SMS

How to send a green-bubble SMS from your iPad

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Old mobile phone toy: This is how
This is how "texts" were sent before the flux capacitor made Skynet possible.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Did you know you can send regular old green-bubble SMS (and MMS) messages from your iPad? And even from your Mac? Well, you can, and it is dead easy. It’s called Text Message Forwarding, and it works by using your iPhone as a conduit to the cellular phone network.

Let’s set it up and see how it works.

Apple ‘in discussions’ over bringing RCS messaging to iOS

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Messages replay
Is Messages due for a big upgrade on iOS?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is said to be “in discussions” over adding Rich Communications Services (RCS) to iOS.

The upgrade to traditional text messaging would allow for some iMessage features — like read receipts and typing indicators — when talking to friends who use Android and other platforms.

Apple wanted to bring the best of iMessage to every phone

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Messages iOS 10
Carriers didn't want to adopt.
Photo: Apple

Apple will never bring iMessage to third-party platforms like Android, but there was a time when it tried to convince carriers to adopt a standardized version for everyone.

Former iOS chief Scott Forstall has revealed that the company approached operators in an effort to convince them to take a number of features that make iMessage so great and bring them to traditional texting. But due to a number of reasons, the “explorations didn’t pan out.”

Facebook two-factor authentication no longer needs a phone number

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Facebook two-factor authentication
You can now make Facebook more secure without handing over your number.
Photo: Facebook

You can now secure your Facebook account with two-factor authentication without handing over your phone number.

The social network now works alongside apps like Google Authenticator, Duo Security, and more. Its setup process has also been refined to make bolstering security a simpler experience.

Apple is allegedly in talks to buy Shazam

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Shazam
Shazam, an essential iPhone app for years, just got better.
Photo: Shazam

Apple is adding another key weapon to its war chest in the battle against Spotify, based on a new report that claims the company plans to acquire the app Shazam.

The popular app helps users identify any song, TV show or movie in seconds just by listening to it via a smartphone’s microphone. iOS integrated Siri with Shazam a few years ago, but it appears that Apple’s looking to bring the entire operation in-house.

New iMessage hack lets you crash friends’ iPhones via text message

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iPhone
It's really easy to crash other people's iPhones.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A new nefarious text message has been discovered that has the power to completely crash iPhones, even those running the latest version of iOS 10.

Instead of using infected links or weird text like previous iMessage hacks, this new one allows attackers to disable a person’s Messages app by simply sending a large contact file. When iPhone users tap on the file, it’s so big and complicated that it overloads the CPU and crashes the app.

Watch the hack in action:

U.S. to ban Apple and others from SMS two-step authentication

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Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 15.09.44
Using SMS two-step authentication is about to be illegal.
Photo: Apple

As part of Apple’s two-step authentication service it’s possible for users to confirm their identity via an SMS sent to a trusted phone number.

That is about to change, however, according to the latest draft of the Digital Authentication Guideline, which reveals that the U.S. National Institute for Standards and Technology is set to ban all SMS-based two-factor authentication systems.

How to use OS X Yosemite to send texts from your Mac

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In the past, using the Messages app on a Mac could be an irritating experience. And what if a friend dared to send a green-bubble text from an Android phone? When texting from your Mac, messaging those friends wasn’t possible until now.

In today’s Cult of Mac video, find out how to enable Text Message Forwarding between your iPhone and Mac. With iOS 8.1 and Yosemite installed, enjoying this seamless feature is just a few short taps and clicks away. Find out how to do it all in this speedy tutorial.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV to catch all our latest videos.

SMS Street By 50 ANC Noise-Canceling Headphones: Smooth, In Every Conceivable Way [Review]

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post-259340-image-e7685facfbf47011707f294f352b566f-jpg
Street By 50 ANC Headphones by SMS Audio
Category: active noise-canceling headphones
Price: $280

Surprise: These cans aren’t quite the flashy, youthful boombasts their outward appearance suggest (yes, that’s a good thing). And, surprise: There’s much more here than simply a nod at the term “active noise cancellation.”

