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Ed Hardy - page 247

Three more cities will get super-fast AT&T 5G this year

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AT&T logo
AT&T and arch-rival Verizon will be among the first U.S. carriers to offer 5G.
Photo: Luismt94/Wikipedia CC

AT&T promised to bring the next generation of cellular wireless technology to a dozen cities before the end of this year. It just hasn’t revealed which ones yet.

The carrier started the teasing process a few months ago, announcing that Atlanta, Dallas and Waco, Texas, will get mobile 5G.

iPhone lets Phillies fans order a ballpark beer by text

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It's the fullfillment of many a baseball fan's dreams: beer by text.
It's the fullfillment of many a baseball fan's dreams: beer by text.
Photo: Aramark

The Philadelphia Phillies and Aramark started a pilot program that lets fans order beer from their seats using an iPhone.

The service makes use of Apple Business Chat, a service that launched this spring designed to let customers send messages to companies without strings attached.

These 2018 MacBook Pro models are the best values

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2018 MacBook Pro
Figuring out which 2018 MacBook Pro is fastest or cheapest is easy. We puzzled out which offers the most bang for the buck.
Photo: Apple

You need a 2018 MacBook Pro, but there are a bunch of configurations to choose from, with the top model more than twice as expensive as the base one. Of course, Apple is asking you to pay extra for a faster processor, but is the additional cost worth it?

We took benchmarking scores for all the variations of the newest macOS laptop and divided them by the cost of each. The results might well surprise you.

Apple Pay saves you money on summer movie tickets, food, and more

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There are deals to had this summer if you just use Apple Pay.
There are deals to had this summer if you just use Apple Pay.
Photo: Apple

Apple waited a bit for its summer Apple Pay promotion, but it just kicked off today. On offer are savings from Fandango, SubHub, Groupon, and several other apps.

The exact savings vary from service to service, of course, but they all have one thing in common: when it comes time to settle up, you must use Apple Pay.

George Takei’s House of Cats app bares its claws at Trump

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George Takei's new House of Cats apps shreds President Trump.
George Takei's new House of Cats apps shreds President Trump.
Photo: BMAD

George Takei is best known for his iconic role on Star Trek, but he’s also an activist. And a very anti-Trump one. His new app combines two things the internet loves: cats and politics.

House of Cats stars Trumpy Cat, a distinctly non-cute version of the President in feline form.

New HomeKit authentication system could bring tons more accessories

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An updated version of HomeKit HomeKit really improves the Wemo Mini Smart Plug.
An updated version of HomeKit HomeKit really improves the Wemo Mini Smart Plug.
Photo: Wemo

Accessories can now support Apple’s HomeKit without a special chip. The Wemo Mini Smart Plug is the first to use this new system of software authentication.

The Mini Smart Plug ($34.99) offers a single electrical socket that can be controlled by an iPhone though HomeKit. Anything plugged in can be turned on or off remotely, or on a schedule.

You won’t believe how many e-commerce login attempts are made by hackers

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Amazon
We bet you'll change your Amazon password after reading this article.
Photo: Mike Seyfang/Flickr CC

Go to your Amazon, Zappos, etc. account now and change the password to something stronger. That’s the takeaway from a cyber security firm’s report that says a whopping 91 percent of all attempts to log into e-commerce websites are from hackers.

Attempts by hackers to log into the sites of airlines, banks, and hotels also account for about half of their traffic.

New Gorilla Glass should turn 2018 iPhone display into a tank

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Corning's Gorilla Glass 6 can survive being dropped over a dozen times. Ape not included.
Corning's Gorilla Glass 6 can survive being dropped over a dozen times. Ape not included.
Photo: Corning

Corning Gorilla Glass 6 focuses on durability. This cover glass for smartphones has been formulated to not just survive higher drops, but more frequent ones.

Earlier versions of Gorilla Glass have been used on all previous iPhone models since Steve Jobs chose the company to provide screen covers in 2006.

Samsung’s expensive foldable phone is sounding more likely

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This early prototype Samsung foldable phone suggests how the Galaxy X might look.
The so-called Galaxy Flex be Samsung’s first foldable phone.
Screenshot: Samsung

Fresh details have come to light about the foldable smartphone Samsung supposedly plans to introduce next year. Such devices could shake up the entire smartphone industry.

