The Federal Court of Canada has agreed to order Apple's Canadian division to turn over documents to the Competition Bureau, Reuters reports. Apple has already handed over some requested documents, but may not be handing over as much as the Bureau wants or needs. The Chief Justice for the court, Paul Crampton, is due to sign the order later today....

Mujjo has introduced its Leather Wallet Case line-up for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in gray, as part of its Desaturated Collection. The wallet case is designed to hold two to three essential cards without sacrificing a thin profile. The case is available in two styles for iPhone 6 - one with the card slot angled upright and the other with an 80 degree angle pocket - and the 80 degree angle pocket case is available for iPhone 6 Plus. Pricing for the Desaturated Collection begins at $40, and cases can be purchased through Mujjo....

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Customizable iOS keyboard app Fleksy has received a major update introducing new themes and extensions, as well as improvements to existing features. Fleksy allows users to find and send GIFs, and provides autocorrect while typing, and intuitive gestures offer greater typing speed. Version 5.0 of Fleksy offers more themes to choose from, including branded ones. New keyboard extensions can be dragged and dropped as cards to add and remove features. Five extensions are available at the time of launching, including a GIF keyboard, Numbers Row, One-Handed Mode, Cursor Control, and Rainbow Pops. A...

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As a postscript to Apple's unanimous win in a lawsuit brought by audio software company Real, Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers on Wednesday turned down media requests to make public a videotaped deposition from Steve Jobs, in one of his final filmed appearances, that was presented during the trial. Jobs, who was quite ill at the time and just months from his resignation from Apple and later death, was videotaped answering questions about the case. Yesterday, a jury exonerated the iPhone maker from charges it had conspired to lock out competitors....

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Apple's iTunes media player has been around since 2001 -- meaning that for many users, it's likely that their library has traversed multiple system upgrades, duplicating and splintering across a variety of drives and mobile devices along the way. For this, there is SuperSync, an app designed to provide access to all your music in one location, allow libraries to be accessed via the Internet, and organize multiple music libraries as to stay organized. Aimed at DJs, avid music collectors, and anyone with multiple libraries, SuperSync aims to get all your tracks in a row. Pricing is organized by...

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If Apple has its way, then one day we will never save another document -- and we will never think about where it went. It will just be there when we want to open it again. That's nice. Until then, we open and save documents nearly as often as we check Facebook. Which makes it a shame that OS X rather fights us. You can open a document from this folder on that network drive and you can then save it on that folder on this USB stick, but it is a pain. Not much of a pain, let's not get carried away here, but try doing it twice and see how you feel. That's where Default Folder X comes in....

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In a memo to all employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced that the recent (Product) RED campaign, which ran through app upgrade purchases, in-store items and online accessories during the run-up to World AIDS Day on December 1 raised over $20 million, which will be seeded to the Global Fund. The group fights HIV/AIDS, malaria and other health threats largely in Africa and other impoverished areas. Cook said that the promotion has thus pushed Apple's total contribution to over $100 million since 2006....

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People must really dislike Apple's on-screen keyboard for iPhones and iPads, because the instant we could try alternatives, we got alternatives. Some seem different for the sake of being different. Some, like TextExpander's one, add useful new features -- yet take away some of the usability. But then you get the odd keyboard like Mazec, which tries to offer a true alternative. Rather than typing, you scribble with a stylus -- if you've got one, and haven't lost it -- or with your finger....

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Apple has sent an email to iOS developers, notifying them of a change to the way it handles VAT (value-added taxes) at European App Stores. Currently the company charges a single VAT rate across the European Union; soon, though, it plans to charge on a per-country basis. The change is due to take effect on January 1st....

(Updated with Chinese job listing) A new job listing indicates that Apple is actively working on expanding Apple Pay worldwide, beginning with Europe. The company is seeking an Apple Pay intern who will work with a London-based team. The listing states that Apple Pay is "set to expand across Europe, Middle East, India, and Africa," and that the London group will collaborate with "issuers, payment networks and merchants across Europe."...

If you need to put a link to a webpage or an email address into a document in Pages, there's an easy way to format it so that it looks far more professional than it would if you just pasted the text in. For this Quick Tip, we're going to cover how to do that and also what effect that'll have on exporting the file to other formats.

