Jeff Gamet

Apple has already pulled VPN apps from its iPhone and iPad App Store in China, and now it’s adding what the country considers gambling and pornography apps to that list. Apple hasn’t said how many apps have been pulled from its store, but reports are saying that number could be 25,000. Apple told the Wall Street Journal,

Gambling apps are illegal and not allowed on the App Store in China. We have already removed many apps and developers for trying to distribute illegal gambling apps on our App Store, and we are vigilant in our efforts to find these and stop them from being on the App Store.

Apple is in a tough position because it has to comply with China’s laws, but doesn’t want to be a government tool. Apple also can’t leave the country because the market is too big to give up, and that’s where most iPhones are made.

Thanks to a deal between Sony and Prince’s estate, 23 of his albums that previously haven’t been available for streaming are now on Apple Music. The collection includes albums Prince released between 1995 and 2010. Variety says,

The recordings, which include such popular albums as “The Gold Experience,” “3121” and “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic” as well as a new 37-track compilation called “Prince Anthology 1995-2010,” had been largely unavailable for many years. All are now available across all major streaming services and digital service providers. Many of these albums are available for the first time for streaming and download, adding more than 300 songs to the artist’s online in-print catalogue.

You can find the albums on Apple Music in the Music app on your iPhone or iPad, or in iTunes on your Mac.

A teenager from Melbourne, Australia, has been arrested for hacking in to Apple’s servers, making off with over 90 GB of files, and accessing customer accounts. Apparently the boy developed a system that “worked flawlessly” until he was caught. The Sydney Morning Herald said,

His offending from the age of 16 saw him develop computerised tunnels and online bypassing systems to hide his identity until a raid on his family home uncovered a litany of hacking files and instructions all saved in a folder titled ‘hacky hack hack.’

Aside from the poor life choice of heading down a path of international crime, the boy’s big mistake was bragging online about what he did. Lessons learned: Don’t break federal laws and hack into company servers, and don’t tell anyone if you do.

Sarah Jones, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman are joining the cast of Ronald D. Moore’s sci-fi series for Apple. Variety says,

Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, and Sarah Jones have all been cast in the series, which takes place in a world where global space race never ended. Kinnaman will play Edward Baldwin, one of the top NASA astronauts. Dorman and Jones have been cast as Gordo and Tracy Stevens, a prominent NASA couple.

Apple is lining up what looks like a power house of shows with big names writing and producing, as well as very talented actors. The first shows are expected to start rolling out some time in 2019, and I’m really looking forward to see how they stack up against Netflix and Amazon original content.