Tim Cook’s taking on the tax man. On Tuesday, the Apple CEO will appear before the U.S. Senate’s permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to discuss that body’s look into multinational companies and how they pay taxes. As a special preview to those who really can’t wait to hang on Cook’s every word, Apple on Monday released its head honcho’s testimony.

Those searching for even the merest hint of Apple’s future plans will want to find another tree up which to bark: the 18-page testimony deals almost exclusively the relatively dry subjects of Apple subsidiaries, the company’s corporate structure, and its broad suggestions for overhauling the federal tax system. Given that, it’s no surprise that Cook will be joined by Peter Oppenheimer, the company’s CFO, and Phillip Bullock, Apple’s head of tax operations.

In its testimony, Apple begins by stressing that as one of the largest companies in the U.S., it provides a huge benefit to the economy. Included in the numbers the company tosses around are estimates of how many jobs it supports or has created in the U.S. (approximately 600,000, including 50,000 of its own employees and around 290,000 related to the company’s so-called “App Economy”), the large sums it’s paid out to app developers (more than $9 billion), and the company’s fiscal year 2012 tax bill (almost $6 billion, which it estimates will rise to more than $7 billion for fiscal year 2013). The last, Apple says, likely makes it the largest corporate income tax payer in the U.S.

Apple strenuously asserts that it pays every cent it owes, both to the U.S. government and to the governments of other countries in which it does business. The most significant of those is Ireland, in which Apple has five—count ‘em, five—subsidiaries, each of which the company says adhere to the letter and spirit of the law; Apple says it doesn’t use tax gimmicks, such as offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands or Caribbean nations, and its large foreign holdings are simply due to the fact that the majority of its revenue—61 percent last year—are generated internationally.

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If you enjoyed this week's roundup of iPhone cases, check out last week’s edition, Opposites Attract.

iOS devices are in the army now, Intel’s former CEO recounts his Apple misstep, and Apple’s got its work cut out for its WWDC keynote. The remainders for Friday, May 17, 2013 lead the way.

Apple Mobile Devices Approved for Use on U.S. Military Networks (Bloomberg)

The Pentagon has given thumbs up to iOS 6 devices on military networks, though the Defense Department is still waiting for Apple’s much anticipated “Find My Enemies” app.

Paul Otellini’s Intel: Can the Company That Built the Future Survive It? (The Atlantic)

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This week's roundup of new and updated iOS apps includes cool new offerings for music and movies, as well as a new storytelling form designed just for your phone or tablet.

While it may not be a full-fledged HDTV, the Apple TV set-top box continues to expand its portfolio. According to a story first reported by Deadline, the CW is bringing its video content to the Apple TV via a dedicated app.

The CW offering would mimic what the network already has on Microsoft’s Xbox; the network confirmed to MacRumors that the app will feature ad-supported full episodes available for streaming the day after they air. And, in a bonus for cord cutters, the app will not require an existing cable subscription to view content. A specific release date for the app has not yet been announced, though it should be sooner rather than later.

This marks the first foray from one of the major broadcast networks onto the Apple TV, though the box already features content from video middlemen like Hulu and Netflix; sports leagues like MLB, NHL, and NBA; video-sharing sites Vimeo and YouTube; and other video sources, like the Wall Street Journal.

Thus far, video content has only gradually trickled onto the Apple TV: Hulu Plus, for example, just appeared last July. But the appearance of a CW app could signal a shift in the winds. With the recent incursion of Aereo into the broadcast space, the networks are sure to be looking for ways to keep control of their content. ABC recently announced that it would begin offering live streaming in its iOS app—but only in certain markets, and only for cable and satellite subscribers. Meanwhile, many of the studios and networks continue to enforce availability windows and device-specific streaming rights.

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In this week’s edition of our iPhone-case roundup, you’ll find protection inspired by one of history’s darkest and most-loved superhero vigilantes. But if battling crime is not your thing, we also have our usual mix of the fashionable, the practical, and the adventurous.

