Eager customers are starting to receive their new MacBook Pro with Retina Display models (we know because we’re looking at one right now!) as WWDC 2012 moves over the mid-week hump. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of other stuff going on in tech that you might have missed, so read on for the latest news for this Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
The folks at Readability announced this morning that effective June 30, 2012, the read later service will cease accepting reader fees from its customers. The policy, which collects subscription fees from users which are intended to be shared with publishers, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks from critics. The company notes that “the great majority” of publishers never registered with Readability, and therefore never received their share of user-contributed payments, which start at five dollars per month. Now, Readability plans to distribute remaining payments to registered publishers, with the rest going to non-profit organizations “that speak to the spirit of supporting reading and writing,” with the first two recipients being 826 Valencia and Knowbility.
Cnet is reporting that e-tailer Amazon is on the verge of closing deals with major music studios for its Cloud Player service, which finally arrived as a native iOS app this week. “Amazon already has reached agreements with Universal Music Group, EMI and Sony Music Entertainment and is in the later stages of negotiations with the other Warner Music Group,” the report explains, citing sources who claim a deal could be announced “within weeks.” The deal could pit Amazon Cloud Player against Apple’s iCloud, and specifically the $24.99 per year iTunes Match service, which allows customers to download their music from almost anywhere, including mobile devices.
The Wall Street Journal today posted a story on how iOS and Mac developers are pressuring Apple to promote their hard work better, which many consider vital to their future. With 5,000 developers on hand for WWDC 2012 in San Francisco this week, Apple senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller went on the record in defense of the company’s efforts, claiming Cupertino has already done a “tremendous amount” for its developers, who have now collectively been paid $5 billion. "The opportunity is the best it has ever been for software developers," Schiller notes. "Every other day you hear about another app going off the charts. You can still get discovered and get a hit overnight." For their part, developers are pining for an overhaul to the App Store, which is now home to 650,000 titles. They’ll get their wish with iOS 6 this fall, but it’s too early to know if the changes will help in discovering their merchandise.
MacBook users who have purchased a spare power supply in the past were bummed to discover the mid-2012 models introduced on Monday used a new, smaller MagSafe 2 connector for power. While there’s a $9.99 MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter available directly from Apple, MacRumors notes that Apple is actually tossing one in with every purchase of its Thunderbolt Display. So if you don’t want to drop 10 bucks on the converter, pony up a grand and get yourself a swanky new 27-inch display as a bonus.
There’s still no iPad version, but the free Apple Store iOS app received an update to version 2.2 today, adding a couple of pretty cool features for those who prefer to order online and then deal with human beings for pickup at a retail store. First comes a new Express Checkout mode which helps make online purchasing faster than ever. “When you sign up for Express Checkout, the app saves your account information so you can buy with just a few taps,” the update notes explain. iPhone 4S users can also make short work of actually picking up an order now that the Apple Store app can notify Specialists at your local retail store as you’re approaching, so they can have your order ready and waiting for you. This is why we love Apple, folks.
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