Algoriddim has launched djay Pro, a new Mac edition of its typically iOS-based DJ software. In its new incarnation the app supports up to four simultaneous decks, rather than two, and can draw music not just from a local iTunes library but from Spotify, thanks to a partnership with the streaming music service. It also exploits Retina displays and multi-core 64-bit processors; on a 12-core Mac Pro, the app can handle up to 24 processing threads at once for track analysis....

On Wednesday's episode of the Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon gave away an iPad Air 2 to every member of the studio audience. The segment (below) was part of a week-long series of giveaways. It wasn't identified which models people were getting, although NBC may have opted to give people 16GB Wi-Fi versions, given the costs involved. Even at that bottom tier, the tablet costs $499....

Apple has begun seeding a third beta of iOS 8.2 to developers. Significantly the code restores blood glucose tracking in the Health app, which was temporarily disabled earlier this year due to confusion caused by the app displaying data in mg/dL but accepting data from devices using mmol/L as well. In the new software, users can toggle between mg/dL or mmol/L....

Ahead of the airing of a Panorama documentary on the subject, the BBC has published a web piece revealing the outcomes of its investigation into Apple's supply chain. The network went undercover and charges that promises to protect the rights of workers were "routinely broken." In particular the BBC found violations of standards for work hours, ID cards, dormitories, meetings, and underage labor at Pegatron factories on the outskirts of Shanghai....

Apple Pay has been a huge success in the United States. The mobile payment purchase is supported by credit cards used for 90 percent of purchases. Now, thanks to a job posting that's been spotted, it seems Apple is ready to expand Apple Pay into Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India.

You can't buy an iPhone in Russia today because Apple isn't cool with the wildly fluctuating ruble. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple's decision and what impact that has on the company and consumers, plus they take a detour into Sony's decision to not release "The Interview," and they touch on Netflix's decision to not offer movies for offline viewing.

War games may have originated from the need to boost military logistics and planning, but they have since become popular with civilian gamers. Risk and Chess are two popular war games most people are familiar with, as are Civilization and Hearts of Iron. How does newcomer Supreme Ruler Ultimate, by Battlegoat Studios, stack up to the classics?...

The BBC has published a video (below) showing what it describes as "Apple's broken promises" to improve and protect working conditions in its Chinese factories. The media organization sent undercover reporters in to work at a Pegatron factory making Apple iPhones, where they filmed company-orchestrated cheating on tests, hours that far exceed Apple's requirements, and intimidation tactics used to control workers.

Since President Barack Obama voiced his support for reclassification of ISPs as utilities, there has been much debate back and forth, and back again on the topic of "Title II" regulation of carriers. Would it be the dystopian nightmare anti-government zealots and the carriers proclaim, or would it provide a golden utopia of progress for consumers and American businesses alike?...

In the past weeks, quite a lot has been revealed about Sony's role in ongoing anti-piracy efforts due to the leak of emails as part of the fallout of the North Korean-based GOP attack on the studio. In a post on Thursday on the Google Public Policy Blog, Kent Walker, Google SVP and general counsel, outlined even more leaks that describe a combined and carefully planned effort by Sony and five other studios that began this year to provide funding and legal support for the MPAA's efforts to court State Attorney Generals and target Google directly....

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Researchers from Check Point Software Technologies released information on Thursday about an exploit they are calling "Misfortune Cookie." This bug was introduced into "RomPager" software, which is commonly embedded into residential gateway devices such as routers, beginning in 2002. A conservatively-estimated 12 million un-patched devices, connected to the Internet in 189 countries, are at risk....

Samsung is shutting down its ChatOn messaging service in the next few months, the manufacturer has announced. The cross-platform messaging service will go dark on February 1 for the majority of users around the world, though apparently users in the United States could have access to the service for a little while longer than everyone else....

Users of the Watch ABC app on the Apple TV can now watch full episodes a week after they air without a subscription, ABC has announced. Previously the app was like most network-based offerings on the Apple TV, limiting that content to people who could authenticate a cable subscription. Watching the latest episodes as soon as they're uploaded (next-day) still requires authentication, as does the live feed available in select cities....

In a new email memo to the company's UK workforce, Apple's senior VP of Operations, Jeff Williams, claims that he and CEO Tim Cook were "deeply offended" by a BBC Panorama documentary exposing labor abuses in the company's supply chain. Specifically Williams are Cook are said to have been "deeply offended by the suggestion that Apple would break a promise to the workers in our supply chain or mislead our customers in any way;" Williams charges that "Panorama's report implied that Apple isn't improving working conditions. Let me tell you, nothing could be further from the truth."...

