Several of Apple’s online services continue to be non-functional for some users after they went down at 12:30AM Eastern, according to Apple’s system status tracker. Perhaps the most critical ones are iMessage and iCloud backup, but several other iCloud functions are also out. These include Photo Stream, Documents in the Cloud, and iPhoto Journals.
Apple states that “less than 1 percent” of users are affected, but services have been impacted for over 12 hours. Apple has been hit by a number of online service disruptions over the last two years. Recently Apple deliberately took down the Developer Center to make security improvements after a hack exposed its weaknesses.
[…] Apple has bought out Embark, a developer specializing in well-known public transportation apps for iOS and Android, says journalist Jessica Lessin. The apps supply routes, times, and maps for getting to destinations via train and subway systems. Lessin explains that the Embark team, less than a dozen people, was picked up so that Apple can bring transit directions back into its Maps app for iOS and (soon) OS X. […]