One thing that has been missing from the App Store since it debuted was a way to pay for apps to give as gifts to other users. The only way to do it was to get the user a gift card before. Apple has added a new gift option to the App Store.

The option is found in the drop down menu beside the buy button. When you hit the Gift this App option you enter the persons mane and email that you want to give the app to.

You can choose from a bunch of protective screen films at Apple’s online or retail stores, but probably not for much longer. iLounge is reporting that Apple will stop selling all protective screen film products starting in May.

That includes film-only products and cases that have a protective film built into them. Apple hasn’t given any reason and hasn’t even confirmed it yet, but ironically the most popular iPod “case” in the Apple Store right now is a protective film for the iPod touch. Go figure.

Apple has announced that it is filing a lawsuit against HTC over the alleged infringement of about 20 patents that cover critical aspects of touch phones, like hardware, software and touch-display control. Some question whether the lawsuit is actually meant to send Google a message. But maybe it’s against the entire smartphone industry and it’s just Apple showing their teeth.

Apple should probably be more worried about Microsoft and its Windows Phone 7 Series since it has such a nice user interface and all. Basically it’s just business as usual as everybody tries to gain some breathing room in this turf war.

Love or hate Apple, no one can deny that Jobs and his team can make and market a product. The company has the most popular music store around and sells more apps than anyone else sells as well.

Apple has announced that the 10 billionth song has been sold via the iTunes store. The song that made the historic 10 billionth purchase was “Guess Things Happen That Way” by Johnny Cash. The track was purchased by Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia.

If you are one of the many that plans on buying an iPad the day it hits the store a new rumor is circulating that you will like. According to the rumor, the iPad is going up for pre-sale soon.

The pre-sale date is said to be as soon as February 25, which is this week. The iPad is set to launch officially on March 29, about a month out now. The rumor comes from AppAdvice who cites a reliable source familiar with the matter.

I think Forest’s mom was right when she said stupid is as stupid does. It’s pretty stupid to abscond with a 250-pound glass stair from the fancy staircase in the flagship Apple Store on 5th Ave in NYC. How exactly you would get it out of the store is an interesting question.

An auction over on eBay has said stair for sale by the guy who admits to nabbing it before the Apple workers could throw it away. The guy says it was cracked when a bottle was dropped on it and replaced. Said stairs allegedly cost $10,000 each.

he fountain of Apple rumors never runs dry. Almost as soon as rumors about a new Apple product turn out to be true when products are unveiled, rumors about the next version of the same product start. It’s a vicious cycle. The latest rumor has updates for MacBook Pro notebooks coming soon.

Rumors are popping up all over the place that the line will get unspecified updates. It has been a while since the MacBook Pro range was updated, so updates are sure to be coming soon. These rumors point to March 14 for the updates to land.

Sure, the iPad was a bit disappointing to many who waited so long to see the device finally revealed. Yeah the name of the gadget sounds like something a geeky girl might need once a month or so, but Apple is expecting to sell gobs of the thing.

Apple also apparently thinks that many of the users who buy will be using the iPad for watching TV and video. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is in negotiations with TV studios to reduce the price of TV show episodes for the iPad that is shipping soon.

AT&T has offered a service for a while now that lets family members track their family using their phones. The service used a map on a computer or software on some of its mobile devices to show where a family member was at the time.

AT&T has announced that the FamilyMap app for the iPhone is now available. The app lets a user track the location of other family members on their talk plan directly from the iPhone. The app lets the user set up areas that kids are allowed to travel in and places where they are allowed to be.

It sucks getting stuck with any broken device. If you’re a Mac fan, being stuck with a broken 27-inch iMac will make you want to cry. Many have been waiting and hoping that Apple sorts out their display issues. Too many people have been affected.

If you are having problems, it looks like there may be a silver lining in your darkened Mac cloud. Apparently Apple is giving customers in the US 15% refund bonuses. Keep in mind that 15% on a $2000 machine is roughly $300. That isn’t bad at all.

We will know soon which rumors are real and which are fake regarding the Apple iSlate. This “iSlate advertisement” is pretty neat and seems professional enough. If this is the real deal, our fingers are going to be very busy indeed.

The ad is very Apple-like and yet not at the same time. Whether this is a real ad for Apple’s tablet or not, it’s fun to watch while we wait for the official word. Let us know what you think below.

If anyone is likely to know about the Apple tablet, it would be Harold McGraw, CEO of McGraw-Hill, since they publish all kinds of books and you want stuff to read on that tablet, right? Makes sense. In an interview with CNBC, the McGrawster mentioned that the tablet will make an appearance at the upcoming event, which isn’t news, but he did also mention that the OS used will be similar to the iPhone. But will it use the iPhone OS, or is it just loosely based on it?

Also, 95% of all the publishers eBooks are going to be available on the tablet, which makes for a great library of diverse content. There you have it. Confirmation from a dude who should know.

I think we can all admit that the Fake Steve Jobs is much more entertaining than the real Jobs. Sure, the fake one is fake and all, but I think most of us can admit that the fakies musings are at times dangerously close to how most of us figure the real Steve Jobs thinks.

A recent post by Fake Jobs is very funny and talks about the long rumored Apple Tablet. It appears that the new tablet is so damn cool that it cures lupus. You have to read it to get the full effect, but fakie writes, “He showed it to his wife. She used it for a while. Next morning they wake up, and her lupus is gone.”

If you are an Apple loving geek who has been patiently saving your pennies to get your hands on one of the 27-inch iMacs, we have some bad news. Well some more bad news anyway, you already know about the screen woes for the big beast right?

Anyway, apparently the shipping delay for the largest of the iMac computers has grown for the week lead time before to three weeks. Exactly why the delay has grown so significantly is unknown, but we can guess.

No one seemed to know exactly what Apple intended to do with Lala after it bought the company, but now it looks like Apple may be looking to use it for an online locker for users’ music. Where users will be able to access collections anywhere, through a web browser, or through the iPhone, Apple tablet etc.

Everything would be stored in the cloud, so users could free up memory on their devices. Since customers already own the music, Apple won’t need to renegotiate with labels to get sharing rights. Microsoft has a similar service, but it’s not the same thing. Microsoft charges a $15 monthly fee for a Zune Pass, which offers you unlimited access to the entire Zune Marketplace music catalog.