Daily News

PRESTON, Minn. (AP) A Minnesota mother and her 18-year-old son are accused of stealing nearly $5,000 in frozen gopher feet and selling them for a bounty.

Thirty-seven-year-old Tina Marie Garrison and Junior Lee Dillon, both of Preston, were charged last month with receiving stolen property and theft. They allegedly gave the feet to local townships that offer rewards as they try to limit the gopher population.

Garrison has pleaded not guilty. Her son has a hearing next month.

The complaint says a gopher trapper reported to authorities that bags of feet were stolen from his freezer. According to the complaint, the owner found Dillon had turned in $1,014 in feet in November. In December, Garrison turned in $3,780 in feet.

The Post-Bulletin (http://bit.ly/1299xC8) reports Dillon denied turning in any feet for the bounty.

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Information from: Post-Bulletin, http://www.postbulletin.com

NEW YORK (AP) U.S. retail sales of video games, hardware and accessories declined 25 percent in May as demand for aging game consoles continued to fade and fewer new games launched compared with last year, according to market researcher NPD Group.

NPD said late Monday that total video game sales were $386.3 million, down from $517 million in May 2012. The decline comes as and Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. are getting ready to launch new consoles later this year. The Xbox One, the successor to Microsoft's Xbox 360, and the PlayStation 4, successor to Sony's PS3, are expected to boost game sales over the holiday season.

Hardware sales dropped 31 percent year-over-year to $96 million from $139 million. Software sales also fell 31 percent to $175.1 million from $255.4 million. The month's best-selling game was "Injustice: Gods Among Us," from Warner Bros. Interactive, followed by "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" from Activision Blizzard Inc. Nintendo's "Donkey Kong Country Returns" came in at No. 3.

Sales of gaming accessories slid 6 percent to $115.3 million from $122.5 million.

NPD estimates that sales of new video game discs, hardware and accessories account for about half of what people spend on games.

Cowen and Co. analyst Doug Creutz expects the year-over-year declines to continue in June and July, but after that expects several consecutive months of increases, with the launch of the next "Madden" game from EA, the launch of "Grand Theft Auto V" from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. in September and other blockbuster game releases.

"In general, we believe the fact that (the new) consoles appear poised for a good launch is far more important than current NPD trends," Creutz wrote in a note to investors.

Activision's shares were unchanged at $14.73 in morning trading. Shares of GameStop Corp., the world's largest video game retailer, slid 20 cents to $38.30. Microsoft's stock rose 3 cents to $35.03. Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. rose 27 cents to $22.70.

iOS 7 Review Apple unveiled its vision for the future of mobile computing last week and the Internet erupted. A new feud was born, not between iOS fans and Android fans or between Apple fans and Samsung fans, but among iOS users themselves. On one side, a legion of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users were fawning over the redesigned software shown off by Jony Ive and company. It s a breath of fresh air it s amazing it s positively mind-blowing. On the other side, iOS 7 was panned. Many longtime Apple fans watched in horror as Apple peeled back the layers on its new iOS interface, and all the great features were instantly overshadowed by Apple s controversial new design. Is iOS 7 a brilliant push forward? Is it a tragedy in the making?

[More from BGR: Video: Secret settings uncovered in iOS 7]

It has been a week since iOS 7 debuted and now that the rush-into-print, knee-jerk reactions are behind us, let s take a closer look at the future of Apple s mobile devices.

[More from BGR: iPhone 5S display leaks as mass production begins]

Apple has never created anything that looks like iOS 7 before. Never, ever. This is important, because many longtime Apple users were blindsided by the bold new look.

As a company, Apple is known for many things. Design sits somewhere near the top of the list. Apple s hardware is gorgeous and unparalleled, and its software is sleek and beautiful even when it fails miserably. As rivals try desperately to catch up and as they spend billions on new product development, no notebooks are as sleek as Apple s, no tablets are as striking as the iPad, and no smartphones are as stunning as the iPhone.

Apple has been matched or even surpassed by rivals in some areas, but design is not one of them.

So it is easy to see why longtime Apple fans find iOS 7 so jarring. The look and feel of iOS has been so widely praised over the years that many people are having trouble letting go. iOS also sparked a fundamental shift in the way companies design smartphone interfaces. In fact, one Apple rival loved the iPhone so much it created a 132-page document to help its engineers copy many aspects of iOS pixel by pixel.