SMS, which is helmed by Rapper 50 Cent, jumped into the headphone game just shy of three years ago. At that time the lion’s share of attention was directed toward their wireless Sync cans, which stream music via the somewhat uncommon Kleer technology. But that doesn’t mean the rest of SMS’s broad, diverse lineup should be ignored, and that assertion is well-supported by the performance — and, yes, dash of flash – of the wired, active noise-canceling Street by 50 ANC headphones.

Troubles Sending Text Messages On iPhone? Try This Fix [iOS Tips]

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Send as SMS

Some users have reported problems with sending text messages to their friends and family after the upgrade to iOS 7.

Typically, when iMessage is unavailable, your iPhone should send messages as SMS ones instead, denoted by the green chat bubble as opposed to the regular blue.

If, however, your iPhone won’t send texts automatically, here’s a possible fix.

Apple Now Allows You To Report iMessage Spam

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iPhone-5-iMessage

Do you get frustrating iMessage spam from people you’ve never met, or companies you’ve never heard of? You’re not the only one. Until now, you could either make friends with them and save yourself from loneliness on those cold winter nights, or you could ignore them and hope that they don’t text again.

But now you can report them to Apple, too.

MessageMe Update For iPhone Brings Landscape Chat And Video Improvements

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Doodle on your friends without the fear of retaliation.
Doodle on your friends without the fear of retaliation.

Messaging alternative MessageMe just updated today with several new features, like the ability to chat in landscape mode if that strikes your fancy.

The iPhone app won’t save chat doodles to the camera roll by default anymore; you’ll be able to save them if you like, or turn the feature off completely, saving valuable space on your iPhone should you so choose. The Voice Notes feature has been improved, and you can search for other MessageMe users using their email.

Audio now works for messages with video, and you can save videos as well in the new version. There’s also other “minor fixes and performance improvements” to be found.

Mastering iMessages On Your iPhone: Send Them As A Regular Text Message [iOS Tips]

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SMSiMessage

Not too long ago, there were a couple of iMessage service outages. When that happened, I (and many other folks, I bet) wasn’t able to send out my iMessages. The little red exclamation point would show up, mockingly, and I waited for the service to go back online to send them again.

Luckily, there is a way to easily turn that iMessage into a regular SMS text message, thereby avoiding any service outages from Apple. Here’s how to do just that.

Skype 6.2 For Mac Brings eGifting, Removes Verification For One-Way SMS

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Screen Shot 2013-02-14 at 12.37.09

Did you forget to get your loved one a gift for Valentine’s Day? Then you’re a bad person. But maybe you can forge a desperate plea for forgiveness by sending them some credit on Skype. Yeah, I know that’s an awful suggestion, but you’re the one who forgot Valentine’s Day!

The latest update to Skype for Mac introduces eGifting, allowing users to send credit to their contacts, and removes verifications for one-way SMS.

Change The Number Of Repeated Message Alerts On Your iPhone [iOS Tips]

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Repeat Alerts

One of the wacky things you may notice if you’ve just gotten a new iPhone is the default double alert whenever you get a text message, whether iMessage or SMS. Why Apple has this as the default, I’m not sure, but it kept freaking me out before I figured out how to turn it off.

However, I’m willing to see that you might want the double alert, or more (shudder), and there’s a simple way to make that happen, as well.

Here’s how.

This Hack Lets You Start Your Car By Sending A Text Message From Your iPhone

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startyourcariphone

 

It’s winter. It’s probably cold where you live. Running outside to start your car is probably one of the most dreadful experiences you have every morning, and then you gotta sit in your cold car for a few minutes before the heat really kicks in. You’re shivering. Trying to drive faster. And it all just sucks.