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CalDigit has launched the Thunderbolt Station 2, a new Thunderbolt 2 dock. Like some alternatives, the dock includes two Thunderbolt 2 ports, three powered USB 3.0 ports, and connections for HDMI, Ethernet, and audio input/output. Two eSATA 6G ports are also present, supporting storage formats not normally enabled by a Thunderbolt dock....

T-Mobile has settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over complaints the carrier allowed third-party companies to place unauthorized charges to customer bills. As part of the "cramming" settlement, T-Mobile has agreed to pay out at least $90 million in fines and refunds, as well as altering its third-party billing practices....

[Updated with comments from President Barack Obama] North Korea is responsible for the attack on Sony Pictures, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced. The statement about the agency's investigation into the intrusion of the movie studio's computer network, and subsequent leaks, comes at the same time as messages supposedly coming from the hackers wanting Sony to do more than halt the release of "The Interview" movie....

Actress Kate Winslet is currently in negotiations for "the female lead" in Universal's upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, Variety reports. Winslet is best known for movies like Titanic, The Reader, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's not clear what the role will be, but top female characters in the film are rumored to include Jobs' daughter Lisa, and Katie Cotton, Apple's former PR head....

This week in the MacNN Forums, members discuss temperature sensor issues, hard drive compatibility and more. After a temperature sensor blew on the logic board of a Xserve that is run by "Waragainstsleep" he turned to the forums hoping someone would have some advice on how to repair this so he doesn't have to replace the whole board. Today Dedicated MacNNer was looking for help with moving addresses from Leopard to Yosemite....

Apple has raised the price of apps in the Russian App Store in the midst of a meltdown in the value of the Russian ruble. The move follows Apple's decision earlier in the week to stop selling iPhones in Russia because of the volatility.

If you live in a multi-platform house, we have a deal for you on a 6-foot charging cable that's convertible between microUSB (for Android devices) and Lightning (for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch). Better yet, the converter is actually attached to the cable, eliminating the chance to lose it! That's clever, and I like clever. It retails for $40, but you can get it through our deal for $21.

What's the most sought after wearable tech device? That would be the Apple Watch-a device that isn't even scheduled to ship until some time next spring. Apple's unavailable smartwatch beat out Google, Samsung, and Fitbit as the wearable device people most want to buy, according to a study by Ipsos MediaCT.

The Mac Observer Spin: Polls like this are great news for Apple and horrible for their competitors because it shows consumers are more interested in buying a wearable device that has even shipped than products that are already on the market.

A study by research firm ITG suggest that Apple Pay -- introduced only last month -- is already accounting for one percent of all digital payments. The firm also noted that those using Apple Pay increased spending using mobile payments, and tended to use the technology frequently -- resulting in a jump in sales at top merchants that accepted Apple Pay, such as Walgreens, Whole Foods and McDonald's. Each of the three retailers grabbed double-digit shares of the Apple Pay pie....

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North Korea has verbally fired back at allegations that it is behind the Sony Pictures attack. Calling President Obama's words "groundless slander," the country is demanding a joint investigation into the hack, with the country's experts and US law enforcement working side-by-side. If the US should refuse, North Korea's foreign ministry promised "grave consequences," presumably to US interests, if the hack which has caused an estimated $100 million of damage to Sony Pictures, not including less tangible problems, continues to be blamed on the country....

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Google has launched its own legal effort to stop Mississippi State Attorney General Jim Hood's effort with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to pin the search engine on the world's piracy problem. Google claims in the court filing in Mississippi's district court that Hood has filed a "burdensome, retaliatory" subpoena against it, which would require a massive financial and labor effort to comply, for no real gain other than extra-judiciary punishment. Hood has responded, and is "calling a time out, so that cooler heads may prevail."...

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Cellphone manufacturer BlackBerry has published its most recent quarterly results. While the company is trumpeting a return to profitability, it still incurred a fair value debenture charge, forcing the company to post a $148 million loss on the quarter, or $0.28 per share. Without the debenture, it would have posted a modest profit of $2 million. While it appears that the cost-cutting measures are starting to pay off given the improvement in the loss numbers, the company showed a 34 percent drop in revenue over the year-ago-quarter, suggesting that the road ahead for the company is still chal...

