Alex Heath - page 6

Darkroom is like having the best of Adobe Lightroom on your iPhone

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Darkroom

We compared Darkroom to having Adobe Lightroom on your iPhone in our full review, and it’s not hard to understand why Apple featured it on the front of the App Store.

If you’re looking for an excellent, full-featured photo editor for iOS that can let you make your own filters, this is the ticket.

Available on: iPhone

Price:

Download: App Store


Adobe’s Lightroom app for iOS is actually pretty good, but you have to pay for a Creative Cloud subscription to use it.

What if you could have the power of an editing suite like Lightroom without all of the extra fuss? You want just one app for editing pictures on the go, but it needs to be easy to use and full featured.

Enter Darkroom, the hottest new photography app for iPhone.

App Store doubles max app size to a whopping 4GB

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How much is your smartphone spying on you? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Since the App Store’s debut in 2008, apps have never been able to be larger than 2GB. Today that changes.

Apple has notified third-party developers that they can now submit apps that are a max of 4GB in size. The change reflects the needs certain apps, namely games, have for larger file sizes as iOS becomes a more mature platform.

King of Thieves, the addictive new game from the makers of Cut the Rope

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The latest from one of the App Store's premiere game studios.
The latest from one of the App Store's premiere game studios.

I’m not what you would consider a “gamer.” I dabble in mobile titles like Monument Valley and occasionally play Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart with friends, but few games manage to grab my attention for very long.

Yet there’s a new iPhone game I haven’t been able to put down for the past two weeks.

It’s called King of Thieves, and it’s from ZeptoLab, the maker of the hit App Store game Cut the Rope.

U.S. carriers must unlock cellphones, starting today

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Ericsson wants to stop Apple selling iPhones in the United States. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Some U.S. carriers have historically been more lenient about unlocking phones than others, but starting today they are all mandated to provide unlocking once a customer’s contract is up.

Legislation put in place by the Federal Communications Commission back in 2013 takes full effect today, and carriers must comply with new policies on unlocking.

Apple bans ‘bonded servitude’ in its vast supply chain

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Apple
Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

What if you had to pay a month’s wages up front just to get a job?

It’s a concept that’s largely foreign to Western culture, but bonded servitude is still rampant in other parts of the world, namely Asia. That also happens to be where much of Apple’s supply chain is located, and starting today the company is cracking down on the corrupt practice.

Apple’s massive cash hoard makes it richer than 141 countries

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apple-2
All hail the Apple Empire.

It’s hard to truly understand Apple’s astronomical size until you put things into context. With $178 billion in cash as of last quarter, you can start easily comparing the company to the gross domestic product (GDP) of large countries.

In fact, Apple would be the world’s 55th richest country right now, according to the latest data from World Bank.

Flipboard brings its gorgeous magazine app to the web

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Photo: Flipboard
Photo: Flipboard

Flipboard has taken the leap from mobile to desktop. What started as one of the first iPad apps is now accessible through any modern browser via Flipboard.com, a beautiful web interface for consuming online content.

Like the iPad and iPhone app, you can not only read articles from sites you follow, but also create custom “magazines” based on sources you choose.

Where to watch the Better Call Saul premiere for free online

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Bob Odenkirk as infamous lawyer Saul Goodman. His show has already been renewed for a second season. Photo: AMC
Bob Odenkirk as infamous lawyer Saul Goodman. His show has already been renewed for a second season. Photo: AMC

Breaking Bad is dead, but it’s all good man. Saul Goodman is back!

The Breaking Bad prequel, Better Call Saul, broke cable records with 4.4 million viewers last night, and there are several ways to watch the premiere online.

iTunes and AMC are offering Episode 1, titled “Uno,” for free.

The best apps you might have missed this week

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It's the weekend -- and have we ever got some great apps to help you fill up the next two days!From nuclear bunkers to photo-editing suites, and Apple Music playlist importers to run-and-gun actioners, check out our picks for the week's most newsworthy apps. You won't regret it!

It's the weekend -- and have we ever got some great apps to help you fill up the next two days!

From nuclear bunkers to photo-editing suites, and Apple Music playlist importers to run-and-gun actioners, check out our picks for the week's most newsworthy apps. You won't regret it!


Photo: Cult of Mac
Awesome Apps

Apple and Tesla engage in bidding war for top talent

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Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who allegedly "relishes" comparisons with Steve Jobs.

