Apple's AppStore.com debuts "vanity links" during Super Bowl commercial

The Super Bowl XLVII commercials have featured a wide range of ads, from old Bowl favorites like Doritos and E-Trade to upcoming cinema hits. One movie's advert in particular caught the eyes of tech geeks nation-wide -- Star Trek: Into Darkness -- which was interesting not for the movie itself, but rather for Apple's AppStore.com revelation.

At the bottom of the commercial's ending scene was the link AppStore.com/StarTrekApp, which is a customized "vanity" link. This hints at a possible grab for link names, though Apple claims that methods are in place to keep congestion to a minimum. Some widely-sought names will automatically redirect to a search page for the term instead to encourage unique choices.

AppStore.com was actually a personal gift from the Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff to Steve Jobs in 2008 -- though Apple is seeing much resistance in court from companies like Amazon and others on usage of the name.
Let's see if it actually works!

Apple makes short work of Waze rumors

GPS-gathering start-up Waze acknowledges and Apple buy-out -- but is it just a big rumor?

Out of the blue, an Israeli news source reported that Apple was in talks to acquire Waze, a GPS company with a userbase of well over 20 million. The news blew up all over the Internet, even sparking TechCrunch and other big sites to relay the rumors. The idea that Apple would consider acquisition of a hot start-up is as tantalizing as it is rare.

Squashing the news, however, was Apple itself, claiming that the rumors were just that -- rumors. TechCrunch and other sites quickly printed stories calling off the big acquisition fervor, but that doesn't mean that "talks" are really over.

Companies like Waze and Apple likely have regular discussions, especially so considering that Waze supplies data to Apple. Perhaps something came up about a possible deal, and those in-the-know at Waze blew it up before it ever amounted to anything. We'll likely never know the real story behind the rumors, so we'll just have to be satisfied with Apple's denial for now.

Who knows? Maybe Apple will consider a purchase after all; that is, if Microsoft's investment doesn't get in the way!