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[Updated with more deals!] There is less than a week until Christmas, and depending on where you live, approximately four days available for deliveries of presents. If there are more presents to get before the big day, you're likely to be spending a lot on quicker deliveries, so why not even out the cost by getting some great Friday Deals? Every Friday afternoon, we search for bargains on hardware, peripherals, gadgets, and software for you, the discerning MacNN and Electronista reader. Prices are right at the time of writing, but double-check before purchasing, as prices could change. Also, b...

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In an interview recorded on Friday, President Obama clarified his remarks last week regarding the Sony Pictures hack. The president denies swirling discussions about the hack being an act of war, and called it "an act of cyber vandalism that was very costly, very expensive." Additionally, late Sunday, tweets purport that hacker collective Anonymous is about to wade into the fray against North Korea for its role in the event....

Yep, another one of Dave's iMacs is having boot problems. It's mayhem! That's OK, he and John talk through possible resolution and also when not to assume you know the answer (hint: always!). Then it's on to maintaining your iTunes accounts, finding (and removing) any adware, and an unpublished solution to Yosemite's incrementing hostname issue. All this and more. Download today and enjoy!

Earlier this month, we had talked about the falling out between Wizards of the Coast and Trapdoor Technologies over DungeonScape (or Codename: Morningstar, depending on the day), which was supposed to be the answer to every dungeon master's prayers. DungeonScape was gearing up to be an application, available for both tablets and computers, and its aim was to help eliminate the lengthy setup times and give users the ability to look up rules and equipment at a glance. Under a month after gaming company Wizards of the Coast killed the partnership, Trapdoor Technologies launched a Kickstarter in h...

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An intrusion into Staples' point-of-sales systems earlier this year put 1.16 million credit and debit cards at risk, the retailer admitted on Friday. Approximately 115 of the company's 1,400 retail stores across the United States were affected by malware on its systems, though the store apparently managed to eradicate the malware and improve system security in mid-September....

Production of Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air -- along with the Apple Watch -- should enter mass production in the first quarter of 2014, supply chain sources tell Digitimes. Suppliers are allegedly beginning to accelerate work on related components. The new Air is expected to have an Intel Broadwell processor, and an even thinner and lighter design....

Apple's Russian online store is back online, following an almost week-long downtime. The store was taken down to review and change prices, and accordingly many products are now substantially more expensive. A 16GB iPhone 6 is 53,990 rubles, or about $988, far higher than the 34,990 rubles ($643) it sold for previously. A Retina iMac starts at 189,990 rubles, or $3,467. The same system is $2,499 in the US....

Everyone's familiar with current trend in photos that keep popping up across the Internet. One part indie-rock and one part Photoshop, their soft colors and multiple filters have become the new cool thing. Originally these images took time, effort, and at least a basic understanding of Photoshop. But now something like Calista, by THINKSUIT, gives users the ability to make these straight from the comfort of a handheld device....

Apple has released what it calls a "critical" patch for OS X, dubbed the NTP Security Update. The code is currently being pushed to users via the Mac App Store, and solves vulnerabilities within the Network Time Protocol. The update is available for Mountain Lion (10.8.x), Mavericks (10.9), and Yosemite (10.10). While no known attack exploits the now-patched vulnerabilities, the discovery appears to be serious enough to merit immediate attention....

Need access to otherwise restricted web content? Donât trust your WiFi connection? Need to ensure online security? You want to consider a virtual private network (VPN), and boom! We just happen to have a deal for three years of VPN Unlimited's Premium Plan for $19. With this package, your Internet data is encrypted between the VPN and you, greatly limiting your exposure to hackers, and for those who live in countries that block access, it can be the only way to get to some sites. There's a lot more information on our deal site.

Hereâs Dr. Mac's final batch of reasonably priced Apple related gadgets (and holders for Apple gadgets), all of which will be much appreciated by the geeks you love.

Last Friday, the Tor Project blog posted about a possible threat that some of its servers would be seized in an attempt to incapacitate or hijack the Tor network. Over the weekend, a group of "exit node" servers in a Dutch datacenter went down, and then came back online. The service, a volunteer network of relays aiming to provide anonymity and security, says it was warned of suspicious activity that may have been instigated by law enforcement....

North Korea has declared it will strike against the United States, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the rogue state as the origin of the Sony Pictures hack. However, alongside the sabre-rattling statement provided by the Korean Central News Agency of DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as it calls itself) are reports that the country's Internet connection has itself been the target of an attack over the weekend, with North Korea effectively being knocked offline....