But now, many of the core characteristics that defined iOS for six years are gone without a trace. Panic was inevitable.



The dust has settled since Apple took the wraps of iOS 7 last week, and opinions seem to be leveling out to an extent. Bloggers and pundits who exploded with rage have since backed up a bit. Starry-eyed Apple fans who squealed with excitement have calmed down as well. So now, we can finally all take a deep breath and talk about iOS 7.

At its core, iOS 7 is a fundamental departure from earlier versions of iOS in terms of user experience. Historically, navigating iOS was very linear. Open an app, close an app. Open another app, close another app. iOS 7 is all about layers, however, and I have a feeling that this is something we ll see Apple really start to run with in future versions of its mobile platform.

Navigating iOS 7 is different. Panels open on tops of apps and transparency effects provide a unique visual reminder that other parts of the OS lie beneath the current view. Apple really ran with this concept, too. For example, each key press on numbers in the new Phone app or on the lock screen provides a fleeting glimpse of the wallpaper that sits beneath the app. It s a very cool effect that does not go unappreciated, and there many are other small design elements that show Apple is still a company that sweats the little things.

There are also new transition animations when navigating iOS. Transitions zoom in and out of icons when opening and closing apps, adding another element to the layering concept. In iOS 7, everything is connected. It also has a very bouncy feel to it.

I find that some animations are overly complex though, such as the transition when closing the task manager, and this makes the user wait a few extra beats in between functions. Apple is moving in the wrong direction here but we re talking about an early beta so hopefully the release version will see these transitions get out of the user s way much faster.



Apple s new user interface appears to be quite similar to earlier versions on the surface, but it is in fact a complete departure from the UI found in iOS 6 and earlier builds.

Beyond the home screen, which indeed looks much like earlier iOS home screens, lies a completely redesigned experience. Every single Apple application has been rebuilt from the ground up, and some apps have undergone such drastic overhauls that they are barely recognizable.

As had been rumored in the weeks leading up to WWDC, the iOS 7 user interface is flat. All of the textures and skeuomorphic elements that have characterized iOS for more than half a decade are gone. But flat is only half the story here.

The interfaces in new Apple apps aren t just flat, they are completely different from the apps they replace. Some applications bear absolutely no resemblance to their predecessors. And even the ones that carry forward the same basic layouts as older apps, like Messages, have such a minimalistic new look that the resemblance isn t always immediately apparent.

Put it like this: You will have no problem transitioning from iOS 6 to iOS 7. Your parents, on the other hand, probably will. But just as they did when they first transitioned from a flip phone to an iPhone, they ll get over it.



For the most part, iOS is still very logical and easy to use. There are areas where the interface falls apart a bit, but the beta 1 label says it all many, many things will change before iOS 7 reaches the public this fall. In its beta form though, there are some real missteps in iOS 7 that are pretty shocking. Here s one example:

Apple, a company defined by design and collective smarts, made a pretty elementary design snafu right on the iOS lock screen.

Slide to unlock sits near the bottom of the display on the lock screen and shimmers, as it always has. But the simple slider button graphic is now gone. Instead, just beneath the words slide to unlock, sits an arrow pointing upward. Sliding upward doesn t unlock iOS though. Instead, this arrow is meant to alert the user to the presence of the new Control Center, which provides quick access to several settings and controls. To unlock an iOS device, the user still must swipe from left to right.

On the surface, this might not seem like a big deal. Think about it from a new iOS user s perspective, however and this is very important, considering how many new iOS users there will soon be if Apple is indeed prepping a new low-cost iPhone.

You tap the unlock button for the first time on your new iPhone or iPad, and your attention is immediately drawn to the shimmering slide to unlock directive near the bottom of the display, which is situated directly above an arrow pointing upward.

You place your finger directly on the words and slide up. Nothing happens. You try again from the center of the display. Nothing happens. One more attempt, this time beginning right on the up arrow itself. A panel of various buttons and sliders appears, but you still can t find the home screen.

It s a stupid mistake. And Apple doesn t often make stupid mistakes when it comes to design. It s akin to placing a traffic sign showing an arrow curving to the right on a street just before the road ahead curves to the left.



On the other side of the coin, iOS 7 has many changes that are absolutely fantastic.