You could buy one of those remote ignitions, but then you gotta carry around an extra block on your keychain, and its range isn’t so great. Will O’Brien came up with a better idea – starting your car with your iPhone by sending it an SMS. It’s brilliant, and anyone can replicate his hack.

Ending Soon! The Mobile App Design Starter Kit [Deals]

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CoM - Mobile Design Kit

App making is competitive as ever and it’s only going to get more so. Apps are an awesome opportunity for entrepreneurs to turn an idea into a profitable product with little monetary investment. The problem is, everyone knows this and is trying to get their piece of the pie.

With that in mind, The Mobile App Design Starter Kit is exactly what any independent app creator needs to get ahead of the game.

There are a lot of great ideas hidden behind terribly designed apps. We all know the typical reasons for poor design – pricey professional designer prices, lack of themes, or mobile app design just being difficult in general – but what this Cult of Mac deal offers is a comprehensive kit that includes everything you need to give your app a snazzy design that will make it stick out among the competition for only $57.

Running Late? Send Your ETA On Ahead With Twist [iOS Tips]

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Twist

If you’ve spent some time with last week’s app tip, Glympse, you’ll know it’s pretty handy to send your location info along to friends, family, or co-workers. One feature that is missing from Glympse, however, is an automatic message about when you’ll be there.

Twist, another iOS app that helps you keep folks you’re meeting up with aware of where you are, has just that — an automatic ETA message.

Protect Your Devices With Prey [Deals]

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CoM - Prey

We’re entering the time of year of giving, and a great way to give is to offer protection to your devices so that you can have peace of mind in the case that one of them goes missing. Well, there’s technology out there that won’t only help you track down your lost or stolen devices – but will give you the ability to provide the police with the exact location of your device (along with pictures of the thief in the case of theft). And we’re giving you a great deal on this technology here at Cult of Mac Deals!

Prey is open source software that gives you a 24/7 tracking and recovering capabilities so you can recover your lost or stolen devices. It keeps track of your laptop, phone, and tablet whenever stolen or missing — easily and all in one place. The best news about Prey? Cult of Mac Deals is offering it for just $49 for a very limited time!

Use Messages To Schedule Events In Mountain Lion’s Calendar App [OS X Tips]

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Add Events Calendar

Mac OS X has had the ability to recognize data like dates, times, and phone numbers for a while now. If you’re using the Mail app, you can right click on a recognized date and add it to the Calendar app. If you right click on a phone number, you can add it to the Contacts app. Pretty neat, right?

But what you may not have known, however, is that the app you can see iMessages in from anyone on an iOS or OS X device, Messages, is also able to recognize this data, making adding Calendar events from within Messages super easy. Here’s how to do it.

Apple Kills Serious iPhone SMS Spoofing Flaw With iOS 6

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iphone-sms-text-message
Another great reason to install iOS 6.

Back in August, we told you about a serious SMS security flaw with the iPhone that opened the door to text message spoofing. At the time, Apple told users they could protect themselves by using its iMessage service rather that traditional SMS messages, but the Cupertino company appears to have rectified the issue in iOS 6.

Apple Brushes Off SMS Exploit Despite Warnings By Prominent Hacker

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It appears Apple’s arrogance is getting in the way of protecting its users from a long standing SMS exploit that could allow potential hackers to spoof a reply-to number, causing the recipient to think he/she is replying to a legitimate contact, when in reality, their information is being sent to the hackers designated address. As you can imagine, this is quite troublesome, yet Apple has brushed it away despite numerous pleas made by a well known iOS hacker (pod2g):

Why Apple’s iMessage Isn’t A Home Run For Businesses

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imessage
iMessage has a lot to offers a secure messaging platform, but it isn't without flaws.

When Apple unveiled iMessage, one of the first thoughts for many IT professionals and business users was that Apple had come up with a secure messaging platform that could rival RIM’s BlackBerry Messenger. While iMessage has a lot going for it as a secure messaging platform, there are still some reasons that it may not be an ideal business solution.