North Korea's connection to the rest of the Internet, which had been knocked offline this weekend, has been restored according to a new report. Over the weekend, Internet service in the country dwindled to nothing, after DDoS attacks against its Internet infrastructure increased....

A new post from Apple Retail Senior Vice President (SVP) Dame Angela Ahrendts on her LinkedIn blog offers a simple holiday message and song with a theme of peace, saying her message for the season was simply "let peace begin with me." Ahrendts said she was inspired by a recent re-hearing of a song she used to play on piano, a rendition of "Let There Be Peace on Earth" by B.J. Thomas. The song, originally written by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955, offers an inspirational message of unity....

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LG has revealed more details for new speakers joining its Music Flow networked speaker collection, competing against similar systems from Samsung and Sonos. Set to be shown off at CES, the new items consist of a portable speaker, two sound bars, and a streaming 3D Blu-ray player, all of which will be compatible with Android and iOS devices....

For today's Quick Tip, let's talk about how to change the default ringtone in Yosemite! We here at TMO really dig the idea of being able to answer calls on our computers, but we're not completely in love with the sound Apple picked as the default ringtone. So here's how you can switch it up if you want something different, too.

CNN has announced their pick for CEO of the year for 2014, and it's no surprise they went for Tim Cook. CNN chose Mr. Cook because he guided the company into a sharp increase in stock value, plus he managed to show Apple can continue to innovate without Steve Jobs.

The Mac Observer Spin: Considering Apple's leading position in the tech market and Tim Cook's strong leadership, it isn't any surprise CNN named him CEO of the year. It's also no surprise CNN called out Microsoft's Satya Nadella for his suggestion that women shouldn't push for better pay.

Merry Christmas, Apple Pay, you're going to Disney World. The world-destination theme park plans to start accepting Apple's mobile payment platform on December 24, just in time for the holiday.

The Mac Observer Spin: Disney promised to launch Apple Pay support before Christmas. Looks like they're keeping that promise even if it is within only a few hours of the holiday.

If a player finds themselves longing for a game that requires both long-term planning and quick thinking, simulation games are often the way to go. If a player is looking for an in-depth resource-management game, they should check out RimWorld by Ludeon Studios. One part The Sims and one part Minecraft, RimWorld requires players to not only colonize the alien land around them, but also manage the health and happiness of their colonists. The game plays very similarly to older SimCity-esque games, and largely boils down to properly allocating resources and disaster control....

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Apple's Tim Cook has been chosen as CNN Money's CEO of the Year for 2014. The site explains this is because "Apple is the apple of Wall Street's eye again;" the company's shares are noted to be up 40 percent this year, and close to an all-time peak. CNN in turn links that stock performance to the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and "excitement" about the Apple Watch, due to ship early next year....

Mac owners who just can't wait to get their hands on the latest updates for Yosemite can try out OS X 10.10.2 public beta. The latest public beta release rolled out over the weekend and is available to anyone who signed up to get at the releases.

The Mac Observer Spin: Public betas will give you an early look at what's coming next for OS X, but don't install the beta operating systems on mission critical Macs. There is a possibility you could lose data if something goes wrong.

We often get a photo with sub-par quality when we use a cellphone or tablet as our go-to camera. One of the main reasons for this, of course, is because users have minimal control over individual camera functions like focus, white balance, and ISO sensitivity. The iPhone's camera is far more akin to a point-and-shoot than a professional model, and frequently the automatic settings can leave a picture feeling a bit lacking. But there's still hope -- something like Manual Photo Camera, by Rego Korosi, allows a person to take maximum control over shooting....

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This week in the MacNN forums, members are plagued with songs that won't erase from their iPods, trackpad problems and more. "I can't erase songs from my iPod touch" says one frustrated Mac Elite, who is also baffled as to why there are random U2 songs on there that he never downloaded. After doing an update on an iPad 2, one Mac Enthusiast found that the unit is stuck on "searching" for cellular service....

Fidelity Media has released a new update for its professional DJ and radio automation software, MegaSeg. MegaSeg is available in Pro and DJ editions, with MegaSeg DJ focusing on live mixing features and visual beat syncing with Magic Trackpads, and more, and the Pro version adding video playback with ambient visuals, sound effect hot keys, and other advanced features. Now featuring optimizations for OS X Yosemite, MegaSeg's new sound engine includes higher quality pitch-locking, looping and swappable output devices. Controller presets for Denon MC2000 and MC3000 devices are now available, and...

