14 DAY TRIAL // All of Apple’s digital storefronts, including the Mac App Store, the iOS App Store, and the iTunes Store, have been acting up lately, and it’s not because of your Internet connection, but because of Apple.
Following user reports about not being able to access Apple’s App Stores, the company headquartered at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California sent out a message to iTunes Connect users.
iTunes Connect is a suite of web-based tools that allows Apple developers to submit and manage their applications for distribution on the company's App Stores.
Those enrolled with Apple’s $99 program for coding Mac and iOS apps have received the following message, according to TUAW:
iTunes Connect will be undergoing scheduled maintenance on Wednesday, July 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. PDT.
During this time, iTunes Connect will still be available. However, pricing changes made between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. PDT will cause the app to become unavailable for purchase until maintenance is complete, at which point the app will become available at the new price. To avoid interruptions to the availability of your apps, do not make price changes during this time.
Lastly, customers may not be able to purchase apps in the Mexico, U.K., Australia, Switzerland, Japan or Norway storefronts during the scheduled maintenance.
In iTunes Connect, developers are able to check the status of their contracts, set up tax and banking information, obtain sales and finance reports, manage users, applications, metadata, and their in app purchase catalog, as well as request promotional codes (also known as promo codes) from Apple.
Interestingly, Apple has (again) forgotten to update the online section dedicated to News and Announcements for Apple Developers whenever such blackouts are scheduled.
The latest announcement on the iOS front is “Download iOS 5 and iOS 5 SDK Beta Today” dated June 6th. For Mac devs, it’s “Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 4 Now Available”.