Apple and Tesla are in the midst of an intense bidding war for each other’s employees, according to Bloomberg. Tesla has so far poached more Apple staffers than any other company at 150, and Apple has tried to unsuccessfully lure Tesla’s people with big paychecks.

Tesla’s obsession with stealing Apple’s talent is mainly due to one man: Elon Musk.

Apple delays Photos for Mac release until spring

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The new photo viewer in Photos for Mac. Now coming this spring. Photo: Apple
The new photo viewer in Photos for Mac. Now coming this spring. Photo: Apple

When Apple killed development of iPhoto and Aperture last summer, it promised a replacement that would blend the best of the two apps into one solution: Photos for Mac.

Originally promised to arrive in “early 2015,” Photos for Mac is available for the first time in a new developer-only beta of OS X Yosemite. Unfortunately, everyone else will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on it.

Apple working on Sling-style Internet TV service for cord-cutters

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fyi-feeln-apple-tv
Apple TV is way more than just a "hobby" to Tim Cook. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The rumor mill has been quiet as of late regarding Apple’s plans to disrupt the TV industry. But now Recode is reporting that Apple is in talks with programmers about doing its own Internet-based TV service for cord-cutters.

Similar to the way Dish’s Sling TV bundles channels together at an attractive cost, Apple would design its own experience around delivering content without the use of traditional cable companies.

Apple’s failed Arizona sapphire plant will be $2 billion data ‘command center’

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GT Advanced
From sapphire to data. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

The fate of GT Advanced Technologies’ failed sapphire plant in Mesa, Arizona, has been decided. After committing to repurposing the 1.3-million-square-foot facility, Apple revealed today that it will invest $2 billion in making it a global command center for all of its cloud networks.

The company plans to have 150 full-time employees based in Mesa to operate the center once it’s built, and there will be an accompanying solar farm to power the facility with 100% renewable energy.

How to stream the Super Bowl for free to your iPad or iPhone

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You don't need cable to watch the game on your iPad. Photo: NFL
You don't need cable to watch the game on your iPad. Photo: NFL

This year’s Super Bowl will be streamed for free over the internet in full HD, no cable subscription required. Completely unbundling the big game is an effort on NBC’s part to promote its TV Everywhere service, which ironically requires a cable subscription.

11 hours of content will be streamed for free on game day, February 1. That includes the full game, commercials, halftime show with Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz, and even an episode of The Blacklist.

Why Apple Watch will wrap up luxury market in China

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The Apple Watch modeled in Vogue China last October. Photo: Vogue China
The Apple Watch modeled in Vogue China last October. Photo: Vogue China

China’s elite class overwhelmingly prefers Apple products for gift giving, even more so than luxury fashion brands like Gucci and Chanel.

An interesting survey conducted by Hurun asked 376 Mainland Chinese millionaires about their buying habits, and their responses also bode quite favorably for the forthcoming Apple Watch.

Jony Ive was ‘tormented’ with jealousy over Yahoo’s beautiful weather app

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Photo: AddictiveTips
Jony Ive's jealousy over Yahoo weather app yielded a startling imitation. Photo: AddictiveTips

One of the first projects Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer oversaw as CEO was the Yahoo Weather app. The app was so well received that it even ended up receiving a coveted Apple Design Award in 2013.

Apple also redesigned its stock Weather app to look just like it in iOS 7.

It turns out that it wasn’t a coincidence the two apps looked so similar. Jony Ive was “tormented” with jealously of Yahoo Weather’s design.

Yahoo really wants to replace Google search in Safari

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Yahoo is stepping up its security game. Photo: Yahoo
Yahoo has been vying for the default search spot in Safari, and 2015 might be the year it finally happens. Photo: Yahoo

Thanks to contractual obligations that are purportedly ending this year, Google’s days as Safari’s search provider could be numbered. And Yahoo wants to take its spot.

During Yahoo’s quarterly earnings call yesterday, Marissa Mayer reiterated her interest in being Safari’s main search engine. “The Safari platform is basically one of the premier search deals in the world if not the premier search deal in the world,” she said in response to a question about Yahoo’s plans for search.

Steve Jobs’ BFF flashes back to their groovy acid trips

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This guy did LSD with Steve Jobs in college. Photo: CNNMoney
This guy did LSD with Steve Jobs in college. Photo: CNNMoney

What would it be like to drop acid with Steve Jobs?

Daniel Kottke was one of Apple’s first employees, but he knew Jobs from even earlier days at Reed College. The two bonded over their love for meditation and eastern spirituality at Reed. They also did a lot of LSD.