An inside source has leaked the size and a bit about the shape of this upcoming model. The price has also leaked, and it’s a whopper.

Apple plans store in Downtown Los Angeles’ historic Tower Theater

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The Tower Theater will be the home of the first LA Apple Store in the Downtown district.
The 91-year-old Tower Theater will be the home of the first LA Apple Store in the Downtown district.
Photo: Steve Minor/Flickr

There are multiple Apple Stores in the Los Angeles Area, but not one in the Downtown district. That’s apparently just about to change.

The iPhone maker has plans to put an Apple Store in the historic Tower Theater on S. Broadway.

Venmo privacy flaw reveals users’ sensitive info

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The website Public by Default highlights the weak privacy of Venmo.
The website Public by Default highlights the weak privacy of Venmo.
Photo: Hang Do Thi Duc

Companies don’t always succeed at keeping user data private, but Venmo doesn’t even seem to be trying. This service that allows users to make payments to individuals or merchants has the privacy for transactions set to public by default. 

A researcher found that with very little effort she could track the purchases made by most of the 7 million active Venmo users. That includes everyone who installed Venmo from the App Store.

Samsung’s new RAM chip will make future iPhones even faster

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A nw type of Samsung RAM is significantly faster than what's in the iPhone today.
A nw type of Samsung RAM is significantly faster than what's in the iPhone today.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung developed a type of RAM that’s 1.5 times faster than what’s included in smartphones today. And, even though Apple and Samsung are arch rivals, it’s very likely to be in iPhone someday.

The new 8Gb LPDDR5 DRAM boasts a data rate of up to 6,400 Mbps. That’s fast enough to send 51.2 GB, or about 14 full-HD video files, in a second.

mophie battery packs ease iPhone, iPad charging with Lightning ports and connectors

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mophie's iPad and iPhone batteries include Lightning ports.
mophie's new iPad and iPhone batteries include Lightning ports, and come in a range of capacities and colors.
Photo: mophie

Accessory-maker mophie launched a family of external batteries designed specifically for iPhone and iPad. They’re among the first to be charged through a Lightning port. Even better, some models have a built-in Lightning cable, and one includes wireless charging.

Apple approves of these new powerstation products so much they are available  exclusively at Apple Stores and Apple.com.

Secret ingredient in new MacBook Pro? Glue. Lots and lots of glue

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A look inside the 2018 MacBook Pro finds lots of bad news, but some good too.
A look inside the 2018 MacBook Pro finds plenty of bad news, but some good too.
Photo: IFIXIT

Apple makes no attempt to have MacBook Pro models easy to repair. The ones released just a few days ago are no exception. We all have to hope that the redesigned key mechanism fixes the previous problems because the keyboard is solidly glued to the battery and speakers. And that’s just the most obvious way that Apple frustrates the do-it-yourself crowd.

But the news isn’t all bad. At least one version of the 2018 MacBook Pro boasts a major battery improvement.

Apple wants to embed stretchable displays in your clothes

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One of Apple's stretchable displays could be built into your sleeve.
One of Apple's stretchable displays could be built into your sleeve and function as an external screen for your iPhone.
Photo: Apple

It sounds like science fiction, but Apple has created a method for making stretchable displays. This means that, instead of your computer being in your pocket or on your wrist, it could be made into your shirt.

Phones with flexible displays are expected in the next year or so, but these are just intended to be foldable. The screen Apple is just received a patent for could be wadded up into a ball.

Apple App Store revenue almost double that of Google Play

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iPhone App Store
Apple's redesign of the App Store with iOS 11 probably helped increase software downloads and revenue.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

In the battle of the mobile software stores, Apple has a huge lead. Consumers spending in the iOS App Store during the first half of this year was almost double that of rival Google Play.

But there’s good news for both companies, as each experienced solid year-over-year growth. 

Grab Apple’s beautiful iPad Pro wallpapers for free

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One of several iPad Pro wallpapers available for free.
This is one of several iPad Pro wallpapers available for free. No strings attached.
Photo: Apple

 

Anyone in an Apple Store recently may have seen the really spectacular images pre-loaded on iPad Pro models. But now you don’t have to leave your chair to see them because they’re all available to download.

