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Apple CEO Tim Cook is planning to push the Apple Store application in an effort to sell more hardware through direct Apple sales channels. Cook is disappointed that 80% of all iPhones are sold outside of Apple retails stores, and that only 20% of iOS customers are even aware there is an Apple retail app available. 9to5Mac has learned that Apple plans to redesign the application so it fits "more in line with the user-interface of the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBookstore in iOS 6."

Apple employees are being instructed to install the Apple Store app to any new devices that are sold at any retail location. Apple will also offer free content as part of the push to make people more aware of the app. Cook hopes this new strategy will get more iOS users accustomed to using the largely ignored Apple service.

Fans of Joss Whedon's short-lived television show Firefly can look forward to an officially licensed game now in the works for iOS and Android mobile devices. Although the release date isn't scheduled until next summer, the role playing game promises to connect millions of players in a cross-platform competition for survival in the Verse.

Firefly Online (FFO) will feature "a variety of gameplay activities and systems," with players assuming the role of a ship captain. Players will be tasked to customize a ship, find a crew, find a job, and keep flying. Besides trading with other players, captains will be encouraged to "misbehave" and seek adventures, all while using unique social features to connect with other players.

There are many ways to simulate the look of the iOS 7 lock screen and allow access to the Notification Center without unlocking. Ayra provides iOS 7-like cosmetic changes and several new features all in one tweak, with a built-in switch to disable the tweak and a respring button right in the settings. The wide variety of toggles provided by Ayra are also configurable from the settings, and are added to Notification Center after installation.

Jailbreakers familiar with IntelliScreenX will note that Ayra does not include as many features, but it also costs less. Besides an updated look for the lock screen slider and camera slider, Ayra makes it possible to swipe down from the status bar to immediately access Notification Center.

Many iOS keyboard enhancements are available, such as PredictiveKeyboard and SwipeSelection. Besides making certain tasks simpler with the virtual keyboard, the right tweak can save time. The same developers who created The Quick Brown Fox have launched a paid version of their jailbreak tweak named Keyboard Control Pro.

So what additional features does one get for $1.99? Keyboard Control Pro includes a whole new set of features under Quick Input that can be configured in the settings. One of these features, the Login Pilot, automatically inserts one of three preset email addresses in a login field to speed up the process on secure websites.

Looking for a new way to display the volume level on iOS? The default heads-up display (HUD) pops up right in the middle of the screen every time the volume level is adjusted. Now thanks to developer Alan Yip, there's a good looking tweak that moves the volume indicator to the status bar.

Once installed, tapping the volume up or down buttons will no longer block the center of the display. The volume HUD appears right in the status bar. When an app is in full screen mode, the status bar will even slide down as the volume is being changed, then slide back up out of the way.