Previously unknown Mac OS X spyware, signed with a valid Apple Developer ID, has turned up on the laptop of an activist from Angola at a human rights conference in Norway.

Security researcher and privacy activist Jacob Appelbaum found the spyware on the activist’s Mac at the Oslo Freedom Forum earlier this week.

The activist’s computer was compromised as a result of a spear phishing attack, Appelbaum said Thursday on Twitter. The researcher claims that he has copies of the attack emails and two different malware samples.

Security researchers from Finnish antivirus firm F-Secure analyzed one of the malware samples and concluded that it is a previously unknown Mac backdoor program which appears to be signed with a valid Apple Developer ID.

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Mr. Cook goes to Washington, an Apple Store grows in San Francisco, and Mac spyware turns up in Norway. The remainders for Thursday, May 16, 2013, are going global.

Apple on offense over $100B offshore stash (Politico)

Yes, that’s right: Politico. Tim Cook’s giving interviews to political sites in advance of his testimony in front of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The topic? Offshore holdings by Apple and other companies. In his Politico interview, Cook categorically denied funneling domestic products overseas, and said that the company paid all of the taxes it owed. Furthermore, Cook apparently plans to make some suggestions about overhauling the tax code, which will finally let those salivating tech writers drag out the “Apple tax” headlines again.

Apple to open new store on Union Square (SFGate)

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Brandon Ashmore, who calls Mentor, Ohio, home, is having a very good day. Apple on Thursday announced that Ashmore downloaded the 50 billionth app from the App Store.

As part of Apple’s promotion for the historic download, this makes Ashmore the lucky winner of an iTunes gift card worth a cool $10,000. The app Ashmore downloaded to win the prize was Space Inch’s new Say the Same Thing, a fun (and free) game for the iPhone in which two players collaborate to find common words by free association—like the old “think of a word” game you used to play as a kid, but with smartphones.

Apple itself has much to celebrate, of course, as the App Store now counts some 850 thousand apps—almost half of which work natively on the iPad—and has paid out some $9 billion in royalties to developers.

And, if 50 billion downloads doesn’t sound impressive enough, consider this: That’s the number of first-time downloads only, which doesn’t include updates or re-downloads.

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The DOJ wants to put Apple on ice for collusion on ebooks’ price. Elsewhere, if an iPhone button wiggles, is it more than just a niggle? And to get some relief, Siri asks you to please keep it brief. The remainders for Wednesday, May 15, 2013 like to rhyme all of the time.

U.S. Now Paints Apple as ‘Ringmaster’ in Its Lawsuit on ebook Price-Fixing (New York Times)

According to the Department of Justice, Apple masterminded the price-fixing scheme, cajoling and threatening the poor innocent publishers into its nefarious schemes. Supporting evidence includes emails from Apple execs to publishers, as well as a recording of ex-CEO Steve Jobs sitting in his office and laughing maniacally.

Apple tells U.S. of tough talks, not collusion, with publishers (Reuters)

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A new feature released Tuesday from children’s app maker Kidaptive lets parents track the progress of what their children are learning inside the company’s first story and game application.

Leo’s Pad has been out for a year, releasing short story and game content it calls “appisodes.” The new parental layer shows a control panel broken out by child, and breaks down which areas children are struggling with and what new things they’ve learned. It also gives tips on how to increase color recognition, for example, and cites research for each recommendation.

Kidaptive

The company’s founders have a varied background in comic book writing, education and 3D animation, which helped create an app that children’s-application watchers say sets it apart.

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Internet payment company Square has announced a new accessory that turns your iPad into a high-tech cash register, complete with built-in credit-card swiper and a slew of point-of-sale accessories.

