Apple’s spend on lobbying the federal government in the first quarter has been revealed to total $560,000 – matching its spend a year earlier to as it lobbied for green technology, technology spending and other issues, theAFP reports. The Cupertino-based company’s spend is around a third of rivals Google and Microsoft, which spent $1.48 million in the first quarter, up $100,000 a year ago, with Microsoft spending $1.72 million in the first quarter of 2010 and 2011....

How time flies. It feels like last week whenApple announced the AirPods Max, its first proper pair of over-ear headphones. At the time, the launch SEEMED momentous. People wereshocked/appalled/excitedabout the headphones andApple‘s aspirations, but a year later? There’s an overwhelming sense of “meh” around the devices. Much of this, I’m sure, is down to the inherent flaws in theAirPodsMax. I’ve written about thisextensively in the past, but I’ll sum up the major issues with them again:...

Apple’s media streaming technology AirPlay now has its very own section in the app store, recognizing the apps that have integrated an Airplay feature. The benefit of using AirPlay is the ability to send/push content from an iOS device to your Apple TV so you’re able to watch or hear media on a bigger screen; video, music and images. Thelatest updateto iOS (4.3) brought users a slew of new features including Airplay support for mobile Safari, improved sharing using “home sharing” and personal hotspots on the iPhone, a feature that now enables users to share connections with additional devices over Wi-Fi....

Apple’s App Store is now home to over 100,000 iPad-exclusive applications, reaching the milestone in 453 days from when the original iPad launched on April 3 2010,Macstories reveals. It’s a massive number for Apple, a company that is seen by many to lead the mobile industry into the world of smartphone applications, particularly as none of its rivals come anywhere near the same total. The iPad has enjoyed the lion’s share of the tablet market, holding around a 90% worldwide share, despite repeated attempts by rival vendors to launch their own “iPad Killers”....

If figures collated byAppShopperare to be believed, Apple’s App Store passed 400,000 active apps in early June, achieving the milestone in just under three years from when the marketplace was introduced. At the time of writing, the App Store stands at 401,437 applications, although 507,284 have been approved since launch. The online marketplace has continued to thrive as the iPhone 4, iPad and iPod continue to sell in their millions and developers endeavour to create the next big hit....