While the new OS doesn t address all of the major complaints surrounding iOS, it definitely tackles a healthy number of them. Multitasking will finally be kicked into high gear now that third-party apps can perform more processes in the background without battery life taking a major hit, and the new Control Center finally provides easy access to key settings and utilities.

The updated Mail app has big improvements and searching actually seems to work now. Safari mobile is much improved as well, with a great new interface and a unified address and search bar. AirDrop is a great new alternative to NFC-based file-sharing, the new Notification Center features are nice (though Apple really took a step backwards by eliminating the weather widget and replacing it with a text-based forecast for the current day only), and iTunes Radio is a welcome addition to Apple s entertainment portfolio, though there are definitely better options out there for users seeking a more comprehensive solution.



I also love the new task manager UI in iOS 7, which was shamelessly stolen from webOS. Thumbnails featuring screen captures of each open app in its most recent state are lined up on the screen. Tapping one will open the related app and flicking one upward will close the app. As someone who was a big fan of the webOS platform before HP sent it away to live on a farm, I think the new multitasking interface is a big step in the right direction, even though Apple engineers couldn t be bothered to come up with their own solution.

But as mentioned earlier, there are plenty of things I haven t been able to get past. I find the new icons to be absolutely hideous, for example. They re juvenile in all cases and downright ugly in some instances, and I m fairly surprised that this is work that left the drawing board at Apple. I would be embarrassed to have been involved in their creation. There are also a number of surprising omissions, an example of which might be the lack of any kind of indication in the Calendar app on days that have scheduled appointments. I would expect that issues like this will be addressed prior to launch, however.

And yes, it s still always sunny in iOS, I m afraid.



IOS 7 isn t about today, it s about tomorrow.

This is important to keep in mind while reading about iOS 7 in the coming months and while using it yourself beginning this fall. There might be a 7 in the name of this software, but it s really version 1 of Apple s new vision for the future of mobile. This is the foundation, and Apple will look to build from here.

Not everyone will like iOS 7 right away. In fact, some people might never like the changes introduced in iOS 7, wishing instead that iOS could have stayed the same forever. Of course, we have all seen how well that worked out for Nokia, BlackBerry and Microsoft.

And the beauty of iOS, of course, is that regardless of how you feel about all of these changes many of which are quite drastic one of the main things that makes iOS so fantastic remains: There is still a massive ecosystem of great apps.

Third-party apps are the lifeblood of Apple s mobile devices, and all your favorite apps will still exist on your device in iOS 7 as they do in iOS 6. Many of them will undergo some cosmetic changes as developers look to mirror iOS s new design identity, but their core functionality will live on. Actually, many of them will get even better thanks to all of the new APIs Apple is making available to developers with iOS 7.

Beyond that, keep in mind as you read about iOS 7 in the coming weeks that Apple really rushed to get the first beta of iOS 7 out on time. Apple s programmers and designers were in such a rush that they couldn t even finish the iPad build in time for WWDC. The final version of iOS 7 that ships this coming fall will be quite different from early beta versions, and you can count on that.



My biggest problem with iOS 7 is the same problem I had with iOS 6, which was the same problem I had with iOS 5: Apple s mobile platform just isn t getting any smarter.

A fear I had leading up to WWDC was that Apple might be spending all of its time and resources on a visual redesign, which could have meant exciting new features and important enhancements would be few and far between. Reality ended up being a bit less grim, but Apple certainly did not strike a balance between renovation and innovation. iOS 7 does include some important new functionality, of course, but the emphasis was clearly on design.

What meaningful, innovative functions can iOS 7 perform that iOS 6 could not?

Many Apple pundits keep making the same argument over and over again. Apple doesn t have to innovate every year. Apple is the most profitable smartphone vendor in the world. The iPhone 5 is the best-selling smartphone on the planet. iOS gets better all the time. And so on. But how much longer will this argument work before people start to want more? How much longer will we be happy with the same core feature set underneath a few new functions borrowed from other platforms?

As I noted, iOS 7 is the beginning of the next chapter in the book of iOS. This is the foundation that Apple will build on in iOS 8 and beyond. And truly I hope Apple has some surprises in store for us some real innovation because based on what I m hearing from well-placed sources at one of Apple s biggest rivals, things are about to get pretty exciting in the smartphone industry over the next few years.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

By Dave Warner

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died from injuries suffered when his car slammed into the wall of a dirt raceway in New Jersey, state police said.

