Amazon’s not the only company to use the latest change in Apple’s in-app purchase policies forbidding links to outside e-stores as an excuse to cut the umbilical: Vudu has also shifted its streaming movie service over the web for iPad users.

Apple has apparently released an update to its Safari web browser to registered developers which features support for the company’s upcoming iCloud service. Safari 5.1.1 introduces syncing for iCloud bookmarks and the new Reading List feature.

Amazon’s Kindle application was recently at risk of being removed from the App Store because it contained a link to purchase content outside of Apple’s ecosystem — something Apple no longer allows developers to do under its latest App Store terms. In order to secure its place in the App Store, Amazon issued a last-minute update to its app to remove the link, but in a move that subtly tells Apple where to stick its new rules, Amazon has launched a web-based Kindle reader with support for the iPad. And it’s awesome!

Apple has released two new updates within the last week according to a Software Update pop-up this morning. Apple now offers HP Printer Software Update 2.7, Logic Express Update 9.1.5 and Logic Pro Update 9.1.5. Learn more about these updates by clicking the read link below.

Apple has just released the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, which allows you to turn any USB flash drive into a Lion recovery disk. This useful tool comes in handy in the event of a hard drive failure. In this video, I’ll show you how to set up a Lion recovery drive the right way and how to use it in the event of a hard drive failure.

Why bizarrely cool? Forget that it’s an app-enhanced fitness gadget that sands data to your iPhone; sure, that’s neat, but there are a stack of devices out there doing the same thing.

No, Scosche’s little myTREK fitness gadget is that nifty because it tracks bio data using a method straight out of the future — it uses light beams.

We’re all about calm abiding here at Cult of Mac (you guys read the comments, right?) So we were pleased to try out the portable version of emWave2, a computer-assisted meditation program for Mac.

The emWave2 ($229) is useful for all of those anxiety-inducing situations people face when not in front of their computers. A bit bigger than the iPod Mini, it comes with an ear sensor that plugs into a USB key and a software program that monitors your heart rhythms and breathing, plus a CD training guide.

Several Apple stores in the U.K. are clearing their show floors in case of a fourth night of rioting.

Stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Kent have been emptied, while police have taken up a heavy presence on Regent Street, a popular shopping street and location of Apple’s biggest flagship store in the U.K.

Following the news that Apple has more cash on hand than the US government, it’s just been announced that Apple has surpassed ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

Apple’s reign didn’t last that long, as Business Insider is reporting that Exxon is now back on top.

In the land where you can see Russia from your front porch, Apple will open its first retail store. That’s right, Alaskans will soon have access to all of the retail goodness that Apple has to offer. A new location is set to open in the 5th Avenue Mall in Anchorage this Saturday.

Separately, Apple is also set to unveil four more stores this Saturday, including another US store and three international stores in Canada, Australia and Italy.

Want another reason why the newspaper industry is going down the tubes? How about this: the owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times wants to create an Android-powered tablet for its subscribers. The device, reportedly to be manufactured by Samsung, is expected to miss a mid-August deadline.

Boxee has launched its official, free iPad app, allowing users to watch streaming content on the tablet device and transfer playback from the iPad to the Boxee Box.

Additionally, the new Boxee Media Manager allows you to stream video to the iPad from a Mac or PC. Alongside the new apps, Boxee has brought AirPlay support and Lion compatibility to its set-top box.

Sometimes, you can’t get a break. That could be the thinking at Android handset maker HTC, which now faces another trade complaint by Apple. Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission announced it launched an investigation into whether five Apple patents were violated.

It looks like Apple may have won round two in the global fight against Samsung in the tablet turf wars.

German news agency DPA just reported that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Tony Bongiovi (yes, if the name sounds oddly familiar, it’s because you’re probably thinking of his cousin, Jon Bon Jovi) should know a thing or two about sound, hopefully; he’s had a hand in producing albums from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, and of course, his famous cousin.

Father Paolo Padrini is the Italian priest who developed iBrevary, an app that puts morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayers on the iPhone.  It was the first iPhone application sanctioned by the Holy Roman Church, Padrini also works with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Cult of Mac talked to him about what’s next app-wise and what place religious apps have in iTunes.

Apple already has around 20 stores in Canada, the latest will open Aug. 13 in Waterloo, Ontario hometown of beleaguered BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. As RIM’s fortunes decline and Apple’s ascends, the store becomes a metaphor for the long-running battle between the smartphone foes.

Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City is a beautiful piece of architecture, with its shining glass exterior and 20,000 square feet of underground retail space. The giant Apple logo suspended midair in glass is an unmistakable landmark for daily commuters and tourists alike.

Apple started renovating its Fifth Avenue store last summer. The $6.6 million project focuses on upgrading the plaza and iconic glass cube that stands on top of the retail space.

First, Apple kicked Nokia out of New York, then European operations were curtailed, now comes word Apple will likely attack the cell phone pioneer in China, the hottest market for smartphone makers. A “drastic realignment” in that Asian giant’s mobile marketplace is expected later this year.

Students lobbied to have a ban removed so they can use their iPads on the way to and from school.

The Manatee County School district in Florida had obliged kids to take the journey to and from school unplugged from iPods, iPads and the like.

It’s all how you look at things. If Apple were measured only by its notebook computers, the tech giant would be in last place, behind HP and others. However, throw the iPad into the mix and the Cupertino, Calif. company jumps to the head of the class with 20 percent of the market and ahead of PC goliath HP. But no matter how you cut it, Apple is thriving while the PC languishes in a ‘stagnant’ ecosystem, a report claims.

On Monday Apple released a new utility called the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant. The new utility is designed to help Mac users running Mac OS X Lion get up and running again if they encounter problems with their boot drive.

Although this is a step in the right direction it still doesn’t resolve the concerns people have about having the entire Mac OS X Lion operating system on media that you can reinstall it from.

Like the basketball hopeful unable to play in the NBA, rival tablet makers may find it easier to compete against U.S.-based Apple in Europe. The tech giant’s massive supply chain makes Europe’s 52 Apple stores a slightly easier target than America, where the iPad maker has 238 stores, analysts said Tuesday.

Mac OS X Lion now offers a new icon view called All My Files in Finder and you can use new gestures on your trackpad to navigate through all of the files on your Mac. You’ll be able to quickly find the wayward image, PDF, or other file fast.

Apple’s decision to not include a USB Stick containing a copy of Mac OS X Lion for system recoveries with the new Mid-2011 MacBook Air might be causing the company a bit of a public relations issue this week. A fair number of MacBook Air users are venting their frustrations over the matter on Apple’s Support Community forums.