Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
This isn't actually Apple's data center, but it's close. (There are pictures available; we just can use them.) Photo: Pexels
Apple is very secretive about its data centers. For good reason: They’re at risk from criminals, foreign spy agencies, terrorists and more. But the company gave a local newspaper a look inside its Arizona server farm.
This 1.3 million-square-foot facility in Mesa houses Apple’s global data command center.
Apple Japan allegedly used strong-arm tactics to get Yahoo's Game Plus online service shut down. Photo: Apple
For the second time this year, Apple is being investigated by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission. This time, it may have forced Yahoo to scale back a web-only gaming platform that competes with the App Store.
Apple Japan seems to play hardball. This summer, the FTC made it stop forcing Japanese carriers to put subsidies on iOS handsets.
Google One replaces Google Drive, and it offers cloud storage plans that actually compete with Apple iCloud. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Google One was unveiled this spring, promising 2TB of online storage at half the cost of the old Google Drive. As of now, you can actually subscribe to this service, which wasn’t possible before.
This revamp of this company’s cloud storage options seems to be intended to make them more competitive with Apple’s.
As with iOS 12, support for FaceTiming multiple people simultaneously won't be a part of macOS Mojave when it first launches. Photo: Apple
Apple just released a fresh beta of macOS Mojave to the public, on the way to a full launch this fall. While betas usually bring new capabilities, the one just introduced is missing a feature.
Earlier this week, Apple said Group FaceTime won’t debut until later this year. It’s now been pulled from the latest iOS 12 and macOS Mojave betas.
No one expects betas to be perfect, but iOS 12 beta 7 had significant performance issues. So significant that it was only available for a couple of hours.
When paid celebrity endorsements go wrong. Here's Gal Gadot complimenting a Huawei device from her iPhone. Photo: Gal Gadot
Paying a celebrity to be seen using your product is a fairly common practice. Apple doesn’t make a habit of it, but other companies do.
When it gets funny is when the celebs are caught using their iPhones to endorse rival devices. A Reddit user compiled a list of people who got caught not being able to give up their favorite device.
If an analyst is correct, the Apple Car could be your next vehicle. Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer
One of the secret-but-not-really-secret projects Apple is working on is a self-driving vehicle. A well-respected analyst just gave his estimate of when this will be released.
Not only does Ming-Chi Kuo indicate that the “Apple Car” will debut between 2023 and 2025, he also lays out reasons why the product will be a success.
As a bonus, Kuo indicates when to expect Apple’s augmented-reality headset.
Huawei is the second-largest phone maker globally, but it just became illegal for the US government to buy its products. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC
By law, anyone who works for the U.S. government must give up their phone if it was made by Huawei or ZTE. And federal agencies must get rid of routers and other networking equipment made by the two Chinese companies as well. This is a requirement in the Defence Authorization Act just passed by Congress.
The rule came because both Huawei and ZTE are considered to be too closely tied to the Chinese government to be trusted.
Fixing 'loop disease' requires disassembling the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Photo: IFIXIT
It has a ridiculous name, but it’s a serious problem. Incidents of “loop disease’ are reportedly sending growing numbers of iPhones to the repair shop.
This isn’t a new virus or an iOS bug. Instead, it’s a hardware problem affecting older iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units.
Apple engineers are preparing for the day Siri can reliably recognize voices. They’re working on how this digital assistant will respond to requests from multiple users.
This issue became important with the release of Apple’s HomePod earlier this year, as smartspeaker are used in shared spaces.
iOS 12 will bring loads of new features, but not until Apple gets it throughly debugged. Photo: Apple
The latest early-release version of iOS 12 was made available to developers today — but it disappeared shortly afterward.
This afternoon’s release of iOS 12 beta 7 was met with widespread complaints that it runs slowly. Apple seems to have pulled the OTA version within an hour or so.
Microsoft Word is one of thousands of titles available only through app subscription fees. Photo: Microsoft
Apple wants developers to stop selling iOS applications and start renting them instead. The reason is simple: this forces users to pay more for software.
