Draw Something From This: Yahoo’s Design Chief Tim Parsey to Depart

After stabilizing the design culture at Yahoo amid much turmoil, the well-known user experience exec leaves the sketchbook to CEO Mayer.
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News Byte

Kiloo Touts 175 Million Downloads for Subway Surfers

Danish mobile games company Kiloo’s most popular app, the runner game Subway Surfers, has racked up 175 million downloads since it launched one year ago. In that time, the game has been played 5.5 billion times, the company said in a press release today. Subway Surfers is often used as a reference point among free-to-play game developers seeking to monetize their games with in-app purchases. Kiloo’s IAP store has kept the game in the top 50 of Apple’s “top grossing” charts for the past nine months.

Galaxy S4 Shipments Top 10 Million in First Month

A massive amount of product to move in the first month after the device’s commercial debut.
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News Byte

Apple’s WWDC Keynote Scheduled for Monday, June 10

Apple today said the keynote address for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference will occur at 10 AM PT Monday, June 10, at Moscone Center in San Francisco. Not a big surprise, as that is the day the event kicks off. Speakers for the keynote have not been announced — nor are they likely to be. But expect to see CEO Tim Cook presiding over the standard cast of characters as they demonstrate the latest in Apple tech, including the next major releases of both iOS and OS X.

Ireland Denies Giving Apple Any Special Tax Deal

“Just because you heard it yesterday in a Senate committee doesn’t mean … it’s factually correct.”
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News Byte

OtterBox Chomps Up Rival Mobile Casemakers LifeProof

OtterBox, one of biggest names in protective products and cases for mobile devices, announced on Wednesday that it acquired LifeProof, a rival growing company with a “comprehensive product offering” and “impressive intellectual property,” OtterBox said in a release. LifeProof’s 250 employees will remain in San Diego, where the company is currently headquartered. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

News Byte

Apple Hires Tech Analyst Michael Gartenberg

Veteran tech analyst Michael Gartenberg is jumping the fence to work for a company he has spent decades covering during stints at Gartner, Altimeter and Jupiter Research. Forbes reports, and AllThingsD has independently confirmed, that Gartenberg has recently taken a job at Apple. Details on his role at the company are slim, though sources say he’ll be working for Apple’s marketing group, a division overseen by SVP Phil Schiller.

Apple’s Made-in-USA Mac Will Be Built in Texas

Designed by Apple in California, assembled in Texas …
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Voices

Apple Tax Bill Overstated to Investors

Apple Inc.’s real tax bill isn’t as big as the one it reports to its investors. Among the findings of an investigation by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations are figures that show Apple’s reported taxes substantially exceed the sum it actually pays the U.S. Treasury.

Apple Says It Abides by Tax Laws, Loopholes and All

“We pay all the taxes we owe. Every single dollar,” says Tim Cook.
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