The crash occurred during a race at the Bridgeport Speedway in Logan township in southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia, state police spokesman Sergeant Adam Grossman said.

Leffler, 37, of Huntersville, North Carolina, was rushed to the Crozier Hospital in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at 9:02 p.m., police said.

The raceway calls itself the "Fastest Dirt Track in the East." It consists of a spacious 5/8-mile high-banked dirt oval, where average speeds reach well over 100 miles per hour, according to the track's website.

Leffler was a two-time winner of the Nationwide Series. He had been racing for over a decade, with experience in so-called midget race cars as well as the Indianapolis 500, where he placed 17th in 2000, his website noted.

New Jersey State Police said in a Twitter posting that the accident was under investigation.

"NASCAR extends its thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to the family of Jason Leffler who passed away earlier this evening," the organization said in a Twitter posting. "For more than a decade, Jason was a fierce competitor in our sport and he will be missed."

(Additional reporting by David Bailey; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Peter Cooney)

NEW YORK (AP) Even as a pared-down version of Microsoft's Office software package arrived on the iPhone, the company is holding out on extending that to the iPad and Android devices as it tries to boost sales of tablet computers running its own Windows system.

Microsoft also isn't selling Office Mobile for iPhone separately. Instead, it comes as part of a $100-a-year Office 365 subscription, which also lets you use Office on up to five Mac and Windows computers. Microsoft made the app available through Apple's app store Friday.

Microsoft Corp. is treading a fine line as it tries to make its subscription more compelling, without removing an advantage that tablet computers running Microsoft's Windows system now have the ability to run popular Office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Microsoft has been pushing subscriptions as a way to get customers to keep paying for a product that has historically been sold in a single purchase. The company touts such benefits as the ability to run the package on multiple computers and get updates for free on a regular basis.

A subscription can be more expensive than buying the package outright for just one or two computers, but those wanting the iPhone app won't be able to avoid the recurring fees. Microsoft said it wants to give customers yet another reason to embrace subscriptions by offering Office on the iPhone only with a subscription.

The iPhone app will let people read and edit their text documents, spreadsheets and slide presentations at the doctor's office or at a soccer game. But many people will prefer doing those tasks on a tablet's larger screen. Office is available on those devices through a Web browser, but that requires a constant Internet connection, something many tablets don't have.

"The nature of the Office suite, being productivity-focused, makes it better-suited for a larger mobile screen," said Josh Olson, an analyst with Edward Jones. "The issue then becomes, 'How do you provide the Office offering in its best-suited mobile environment without negating a distinguishing characteristic of the Windows 8 tablets?'"

He said Microsoft isn't likely to offer Office on the iPad and other tablets until it sees sufficient adoption of Windows tablets first. Because of that, the new mobile app is likely to increase consumer awareness, but it won't significantly increase subscriptions.

Another analyst, Rick Sherlund of Nomura Securities, warned that delaying a tablet version on non-Windows devices will merely help competitors.

"Office is a bigger business for Microsoft than Windows, so we see more urgency to preserve and extend the Office franchise cross platform," he said.

Apple, for one, is refreshing its iWork package this fall, while Google bought Quickoffice last year. The two offerings are among several that are capable of working with Office files on mobile devices, though people using them may lose formatting and other details.

Chris Schneider, a marketing manager with Microsoft's Office team, would not comment on any plans for the iPad or Android.

The regular version of Office works on Windows 8 tablets, and most of the features are available on a version designed for tablets running a lightweight version of Windows called RT. Customers needing to use Office on a larger screen than a phone might be drawn to the Windows tablets, which have lagged behind in sales and cachet compared with Apple's iPad and various devices running Google's Android system.

The iPhone app comes with Word, Excel and PowerPoint and will sync with Microsoft's SkyDrive online storage service. Microsoft said people will be able to pick up a Word document exactly where they left off on another computer tied to the same account, while comments they add to a Word or Excel file will appear when they open it up on another machine.

Although documents will be reformatted to fit the phone's screen, the company said the iPhone app will preserve charts, animation, comments and other key properties. That's not always the case with programs offered by Google and other companies to work with Office files on mobile devices.

