iCloud

Subscribers have just a couple days before Netflix forces them into higher priced plans, iTunes Match gets released to developers, and Windows 8's Explorer window gets the ribbon from Office.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Less than a day after opening up its iTunes Match service for developers to test, Apple has hit the brakes, keeping new developers from signing up to use the service.

In the new beta version of iTunes that contains the feature, Apple has replaced the sign-up tools with a note saying "iTunes Match beta testing has begun with an initial set of developers," and that "over the next days, we will continue to expand our testing. Please check back later to subscribe."

iTunes Match is the service that scans a user's library to find music … Read more

Apple has started giving developers a chance to kick the tires on its upcoming iTunes Match service.

As noted by 9to5mac this afternoon, Apple is giving developers a chance to try out iTunes Match on their own music libraries ahead of the release this fall.

iTunes Match is the service that scans a user's library to find music that they may have ripped from a CD, but did not purchase from Apple, and cross-references it with Apple's own library. If it finds a match, it provides a user with a license of the full-quality track, as long as … Read more

Apple frequently saves its newest features for the latest versions of its hardware and software, though a notice on a preference pane from an older version of Mac OS X suggests the company could be adding functionality from its upcoming iCloud service to the previous version of its operating system as part of a future software update.

Macrumors today posted a purported screenshot of the .Mac settings screen from Tiger (the OS before Snow Leopard and Leopard) noting that it's no longer able to sync up to Apple's servers because the account itself has been upgraded to iCloud. … Read more

If you are a MobileMe user and are looking forward to the switch to Apple's iCloud service next month, be aware that scammers are starting to target the transition. Some MobileMe users are receiving fake e-mails regarding the MobileMe-to-iCloud transition; the e-mails request the users click on links in the e-mail to extend their current MobileMe subscriptions.

The e-mail is from the "MobileMe team," with the subject "Welcome to iCLOUD," and reads as follows:

Dear MobileMe member,

Please sign up for iCloud and click the submit botton [sic], you'll be able to keep your … Read more

As part of its testing of new software revisions, Apple has a developer seed program in which it provides beta builds of its operating system and applications to developers to get feedback and root out bugs before releasing the products to the public. Given the transition to iCloud from MobileMe that is slated to come next month, Apple has been actively testing both iCloud itself and other software that will be interfacing with the online service, including iPhoto and OS X.

In the past couple of weeks, Apple has been releasing developer builds of OS X 10.7.2 to … Read more

The iPhone 5 could go on sale on Friday, October 7, with preorders to start on September 30, according to the latest rumors in the ongoing saga of the hotly anticipated next edition of Apple's smartphone.

Citing intel from its own sources, 9To5Mac said yesterday that Apple had been eyeing either October 7 or October 14 as potential iPhone 5 launch dates. But with preproduction apparently running smoothly, the site says, Apple has opted for the earlier date.

Apple will reportedly offer the phone for preorder a week before it hits store shelves, looking at either September 29 or … Read more

Welcome to the second edition of Apple Talk Weekly, a look back at the week's top Apple news and rumors, along with answers to your Apple questions.

The big news this week--besides Apple successfully nabbing a legal injunction that keeps Samsung from selling its Galaxy tablet in the European Union--was Apple pushing past Exxon Mobil to become the most valuable company by market capitalization. That happened on Tuesday, with the two companies swapping places several times. Exxon eventually closed the day back on top, only to have Apple take back the crown the very next day. Since then, the … Read more

The latest reports and rumors in the world of Apple purport that the company is planning a media event for September 7 and may unveil a free "iCloud iPhone" alongside its standard iPhone 5.

Japanese tech news site Kodawarisan (English version) says that Apple will announce its new lineup of iPods at the September 7 event. That's around the same date that Apple typically shows off its new iPods, though last year the company kicked off the event slightly earlier in the month, on September 1.

Kodawarisan listed the date as September 8, but as MacRumors points … Read more