Aimed squarely—if you’ll pardon the pun—at small businesses, the $299 Square Stand allows you to connect an iPad to a secure card-swiping machine; it’s designed to work alongside the company’s free Register app. This, in turn, combines a credit-card-processing facility with a powerful point-of-sale system that can be used to maintain inventory and charge customers, essentially working like a souped-up version of a traditional cash register.

The Stand also features a hub that can be used to connect external accessories to the system, including a receipt printer, cash drawer, and barcode scanner. The current version works with an iPad 2 or a third-generation iPad—later this year, the company will release a version that works with Apple tablets that use the new Lightning connector.

The company’s new hardware is slated for general availability starting the week of July 8, when it will be sold both online from Square as well as at Best Buy stores; pre-orders begin on Tuesday. If you want to see it in action before then, Square says that it will be piloting the Stand at select small business throughout the United States starting May 15.

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The $30 Innotraveler Universal Car Mount attaches to the inside of your car’s windshield, letting you mount your iPhone for easy access—say, for GPS guidance—while you’re on the road.

First, T-Mobile didn’t even offer the iPhone. Then, last month, it started offering the phone for $100—and it sold half-a-million phones in three weeks. But now, the carrier has boosted the upfront price on that iPhone 5 to $150.

As first reported by TmoNews, an unofficial T-Mobile blog, the $100 iPhone 5 price tag lasted just about one month. Now, the total cost for an iPhone 5 from the carrier is $630 (after making monthly $20 payments on the phone for two years), up from $580.

To put T-Mobile’s price hike in context, other major carriers charge $199 for the 16GB iPhone, and require two-year contracts. T-Mobile, which bills itself as an ”un-carrier,” only requires a two-year commitment for the $20 phone fee; its cellular plans no longer require contracts.

The price tag on the 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 models also increased by $50 apiece.

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The Hazard (iPad mini; $45) is a lightweight-but-durable hardshell case with a slim profile. Compatible with Apple’s Smart Cover, the case provides access to all ports, buttons, and cameras.

The Hazard is available in sheet metal or jet black.

Got photos? Online retail giant Amazon has released a new app that lets iPhone users save their pictures directly on the company’s own cloud storage space.

Dubbed Amazon Cloud Drive Photos and available free of charge from the App Store, the app can transfer photos back and forth between a device and Cloud Drive, where they can be accessed using a desktop computer, Web browser, or other compatible device, like a Kindle Fire.

The app’s goal is to let customers enjoy the benefits of cloud storage—including ease of sharing and easier backups—regardless of what platform they use. In addition, the app lets you view your photo albums in various layouts from your iPhone or iPod touch and share Cloud Drive photos on Facebook, Twitter, and via email.

Launched in March of 2011, Cloud Drive offers users 5GB of free storage, which can be used for files of all kinds, including music, pictures, and video. Additional space is available for fees that range from $10 per year for 20GB to $500 per year for 1000GB (1TB).

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PDF Expert has updated with the ability to cut and past your document annotations … Office2 HD now lets users hide and unhide presentation slides. Packing Pro 9.0 (pictured) lets users filter their travel lists track every item in every single bag you carry.

It happens to every Mac (and every other kind of PC): The system slows down when it’s doing lot of things at once. If this happens to your Mac more than you’d like, though, your system might need more RAM.

Adding more RAM to your Mac—if you can add more RAM—is one of the eaiest ways to improve your Mac’s performance. The crucial question is, How much more RAM do you actually need? Macworld Lab ran benchmarks on a couple of Macs at different RAM configurations and analyzed the results. Our conclusion: The impact of more RAM depends on the types of tasks your Mac performs. In some situations your Mac may benefit from having as much RAM as you can afford; in others, you’ll be fine with the stock configuration.

But before we dive into the results, let’s take a brief look at what RAM is and why it’s important to your Mac. (This article focuses exclusively on the impact of RAM on system performance, but of course RAM isn’t the only component that affects performance. Macworld Lab is currently working on tests that will allow us to take a similar look at how other components—storage, graphics, and CPU—affect performance.)

