Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 40 billion apps — nearly 20 billion in 2012 alone. The App Store has over 500 million active accounts and had a record-breaking December with over two billion downloads during the month. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, says, “It has been an incredible year for the iOS developer community.” Developers have created over 775,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and have been paid over $7 billion by Apple. New services are moving beyond the Facebook approach, with tools to create new content instead of just sharing it.     Apple announced that iTunes U has reached a new milestone — over one billion content downloads. iTunes U features the world’s largest online catalog of free educational content from top schools and prominent libraries, museums, and organizations. Educators are using this content to create courses that include lectures, assignments, books, quizzes, and more for iOS users around the world. “It’s inspiring to see what educators and students of all types are doing with iTunes U,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “With the incredible content offered on iTunes U, students can learn like never before ― there are now iTunes U courses with more than 250,000 students enrolled in them, which is a phenomenal shift in the way we teach and learn.” NEW YORK—Confirming months of speculation, developers at Rockstar Games revealed today that the missions in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto V video game will largely revolve around the player serving as a tutor and volunteering for various comm... Laptop Magazine has awarded Apple the top prize in its Best Brands feature for the fourth year in a row, placing first in five of the eight categories it measures. In addition, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display took honors as the magazine’s top notebook of 2012, with editors praising the screen, performance, battery life, and design. Software and tech support were also highlighted. “Apple continues to epitomize the best of the best,” say the magazine’s editors. Bloomberg West profiles Ed Summers, who, as head of accessibility at international software company SAS, “has made it his mission to help other visually impaired people unlock the power of the iPad.” Summers is traveling around the United States to teach educators how to maximize the device’s built-in accessibility features in their classrooms. Bloomberg notes that tablets are growing in popularity among educators, and Summers says iPad is “opening up a whole world” for visually impaired students. “We’re working to make sure that students and professionals of all abilities can succeed in the classroom and the 21st-century knowledge economy,” Summers says. YouTube is the latest site to jump into the original programming arena with the announcement of a gritty adaptation of the popular video. According to a new study, individuals who struggle with mathematics saw a notable increase in their ability to learn and retain arithmetic concepts when a mild current was sent into their brains by a pair of electrodes. Jamie Dimon held onto his title of chairman after JPMorgan’s shareholders defeated a proposal to split the chairman and chief executive role. The proposal only got 32.2 percent of shares voted.     WASHINGTON—Saying that those were definitely some good times, a reflective President Obama told reporters Friday that the current scandals plaguing his administration have made him long for the deeply frustrating, often maddening political climate o... Across the United States, teachers are using iPad and other tablets to reinvent the presentation and management of educational material. According to a report in Wired magazine, “tablets’ simplicity, ease of use and the massive range of academically minded applications available are drawing teachers and educational technologists to the platform in droves.” iPad is leading this charge, as “the most popular tablet among educators,” and “Apple’s iTunes U is one tool making iPad-based course integration easier by helping teachers create and curate a wholly digital curriculum.” Apple announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 10 through June 14 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At the five-day conference, developers from around the world will learn about the future of iOS and OS X. WWDC will also feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by over 1,000 Apple engineers and hands-on labs to help developers integrate new technologies. And the popular Apple Design Awards will showcase the most outstanding apps available through the App Store and Mac App Store. Tickets for this year’s WWDC go on sale Thursday, April 25, at 10 a.m. PDT. Judge Schira A. Scheindlin, hearing a civil rights lawsuit against the city on stop-and-frisk practices, said 88 percent of street stops find no criminal evidence.     The best tool to improve and keep track of your health may be in your pocket, says Dr. Eric Topol, a pioneering figure in “wireless medicine” — the practice of using apps and devices in health care. An article from NBC News describes how new apps for iPhone and other devices can measure vital signs and even detect whether someone is having a heart attack. “These days, I’m prescribing a lot more apps than I am medications,” says Dr. Topol. “The smartphone will be the hub of the future of medicine.” The risk of more tornadoes in the region remained high early Tuesday as rescuers worked frantically to find survivors in an area along the edge of Oklahoma City.     Aries Your life’s story will soon play out in front of movie theater audiences across the country, though it’ll only last about 30 seconds and advertise free soft drink refills in the main lobby. Taurus The... ABOVE CONCORDIA, KS—Her pen mercilessly slashing its way through a stack of handwritten pages, the middle school English teacher grading papers next to you on your flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland sure isn’t pulling any punches, sources co... The decision, which reset the proceedings to April 19, when a judge’s ruling sent the trial into disarray, is a dramatic legal victory for General Ríos Montt, 86.     According to the latest Consumer Reports reader survey, Apple tops the list of brand-name computer manufacturers for the quality of its tech support, far surpassing other large companies. The report points to “ease of contacting staff, clarity of advice, technical knowledge, patience, and time for follow-up” in the phone and online support areas. Service at the Genius Bar rates equally highly. In addition, Apple improved on its own scores from last year’s survey. Check out the news from the launch and be among the first to download Internet Explorer 9. In its annual rankings, Fortune magazine has named Apple the world’s most admired company for the sixth year in a row. Fortune calls Apple “a financial juggernaut,” citing Apple’s $13 billion in net income last quarter — earnings that made it the most profitable company in the world during that period. The magazine also applauds Apple’s “fanatical customer base” and the unprecedented success of the iPhone and iPad product lines.