But the app doesn't offer the same range of features available on regular computers.

It's meant for lightweight editing, not complex calculations or heavy graphical work, Schneider said. Someone about to give a speech can review a PowerPoint presentation and fix a typo, for instance. Someone getting a Word or Excel document as an email attachment can add comments or make changes, then send it back, either as an email attachment or through a sharing feature on SkyDrive.

Rather than have it do everything, Schneider said, "we designed the Office Mobile for iPhone to meet the scenarios that make the most sense."

The iPhone app also won't have Outlook for email, Publisher for desktop publishing and Access for databases. Microsoft's OneNote software for note-taking has been available for free separately for iPhones and iPads.

People with Office 365 subscriptions will be able to run the new app on up to five iPhones, in addition to the five Mac or Windows computers. People in the United States were able to get it from Apple's app store Friday. Availability in other countries will follow in the coming days. Downloading is free, but a subscription is needed for the app to work.

It's possible to use the iPhone app on an iPad, but the documents are merely blown up to fit the size of the screen. You won't get to see more of a document despite the larger screen, and text and graphics won't look as sharp when enlarged.

Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., already makes a version for phones running its Windows Phone 8 operating system. An Office 365 subscription isn't required for that, and those apps do not count toward the five mobile devices permitted for each subscription.

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Online:

Microsoft Office: http://office.microsoft.com

Acer Wearable Gadget Release Date The verdict is still out on wearable technology and whether or not it will become the next big thing. Acer s smartphone chief, ST Liew, is optimistic about its future and said his company will release its first wearable device sometime next year. In an interview with Pocket-Lint, the executive noted that wearable technology presents a tremendous opportunity for companies. He believes that the industry hasn t exploded yet, but when it does it could be a multi-billion dollar market. Liew didn t give many details about the company s upcoming gadget, although he hinted at a device with long battery life and features such as inductive charging. A number of companies are said to be exploring wearable technology. Earlier reports have suggested that Google, Apple, Samsung, LG and Microsoft are all planning to release smart watches in 2014.

[More from BGR: Video: Woz explains how cloud computing is turning us into Soviet Russia]

This article was originally published on BGR.com

NEW YORK (AP) -- Beyonce has settled a New York City lawsuit that said she didn't play fair in a deal for a video game structured around her.

Court records show the case was closed Friday after the Grammy Award-winning singer and Gate Five LLC agreed to drop it.

A lawyer for Gate Five says the terms are confidential. A lawyer for Beyonce hasn't returned a call seeking comment.

Gate Five had said Beyonce made a lucrative deal for a game called "Starpower: Beyonce," then demanded a new agreement and abandoned the project. The company says it lost its nearly $7 million investment and 70 people lost their jobs.

Beyonce's lawyers had said she was within her rights to get out of the deal because Gate Five didn't have needed financing.

by Rob Walker | @YahooTechAs you ve heard by now, Facebook is enabling the use of hashtags the #device for topic-tracking long familiar to users of Twitter.

I can t get excited about yet another way to chime in about the NBA Finals or bicker about the NSA in real time, but the #overkill coverage is a great excuse to sing the praises of a very clever, and genuinely productive, use of hashtags over on Instagram that I learned of recently via the photo site PetaPixel. The hashtag is #litterati, and its goal is to clean up the physical world.

The project is the brainchild of Jeff Kirschner, an entrepreneur in Oakland. As he explains in this brief video overview, he was out walking with his children when his young daughter pointed out some trash that doesn t go there. Increasingly bugged by the amount of litter in the supposedly eco-conscious Bay Area, he dreamed up a distinctly West-Coast-techie scheme.

The idea is to photograph a piece of litter, post your image to Instagram with the hashtag #litterati and then, of course, dispose of that garbage properly. This strikes me as a cunning subversion of certain Instagrammers notorious penchant for documenting the mundane: If it s a good idea to share an image of your brunch, why not share an image of street detritus? The implication that you ve just done a good deed by ridding the public sphere of Instagrammed trash adds to the appeal; and the fact is, trash can be actually a more interesting photo subject than eggs benedict. As of today, the number of #Litterati photos totals 10,647 a lot of garbage!

