Laptop Magazine has awarded Apple the top prize in its Best Brands feature for the fourth year in a row, placing first in five of the eight categories it measures. In addition, the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display took honors as the magazine’s top notebook of 2012, with editors praising the screen, performance, battery life, and design. Software and tech support were also highlighted. “Apple continues to epitomize the best of the best,” say the magazine’s editors. In this video report from CNN, documentary film director Malik Bendjelloul talks about how he used a $1.99 iPhone app to finish shooting his Oscar-nominated film, “Searching for Sugar Man.” The film tracks the rise to fame of the Detroit musician Rodriguez, who never made it big in the United States but became a legend in South Africa. Bendjelloul started shooting the movie on film, but with just a few shots remaining, he found his budget depleted. That’s when he turned to an iPhone app called 8mm by Nexvio, which gave his video a retro feel. “It looks like real film,” says Bendjelloul. “You can’t tell the difference.” “Searching for Sugar Man” has garnered praise at the Tribeca film festival, SXSW Film, and the Los Angeles Film Festival. ARLINGTON, TX—While gathered for a party at a coworker’s backyard pool Saturday, out-of-shape colleagues at Shuster, Layne & Associates were struck by the coincidence that they had somehow each forgotten to bring bathing apparel to the fes... The cover of the January 28 issue of The New Yorker features work by Jorge Colombo, an artist who creates his pieces exclusively on the iPad. He started out in 2009 working on the iPhone, but now enjoys the larger format of the iPad. “I became more proficient on the tablet and started using more lines and more detail,” he says. His illustration for The New Yorker, titled “Newsstand,” is the first piece Colombo created on the iPad. Recordings made over the last two years provide a glimpse into the shadowy, and illegal, world of high-stakes gambling in New York City.     Apple has announced the launch of the iBookstore in Japan. The iBookstore has a wide selection of emerging and established authors, including Shyotaro Ikenami, Jiro Akagawa, Atsuko Asano, and Ryu Murakami. “We’re excited to launch the iBookstore in Japan with a wide selection of Japanese publishers and authors,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We think customers are going to love how engaging and interactive the books are to read, and how beautiful they look on iPad.” Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 Preakness and horse of the year winner who is now a broodmare, is recuperating from a near-fatal infection she developed after foaling in February.     Sasha Obama becomes suspicious after doing a little digging around on Benghazi, this has to be the year a local miniature golf course goes out of business, and a dude with a knit hat at a party calls beer 'libations.' It's the week of May 17, 2013 About 50 to 60 people were injured when a driver drove into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small mountain town.     A judge is determining the constitutional significance of so-called hit rates, which have long been at the center of the public debate over stop-and-frisk tactics in New York City.     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.” Alienated from the broader Internal Revenue Service culture and provided with little direction, specialists in the Cincinnati office struggled with a growing caseload of advocacy groups seeking tax exemptions.     PALATINE, IL—During a tennis tournament hosted by Fremd High School, spectators, coaches, and fellow competitors agreed Thursday that the massive gulf in skill levels between top-ranked Anthony Pagano and bottom-seeded Tyson Vandervennet was the mos... Check out the news from the launch and be among the first to download Internet Explorer 9. HARRISBURG, PA—Speculating that the rest of her day will now definitely take a turn for the worse, local mother Nicole Mendlow confirmed Friday that an incoming call she is currently receiving from her 4-year-old son’s daycare center can... Apple is making the MacBook Pro with Retina display faster and more affordable with updated processors and lower starting prices. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now starts at $1,499 for 128GB of flash, and $1,699 for a new 2.6GHz processor and 256GB of flash. The 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display now features a faster 2.4GHz quad-core processor, and the top-of-the-line 15-inch notebook comes with a new 2.7GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Apple also announced that the 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of flash has a new lower price of $1,399. The new models are available starting today through the Apple Online Store, Apple Retail Stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers. With an eye toward helping students navigate the digital world, Burlington High School outside Boston adopted the iPad one-to-one program, which provides every student with an iPad. In its first year, the program has already made a big difference — students say they’re more excited and organized than in previous years, and teachers say they see a deeper level of learning. “Having a say in your education is really powerful,” says one student. “With iPad, you feel like you’re more in charge.” HARTFORD, CT—Unable to secure the services of any of the young women who normally watch her 4-year-old son when she goes out for the evening, desperate local mother Rebecca Lowenstein confirmed Wednesday night that she had resorted to hiring a male ... Hurricane Sandy left the parks department with the onerous task of having the beach ready for a Memorial Day weekend opening.     President Bashar al-Assad backed away from earlier statements by Syrian officials that the government was willing to negotiate with its armed opponents.     The drama includes a chef who calls himself a whistle-blower and an accusation that a $15,000 gift from a donor to the governor went unreported.