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Apple has announced that customers have now downloaded over 50 billion apps from the App Store. The 50 billionth app — Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC — was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio, who received a $10,000 App Store Gift Card to commemorate the milestone. “The App Store completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app ecosystem that has paid out over nine billion dollars to developers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We’re absolutely floored to cross this milestone in less than five years.”

A new video profiles Essa Academy, a once struggling school in one of the most disadvantaged areas of England. New principal Showkat Badat has reinvented the school as a hub of technology-assisted learning, and helped incorporate an ecosystem of Apple products, including iPad, Mac, and iTunes U, into the classrooms. The students’ excitement about the technology and direct access to information is reflected in dramatically improved test scores. Since adopting the technology, Essa went from a 28 percent pass rate to 100 percent. “I don’t see technology as an add-on, a nice option to have,” says Badat. “It’s what enables learning and creates an environment that sparks creativity.”

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.

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.

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.

Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 second quarter ended March 30, 2013, posting revenue of $43.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $9.5 billion, or $10.09 per diluted share. During the quarter, Apple sold 37.4 million iPhones, compared to 35.1 million in the year-ago quarter. And it sold 19.5 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 11.8 million in 2012. “We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software, and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline.”

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.

Photo by Erez Avissar

Odd Future kingpin Tyler, the Creator, who's about to release his sophomore album, has added more dates to his international spring solo tour. He'll also be joined by Earl Sweatshirt for a string of shows. Wolf, Tyler's new album, is out on April 2 through Odd Future Records. Dates below.

Tyler, the Creator:

03-15 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Small's
03-16 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
03-17 Norfolk, VA - The Norva
03-18 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
03-20 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
03-21 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
03-22 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
03-23 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
03-24 Philadelphia, PA - TLA
03-28 Paris, France - Trabendo
03-29 Berlin, Germany - Festaal Kreuzberg
03-30 London, England - Islington Academy
04-02 Los Angeles, CA - TBA
04-03 San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
04-05 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
04-07 La Jolla, CA - Porter's Pub
04-08 San Luis Obispo, CA - Slo Brew
04-10 Seattle, WA - Neumos
04-11 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
04-30 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre ^
05-02 Tempe, AZ - The Marquee ^
05-05 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House ^
05-07 Missoula, MT - Top Hat Lounge ^
05-08 Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House ^
05-10 Bend, OR - Midtown ^
05-11 Ashland, OR - Ashland Armory ^
05-12 Eugene, OR - Wow Hall ^
05-14 Reno, NV - Knitting Factory ^
05-15 Chico, CA - Senator Theatre ^
05-17 Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades ^
05-18 Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst ^
06-21-23 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands - Best Kept Secret Festival

^ with Earl Sweatshirt

Watch the video for the new Earl/Tyler collaboration "Whoa":

Photos by Trent Maxwell. Above: Trash Talk. For all of our 2013 SXSW coverage, head here. 

There were blues skies and warm spring breezes for a packed house at Pitchfork's Show No Mercy Day Party at House of Vans at Mohawk on Wednesday. Not exactly the most metal weather, but it didn't matter. The afternoon kicked off with Brooklyn industrial doom metal band Batillus and Chicago's Encrust. Richmond, Virginia experimental sludge crew Inter Arma came armed with a water stick and expansive songs, while Brooklyn crusts Mutilation Rites delivered a raw, filthy set.

Encrust

Forth Worth doomy deathrock duo Pinkish Black played songs from their self-titled debut. Royal Thunder vocalist Mlny Parsonz has a powerful voice that crosses genre lines, and their songs felt especially ready for a crossover on the Mohawk outdoor stage. Austin's Wet Lungs, featuring onetime Locust drummer Gabe Serbian, played a set of power violence-influenced noise rock. Arkansas doom band Pallbearer appeared at the Show No Mercy party for the second year in a row, this time with a year of touring-- and the excellent album Sorrow and Extinction-- under their belts. Trash Talk vocalist Lee Spielman had a cast on his foot, but that didn't stop him from climbing a wall or spending much of his band's typically intense set somewhere in the crowd.

Pallbearer

Next, Trash Talk's Austin cohorts and tour buddies Power Trip destroyed the indoor stage with their crossover thrash. The day was capped by Athens, Ohio quartet Skeletonwitch, who flew in for a one-off set of super tight, anthemic, and flat-out fun blackened thrash, and escaped the snow to do it.

Skeletonwitch

FOR A COMPLETE SET OF FULL-SIZE PHOTOS HEAD OVER TO OUR SLIDESHOW AND FACEBOOK PAGE.

Photo by Erez Avissar

"Hi Austin. Fuck SXSW. There… I said it.

Here, the music comes last. 5 minute set-up, no sound check, 15 minute set. The 'music' element is all a front, it's the first thing to be compromised. Corporate money everywhere but in the hands of the artists, at what is really just a glorified corporate networking party. Drunk corporate goons and other industry vampires and cocaine. Everyone is drunk, being cool. 'Official' bureaucracy and all their mindless rules. Branding, branding, branding. It's bullshit… sorry." 

-- DIIV's Zachary Cole Smith is not enjoying his time in Austin. (via Tumblr)