iTunes

A recent case that went viral over the Interwebs reminded consumers that they may not really own the digital content they purchase, even if it says “Buy”. The case of Anders da Silva’s disappearing iTunes Movies, however, isn’t as clear-cut as it seemed. Because while this specific case doesn’t exactly change the policies, a lot more factors are apparently in play, particularly the case of switching regions/country where the content you have bought may not or no longer be available in your new place of residence.

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Purchasing digital copies of usually physical goods is so easy and convenient these days, most of us don’t give a second thought about it. We don’t have to carry books around, deal with fragile DVDs, or fumble around for cartridges whenever we want to switch games. But depending on where you bought said digital content, buying might not exactly mean what you think it means. That was the bitter truth that a Canadian iTunes user learned when Apple quietly removed content he already bought because the items were no longer being sold on its digital content store.

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YouTube Music's 2018 reincarnation just launched, and it's available for SOME users. If you live in the United States, Mexico, Austalia, New Zealand, or South Korea, you might be in luck. Today Google launched "early access" to YouTube Music for some users - but not ALL users.

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Has hell frozen over? We've lost count of how many times. We are, after all, in an age of frenemies, so it shouldn't be surprising to see bitter rivals on the same bed from time to time. And Microsoft did promise that Apple's iTunes will be on its Microsoft, formerly Windows, Store, which should have happened last year. Better late than never and now Apple fans forced to use Windows 10 will have one less thing to miss from their favorite Apple operating system.

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Today ESET researchers showed us how most popular security apps are scams. That's a harsh reality - but it's real. The vast majority of highly-downloaded, downloaded en masse apps made for "security" aren't providing security at all. What they're providing instead is a whole lot of advertisements and what ESET describes as "pseudo-security." It's a real mess.

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There’s no arguing that Facebook made a massive blunder in the way it handled the Cambridge Analytica situation. It has caused many big names in many industries, ranging from tech to advertising, to pull out their support or chide the social networking giant. Apple, who has been painted as the poster boy for protecting customer privacy, naturally criticized Facebook’s behavior. But in explaining how Apple would have done it differently, Tim Cook pit the company’s practices and philosophy against those of more “open” app and content markets, like Android’s Google Play Store. But which strategy is the right one to take, especially in this day of rampant privacy violations? As you might expect, the answer isn’t clear-cut.

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Apple's iTunes U, Mac App Store, Volume Purchase Program, iTunes Store, Apple TV, and App Store all had issues this afternoon. This came after Apple's morning event in Chicago in which the company revealed a new iPad with emphasis on school deployment. In other words, today the folks at Apple had a great morning, but a less-than-super afternoon.

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Today it was revealed that Spotify's newest user interface for Android and iOS is mostly for new users - for the moment. Users discovered this via Reddit, where user experiences are shared and screenshots are compared. We tried a method shared by users there, and surprise! A new account with the newest version of the app yields a new UI, but switching back to an old account brings the UI back to the old look.

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If you've been putting off upgrading your Apple TV first-generation, it might finally be time to relinquish the aging set-top box. Apple has warned owners holding out with the original media streamer that, as of May 25, security changes will cut the gadget off from the iTunes Store. That means no more new shows, and no ability to download shows you've already purchased.

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The Apple HomePod ships next week but it might already be showing some of its warts this early. Never mind that it’s late, because Apple has a knack for rewriting history anyway. Evidence, both official and not, have surfaced revealing a smart speaker that might be a tad limited compared to the rivals it will be facing. The newest one is the official list of audio sources that the HomePod will support. And while it’s a very short list, it might not be much of a problem if your entire world already revolves around Apple anyway.

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Windows users have long had access to iTunes, and the availability is as simple to get as going to Apple's website to download the software. Back in May, however, the companies announced that iTunes will be made available in the Microsoft Store -- that is, in Microsoft's online store for downloading apps. Why make it available there when users can download it from Apple? Because that's the only way Windows 10 S users will be able to get it.

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Apple music downloads through the company's iTunes Music Store are not publicly scheduled for termination. A couple of reports were published by a single source with anonymous insider tips and Apple has refuted both of them. I want to be clear here - I'm not suggesting that sources that wish to remain anonymous are not to be used by news publications, only that in this case, the sources could just as easily have been from the publication itself.

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