Happy April Fools Day! We have no jokes or pranks this year, but here’s a look back through our April Fools efforts in past years that proved prescient.

U.S. taxpayers expecting a small-to-medium refund this year can opt to receive it in the form of iTunes credit (with some qualifications).

We’re pleased to announce TidBITS Online, our latest experiment to find new revenue streams. Give it a try and tell us what you think!

Thanks to a Twitter slip from Apple Watch tester Christy Turlington, we’ve learned that the Apple Watch can use its pulse tracking sensors in conjunction with a private API to work as a simple lie detector.

Apple continues to reduce the size of Mac components in its drive to produce smaller and more energy-efficient Macs. The little-heralded Mac mini is the latest to wander into the beam of Apple’s shrink ray, emerging as the Apple TV-sized Mac micro.

Apple may have bands for the Apple Watch in a variety of styles, materials, and colors, but that’s not stopping creative accessory makers from going even further. Here are eight bands that bring new capabilities to the Apple Watch.

“Go for the gold” is no longer just about the Olympics, as Apple introduces 18-karat gold “Apple Edition” versions of a number of its popular products for the burgeoning luxury tech market.

Notable software releases today include Pixelmator 3.3.2, Microsoft Office 2011 14.5, Minecraft 1.9, and BBEdit 11.4.1.

In today’s collection of ExtraBITS, the Apple TV gets more channels, Adobe announces Flash for the Apple Watch, Apple is considering rebranding iCloud once again, and Apple’s next big thing hits a regulatory wall.

Among the NSA revelations that have recently leaked are details of the agency’s purloined media trove — and the contents spell bad news for Apple.

Consumer advocates have derided Comcast for putting the squeeze on Netflix, but is the company perhaps becoming an unexpected ally of privacy advocates by putting the same squeeze on the U.S. government?

If you’ve ever wanted to run Mac OS X on your iPad, you now have your chance. TidBITS has discovered a well-hidden way to install 10.9 Mavericks on an iPad Air, hinting at the possibility of ARM-based Macs.

Newly revealed documents from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show that the NSA plans to create a mobile virtual network operator that will offer inexpensive mobile phone plans. The tradeoff is obvious, but might consumers still jump at the price?

Nintendo has answered the call of its fans and has brought one of its classic titles, Super Mario Bros. 3, to the iPhone and iPad. But Josh Centers thinks maybe that wasn’t such a great idea.

A Goldman Sachs analyst has given TidBITS the inside scoop on why the iCar may never hit the road. Will these setbacks finish off the beleaguered tech giant’s “next big thing”?