How to get a refund from the App Store

The App Store has over 500,000 applications available for download. That means that your iOS device has access to some of the best mobile software money can buy — and, unfortunately, some of the crappiest.

We’ve seen a number of examples of bad software. And no, we’re not talking about the 300+ fart apps out there. We’re talking about apps that you download expecting one thing, and then get another.

Luckily, there is a way to get your money back on these applications…

We touched on this process a few years back, but given all of the recent talk about counterfeit apps surfacing in the App Store, we figured it was time to cover it again.

How to get a refund from Apps Store:-

Step 1: Launch iTunes on your computer, and login to your account.

Step 2: Once in your account, scroll down to your Purchase History and click ‘See All.’

Step 3: You should now be looking at a list of all of your iTunes purchases. Go down to the bottom of the list, and select ‘Report a Problem.’

Step 4: Now select the app that you would like to request a refund on, and again click ‘Report a Problem.’

Step 5: Choose a problem from the drop-down menu (hint: there’s 6 options), give a detailed explanation for why you are seeking a refund in the Comment box, and click ‘Submit.’

That’s all there is to it! Don’t expect a refund or response right away. Apple has been known to take weeks to refund customers for app costs — if at all. Keep in mind that the standard policy for iTunes purchases is ‘All Sales Final.’

It’s also worth noting that if Apple does refund your money, they expect the developer to refund them. And they still keep their 30% take. So make sure the app is really worth a refund, because the developer loses $0.30 on the dollar.

Of course, we could avoid all of this nonsense if Apple would just incorporate a trial period for app purchases. Even something short — say 15 minutes — would be enough time to determine if the app worked as advertised.

[Via: idownloadblog & Gizmodo]

MICGadget: iPad3 is thicker than iPad2 (Photo)

In their own roundup of iPad 3 rumors, MICGadget includes photos of a purported iPad 3 shell. This shell is shown in comparison to an iPad 2 back shell. Notable differences include a 1mm-1.5mm thicker design, depending on where on the iPad 3 you are measuring. Also, more tapering is shown. This will likely make the iPad 3 feel thinner than the iPad 2 while being held. While not visible in the images, the report claims the iPad 3 bezel will be slightly narrower than the iPad 2′s bezel.

 

MIC’s sources also point to the iPad 3 having a larger camera lens. This would mean the iPad 3 has an improved camera, but MIC is uncertain of the quality. They also include some bits such as 16GB, 32GB, and 128GB iPad 3 capacities in addition to claims of a 7 inch iPad launch later this year. We wouldn’t put too much trust in that iPad mini claim, as these smaller iPad rumors typically come and go with no success.

[Via: 9to5mac]

Saurik explains why jailbreaking should remain legal

Back in January we told you that the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) was asking for everyone’s help in its fight to keep jailbreaking legal. It suggested leaving a comment on the Copyright Office’s comment board to show your support.

The board closed on February 10th, and the Copyright Office recently published everyone’s entries. And even though there were only about 700 comments submitted, some big names turned out to defend jailbreaking, including Saurik…

Jay Freeman, also known as Saurik–the creator of Cydia, filled up 6 pages with opinions and evidence on why jailbreaking should remain legal. Here’s an excerpt from his comment:

“In order to bypass these restrictions, some developers have taken it upon themselves to help users escape the “jails” in which they feel manufacturers have them trapped. The resulting tools allow consumers of closed devices to install software from arbitrary parties and with no technical limitations. Depending on the device community, and the exact level of control granted, different terms are used for the process—”bootloader unlock,” “rooting,” “jailbreaking”— though the overall result is the same.

This process is not easy, and comes with many caveats. Upgrading the vendor-supplied software on the device can become more difficult, specifically as the vendor often attempts to re-assert their control during the process…”

It’s worth reading the entire thing — it’s pretty interesting. You can find Saurik’s comment (#14) along with all of the other responses regarding why jailbreaking/rooting should remain legal on the Copyright Office’s website.

In 2010, the US government ruled that jailbreaking was legal, but that decision is set to expire later this year. If the Copyright Office doesn’t renew the exemption, the legality of jailbreaking could once again become a murky conversation. 








[Via: idownloadblog]

Apple building the nation’s largest end user owned solar energy farm

Last Fall, word got out that Apple was planning to build a solar energy farm to power its newly-built data center in North Carolina. The facility, which hosts a bulk of Apple’s iCloud service, went live during the Summer of last year.

We knew the solar energy farm was going to be massive, but we had no idea how big. Today, in a company-wide environmental footprint report, Apple announced that the array is going to be one of the largest in the nation…

CNET reports:

“Apple’s massive North Carolina data center will be powered by the nation’s largest end-user-owned solar array, the company revealed today in a report on its environmental footprint. The facility, which is being constructed in Maiden, N.C., has been awarded LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council, the company said in its report.

“We know of not other data center of comparable size that has achieved this level of LEED certification,” the company said in its report. “Our goal is to run the Maiden facility with high percentage renewable energy mix.”

After years of taking criticism, Apple has recently started making a serious effort to decrease the size of its carbon footprint. The company now has plants in Texas, California, and Ireland that run completely on renewable energy — a sizable feat.

But the iPhone-maker still admits it has tons of work ahead of it. In its footprint report, Apple estimated that it was responsible for 23 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2011.

[Via: idownloadblog & GigaOM] 

Apple working on iTunes and App Store redesign

According to 9to5Mac‘s Mark Gurman, Apple is going to overhaul the iTunes Store and App Store designs later this year.

The new design of the iTunes Store and App Store is going to be easier to use and be simpler. The ways of finding new content such as songs, videos, and apps is apparently going to be faster and more efficient…

The new design is also going to be a full application versus the web browser interface that is currently available. The design overhauls are going to first be on the Mac & PC, and the iOS version will be coming a short time after.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited?

[Via: idownloadblog & 9to5Mac]