Microsoft is taking direct aim at rival Apple in a new promotion, which offers Apple Watch owners up to $250 in credit toward the purchase of a new Microsoft Band 2.

Source:: Apple Insider

Apple could owe in excess of $8 billion in back taxes after the conclusion of a European Commission investigation into its Irish tax dodges, a new estimate suggests.

Source:: Apple Insider

Some owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV are complaining that the device is spontaneously waking up itself and/or connected TVs, an inconvenience that could burn unnecessary electricity and could potentially cause screen burn-in for people with plasma sets.

Source:: Apple Insider

This week the AppleInsider podcast explores this week’s deluge of beta releases, Elon Musk’s latest comments on Apple and the electric car, a fresh 4-inch iPhone rumor, our readers’ favorite Mac email clients, and much more.

Source:: Apple Insider

This month, 13″ MacBook Pro shoppers can combine instant discounts with exclusive $140 coupons to deliver the lowest prices available anywhere on all possible configurations of Apple’s current 13″ MacBook Pros with AppleCare extended warranty protection. Plus free shipping and no sales tax in 48 states.

Source:: Apple Insider

Google’s ability to distribute new Android updates has always lagged far behind Apple’s iOS, but the situation is even worse in China, where the “Lollipop” version 5.x, introduced in 2014 alongside iOS 8, has only reached about a fifth of all devices, two thirds the distribution it has achieved elsewhere.

Source:: Apple Insider

Developers behind popular screen brightness and color control software f.lux issued a formal statement in response to Apple’s “Night Shift” mode debut in the latest iOS 9.3 beta, calling on Apple to allow its app on the iOS App Store and open API access to Night Shift features.

Source:: Apple Insider

Hong Kong broker CLSA reports a continued “loyal following” for Apple in China, noting that half of smartphone buyers intend to buy from Apple, compared to slipping interest figures for Huawei, Samsung and Xiaomi.

Source:: Apple Insider

The famous rivalry between tech titans Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, whose companies Apple and Microsoft together shaped the modern computing world, is the focus of an upcoming Broadway musical comedy called “Nerds,” set to open in April.

Source:: Apple Insider

The U.S. Transportation Department may waive some safety rules to make it easier for automakers to test self-driving vehicles, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced at a Thursday event in Detroit.

Source:: Apple Insider