Los Angeles doesn’t want $500 million worth of iPads now — A US$1 billion plan to give every student in the Los Angeles Unified School District an iPad, while beefing up the district’s internet capabilities and other infrastructure, is now dead, according to the LA Times. The deal would have started with a US$30 million purchase of tablets from Apple, which would have grown to roughly $500 million worth of iPads as the program expanded.
The reason for the change is twofold: First, the district decided iPads weren’t ideal for purpose, and second, and most damning, was a disclosure by LA Unified’s Superintendent John Deasy that revealed an uncomfortably close relationship between Deasy, his staff, and the companies that would have benefited the most from the deal – Apple.
Apple adds Showtime Anytime, iTunes Festival channels to Apple TV — Apple has added two new channel options to its set-top streamer, bringing on-demand Showtime Anytime from the cable network as well as a dedicated channel for the upcoming iTunes Festival in London. The band deadmau5 will open the Festival, and Mary J Blige, Tony Bennett and others have been added to the bill.
The top iOS 8 features for business users — You can always tell when the tech world is waiting for an important Apple announcement – loads of lists appear.
Apple’s iOS 8 is set to bring several new features, including its HealthKit and HomeKit platforms, to the iPhone and iPad. Many of the advances are consumer-oriented and focused on creating a seamless experience across iOS devices and Macs running the forthcoming OS X Yosemite.
How not to use rice to save your iPhone — Rice can indeed dry out your iDevice if it ends up taking an unexpected tumble into a pool, pond, or – tech gods forbid – toilet. That being said, this is not the way to do it. Leave your device off for as long as possible, and certainly until you’re confident there is no more moisture left inside the device.
Researchers: iPhones, iPads connected to Windows PCs are at risk — Attackers could compromise iPads and iPhones on a large scale through the infected computers that make up botnets, researchers say.
Google bolsters iOS productivity suite with Slides, updates to Docs and Sheets — Google has released presentation app Slides alongside updates to existing iOS apps Docs and Sheets, offering a free Web-connected alternative to similar productivity suites from Microsoft and Apple.
Teach organic gardening to kids — Get those green thumbs ready with Gro Garden (NZ$3.79, universal), an educational app that helps budding explorers discover organic gardening in a creative and competitive way. Did you ever trick your kids into eating their veggies by sneaking the ingredients into some yummy home-baked cookies and brownies?
Best educational apps for primary schoolers — It’s that time of the year again when parents, teachers and students start thinking about heading back to school. If you have an iOS device, you can supplement your child’s education and stimulate them to get involved with quality educational iOS apps. Here are some of the best titles for children in the middle school-aged group.
Mac NZ 