David Pierini - page 12

How a broken Apple Lisa was transformed into a powerful computer

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restored Apple Lisa with clear plastic housing
Saying John McLearan restored this Apple Lisa 2/10 is an understatement.
Photo: John McLearan

The Apple Lisa computer was a colossal failure. It was also the most important machine in personal computing history.

You can try to argue that last claim with John McLearan. He believes it. And he offers his restored Lisa 2/10 — loaded with modifications to make it a 21st-century workhorse — as proof that the computer’s reputation needs a considerable upgrade.

watchOS 5.3 restores Walkie-Talkie, expands ECG

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The Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app is a great way to chat with family and friends.
Apple restored the Walkie-Talkie function with a watchOS update.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple brought the Walkie-Talkie app back online today with a watchOS update after disabling it earlier this month with an undisclosed vulnerability that might have allowed eavesdropping.

The release of watchOS 5.3 also brings the ECG app for users in Canada and Singapore.

Sales of $17,000 gold Apple Watch flatlined after two weeks

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The Apple Watch Edition, released in 2015, was made of 18-karat gold.
A close-up look at the gold Apple Watch from 2015 to see what made it tick.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

The 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition drew a ton of social media ballyhoo when the pricey luxury watch was part of the first generation watches in 2015.

But who would pay $10,000 for a watch sure to be obsolete in a hurry? As many predicted, not a lot of people.

Instagram makes ‘likes’ disappear in even more countries

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heart shapes
Your fans will know you are liked. They just won't know how much.
Photo: Iouri Goussey/Wikimedia CC

Instagram’s hidden “likes” experiment is expanding to six other countries as the photo-sharing app continues to change features to make social media a more positive experience.

Instagram made the announcement Wednesday on its Twitter feed, though it has yet to disclose findings from a trial of select users in Canada. It will now hide “likes” tallies on select posts in Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

Fear of iPhone chip shortage spurs Apple trip to Korea

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2019 iPhone
Apple does not want to run short on chips for its newest iPhones.
Photo: Marques Brownlee

Apple reportedly flew a team to Seoul as the tech giant sweats a trade dispute between South Korean and Japan that could lead to a shortage in iPhone chips and OLED panels.

The meeting with Samsung, the main supplier of memory chips for iPhone, also included executives from Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Those three companies contract with Samsung for memory chips used in data centers for cloud services.

Got a new emoji idea? Here’s how to make it happen

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New emoji
Apple showed off new emoji Tuesday that will be out this fall.
Photo: Apple

There are close to 3,000 different emoji, but you can’t find one that expresses how you are feeling. So you have an idea for one sketched out.

Now what?

For World Emoji Day 2019, we offer you a glimpse into the process. The word “process” should signal to you that the simple symbols and characters we use in texting every day take a complicated path to your iPhone.

Apple might bankroll original podcasts

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Podcasts and Apple TV are among the applications expected to make the jump from iOS to macOS 10.15.
With original content being developed for television, Apple is reportedly looking to create podcasts.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple’s growing services business will soon feature original podcasts, according to a report that, if true, amps up the tech giant’s battle with rival Spotify.

Apple’s pursuit of original podcast content came to light via a news bulletin from a Bloomberg terminal. Even before the full story published, the news sent Spotify’s stock on a fall of more than 2 percent.

Your iPhone could handle 120 million moon missions at once

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Apollo 11 lunar module
It was no iPhone, but the Apollo guidance computer got the job done.
Photo: NASA/Wikimedia CC

My father worked on an engineering team that designed the housing that held the components for the guidance computer onboard Apollo 11.

Just this morning, I read an article looking back on the 50 years since man first landed on the moon. I read the story on my iPhone, which delivers 100,000 times the processing power of the computer that got Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface.

MLB stadium installs vending machines with portable iPhone chargers

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Hoplite Power portable charger on iPhone
Hoplite Power now has vending machines with portable phone chargers in Citi Field, home of the New York Mets.
Photo: Hoplite

You’re at Citi Field watching the New York Mets struggle. To make matters worse, you can’t distract yourself with your iPhone because the battery’s dead.

Fortunately, the Mets this season can solve one of those problems. Citi Field installed vending machines that dispense mobile phone chargers for a fee cheaper than a beer sold at the ballpark.

Instagram will hold an intervention with your bully

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a same of how Instagram's Restrict tool will work
Instagram adds more tough tools to fight bullying.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is adding more muscle to fight bullying, including one tool that appeals to a harasser’s conscious.

Instagram has been addressing online harassment over the last couple of years with options to block followers and report offensive items. But for the first time, artificial intelligence will hold an intervention with a would-be bully.

