Itunes

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. unveiled a daring overhaul of its mobile operating system to kick off its annual developers conference, where it hopes to show critics that it has lost none of its innovative swagger. In addition to unveiling iOS 7, the company made a blizzard of other product and feature announcements that included upgrades to MacBook laptops and a new streaming radio service. As expected, there were no new iPhones or iPads, which are often announced separately. But the presentation seemed in spirit to also be a rebuttal to critics who contended that Apple had lost its innovative edge in the last year.

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc. unveiled a daring overhaul of its mobile operating system to kick off its annual developers conference, where it hopes to show critics that it has lost none of its innovative swagger. In addition to unveiling iOS 7, the company made a blizzard of other product and feature announcements that included upgrades to MacBook laptops and a new streaming radio service. As expected, there were no new iPhones or iPads, which are often announced separately. But the presentation seemed in spirit to also be a rebuttal to critics who contended that Apple had lost its innovative edge in the last year.

Apple's iTunes 11 arrived this week, and it's pretty slick. But did you know you can also buy music, movies, shows and books for the iPhone and iPad from other digital stores? Google, through the Google Play store, and Amazon.com are two of Apple's fiercest rivals when it comes to selling digital content, and for good reason: They have good products, and sometimes they have them at lower prices. The same goes for Android users: They too can buy their digital goods from outlets other than Google Play.

Marcel Duchamp's dialogues are arguably as important to modern art as Socrates' dialogues were to ancient philosophy, fundamental documents of their field that raised questions for generations to come. For years Duchamp's conversations were accessible to English readers through the translation of a slim volume by Pierre Cabanne in which the artist spoke out against “retinal” art, objects designed to please the eye, and set the stage for conceptual art. Now there's another way to hear Duchamp, who died in 1968.

Finally, iTunes and the Apple TV set-top box will now be able to stream video in full, 1080p high definition. The update to full HD, from 720p resolution video, was announced Wednesday by way of a software update to iTunes and a refreshed Apple TV box -- each introduced alongside the day's thunder stealer, the new Apple iPad . The new Apple TV looks just like the old Apple TV -- on the outside, they are the same. On the inside, in the guts of the little black hockey puck of a device, the latest generation has one notable difference: its processor.

The latest version of Apple's music player, iTunes 11, which was expected this month, won't be available until the end of November, the company said. The update is to add several features, change some portions of iTunes' design and, most important, better integrate it with iCloud, the Cupertino-based company's cloud-computing service. But Apple failed to meet its late-October deadline for the update, telling CNET this week that it hopes to release iTunes 11 next month. "The new iTunes is taking longer than expected, and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET . "We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud, before the end of November.

Choruses of "Don't Let Me Download" from the Beatles may finally come to end with the Fab Four's catalog reportedly going up on iTunes shortly. An agreement for legal downloading of the group's cherished catalog of more than 200 songs recorded from 1962 to '70 is about to be announced by Steve Jobs' Apple Inc., the Beatles' Apple Corps and EMI/Capitol Records, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, while also cautioning that plans could change...

At a Wednesday morning press conference in San Francisco dominated by iPhone 5 news, Apple also announced that it would open up iTunes to Facebook and Twitter integration in October, among other changes the company will make to its online marketplace. The move effectively shelves Apple's previous internal efforts at creating its own social network for music listeners, called Ping. Instead, iTunes users will be able to "like" songs and "share" their iTunes purchases on Facebook and Twitter.

Apple's iTunes 11 arrived last week, and with it a good number of changes, including an interface redesign. But one change you might not have noticed is the software's new logo. In iTunes 11, Apple has changed the color of the beamed eighth music notes from black to silver, matching up with the logo's existing outer border and with the design of the Mac App Store's logo. For comparison, here's the previous logo . This is a subtle change, but it's noteworthy considering it's the first time in more than two years since Apple has tinkered with the icon.

