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Top 5 Free Apps

Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Supernature

    • 10 out of 10
    • Goldfrapp
    • On their latest CD, Supernature, Goldfrapp has put together a successful mix of 1980-era New Romanticism, German cabaret, and T. Rex glam that leaves you riveted even through the album's lulls. It's a great amalgam that sounds current without sounding at all dated.

  • Physical Graffiti

    • 10 out of 10
    • Led Zeppelin
    • This album bears every flavor of genius from the five records that came before. It is, I believe, the band's finest. With Physical Graffiti, Zep came raging back to their musical home territory -- har
  • Bowie at Beeb: Best of BBC Radio 68-72

    • 10 out of 10
    • David Bowie
    • The companion CD to a BBC television concert, BBC Radio Theatre has some of the best renditions of many of Bowie's best songs throughout his career. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is substantial

  • The Stooges

    • 8 out of 10
    • The Stooges
    • Another pillar of my musical foundations, The Stooges' first album is one those records whose influence far outweighed its popularity. Like The Velvet Underground & Nico, hordes of people wh

  • Aretha Sings the Blues

    • 6 out of 10
    • Aretha Franklin
    • While she didn't always have the best taste in song selection, Aretha Franklin is a must-study for anyone with interest in the human voice. She has the kind of powerful, recklessly passionate deliv

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News

App Store MIA List Growing

NetShare is missing from Apple’s App Store, Aurora Feint is gone, and now BoxOffice is missing in action, too. Like the recent NetShare incident, BoxOffice was pulled from the App Store without any notification, leaving the developer and customers wondering what happened.

While Null River, the company that developed NetShare, has finally been able to open a dialog with Apple, Metasyntactic hasn’t been able to find out why its BoxOffice is no longer available. NetShare’s on-again-off-again status at the App Store over the past few days, however, frustrated customers who weren’t sure if the application would be available at any given time, or if it would remain on their iPhone once it was pulled from the online store.

BoxOffice hasn’t undergone the App Store flip-flopping NetShare has experienced. Instead, it simply disappeared.

"Apple pulled the app yesterday without giving my any notification that they were doing it, or what their justification was for removing it," the developer said on the MacRumors forums. "I’ve tried to contact them about the issue, but it’s been a complete dead end."

When the video game Aurora Feint was removed from the App Store, customers wondered what happened, but word soon surfaced that there were privacy concerns over the way the app handled user’s personal information.

Apple’s all-controlling and silent stance over App Store application availability could be a problem for developers and end users alike. Pulling applications from the iTunes-based store even for a few days could have a substantial impact on smaller developer’s income, and shoppers may become weary of making purchases for fear that Apple will delete apps from their handheld without warning.

Until Apple adds a level of transparency to its App Store policies, and opens a dialog with developers and App Store customers, the company will likely face a negative backlash from both sides -- and considering the issues Apple faced with its MobileMe rollout, that’s a problem Apple doesn’t need right now.

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