UPDATE: The store is back online and no changes seem to have been made.

Apple’s online retail store is currently displaying the typical “we’ll be back soon” banner, which often appears when the company is adding new products to the store or when the website is undergoing scheduled maintenance. The outage appears to be widespread, with the online store down in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and several other countries.

Due to the timing of this shutdown, we would presume that it is in fact maintenance. With several new products being unveiled at the MacWorld Expo (Jan 26 – 28), however, you never know. We’ll let you know if there’s any noticeable changes when the store reopens.

AmazonWireless is offering the Ice Cream Sandwich powered Samsung Galaxy Nexus for just $99 to new customers “while supplies last“. This is one-third the normal asking price through Verizon with a 2-year contract, so if you’re planning to switch carriers or open a new individual or family account, jump on this deal while you can. Amazon is also offering free 2-day shipping to sweeten the deal, so you can have it in your hands by early next week.

[Amazon]

Valve, the company behind Steam and many popular games such as Half Life, has released a mobile interface for their videogame distribution client. The app is available on iOS and Android, and allows players to connect with friends, message others with Steam chat, and browse the Mac and PC game library.

Keep in mind that mobile games are not available through the client since Apple generally frowns upon that sort of thing. The app is free, and available through the App Store and Android Market.

With the free Steam app for iOS, you can participate in the Steam community wherever you go. Chat with your Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, read the latest gaming news and stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales.

[Valve, iTunes]

Way back in July of 2010, Congress made an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which legalized jailbreaking, unlocking, and installing unapproved 3rd party apps on phones. That exemption is set to expire, and due to pressures from electronics manufacturers like Apple who constantly battle jailbreaking, there is a very real possibility that it will not be renewed.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is fighting for the user’s right to do whatever they please with their devices, and is asking anyone who owns a gadget to contact the Copyright Office before February 10th to voice their support for jailbreaking. If you want to do your part to keep jailbreaking alive, head over to the source and let the Copyright Office know why they should renew and expand the exemptions for jailbreaking.

The Solution – EFF is asking the U.S. Copyright Office to declare that jailbreaking does not violate the DMCA, and we need your help. In 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking smartphones doesn’t violate the DMCA.  This year, we’re asking them to renew that exemption (otherwise it will expire) and expand it to cover tablets. We’re also asking for a new exemption to allow jailbreaking of video game consoles.

[EFF]

At Apple’s Town Hall meeting today, Tim Cook announced that employees would be able to receive a $500 discount on new Macs and a $250 discount on a new iPad once every three years. Considering that Mac Minis start at just $599 and iPads $499, the savings are pretty substantial. The program will begin in June, and employees must have worked for the company for 90 days in order to take advantage of the deal.

[9to5Mac]

Infamous iOS hacker George “GeoHot” Hotz has reportedly left Facebook, which had hired him last May, and has returned to hacking in his spare time. Business Insider correspondent Boonsri Dickinson had an opportunity to meet up with Hotz at Backplane, a startup funded by Lady Gaga and Google Ventures, where he was participating in a hackathon contest.

The return of Hotz is great for the jailbreaking community as the hacker has released several jailbreaking tools for iOS devices in the past including “blackra1n” for iOS 3.x and “limera1n” for iOS 4.x. Last year, however, his hacking ways put him in hot water…  Read more …