Apple held a secret meeting in New York City last year to convince developers to give up charging users a one-time fee for apps, and go instead to reoccurring charges.
We're going to have to wait a bit longer than we expected for Group FaceTIme. Photo: Apple
Group FaceTime, one of the hot new features promised for iOS 12, won’t be available when the operating system debuts this fall. Apple now says it will push back the Group FaceTime launch until later this year. The company gave no reason for the delay.
Ralph Nader says Apple management spent $100 billion to "enhance their own executive compensation package." Illustration: Cult of Mac
Apple becoming the world’s first trillion dollar company has put it in the crosshairs of consumer advocates, including Ralph Nader. He heavily criticized the company for a $100 billion stock buyback, instead of using the money to pay employees more, improve recycling efforts, increase R&D, or making other productive investments.
Nader is angered that businesses like Apple have spent so much of the Republican tax cuts put in place last year on stock buybacks, rather than the “productive investment and jobs” they promised.
Recharge your iPad and iPhone simultaneously with the mophie Powerstation Plus XL. It even has a built-in Lightning connector and port. Photo: mophie
External batteries are widely available but surprisingly few of them are really designed with Apple users in mind. That’s because all too many require a microUSB cable to get power. The mophie Powerstation Plus XL is a rare exception.
It’s recharged through a built-in Lightning port. The new accessory has a Lighting connector on a built-in cable too. If that wasn’t enough, it can be wirelessly recharged.
A new Samsung ad makes a good point about the Apple Pencil, but is also makes some untrue statements. Screenshot: Samsung
Samsung continues its “Ingenious” negative marketing campaign against the iPhone. The latest ad shows a customer confused that the Apple Pencil can’t be used on the iPhone.
While Samsung’s ad makes a point that quite a few iPhone users agree with, another statement made is more than a bit deceptive.
Is this an Apple Store or a McDonald's? Photo: McDonald's
People dropping into the new Apple Store in Chicago might be surprised to find that it’s actually a McDonald’s. This fast-food chain’s new flagship restaurant bears a strong resemblance to Apple’s retail stores.
The similarities are more than skin deep. The McDonald’s location strives to be as environmentally friendly as an Apple Store.
The number of Apple Pay users almost equals the entire population of the US. But most users live somewhere else. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Most people are still leery about giving up their wallet. Only a small percentage of smartphone owners use their mobile to make purchases at brick-and-mortar stores. But attitudes are starting to change.
As a result, Apple Pay is growing strongly. Surprisingly, most of that growth is outside of the U.S.
Rob McElhenney, one of the writers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has teamed up with an old partner on a new Apple TV show. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC
Another day, another Apple TV series. The company continues to build a library of shows, despite having announced no plans what it will do with them.
The latest is a comedy set at a video game development studio. It’s reportedly being created by the team behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Siri knows the name of your local pizza joint, making it much easier to get directions when you have a craving. Photo: Apple
Siri is quite good at recognizing what we say, but used to run into difficulties with the names of small businesses. That was until Apple developers found a way to make her much better at this task.
In fact, the new system is more than 40 percent less likely to come up with the wrong business name.
Samsung Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Home go up against Apple equivalents. Photo: Samsung
Along with its newest smartphone, Samsung just unveiled two more products designed to take on some of Apple’s. The Galaxy Watch isn’t the Korean company’s first Apple Watch competitor, but this is the first time it’s unveiled a HomePod rival.
Apple dominates smartwatch sales, so Samsung faces an uphill battle. Amazon has the lead in smartspeakers though, and Apple has shown it’s not an easy market to break into.
The Galaxy Note 9 will have to stand up to not only the iPhone X, but also the models Apple will launch next month. Photo: Apple/Samsung/MobileFun
This spring’s Galaxy S9 hasn’t sold all that well, so Samsung is pinning its hopes on the Galaxy Note 9, just announced this morning.
This 6.4-inch Android device will have to compete with the iPhone X, and also the new smartphones Apple will introduce in a few weeks. Let’s see how it compares.