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Back in July, five bank networks were hacked, the most notable of which was JP Morgan Chase, which resulted in more than 76 million households' information being leaked. At first, it was suspected that a "zero-day" exploit had been utilized to gain access, but an unidentified source has indicated the real story is somewhat more mundane....

Rockstar Consortium, Inc. announced a major patent sale to licensing firm RPX on Tuesday. The company, which is co-owned by Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony, will part with more than 4,000 patents, the bulk of its remaining patent portfolio. The move signals a further de-escalation of the patent wars in the mobile space, because RPX will license the patents to some 30 different groups of companies across the industry.

Last Friday, at President Barak Obama's year-end press conference, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico asked the first question. Her inquiry was whether Sony had done the right thing in canceling the release of the Seth Rogan comedy The Interview, and what a "proportional" US response to the North Korean-led cyber-attack on Sony would look like. While discussing the answers to those questions, President Obama called on Congress to help create stronger cyber-security laws....

The FCC has been petitioned by Marriott and an association of hotel owners to allow the jamming of Wi-Fi hotspots, usually set up by guests, on their premises for reasons of "managing Wi-Fi networks and security." The petition is possibly in response to when Marriott International and Marriott Hotel Services was fined $600,000 by the FCC for knocking guests off their own Wi-Fi networks (provided by hot spots and tethering to cell phones), forcing them to pay for the hotel's Wi-Fi access....

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We're some 40 years overdue for flying cars, teleportation and printers that can output copies of our dreams, but there are a few methods by which the chronic procrastinators of this world can still swoop in with a last-minute gift for someone at Christmas they'll actually like. While Amazon has closed the doors to physical delivery of any products at this point -- even for Prime members - by the 25th, you still have perhaps a few hours left to send a Boxing Day present, or get in now to ensure a timely New Year's gift. Or you can read on for more suggestions....

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Ever played around with PDF Services? Well, even if you have, you may not be aware that you can specify folders that appear in the menu. This'll let you save whatever you're looking at as a PDF right to a particular folder in just a couple of steps. We'll introduce PDF Services and teach you how to select which folders to save to, all in today's Quick Tip.

Many of Dr. Mac's readers and friends had problems updating to iOS 8 over WiFi, reporting that their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch complained that the update couldnât be installed because it requires at least 5.7GB of storage. If your iDevice only has 8 or 16GB of storage, chances are you saw a similar message. Here is Dr. Mac's advice to those whose iDevices are full or nearly full...

Scrolls has finally been released to the adulation of gamers everywhere. The game was created by Mojang, the developers behind Minecraft, and written by Jerry Holkins, the writer of Penny Arcade. Scrolls feels similar to a traditional two-player board game like checkers or chess, as well as a player versus player card game, like Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone. We spent a bit of time with Scrolls to see how it stacks up against similar titles....

The Federal Communication Commission is moving forward with its efforts to give Internet streaming services access to content, just like cable and satellite TV services. The change would prevent companies like Comcast and Time Warner from blocking streaming services from entering the market, and give potential cord cutters more options for watching the shows they want.

The Mac Observer Spin: The FCC's proposed changes are a nice step in the right direction for protecting companies trying to move into the online TV content space. Excluding Netflix, Hulu, and other on demand content providers, however, doesn't do much to help preserve net neutrality.

Google announced Wednesday that The Interview will be available to rent on YouTube starting at 1:00 PM EST. It will also be available for purchase through Google Play. In a blog post announcing the deal, Google even pointed out that it will be available to Xbox Video customers and at seetheinterview.com (that URL redirects to kernel.com as of this writing).

There are billions and billions of stars in the night sky, and most of us can identify at least a few of them. However, it isn't always easy. Those among us who have never been good at finding anything other than the Big Dipper or the North Star shouldn't worry. Starlight: Find Stars and Constellations allows anyone to become an expert stargazer, picking out every constellation from Andromeda to Virgo in no time....

Not only will "The Interview" be in theaters on Christmas Day, but it's available to watch online right now, unless you look at Apple's iTunes Store. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the deals Sony penned to get the movie North Korea wanted banned onto Google Play, YouTube Movies, and Xbox Video, and they talk about the obvious omission from Apple's iTunes Store.

The commercials are annoying, but the product is great: Nuance's Dragon Dictate for Mac, version 4. This voice recognition software allows you to transcribe, write, and edit on your Mac with your voice. You know it's good, because Apple licenses the underlying technology for Siri. It's regularly $199.99, but through our deal, you can get it for half that, $99.99.

