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TidBITS#1167/01-Apr-2013

Apple news once again takes center stage in our issue this week, even though Apple didn’t see fit to feature any of it in one of the company’s special media events, now apparently reserved for significant hardware releases. Which of the changes will resonate most depends on your situation. Parents will appreciate the features in iCloud for Families, thoroughly detailed by Rich Mogull. For professional users, Joe Kissell runs down the specs of the Mac Pro’s replacement, and Matt Neuburg explains why Snow Leopard holdouts now have one less reason to avoid Mountain Lion. On the developer side of things, Michael Cohen covers why the quick sell-out of WWDC slots shouldn’t be as much of a problem this year, and Adam Engst outlines three welcome changes to Apple’s App Store policies. Finally, rumors are flying about Apple attempting once again to acquire Dropbox, and we announce our latest Take Control experiment, an in-progress book called “Take Control of Crowdsourcing.”

Adam Engst 7 comments

Help Write “Take Control of Crowd Sourcing”

We’re trying something new with Take Control to bring in new voices — lots of them, including you! Our next book, called “Take Control of Crowdsourcing,” will be written and edited not by our standard authors and editors, but by anyone who wants to contribute a small or large amount of time to the effort. All profits will go to the Wikimedia Foundation.

Adam Engst 11 comments

Dropbox to Become iOS File System for Real?

With dissatisfaction over document and data sharing in iOS growing, and Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive providing better options for competing mobile operating systems, rumors are suggesting that Apple is trying to acquire the cloud file-sharing service Dropbox.

Adam Engst 6 comments

App Store 2.0 Policies Address Developer Complaints

Never let it be said that Apple is deaf to developer concerns! With a quiet update to the iTunes Connect Web portal for managing submissions to the iOS App Store and Mac App Store, Apple has addressed the top three developer complaints: paid upgrades, trial versions, and the capability to engage with customers.

Rich Mogull 17 comments

iCloud for Families Debuts

Apple has released an unexpected update to iCloud with a host of useful features for managing the complexities of modern family life. Some of the capabilities of iCloud for Families will no doubt generate controversy, but overall, we expect that parents will welcome the additional communication and control.