News

As predicted, Apple announced its new Health app at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2014 in San Francisco, California. The new app and HealthKit tool for developers will give iOS 8 users an "easy-to-read dashboard" of their health and fitness data, according to Apple.

The new Health app works a lot like the Passbook, collecting data from third-party apps that monitor your heart rate, calories burned, blood sugar, cholesterol and so on. Users will then be able to access all the collected data under one hub so they have a more accurate view of their overall fitness level. The app will also allow users to share their information with their doctors and create medical emergency cards that can be accessed directly from their device's Lock screen.

At today's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote presentation in San Francisco, Apple Senior VP of Software and Engineering, Craig Federighi, unveiled new features of the Messages app that most people are going to like. The improvements, which include changes to group messaging and a "tap to talk" feature, will debut with iOS 8 in the fall.

There are several big improvements to group messaging in iOS 8. You will be able to add and remove people from ongoing threads, rather than starting a new thread without someone, as you currently have to do. If you want to remain on a thread, but don't wish to be disturbed (and who hasn't been in this situation), there is now a

Apple has given parents more control over the App Store and iTunes by adding a "Family Sharing" option to iOS 8. The new feature allows up to six users to share App Store purchases such as songs, apps and games when using the same credit card. Families can also share photo streams, calendars and reminders without sharing their individual Apple IDs or passwords.

Family Sharing gives moms and dads more parental control over purchases thanks to its "Ask Permission" feature. The credit card holder will receive a notification every time a member of the household attempts to purchase a new app or song on their iPhone or iPad. Parents will then have the choice to deny the purchase or review the media and approve the transaction. The new "Ask Permission" feature and the ability to disable in-app purchases are just two ways Apple is helping parents protect themselves from unwanted App Store and iTunes purchases showing up on their credit card bill.

Aside from the WWDC kickoff, the big news on everyone's mind today (at least shareholders' minds) is the 7-to-1 stock split that will affect all shareholders of record at market closing time. Everyone holding one share of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) at that point will be holding seven after the market closes this Friday, June 6. Shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted price beginning Monday, June 9. This prompts a question: What happens to shares bought between today and Friday? The split will still take place, it will just take a bit longer for your brokerage account to be credited with the additional shares.

The big news of last week was Apple's agreement to purchase Beats Music. The acquisition of the subscription streaming music service, as well as Beats Electronics, which produces high end audio equipment like the "b" headphones, will finalize in

The news this week was mostly dominated by Apple's agreement to purchase Beats Music and by speculation about next week's WWDC 2014, but there were some other items of interest.

Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is scheduled to kick off with a keynote presentation this Monday morning, June 2, at 10:00 AM PST. The banners are up and everything is set to go. Tim Cook's keynote presentation will likely center on iOS 8 and its features. Another hot topic that ties in with the new iOS