What is RAM?

Random Access Memory is a temporary storage medium that your Mac’s CPU uses for fast access to data it’s processing. The CPU can access data contained in RAM much faster than it can data held on long-term storage devices like traditional hard drives and even solid-state drives.

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If you have a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac—lucky you!—it’s time to back up your data and set a little bit of time aside to download and run Thunderbolt Firmware Update v1.2, released by Apple on Thursday.

According to Apple, the update is a stability fix for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode. The update is a scant 1.2MB in size and requires OS X 10.8.3 or later.

If you have a Mac laptop, be sure to plug it in before you run the update. During the installation, your Mac will restart and the screen will go gray with a status indication bar.

Adobe has used its Max conference this week to reveal that the company is making its first foray into creative hardware, with Project Mighty and Project Napoleon—a digital pen and ruler for iOS devices (see above). Still in the experiment stage, there’s no word yet about when we should expect to see Mighty and Napoleon hit the shelves, but we got our hands on working prototypes of the devices to try them out and take some photos of them in action.

Project Mighty is a cloud-connected stylus pen that currently works with unreleased Adobe apps that have been designed specifically for the hardware.

Adobe has chosen a twisted, three sided design for Mighty, which we found was brilliantly comfortable to hold and gave us precise control over the movement of the pen while we were drawing. The prototype we tested had a soft, rubberised tip, but Senior Experience Design Lead at Adobe, Geoff Dowd, told us that the company has been experimenting with different tip types, such as a narrower precision tip for more intricate drawings.

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Pixelmator on Thursday released version 2.2 of its $15 Mac App Store-only image editing app. “Don’t be confused by versioning numbers,” the developers wrote on their blog, because “it’s a major upgrade.”

Among the new features are a slew of new shape tools, a Smart Move tool, a clever Paint Selection tool, a Light Leak Effect, and plenty more.

Pixelmator 2.2 includes 40 shapes you can easily insert into your images, and they’re all customizable: You can give them solid or gradient fills, shadows, inner shadows, adjustable stroke styles, and a host of visual effects. The shapes include basic geometric objects, along with cameras, people, ghosts, clocks, and more. And, of course, you can create your own shapes and share them with other Pixelmator users.

There’s another new option that lets you treat text layers as shapes, too. That essentially lets you warp text in all the same ways, with all the same sorts of effects.

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It seems that the introduction of the iPhone to its roster of supported devices has been very good for T-Mobile.

The company released its financial results for the first quarter of 2013, and says that it sold some 500,000 iPhone 5 units to its customers—a number made that more impressive by the fact that Apple’s flagship mobile phone has only been available to T-Mobile’s new and existing customers since April 12th. (Extrapolated to an annual basis, that number translates into some ten million handsets per year, although the actual ongoing sales are likely going to be much different once the novelty of T-Mobile’s service wanes.)

According to a press release announcing the financials, T-Mobile also gained an average of 100,000 new iPhone customers who were moving their handsets over from other carriers each month by taking advantage of the company’s Bring Your Own Device program, which allows owners of unlocked smartphones to get favorable monthly rates if they switch to T-Mobile.

Interestingly, the sales numbers reported by the mobile carrier did not make specific mention of how many iPhone 4 and 4S models the company sold—a number that could further boost the success of its decision to start offering Apple products to its customers.

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We know that Disney Interactive is capable of producing quality apps that aren’t based on classic Disney characters: Where’s My Water—which features a cartoon alligator named Swampy who was created specifically for a mobile game—has had plenty of App Store success on its own, without a major movie or show.

But Disney Interactive announced a new iPhone app on Wednesday that’s neither game nor animated. In fact, it’s not pushing a Disney product or message at all. It’s called Story, and it’s designed to help you organize your digital media into a sharable storyline.