Although we have mentioned some app bargains in our "beyond the last minute" gift guide this morning, the elves at MacNN and Electronista have been hunting up some additional discounts by shaking the App Store tree and seeing what falls out. We found a few more, so click through to save a bundle on some awesome app deals -- and don't forget to check back with us regularly for DealNN reports, Apple refurb store bargains, and our usual Friday Deals all year long!...

As was the case last year, Canadians are once again getting a sale on selected albums in iTunes as part of a "Boxing Day" event, part of a traditional observance throughout Canada and a number of other Commonwealth countries. The UK iTunes Store is also having a sale on hit albums, but doesn't label the event as a "Boxing Day" sale. US users don't get a sale, but are instead enjoying special holiday channels on iTunes Radio, which remains unavailable in the UK and Canada....

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Sometimes, people need to scan things, but having a computer at hand to do so isn't exactly feasible. Maybe it's the home of a relative that lives on the outskirts of civilization with no Internet, looking to organize family photos. Maybe it's an office filing room that's too small to set up shop. Maybe it's the cabin of an airplane and a traveler just wants to scan a page from Skymall. In this situation, the solution is generally to move items that need to be scanned to a location that has a scanner. With DoxieGo by Apparent, users don't have to worry about transportation; they can just throw...

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With the new year right around the corner it's time for Tigerdirect.com's End of the Year Clearance Event, featuring the Seiki 65-inch Class 2160p, Ultra LED HDTV. Currently priced at $999.99, this HDTV has dropped an impressive $2,500 off its once $3,499.99 list price, and includes a $100 mail-in-rebate that lowers the cost even more, down to $899.99. The Seiki HDTV comes with three HDMI ports, a 120Hz refresh rate, 4k signal compatibility, and a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160. Shipping rates start at only $30, and sales tax applies for residents of Florida, Illinois, Texas, and North Caro...

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Right now at Apple's online store, save up to 22 percent on select iMac and Macbook computers, including the refurbished 3.2GHz, 27-inch iMac that's dropped an impressive $450 in price, and is available for only $1,549. Features range from 8GB of RAM to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX graphics card with 1GB of memory, and include a 1TB hard drive, as well as a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor. Priced significantly lower, at only $1,199, is the refurbished 21.5-inch, 2.9GHz iMac, which offers savings of up to $300, and comes complete with the same 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and quad-core Intel C...

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For years Iâve been searching for the perfect universal remote control, one that was easy to set up and manage, able to control all aspects of all of my audio and video components, and reliable enough that I could throw the deviceâs original remote in a drawer and never miss it.

I finally found one -- and it's awesome -- but you'll have to read the column if you want to know more...

To much fanfare, and terrible reviews, Sony Pictures finally released The Interview -- a contentious, and some say trite, light comedy vehicle where a pair of bumbling reporters are recruited by the CIA to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Conventional media, and governmental figures, have put this forth as a victory for the US' right to freedom of expression, and a defiant Sony agrees. However, viewing the picture isn't the act of defiance and patriotism that Sony wants you to think it is - in fact, viewers are now supporting a company that has called for censorship of journalists and US...

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This is a Mac troubleshooting app that once you've used it to track down one problem, you'll simply leave it running all the time. It gives you at-a-glance access to details about your Mac that vary from a little bit geeky to very geeky – but always useful. This is not something every user will need and it's not something that should come supplied on every Mac, but you'll wish it were. The latest iStat Menus is one utility that gives you immediate and constantly updated details of what your Mac is doing. It tells you how fast you're uploading to the internet and how much, it tells you how ve...

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Hand on heart, we were not certain what the point of Application Wizard was when we got started. Ostensibly, the app is meant to make it quicker for you to open applications, which is fine except we have Apple's own Spotlight to do that. It's intended to make it very fast switching between apps but if you've not yet discovered what happens when you hold down the Apple key and press Tab, do that now and you'll never forget how useful it is. Application Wizard by developer Mabasoft, seems to duplicate many features we have on our Macs or in some of the most popular utilities. However, with use,...

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When PopCap Games released the casual-puzzle game Peggle for the PC in 2007, it was an instant hit. Somewhere between pachinko and bagatelle, the game has seen success across a number of games in the series and multiple platforms. Now Peggle Blast has made its way to iOS. How does Peggle Blast stand up against the classic version?...

