Happy Monday from the Macworld news desk. It’s the dog-days, newswise, but here are a few Apple-related tidbits you may have missed.
Apple’s “Dreams” Apple’s latest ad sticks with the heart-string-tugging approach, highlighting how iPhone apps help people around the globe achieve their dreams and passions: People fly planes, set jewelry, fight fires, help children, and paint masterpieces, all with apps you can download from the store. The commercials are lovely enough, but Apple’s accompanying website also highlights the apps used by each person and provides links to learn more and download them. Supporting third-party developers plus heartfelt advertising: nice double-whammy, Cupertino.
With Apple-Beats Deal Complete, Ian Rogers To Run iTunes Radio Apple moves quickly: Now that Beats has been fully welcomed into the company family, it’s time to start integrating—and removing—employees. According to Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac, there have reputedly been quite a few layoffs in the headphone company’s support, finance, and HR departments, as Apple reduces redundancies.
Creative and development positions seem to be relatively safe, however, and the Wall Street Journal reported that former Beats CEO Ian Rodgers will apparently take control of Apple’s iTunes Radio efforts. It’s still unknown what this move means for Beats’s streaming subscription service, as it seems odd that the company would attempt to run two services side-by-side. In the meantime, I’ll be over in the corner clinging to my Beats Music subscription and curated playlists.
NFL Now app coming to Apple TV this month If you’re an American football fan, your Apple TV is about to get a little more exciting: According to an NFL employee and reported by 9to5Mac, the organization is hard at work building a version of its NFL Now app for Apple’s set-top box. Though the app won’t stream Sunday Ticket games live, it will offer highlights, news, and videos from the organization’s NFL Films catalog. The app is reputedly set to appear later this month.
First BioShock game to be released on iPhone and iPad later this summer Remember BioShock? The 2006 Xbox 360 title is coming to iOS later this summer, thanks to a port from Take-Two Interactive, under its 2K Games label. Though originally developed by now-defunct Boston studio Irrational Games, BioShock and its related properties now reside under Take-Two’s umbrella. There’s no pricing announcement as of yet, but I’d expect it to fall between the $7-$10 range currently used by 2K Games’s other major titles. Over on TechHive, Hayden Dingman has a bit more information about the impending port.
New developer builds of iOS 8, OS X Yosemite, and Swift are available If you’re a developer, there are a bunch of new goodies awaiting you on Apple’s development site.
Author: Serenity Caldwell, Associate Editor
Serenity has been writing and talking and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, writes, acts, sings, and wears an assortment of hats.