Back in September, there were reports that Apple was in talks with major record labels to launch an Internet radio service that would rival Pandora. That news caused Pandora shareholders to, well, freak out.  Then, in October, speculation heated up that Apple was close, and might even launch its radio  service in November. Yet, here it is December, and still no official word from Apple HQ. However, analyst Richard Greenfield of securities firm BTIG thinks Apple handed us a whopper of a clue about its intentions when it released iTunes 11 last week.

New music from Daft Punk appears -- finally -- to be coming. After teasing fans earlier this month with a mysterious 15-second television commercial aired during "Saturday Night Live,"the French disco-pop duo evidently made its new studio album available for pre-order Saturday on iTunes. Apparently due out in the United States on May 21 from Columbia Records, the long-awaited disc is to be called "Random Access Memories" and contains 13 tracks, none of whose titles is currently listed on iTunes.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- There was little of the expected fireworks at Apple's annual meeting Wednesday as shareholders overwhelming reelected all board members and backed the company's position on several proposed changes to Apple's bylaws. However, shareholders hoping for word of a rumored stock split, or news that Apple might increase its dividends or buy back more of its stock, were disappointed. Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company continues to discuss its growing cash balance, and that he shared investors' concern about a share price that has plunged more than 30% from last summer.

Apple has agreed to hand out more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that its iPhone and iPad apps allowed children to make purchases without their parent's knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, which was filed by five parents two years ago, alleged that Apple did not create parental controls to keep children from buying extra features sold within a video games app. The parents who filed the lawsuit said they didn't realize their children were charging their accounts until they were billed.

Robert Reid frequently gets sick when he travels. He has suffered dehydration, heat exhaustion, food poisoning and bronchitis. "I thought I was dying when I had several days of bronchitis in Vietnam," said Reid, the U.S. Lonely Planet editor. "Same for when I had a tropical fungus growing out of my toe. " Getting sick on a trip is no fun. Hotels sometimes take over in an emergency, and many airlines and airports offer medical services on the ground and in the air. But travelers should not depend on these.

The Grammys gave out awards in 81 categories Sunday, but it may be a full week or two until we know who some of the real winners were. The performance-heavy telecast is largely just one  3½-hour concert, and if past Grammy Awards are any indication, it can lead to major sales victories for those who appear.  Last year, for instance, after Adele's "21" was named album of the year, she managed to earn the biggest sales week of her career, as...

Apple has sold its 25 billionth song through its iTunes digital store, and to celebrate the occasion, the company said it is giving the man who purchased the song an iTunes gift card worth about $13,525. To be precise, the gift card is worth 10,000 euros because the winner, Phillip Lüpke, is from Germany. Apple didn't give too many details about Lüpke other than the $0.99 song he purchased, which was “Monkey Drums,” the Goksel Vancin Remix, by Chase Buch. A version of " Monkey Drums " can be heard on YouTube.  QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge With most iTunes songs costing $1.29 before tax,  Lüpke will be able to use the gift card to buy more than 10,400 songs -- although he could of course use it for movies and TV shows.

Apple has agreed to hand out more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that its iPhone and iPad apps allowed children to make purchases without their parent's knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, which was filed by five parents two years ago, alleged that Apple did not create parental controls to keep children from buying extra features sold within a video games app. The parents who filed the lawsuit said they didn't realize their children were charging their accounts until they were billed.

Phillip Lüpke likes to jam to and buy electronic music. Now he won't have to pay for it -- at least for a few years. Lüpke won an iTunes gift card worth $13,525 for downloading the 25 billionth song from Apple Inc.'s digital store Wednesday. The 22-year-old from Hover, Germany, said he got a call from Apple but at first didn't believe that he had won a gift card with 10,000 euros on it. That's roughly $13,525 based on today's exchange rate. "I was very surprised. First, I didn't believe that it's the truth, but Apple called me and yeah it's true," Lüpke told the Times in an online conversation, adding a smiley emoticon.

The common image of an indie musician may be one of up-and-coming rock or hip-hop artists turning to self-funded videos and social media to scrape together a following, but singer Dawn Richard is bringing a rare, independent-minded approach to contemporary R&B. After flourishing in groups under the tutelage of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, Richard released her debut solo album, "GoldenHeart," last Tuesday and it quickly soared to No. 1 on...