Store — It’s no secret among the Mac cognoscenti that the Mac App Store hasn’t lived up to its promise, but developer Sam Soffes has revealed just how bad the problem is. On 6 May 2015, he launched a new app, Redacted for Mac, that quickly shot to the 8th spot on the U.S. Top Paid list. But the app wasn’t as successful as you might think: on the first day, it sold only 94 copies, for a total of $452.

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Apple’s Networking Kerfuffle — Many Apple users have been experiencing networking problems, and developer Craig Hockenberry explains the cause in a profanity-laced tirade. The discoveryd service, introduced in OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, is the root of the problems. Unfortunately, the more Apple devices you have on a network, the more likely it is that you will suffer these networking problems. So far, the only fix seems to be to reboot all of your Apple devices. If you have both an AirPort router and an Apple TV, you should turn off the Apple TV, reboot the router, and then turn the Apple TV back on.

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Apple Confirms Third-Party Apple Watch Bands — Apple has confirmed that it will offer a Made for Apple Watch program that will enable other companies to produce approved Apple Watch bands. While it remains to be seen what band creators will do, one thing is certain: approved bands will not charge the Apple Watch, at least not through magnetic charging. The Band Design Guidelines for Apple Watch document clearly states, “Bands must not integrate magnetic chargers.”

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