There is a caveat: they aren’t being distributed by Apple, just someone who copied them off a tablet and shared them.

Apple adds more hair, animals, and superheroes to new emoji

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New Apple emoji offer more hair options, including the ever-popular no hair option.
New Apple emoji offer more hair options, including the ever-popular no hair option.
Graphic: Apple

Tomorrow is World Emoji Day, and there are two important takeaways. One is that we didn’t make that up; World Emoji Day is really a thing.

The other is that Apple is celebrating by showing off the over 70 new emoji characters coming to iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac later this year.

Amazing video filmed as iPhone falls from world’s tallest swing ride

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iPhone 7 Plus survives huge fall, recording video the whole time
An iPhone 7 Plus survived a huge fall, recording video the whole time.
Screenshot: Cansel Yildirim

If you’ve been wondering what it’s like falling 450 feet, a new video gives a glimpse.

A woman riding on the world’s tallest swing ride dropped her iPhone 7 Plus while taking a selfie video. It continued to record the entire drop.

2018 MacBook Pro performance shows dramatic improvement

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The new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar up the ante for pro users.
2018 MacBook Pro performance offers the biggest year-over-year improvements since the release of the 2011 models.
Photo: Apple

The 15- and 13-inch MacBook Pro models launching this week boast significantly faster processors. Tests with the Geekbench benchmarking tool show speed increases as high as 86 percent.

The improvements come from faster Turbo Burst frequencies and more processor cores.

Teardown reveals MacBook Pro keyboard is redesigned to prevent keys sticking

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The third-generation
The third-generation "butterfly" MacBook Pro keyboard has a membrane to keep out damaging grit.
Photo: iFixit

Apple made potential buyers of the new MacBook Pro models very nervous when it said no effort had been made to fix the problems plaguing the keyboards in earlier versions. Happily, it turns out the company was fibbing.

Taking apart this just-released Mac laptop shows that Apple definitely modified its butterfly keyboard mechanism to make it less likely to jam.

Thousands of engineers put Apple self-driving car in high gear

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Here's how Apple Car might eliminate blind spots
With so many people working on the Apple self-driving car, it's amazing that the best visuals we have are artists' concept renderings like this one.
Image: Aristomenis Tsirbas/Freelancer

Apple stays quiet about it, but the company is clearly developing a self-driving car. And this week the world was given a glimpse inside this project, showing that it’s much larger than many had previously thought.

The FBI arrested a former employee on Apple’s autonomous car design team for allegedly downloading proprietary information and attempting take it to a rival car company in China. The resulting documentation reveals the number of employees on the project.

Apple R&D seems stingy in face of massive revenues

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple R&D spending would have to double to match some of its competitors.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple spent a whopping $12.7 billion on research and development last year. And $51 billion since Tim Cook became CEO. But one analyst says that might not be enough.

The company actually spends less on R&D as a percentage of the money it takes in than many of its competitors. About half as much.

2018 MacBook Pro extends True Tone to external displays

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This week brought the first True Tone MacBook Pro.
This week brought the first True Tone MacBook Pro. And that also goes for some external screens, like this Apple Thunderbolt Display.
Photo: Apple

The 2018 MacBook Pro models just released are the first with True Tone, adjusting the display to match ambient lighting. Even better, these new laptops can do the same trick on some external screens.

True Tone can “automatically adapt [the] display to make colors appear consistent in different ambient lighting conditions,” according to Apple.

New Apple Pay ad miraculously makes payments funny

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New ad makes Apple Pay in Messages easy and funny.
Warning messages from your landlord aren't always a joke, but a new ad for Apple Pay in Messages is.
Screenshot: Apple

Apple Pay isn’t just for trips to Starbucks. It can also be used to send or receive money from friends. Or your landlord, as shown in a humerous new ad.

Money can be transferred in a simple text using the Messages app. This works for sending and receiving the cash, after Apple Wallet has been properly set up.

Watch the new advertisement for Apple Pay in Messages now: