Steve Sande

<p>The few, the proud, the beta testers. If you're one of those folks who either has a wish to possibly break your production Mac, iPhone or iPad or is just incredibly impatient, you can now get the OS X 10.11 El Capitan and iOS 9 public betas. All you need is an Apple ID.</p>

<p>American iPhone fans who do a lot of traveling to Mexico, Canada or both have a new friend named John Legere. He's the CEO of "Un-carrier" T-Mobile, and today he announced that anyone using the T-Mobile Simple Choice pre- and post-paid plans will soon be able to send and receive unlimited phone calls and text message and use 4G LTE data both north and south of the border at no extra cost through the new <a target="_blank" href="http://explore.t-mobile.com/3countryplan" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Mobile Without Borders"</a> initiative. </p>

<p>Microsoft today announced that <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.office.com/2015/07/09/office-2016-for-mac-is-here/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Office 2016 for Mac is available to any Mac user who subscribes to Office 365</a>. The new Office Suite, which consists of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote, has been totally rewritten from the ground up.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px"><a href="http://altosadventure.com">Alto's Adventure</a> from Snowman has you snowboarding through beautiful terrain to capture wayward llamas. <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/blog/2015/2/17/altos-adventure-is-snowy-llama-chasing-fun">We reviewed the game back in February,</a> and now version 1.1 brings cool new goodies and squashes some bugs along the way. </p><p><strong>New goodies! </strong></p><p>If you've played Alto you've certainly slammed into the snow or plummeted to your death. A new helmet and pickaxe will save you from crashes and chasms, respectively. They're single-use items and you can purchase them with in-game virtual currency (there are NO in-app purchase in Alto's Adventure).</p>

<p>Reuters is reporting today that a $532.9 million <a target="_blank" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/08/us-apple-smartflash-damages-idUSKCN0PI1GJ20150708" rel="noopener noreferrer">fine against Apple awarded to patent troll Smartflash LLC has been thrown out by a federal judge</a>. US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap said jurors who awarded the damages to Smartflash on February 24 may have been "confused" by his instructions on how to calculate royalties. The jury found that Apple's iTunes software infringed three patents owned by Smartflash. </p>

<p>Apple's HomeKit home automation framework is beginning to show some surprising growth and strength, today with the announcement that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecobee.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ecobee3</a> smart thermostat will be <a target="_blank" href="http://store.apple.com/us/product/HH1K2LL/A/ecobee3-smart-wi-fi-thermostat" rel="noopener noreferrer">available for $249 at Apple Stores</a> throughout North America.</p>

<p>Apple yesterday updated its iWork suite of iOS apps with bug fixes and feature improvements that address accessibility issues in the latest version of its apps. The latest version of Page, Numbers and Keynote with the accessibility fixes is 2.5.4. </p>

<p>Apple Music is designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing iTunes library by allowing you to add streaming music content to your paid music downloads. When browsing your music library, you can view both your purchased songs and your streaming songs and use them to build playlists.  Read on to find out how you can add songs from Apple Music to your music library. </p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px"><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fleksy-keyboard-happy-typing/id520337246?mt=8">Flesky Keyboard for iOS</a> has announced that it is now free forever, for everyone. <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/17/fleksy-is-a-snazzy-alternative-keyboard-for-ios-8/">I first reviewed Flesky for TUAW in September of 2014</a>, and found it to be fast and capable. Now, everyone can give it a try. </p><p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">In addition to being free, today's update offers some nice improvements. A new view option called "Highlights" which is like text suggestions for GIFs and stickers. As you type, Flesky notes the content and context and produces a screen of relevant, fun content. Just give it a tap to see what's been suggested.</p>

<p>Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. Today’s notable apps include a discount on PhotoBulk: Watermark, Resize, Optimize and Rename; the new LEGO® Minifigures Online ; and an update to Evernote for the Mac.  All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.</p><p> </p>

<p>It’s time to save some of your hard-earned money with our <a href="https://appleworld.dreamhosters.com/?tag=deals">Daily Deals</a>, featuring highlighted deals for AWT readers, hardware discounts and our own handpicked iOS and OS X sales. All prices are USD and subject to change. Please check prices before you purchase as some deals may expire quickly.</p>

<p style="margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px">It's back (almost)! </p><p>When Apple released <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/30/8864649/ios-8-4-released-apple-music">iOS 8.4</a>, many users noticed that <a href="https://www.apple.com/support/homesharing/getstarted/">Home Sharing</a> for music was not supported. Home Sharing lets customers stream video and typically music between devices on the same WiFi network. Video streaming still works with iOS 8.4, but not music. That's about to change, according to Eddy Cue.</p>

<p>The borough of <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/apple-open-new-retail-store-weekend-queens-mall-article-1.2283163">Queens, NYC will get its first Apple Store this weekend</a>, according to a statement the company made to the <em>New York Daily News</em>. The busy Queens Center shopping center will host the store, where foot traffic is expected to be high. </p>

<p>In order to further unify the interior look of its stores, <a target="_blank" href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/07/06/apple-stores-white-boxes-accessories/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple will soon begin carrying third-party accessories in packages that were co-designed by the company</a>. According to an article on 9to5Mac, the move is part of an overall makeover spearheaded by retail chief Angela Ahrendts to reduce the variety of product packaging on store shelves.</p>

<p>Matt Bonner, a player for the San Antonio Spurs, says that his season-changing injury has been caused by -- are you ready for this? -- his iPhone 6 Plus. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.concordmonitor.com/community/town-by-town/concord/17589745-95/rapping-and-rocking-with-matt-bonner" rel="noopener noreferrer">In an interview with the Concord Monitor</a>, Bonner blamed the drop in his 3-point shooting, from 41.4 percent average over his 11-year career in the NBA to a still respectable 36.5 percent on an injury to his left (non-shooting) elbow. Bonner is "sure" that the injury was caused by the "way bigger" iPhone 6 Plus. </p>