Software : Apple issues in-app purchase warnings to keep kids from blowing the bank

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Apple issues in-app purchase warnings to keep kids from blowing the bank Posted: Rather than continue to cash back to users, Apple has attempted to make perfectly clear which apps should be kept out of the reach of children if their folks aren't savvy enough to password-protect purchases. Just last week the iPhone-maker refunded the parents of an 8-year-old British boy who had blown £980 (US$1,493, AU$1,429) of very real cash on virtual donuts in the 'free' Simsons: Tapped Out game. It wasn't the first time, either. Last month, the company agreed to pay out up to $100m (UK£66m, AUD$96m) in refunds to parents in the United States whose kids had also made unsanctioned in-app purchases.S Starting today, iTunes listings for these so-called 'freemium' apps now feature an 'Offers In-App Purchases' message, which sits conveniently beneath the actual price tag. Only iTunes-based for now The slight page tweak, uncovered by The Guardian, is only present within the standalone iTunes client at the moment, but doesn't appear in the web-based listings or within the device-based App Store listing. However, with the majority of apps (two-thirds, in fact) being downloaded directly to iOS devices, we expect the App Store app itself to receive the same update shortly. Will it stop children knowingly or unknowingly capitalising on their parents' inability to manage a simple task like adding a password to their iTunes account or turning off in-app purchases completely? Probably not, but it's a step in the right direction.

Non-Blue updates for built-in Windows 8 apps appear on the way Posted: Reports of Microsoft updating some of its own first-party apps on Windows 8 and Windows RT ahead of the Blue update first appeared earlier this month. At the time, it was believed this update could arrive before the clock struck April 1, though the refinements wouldn't be nearly as comprehensive as what Blue will supposedly bring to the table. Now ZDNet is reporting that various sources have discovered "installation ready" coding for 18 apps like Music, Bing and Mail in both Windows 8 and RT. Considering how disappointed users have been with the functionality of these free first-party apps, the news the updates may be just around the corner bodes well for those who were early adapters of new Windows devices. The fix is in Even if Blue isn't expected until later this summer, the updates coming to Windows 8 in the interim should tide users over in the meantime. Among the other apps being tweaked in this yet-to-be-dated update are SkyDrive, Xbox Live Games, Photos, Calendar, Messaging and Camera. The files were found by WinSuperSite in the Windows 8 system log, where any administrator could easily access them, though the files are all for pending updates, and not the actual updates themselves. The same list was also found on the Surface RT, though there's still no indication of when Microsoft will actually roll out these changes. ZDNet sill believes the apps will all be improved before the end of the month, including those running on Windows RT. TechRadar asked Microsoft for comment on this report, and will update this story when we hear back.

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