Every Sunday, Electronista and MacNN offer up a single article with some of the significant happenings in the video game industry for the previous week. In this edition of the Weekly Game Replay, we take a look at Nintendo winning two patent disputes, the catch with free game offer for Assassin's Creed Unity issues, new details on Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Resident Evil HD cross-buy, and expansion of PlayStation Now to non-Sony devices....

China has blocked Gmail, preventing users in the country from accessing the email service, according to reports. Starting from December 26, Chinese authorities have reportedly added Gmail URLs to the "Great Firewall," in what is believed to be an attempt by the country's government to reduce Gmail and Google's prominence in the region, on top of earlier censorship efforts....

Apple is negotiating with UK banks to bring Apple Pay to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners in the country in the first half of 2015. At least one bank, however, is concerned about how much data Apple will collect and fears the company may be trying to take over the country's banking industry.

The Mac Observer Spin: Personal privacy is a serious concern when our data is collected, especially when it's related to what we buy. But for the UK banks, it looks like this is more about fears over whether or not Apple will take the credit card market from them.

Apple wants exclusive album releases from top artists for the iTunes Store, and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine is working at getting deals in place. Apple bought Beats Music in 2014 and Mr. Iovene has plenty of connections in the music industry, which makes him just the man to get those content deals in place.

The Mac Observer Spin: I've felt that when Apple bought Beats they more or less got Jimmy Iovine with a streaming music service and headphone maker thrown in. Assuming he can swing plenty of exclusive album releases for the iTunes Store, that'll go a long way towards making Apple the fist company people think of when they want to get the latest music from their favorite artists and bands.

European shoppers now have a definite 14-day window in which to claim refunds for iTunes Store purchases, according to updated support documents (PDF). Customers can ask for a refund "without giving any reason," the documents say, and in most cases simply need to find the "Report a Problem" tool. In other instances -- namely those involving iTunes Match, Season Pass, Multi-Pass, or unredeemed iTunes gifts -- a person has to contact iTunes Support. Refunds are unavailable to people who have redeemed an iTunes gift code. The company promises that approved refunds will be delivered no later than...

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Gamebooks combine the enjoyment of reading a book with the interactivity of a text adventure. Similar to a choose-your-own adventure with quite a bit more control, gamebooks are becoming ever more popular. We checked out Necklace of Skulls, a Mayan action-adventure, by Cubus Games recently to see if it's earned it's place in the genre....

Flurry Analytics tracked device activations worldwide from December 19 to 25th and found that Apple accounted for over half. The runner-up was Samsung with 18 percent. In addition, Flurry also found that, at Christmas 2014, iPhone 6 Plus activations were cannibalizing iPads.

Apple's upcoming Campus 2 complex will preserve a historic structure, the Glendenning Barn, says the San Jose Mercury News. The barn was built in 1916, and is one of the few remnants of Cupertino's past as an orchard. The News writes that while tearing down the abandoned HP campus previously on the site, Apple dismantled the barn and made detailed notes on its construction, promising to restore it elsewhere....

The future, in the 1950s, was supposed to be all about flying cars. But they didn't come to pass except for some rare, early prototypes. But thanks to Aeromobil's co-founder Åtefan Klein, advanced technology may yet bring the dream to fruition. According to the website, "Mr. Klein has devoted the last twenty years into making his dream come true. It is a dream that only few people believed in-a flying car. Currently he works on prototype of AeroMobil 3.0 after he successfully tested concepts and pre-prototype." Version 3.0, shown here with wings extended, seats two, has a top speed in the air of 124 mph (200 km/h), and has a range 435 miles (700 km). The car's (ground) specs are similar to that of a small, economy car. The site's photos are phenomenal, and the prototype is said to be close to commercial availability, subject to each country's certification.

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Mobile analytics firm Flurry posted new data on the holiday buying season on Monday, and summarized its findings on global mobile devices purchases for Christmas in a single sentence: "It's clear that Santa is no longer into cookies -- he prefers Apples." On a worldwide scale, 51.3 percent of mobile activations between December 19 and Christmas Day were Apple devices, outstripping the combined might of all competitors and leaving each individual company -- even Samsung -- far behind....

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SyFy has updated their Sync app to expand the feature that controls Philips Hue lighting and coordinates it with what's on TV, now including all episodes of a new series that starts airing in January.

The Mac Observer Spin: This could be cool if it's subtle. However this is from the makers of Pirahnaconda so I'm reserving judgment until we actually get a good look at both the show and this effect.