Apple has been cracking down on app discovery resources in recent months, removing high profile apps like AppGratis for violating guideline 2.25 , which states the following: "Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected." A report from AllThingsD in early April indicated that AppGratis' rejection from the App Store was just the first phase of a much wider crackdown, which was today confirmed by Pocketgamer after Apple began rejecting apps that feature tools for "filtering, bookmarking, searching, or sharing recommendations." We've been contacted by one developer whose app discovery tool has recently been blocked by Apple because it includes such features, with App Store regulation 2.25 - which restricts apps that could be confused by consumers as app stores in their own right – cited within the reasoning.

Apple has posted a new contest on the App Store [ Direct Link ], offering a $10,000 gift card to whomever downloads the fifty billionth app from the App Store, similar to previous promotions. Apple said during its most recent earnings call that the company has surpassed 45 billion app downloads.

Amazon is continuing its full-frontal attack on Apple's iTunes and App Store platforms, announcing today that it is expanding its In-App Purchase program to include virtual goods and currencies on Mac, PC and Web-based games. Amazon has previously offered IAP for Android and Kindle Fire developers, including the ability to order physical goods from within apps. Further expanding its multi-platform, end-to-end offering for game developers, Amazon today announced a new In-App Purchasing service that enables developers to let customers use their Amazon accounts to purchase virtual goods and currencies from within Mac, PC and Web-based games

Amazon has succeeded in having Apple's false advertising lawsuit over its "App Store" trademark thrown out, reports Bloomberg via The Next Web . In early 2011, Apple sued Amazon over the latter company's new "Appstore" for Android devices, claiming the 'app store' name was trademarked by Apple and would cause confusion amongst consumers. Apple claimed Amazon's "inferior" app store would tarnish Apple's reputation

Facebook's Poke app has taken the App Store by storm, and in less than a day, already sits aloft the iTunes Free app chart. The app, which, in essence, is a chat app with a few twists, only just released for iPhone, but already, has become the most popular free on the App Store.

On Friday, Apple sent out emails to customers that the company will be discontinuing the Messages Beta program for Lion on December 14th, 2012: Dear [User], The Messages Beta program for Lion will end on Friday, December 14, 2012. We hope you've enjoyed the opportunity to preview Messages

Mac OS X is already extremely secure out of the box – especially the latest version, 10.8 Mountain Lion. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t at least a few things you can do to help make your Mac even more safe to use. When it comes to technology, the reality is that no device or operating system is 100% impenetrable

Photo-editing apps have dominated the App Store ever since Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007, but they especially grabbed ahold of pop culture after famous photographers and photojournalists—such as Damin Winter’s prize-winning Hipstamatic Afghanistan war series and The New York Times’ Instagram summer series—advocated the iPhone as a premiere device for capturing special moments. Here’s the thing, though: there are plenty of ways to beautifully snap an image or film a video with the iPhone that will contribute to the after-effects of apps. How so

Apple has added a site that allows iOS developers to report intellectual property infringement, The Next Web reports .

By far the biggest app news today is the announcement that popular Mac and iOS email client Sparrow has been acquired by Google , but below is our usual list of all the notable apps and updates hitting the App Store: djay for iPad version 1.5.1: djay for iPad received a significant updated today that brings support for Numark’s upcoming iDJ Pro controller for iPad arriving in September.