Scott Gerlach, Disney Interactive’s Director of Engineering, said he and his development team wanted to make an app to help people get content off of their phones and out to a place that’s more widely accessible, with an emphasis on parents.

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Like the Fitbit, the Misfit Wearables line of devices lets you track your physical activity throughout the day. It transmits that data to your iPhone via a forthcoming app that provides an overview of your activity. The basic Shine tracker is $99; accessories to clip it to your body during the day range from $5 to $49.

Apple violates German data protection law by asking for users’ broad, overall consent in its privacy policy, the Regional Court of Berlin ruled.

Apple’s terms for sharing personal information with the company are too broadly formulated, the court ruled on April 30, according to a verdict published by the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (VZBV) on Tuesday.

The VZBV demanded in 2011 that Apple Sales International should stop using unfair contractual clauses in its privacy policy as posted on its German website, said Helke Heidemann-Peuser, a lawyer and head of the VZBV’s legal enforcement section. After this warning, Apple committed to change five of those clauses, but this was not enough, which is why the VZBV decided to sue Apple in February 2012, she said.

After Apple was sued, the company committed to change two more clauses, after which the lawsuit continued over the eight remaining disputed clauses, said Heidemann-Peuser. The court found that Apple violates the law with all those clauses, she added.

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In a move that should surprise no one, Adobe announced sweeping changes to its Creative Suite software line and year-old Creative Cloud subscription service. Signaling a new focus on integrating creative services in the cloud with its professional desktop software, Adobe launched a new cloud-based Creative Suite—with a new CC moniker, for Creative Cloud. But it will look familiar. Significant upgrades to all current Creative Suite 6 apps are coming soon, but they will be available only by subscription to Creative Cloud, not traditional software licenses.

Ten years after Adobe corralled its disparate creative apps into a cohesive interoperable suite with a common launch date, the company is propelling those apps into its Creative Cloud subscription service. With updated versions of 15 professional creative applications—for photographers, graphic and Web designers, and video and motion graphic artists—Adobe announced the rebranding at its Max 2013 Creativity Conference keynote. While this transition and collective suite upgrade was announced today, the apps will not be shipping until June 17.

“This is the decision of our company—to focus on Creative Cloud—and it is huge,” said Scott Morris, Adobe's senior marketing director. “It’s an even bigger decision than when we moved to Creative Suite years ago." And it is sure to be controversial. However, Adobe considers the response to its Creative Cloud strategy more than respectable so far, expects some pushback from customers, and is prepared to deal with the fallout. "In the same way [as Creative Suite], there will be customers who have a hard time with it at first. But today our customers are on Creative Suite—they got over it; they saw the benefit of it; and that’s exactly the type of transition we’re going through.” Adobe says Creative Cloud has more than half a million paid members, and more than 2 million total members since it launched in April 2012.

With this update, you can store, sync, and share files via Creative Cloud, on the Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android platforms and on Behance, an online creative community Adobe purchased last year that is now integrated with Creative Cloud. Behance lets users exhibit work, get feedback, and generate exposure. With Creative Cloud, Adobe seeks to tame chaotic creative workflows and direct communication conduits away from email and Dropbox toward Behance.

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Dreamweaver, one of the first, and perhaps the most famous visual Web-design app, has evolved over time into a powerful development tool that can facilitate almost any kind of website or project. Today the app—alongside Flash Professional and the HTML5-oriented Edge Tools & Services suite—joins Adobe's new Creative Cloud Web-oriented lineup. The company's new cloud initiative, announced at the Adobe Max 2013 creative conference, offers enhancements to all the Web-design applications.

In Adobe's transition from licensed Creative Suite to Creative Cloud subscriptions, familiar apps get an upgrade while subscribers get a slate of extra services for a $50 monthly subscription. Access to Sync services, 20GB of online storage, the Behance community hub, automatic cross-platform downloading and updates to all programs in the suite, and training are some subscription benefits.