In addition to pushing the hashtag and starting a dedicated @Litterati Instagram account, Kirschner set up Litterati.org, which collects tagged images and exploits the data offered by participating Instagrammers in several ways: There s a map drawing on the relevant geotags, and a stats page that totals up contributions by state, country and most commonly found items. Cigarettes and plastic top the latter chart, but it s notable that this list includes several brand-specific listings: Starbucks, Marlboro, McDonalds, Snickers, Coke, etc. Kirschner sees potential to use this crowd-found data to start conversations with local governments and companies, about everything from the distribution of trash cans to improved packaging, on the road to a a litter-free planet.

Litterati from Jeff Kirschner on Vimeo.



Okay, so a litter-free planet is probably not going to happen. But give #litterati its due. There s no shortage of frivolity, silliness, and trivia in social media including nonstop participatory Twitter hashtag diversions like #MyFirstTimeBeingHigh, or whatever similar trope is trending when you read this. But after all, as Alexis Madrigal reminded readers of TheAtlantic.com, the hashtag was not invented by a tech company, it was invented by a Twitter user. And like any other digital tool, its ours to do with what we wish.

If that means ridiculous social media fads, fine. But if, every so often, it means something curiously fun and genuinely positive, then that deserves respect, and support. A different kind of writer might even call @Litterati an example of #hashtagtivism. Obviously I would never do that, but I d love to see more projects like this whatever you want to call them. So follow @Litterati on Instagram, or #litterati-tag your own Instagram pictures of garbage you cleaned up and watch them emerge in the digital landfill on Litterati.org.

LONDON (AP) The Duchess of Cambridge has officially named a cruise liner at a gala ceremony.

The former Kate Middleton, wearing a black and white print coat and a black hat, boarded the Royal Princess for the naming ceremony, which included a blessing and the traditional smashing of a bottle across the hull.

The duchess cut a ribbon that set the bottle free moments before it broke open against the hull.

The ceremony in Southampton on Thursday included a brief tour of the ship for the duchess, who is expected to give birth to her and Prince William's first child in mid-July.

It is expected to be her final solo engagement before the birth, although she is expected to join other senior royals at the upcoming Trooping the Color ceremony.

The duchess has been designated the godmother of the ship, a symbolic position dating back to the 19th century. The actresses Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren have also served in this role.

William's mother, the late Princess Diana, also officially named a cruise ship at the same spot in 1984.

The new 3,600-passenger Royal Princess is scheduled to begin cruising the Mediterranean this summer.

Apple product lovers, your iPhone and iPad interfaces will look radically different this year.

At Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held at the Moscone West Center in San Francisco, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other company executives unveiled new operating systems, iOS 7 for i-devices and OS X Mavericks for Macs, as well as a new version of its MacBook Air and a sneak peek at the next MacBook Pro.

Although Apple didn't announce any new iOS devices, the big redesign featuring an array of new software upgrades in the iOS 7 operating system will make existing devices seem new.

"We want to make the best product that people use more and love more than anyone else's," Cook said.

Let's recap the major announcements:

iOS 7: An Elegant Upgrade

The best way to describe iOS 7's new redesigned interface is that it looks like a crystal-clear pane of layered glass with elegant "flat" icons and features.

Simple and clean, Cook said, it is the "most significant iOS update since the original iPhone [debuted]."

iOS 7 will be available on the iPhone 4 and newer, iPad 2 and newer, iPad Mini and the fifth-generation of iPod Touch, starting in the fall. Developers can start playing with a beta version of the new operating system today.

Apple's New iOS 7, MacBook Air: First Look

In iOS 7, an active home screen features a new, 3D-like experience when you move the phone around and a semi-translucent keyboard. Swiping up from the bottom of the device brings up the Control Center, which allows users to manage several controls such as turning Wi-Fi on and off, opening apps, changing the screen's brightness and using Flashlight -- potentially killing off existing third-party flashlight apps.

Speaking of apps, iOS 7 sports several welcome updates to the iPhone app experience.

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, announced that iOS 7 has improved Multitasking for apps -- basically, separating apps that are used constantly versus apps that get occasional use -- and will allow for better battery life.

Apps will now be updated automatically through Apple's App Store.

Apps are big business for Apple. Cook announced today that the company has paid out $10 billion to app developers, and there are 900,000 apps available in Apple's App Store, which has had 50 billion app downloads.

