Apple News: Apple shifts iTunes to HTTPS, sidesteps China’s censors
Apple has adopted HTTPS for searches and downloads on the version of iTunes used in China. The move comes at a time when China’s government prepares to step up regulation of online app stores and continues its crackdown on VPNs. Greatfirewall.org, which tests blocked URLs and popular web platforms to provide info on censorship in China, blogged on Thursday that the switch to HTTPS has effectively enabled Apple to bypass the Great Firewall, for now.
Read full story => The Register

Technology News: 10 of the best apps for home and work from 2012
If you’re thinking of moving house or changing jobs, 2012 saw a slew of handy apps that could help you in your endeavors. Indeed, The Next Web covered thousands of apps throughout 2012, from nifty new browser extensions, to the latest game-changing Android and iOS apps, but we sifted through the archives and pulled out some of best employment and housing apps…just for you.
Read full story => The Next Web

Programming News: Global Variables Destroy Design Information
I don’t know where I first heard that global variables were bad. It was probably in school. The rationale that I remember is that they make it hard to reason about your code. You look at a function and unless you look closely you may miss the fact that it reads or updates something that isn’t within its scope. Another function may touch those same variables, and the net effect is that you have something like an intergalactic wormhole in your program. Information jumps from one place to another and you don’t have much of a clue about where it is going or where it has been.
Read full story => Michael Feather

Photography News: Instagram backtracks on advertising terms of service following global outcry
After days of global protests among its users, Instagram has been forced to revert to less controversial advertising terms of service in a bid to maintain its dominance in the photo-sharing market. In a blog post, co-founder Kevin Systrom has now apologised for the blunder. “Earlier this week, we introduced a set of updates to our privacy policy and terms of service to help our users better understand our service,” he writes. “In the days since, it became clear that we failed to fulfill what I consider one of our most important responsibilities – to communicate our intentions clearly. I am sorry for that, and I am focused on making it right.”
Read full story => The British Journal Of Photography