Cinematic lens adds brilliant flare to drone footage

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anamorphic lens for DJI drones
The Moment Air will soon have its wings to fly on DJI drones.
Photo: Moment

Moment started out making lens attachments to turn the iPhone into a better camera. Now the mobile photography brand wants to do the same for the cameras that fly on DJI drones.

The company designed an anamorphic lens called Moment Air to bring a sweeping, cinematic view — and that distinctive Hollywood lens flare — to footage captured by select DJI drones.

iPhone thief posts selfie on victim’s Instagram

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Suspect in a stolen iPhone case posts selfie on victim's Instagram
The best way to get caught with a stolen iPhone is to post a selfie.
Photo courtesy of: Kearny Police Department/Facebook

New Jersey detectives are searching for an iPhone thief who may ultimately aid in his own capture because he posted a selfie on the victim’s Instagram feed.

The Kearny Police Department recently released the above photo asking the public for some Face ID and information that could help them locate the man.

6 months using only an iPhone camera leaves pro photog inspired

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Photographer Noe Alonzo used only an iPhone for six months
What could you do with an iPhone as your only camera? Plenty says Noe Alonzo.
Screenshot: Noe Alonzo/YouTube

Photographer Noe Alonzo gave himself a challenge that some people called ridiculous: He worked exclusively with his iPhone 7 Plus for six months.

The results proved stunning. Even more surprising to Alonzo, his project landed him new clients — and gave him humbling insights into his own creativity.

This iPod-inspired watch stand is music to your eyes

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Apple Watch stand looks like an iPod
Charge you Apple Watch and your memory for sweet play lists.
Photo: elago

The Apple Watch is a modern timepiece that one company keeps turning into a time machine.

To elago, the watch display is the perfect inspiration for a series of charging stands made to look like vintage Apple products. It’s latest looks like the Classic iPod, complete with that iconic click wheel.

Dramatic burn photos show why Apple recalled faulty MacBooks

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overheated battery on MacBook Pro
This 15-inch MacBook Pro caught fire while in Sleep mode.
Photo: Steve Gagne/Facebook

Designer Steve Gagne awoke to strange sounds and the smell of burning chemicals. Of all the tasks completed with his 15-inch MacBook Pro, nearly burning down his house was its final act.

The battery on Gagne’s MacBook Pro exploded three days before Apple announced a recall on mid-2015 Retina MacBook Pros of certain serial numbers housing batteries vulnerable to overheating.

iPhone fireworks photography is a blast with Pro Camera app

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shooting fireworks with iPhone
With some preparation and the Pro Camera app, you can capture great fireworks displays.
Photo: Midori/Wikimedia CC

With Fourth of July fireworks in the skies this weekend, mobile photography brand Moment picked a good moment to update its Pro Camera app with a new Slow Shutter mode.

The feature, added today, brings a surefire way for iPhone photographers to capture dramatic fireworks shots.

Apple asks Supreme Court to support LGBTQ workers

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Apple employees in Pride parade
Apple is asking the Supreme Court to protect LGTBQ people from workplace discrimination.
Photo: Apple

Apple is among more than 200 companies asking the Supreme Court to protect LGBTQ workers with current job non-discrimination laws.

The companies signed onto a “Friend of the Court” brief for three cases the high court is scheduled to hear this fall.

The Apple Car could have the best bumper ever

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Dying to see what Apple’s idea of a car looks like? Here’s a bumper.

OK, so a patent, like the one for an extendable bumper awarded to Apple today, doesn’t exactly give us a detailed picture. But we at least see one more piece of evidence Apple remains a committed player in the future of cars – whether we drive them or not.

WWII-era dispute could ensnarl release of 2019 iPhones

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iPhone 11 rumor from Olixar
Apple could feel the fallout from a dispute between Japan and South Korea.
Photo: Olixar

Another dispute between countries looms over Apple, but this one dates back to World War II and could cause the tech giant heartburn as it readies the lineup of 2019 iPhones.

Japan will tighten export restrictions on South Korea for materials used to make smartphone chips and displays beginning Thursday. Japan imposed the rule after a court in South Korea ordered Japan’s Nippon Steel to compensate South Koreans for wartime forced labor.

Elevate your carry style with this roomy roll-top backpack [Review]

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backpack review
Rosen is ready to find room for himself in a well-packed Moshi Captus backpack.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Moshi passed a critical first test as I opened up the box containing a review unit of its new roll-top backpack the company calls Captus.

My wife liked the looks of it.

Over the years, she has seen me review backpacks and messenger bags and while I reach nuanced conclusions for each, her evaluations are consistently blunt – most bags skew masculine.