There are hundreds of other new features in iOS 7, including the Notification Center, enhanced Photos, Safari, Airdrop, upgrades to Siri's interface and voice, as well as the introduction of iTunes Radio.

Airdrop, a feature that allows users to send files from one Mac to another, is coming to iOS devices for the first time, but will only be available on the iPhone 5, the fourth-generation of iPad and the iPad Mini.

For Even More Details about iOS 7, Read our Live Blog

iTunes Radio: Answer to Pandora, Spotify

iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music users listen to on iTunes, is Apple's answer to Internet radio giants such as Pandora and Spotify.

Similar to other online music-streaming products, iTunes Radio has over 200 stations and allows users to create stations based on artists or songs, but Apple's version also offers stations based on what others users are talking about, including a Trending on Twitter station and an Artists on Tour station.

The feature is built into iOS 7, and will be available on supporting iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad devices, as well as iTunes on Mac and PC and Apple TV.

Internet radio has become the new favorite hook of tech giants to attract new users. Just last month, Google announced it was jumping on the online music streaming bandwagon with its All Access service through Google Play.

OS X Mavericks Revealed for Apple Desktops

Previous versions of Apple's iMac desktop operating systems have all been named after cats, but "this is the first OS update delayed due to a dwindling supply of cats," said Apple's Federighi, who is the chief of iOS and OS X operating systems.

Behold OS X Mavericks, which Federighi said was inspired by the California setting into which Apple was born: the Mavericks Invitational big wave surfing contest is held annually in Northern California.

Lots of new features were included in this upgrade: Tagging, Multiple Displays, Calendar updates, Safari with a new side bar, Notifications and iCloud Keychain updates, as well as the debut of Apple Maps and iBooks, now available on iMacs.

With Tagging, users can now tag files to make them more searchable. You can tag your photos or other kinds of content to group things together.

The Finder window, which allows users to search through content saved or downloaded to the computer's hard drive, now has tabs, which can be color-coded, so users can toggle between multiple file paths and searches, like a web browser.

The new operating system also included "next advanced technology," which meant improvement on battery life. The new system brings down CPU activity by 72 percent, meaning more "compressed memory," Federighi said. CPU stands up central processing unit, which handles the tasks and processes currently running on a computer.

The new system can compress inactive memory to free up space for open memory. This makes things like opening documents or reopening an application happen faster.

Notifications was also given a new upgrade in Mavericks that makes it a smarter tool. Users can now reply to emails and iMessages right inside a notification. Apps that send notifications to iOS devices will also send them to your Mac now, too.

For Even More Details about iOS X 10.9 Mavericks, Read our Live Blog

New MacBook Air Has 'All Day Battery Life'

What good would all this new software be without some new hardware to play with it on?

Apple today revealed a new MacBook Air, which will start shipping today, featuring "all day battery life," according to Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing.

That actually means is that the 11-inch MacBook Air will support nine hours of battery life, while the 13-inch is promising 12 hours of battery life.

Apple's New iOS 7, MacBook Air: First Look

The New Air will also include fourth generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, with a new Intel HD Graphics 5000 clip that boasts up to 40 percent faster performance for gaming and graphics intensive apps. Apple executives said the computer's new flash storage provides speeds up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation and nine times faster than traditional hard drives -- good news for gamers and movie watchers.

It will also have dual microphones, a FaceTime HD camera, a high-speed Thunderbolt port and two USB 3.0 ports.

The 11-inch MacBook Air will go for $999 for 128GB and $1,199 for 256GB. The 13-inch Air is selling for $1,099 for 128GB and 256GB on $1,299.

Sneak Peek: New Mac Pro Coming Later This Year

Apple teased a new Mac Pro computer, which is a model that hasn't seen an upgrade in a while. But it won't be available until later this year.

Billed as the "future of the pro desktop," the computer's hardware features a revamped redesign inside and out.

On the outside, a 9.9-inch-tall, black, glassy cylindrical structure replaces the familiar silver aluminum rectangle.

On the inside, Apple executives promised the new Pro will have a "unified thermal core," a "revolutionary" system that will include the next generation Xeon Intel processors, dual workstation-class GPUs, Thunderbolt 2, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory.

In a nutshell, the new Apple computer promises to have "10 times the speed of any notebook hard drive," Schiller said.

There was no mention of a price for the new Mac Pro, nor any mention of a new MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

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