Sync Settings features let you log in to Creative Cloud from any computer to sync and access files, preferences, and site settings. Edge Web fonts, available via Creative Cloud, offer use of its library, powered by Typekit.

Dreamweaver CC

With Dreamweaver CC, Adobe has introduced CSS Designer, a visual editing tool that generates standards-based Web code, letting you apply CSS properties such as gradients and box shadows. The Enhanced Fluid Grid Layout feature facilitates the visual construction of Web designs and responsive layouts for projects viewed on different screen sizes. Adobe has done some housecleaning with Dreamweaver CC too, modernizing the interface and removing outdated features.

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After several years of sneak peeks, Adobe’s propensity for revealing aspects of its new video and motion graphics applications to a select audience prior their release qualifies as something of a tradition. The captive audience at this year's National Association of Broadcasters national convention—the favored venue—saw an abbreviated version of what will soon be released as the new cloud-based Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC, and more.

As Adobe wraps all of its professional creative apps into the cloud, Premiere Pro benefits from universal cloud features such as Sync Fonts and Sync Settings that let remote videographers and artists get down to work right away in a familiar tool-based environment, regardless of where they’re working.

In Adobe's transition from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud, familiar apps get an upgrade while subscribers get a slate of extra services for their $50 monthly subscription. Access to Sync services, 20GB of online storage, the Behance community hub, automatic cross-platform downloading and updates to all programs in the suite, and training are some of the benefits built into subscriptions.

Today, at its own conference, Adobe Max 2013, the company is revealing more details about the new version of its desktop nonlinear editing and motion graphics programs. Here are some of the highlights of the video line.

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With the announcement of fresh updates to its flagship publishing applications—InDesign and Illustrator—Adobe redirects its attention to its roots in the print and graphic design arena. Today, at its own Adobe Max Creativity Conference, the company is revealing more details about the new version of its desktop nonlinear editing and motion graphics programs. Here are some of the highlights. In a departure from the intense focus on the mobile market that marked last year’s CS6 release, Adobe says that at least 75 percent of all program updates to the debut release of Creative Cloud desktop apps were devoted to its traditional image editing and publishing software.

Both InDesign and Illustrator—part of the original Creative Suite—will receive a series of upgrades, including a dark interface, support for Mac Retina displays, and signature Creative Cloud features like Sync Fonts, Sync Colors, and Sync Settings that let you sync and customize your software environment. Muse, the new visual Web program targeted to designers, builds standards-based sites using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript without users having to hand code.

In Adobe's transition from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud, the familiar apps get an upgrade while subscribers get a slate of extra services for their $50 monthly subscription. Access to Sync services, 20GB of online storage, the Behance community hub, automatic cross-platform downloading and updates to all programs in the suite, and training are some of the benefits built into subscriptions.

Illustrator CC

Working with display text is a huge part of working with Illustrator, and Illustrator CC introduces a Touch Type tool that provides expanded control over type. With it, you can move, scale, and rotate individual characters and change fonts or copy at any time. In addition, you can now use multitouch devices as well as a mouse or stylus.

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When it comes to image editing, Adobe Photoshop is in a class by itself. Despite its humble beginnings as a plug-in to a long-defunct commercial scanner, Photoshop now stands as Adobe's flagship and most famous app, and the default standard worldwide for professional print and online image editing and graphic design.

A new version, announced at the Adobe Max 2013 creativity conference, serves up major enhancements to the program inside and out.

In Adobe's transition from Creative Suite to Creative Cloud, familiar apps get an upgrade while subscribers get a slate of extra services for their $50 monthly subscription. Access to Sync services, 20GB of online storage, the Behance community hub, automatic cross-platform downloading and updates to all programs in the suite, and training are some of the benefits built into subscriptions.

What's in a name? Plenty, it turns out. Photoshop CC is the first version unilaterally tied to Adobe's Creative Cloud subscription service. There's no numbering system—at least for now: It's just called Adobe CC.

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