I know what you’re asking: Yet another activity tracker? But LIT tracker from NZN Labs has a big secret ingredient that most others don’t — and that special ingredient makes it perfect for action sports like snowboarding, surfing and mountain biking.
We’ve shown you plenty of iTV/Apple TV concepts in the past. There are a lot of ideas to improve the TV experience out there, and Apple is working on a solution (if you put some level of faith in the rumor mill, that is).
How would you interact with an Apple TV that replaced your cable box? The above concept video suggests an interface that is controlled entirely with an iOS device. Gestures would be used to swipe through channels and navigate menus. You could use Siri to control the experience and ask questions, which is something that Apple has apparently been experimenting with for years.
These kinds of concepts tend to serve the purpose of getting people thinking, not laying out some detailed model that Apple absolutely needs to follow. There are parts of this video that are well executed, and parts that aren’t. The biggest thing that stands out is the total reliance on software. There’s nothing about the above concept that suggests Apple needing to build a physical television.
Steve and Laurene Jobs together at the 82nd Academy Awards back in 2010
When Steve Jobs passed away in 2011, he left behind a wife and four children. His widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, has stayed hidden from the public sphere for years, but now she is starting to receive more recognition as an influential philanthropist.
She is passionate about a host of social issues, including education and immigration policy. As the world’s ninth richest woman, her platform to effect society has only grown larger in the wake of Jobs’s death.
This week on The CultCast: Google Maps gets prettier, smarter, and faster; Hangouts is a new chat app with some innovative features; Google Music is too late to party; Erfon eats H’orderves on a space jet with Tim Cook and Richard Branson; and Leander dons his powdered wig to judge an all new Faves ‘N Raves.
All that and more on this week’s CultCast! Stream or download new and past episodes on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing now on iTunes, or hit play below and let the good times roll.
Show notes up next.
If you’ve tried to use Siri to call or text someone, you know it’s pretty simple. Just say, for example, “Call Joe Smith,” and Siri will call the person named Joe Smith in your Contacts App.
But did you know that Siri can also identify people via their relationship to you? You can say, “Call my brother,” or “Text my daughter,” and Siri will call or text that person, provided you’ve done a little set-up in the Contacts app.
You can also use Siri to define these relationships, so you don’t even have to open Contacts. Here’s how.
When my fingers are covered in egg, or I want to use my iPad as a second-screen when working at my Mac, or when I’m performing computer surgery and I want to keep iFixIt in the corner of my eye, there’s a lot of situations in which I might want a stand for my iPad.
Unfortunately, of the few I’ve tried, I’ve found most of them only to be good in specific situations: great for, say, using your iPad as second monitor at your computer, but not good for cooking or doing computer surgery.
The iOStand by iOMounts is the first stand I’ve really liked, because sometimes simpler is better. But it’s not perfect.
Earlier this week, Google beat Apple to the punch by launching a streaming subscription music service before Cuperino could unveil its own offering, iRadio.
How did Google managed to do it? Apple has all the music industry clout, so how could Google swing a deal first? Because Google Play Music All Access is essentially a clone of services like Rdio and Spotify, and the contract terms of services like that are easy to copy.
Apple’s iRadio? It’s a wholly different beast.
It’s not unusual for an iTunes library to get out of control. Duplicate songs, unnamed tracks, missing album artwork – it’s tough to keep things clean and organized as a music library grows. Chances are, like me, you are another Mac user who has some issue with their iTunes library. But Cult of Mac Deals has an offer that’s going to help.
Leawo Tunes Cleaner for Mac is the intelligent iTunes cleanup tool that will allow you to transform your iTunes to perfection with only a couple of clicks. Cult of Mac Deals has this software solution starting at $5.
Filippo Bigarella is best known for being the developer of some of the most popular jailbreak tweaks for iOS, including Springtomize, LivelyIcons, and PasswordPilot Pro. But he’s just launched his first official iPhone app through the App Store.
It’s called Balances, and it’s a wonderfully simply finance app with a gorgeous interface that’ll help you keep track of the money you owe and the money owed to you.
QuickLock is a terrific little tool from ThinkDev that makes it quick and convenient to lock your Mac when you leave your desk. It sits in your menubar out of your way, and a click (or a keyboard shortcut) is all it takes to keep your Mac safe.
With the latest version of QuickLock, users can enjoy a brand new interface and a number of new features. Best of all, it’s completely free.
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