You come up with an idea for a game, spend time and money developing it, and put it on the App Store with some success only to find that someone has ripped off your hard work and made a copycat. Fortunately, Apple has responded to this problem by removing the copycats from the App Store, much to the delight of the original developers.

A promotion has been around since at least 2004 in which Apple offered $100 rebates to customers who purchased a new Mac along with an eligible printer directly through the company. At first, the promotion would continuously renew after each of its three-month cycles. Then, it became a permanent offer more. But as of yesterday Apple has decided to discontinue the program.

Appletell recently reported on the rumor that Apple is going to open stores-within-a-store in 25 Target locations with the possibility of expanding across the country if they do well. Target has confirmed this will happen, but they may take a different form.

Not everyone is fortunate to live in areas that have a large enough population to warrant an Apple store being built. You can always buy online, but what if you want to see the product before you make your purchasing decision? If there’s a Target nearby, you may be in luck; Apple is rumored to be opening a store-within-a-store inside Target at certain locations later this year.

iTunes Match has generated a bit of confusion since its initial release, as some users aren’t sure about what exactly happens to their music library after the service has been enabled. To better explain iTunes Match, Apple posted a walkthrough video showing viewers how to activate their account and load songs. The new $25/year service offers more »

Last week, Apple began offering free 2-3 shipping on all products ordered from their online store. Today, it just got upgraded to free next day delivery for Apple’s in-stock merchandise to accommodate many people doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. Items purchased online by Thursday, December 22nd that are not engraved will be delivered by December 24th. There are a few exceptions to the offer, however…

Apple ran a deal last month that those with a minimum purchase order will qualify for free standard shipping when placed through the U.S. online Apple store. The company has now extended that special, but now with faster 2-3 business day free shipping. With this new shipping promotion from Apple, it will provide a faster delivery service and piece of mind to those wanting to complete their shopping before Christmas day.

Apple issued a statement today that more than 100 million app downloads were generated from the Mac App Store since its debut on January 6th, 2011. Mac owners can easily access the Mac App Store via OS X Snow Leopard and OS X Lion, and all that’s required is an iTunes account in order to download or purchase software. Apple’s promise was mainly to make it an easier way to browse, install and maintain apps for OS X, and that seems to have been a success.

The ESRB has long rated computer and video games, and, in cooperation with CTIA – The Wireless Association, will now rate mobile games as well. While AT&T, Microsoft, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular and Verizon Wireless have all agreed to incorporate the ratings into their stores, both Apple and Google have decided not to.

Apple has announced that from today throughout the Christmas season it will offer free shipping on all products ordered from their online store. Until December 22nd, all purchases will have the opportunity to get free shipping, allowing the consumers to save a few dollars on low cost purchases that are below the normal requirement of $50 dollars or more.