Ian Fuchs - page 4

YouTuber takes us inside the Mac-lined hallways of MacStadium

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MacStadium Mac mini server racks
MacStadium supports thousands of Mac mini, Mac Pro, iMac Pro, and xServe servers for applications around the globe.
Photo: Apple

The Mac serves many roles for many people. Whether it’s used for creativity, research, development, content consumption, or as a server, there is a Mac for the job. During Apple’s October “More in the Making,” the company highlighted several of these key roles the Mac plays, and gave a shoutout to MacStadium’s incredible Mac server farm.

But what is MacStadium really doing, and what does it actually look like to be surrounded by hundreds of Mac mini? YouTube technology entertainer Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs had a chance to visit their Las Vegas facility to find out more.

Firmware update adds AirPlay 2 support to Libratone ZIPP speakers

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WWDC 2017 AirPlay 2 device makers
Craig Federighi highlights speaker makers adding AirPlay 2 support at WWDC 2017
Photo: Apple

At WWDC 2017, Apple announced speaker support for the Home app, powered by an update to AirPlay. While introducing Airplay 2, they highlighted several speaker makers that would add support for the new protocol. Nearly a year later, iOS 11.4 finally launched with support for the updated wireless audio protocol.

As of today – 4 months after becoming available in iOS – speaker manufacturer Libratone has made good on their AirPlay 2 promise.

Taking the new Apple Watch Series 4 on vacation [Review]

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Mickey Mouse Disney Apple Watch Series 4
The Apple Watch Series 4 made a vacation to Disney World more convenient.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

In 2015, I purchased my wife a stainless steel Apple Watch (series 0) for her birthday. Since then, she’s used it to track hundreds of workouts, reply to thousands of texts, and triage countless notifications. She’s also told me nearly every day for the past year that she hates it and it never works right.

While that might be a bit of an exaggeration, she has a point. The original Apple Watch is slow and unresponsive. Plus, some features have become frustratingly unreliable (looking at you, Siri).

This year, we decided to upgrade her Apple Watch in time for our family vacation to Disney World. It was the perfect opportunity to test Apple’s magical wrist communicator at the most magical place on Earth.

Cult of Mac’s 50 Essential iOS Apps [The complete list, sorted!]

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50 Essential iOS Apps
The best and most useful apps for iPhone and iPad
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

With our 50 Essential iOS Apps series, the goal was to help you find some of the best apps for iPhone and iPad. Picking the finest offerings from the more than 2.2 million iOS apps in Apple’s App Store proved challenging. But we highlighted apps that offer excellent features or make life easier in various ways.

To wrap up the series, we’ve sorted the apps by category to make the list easier to browse. We’re also showcasing Cult of Mac readers’ alternatives to our picks.

(You’ll find reader faves linked at the end of this post. That’s especially helpful since one of our must-have apps is about to die an unceremonious death.)

iOS 12 accidentally removes select Apple Watch Activity badges

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Activity badges for Apple Watch challenges
iOS 12's collection of "limited edition" Activity challenge badges is missing a few awards.
Screenshot: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

With the release of iOS 12 earlier this week, Apple made broad sweeping improvements to the OS. Unfortunately, the update also came with a small bug for fitness zealots sporting a cabinet full of limited edition Activity challenge badges. If that just described your Apple Watch badge collection, you can cool your cycling shorts, everything will be ok.

Apple demonstrates how complex it is to own digital content

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iTunes 12.6 makes it easy to watch rented movies on any device.
iTunes 12.6 makes it easy to watch rented movies on any device.
Photo: Apple

Purchased digital content has been around since before the launch of the iTunes Store back in 2003, but things were much different then. Devices weren’t constantly connected, and streaming wasn’t the primary way to access your “purchased” (or subscription) content, and most things came in the form of physical media (VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs, or 8-Tracks). Now that things are streamed, stored in the cloud, and available across all our devices, digital content ownership is much more complicated than simply buying a movie, book, or album and having it indefinitely.

Satechi’s new extended keyboards gives you Apple looks on a budget

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Satechi Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard
Satechi's Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard is the perfect match for your Apple setup.
Photo: Satechi

Accessory maker Satechi has been around for years, offering a wide range of charging solutions, headphones, dongles, and computer peripherals for both Mac and PC. Their newest Mac accessories, the Aluminum Bluetooth keyboard and Aluminum USB keyboard offer Apple-inspired design at a fraction of Apple’s keyboard prices.

Annoying iOS 12 update notification makes its musical debut

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iOS 12 false update popup
Grab the new iOS update now!
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

For about 18 hours, iOS 12 beta testers were incessantly prompted to update to a new version of Apple’s upcoming software . Unfortunately, most found that no such update existed. The prompts, which appeared at every unlock of a users device sparked frustration, but also became fodder for musician and jingle creator Jonathan Mann.

Ikea expanding its HomeKit accessory lineup with smart plug

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Ikea smart home appliances
Ikea's smart home accessories lineup may be expanding
Photo: Ikea

Ikea, the Swedish-based “affordable” home furnishing company, is looking to expand its lineup of Trådfri smart home accessories to include an affordable smart switch. The report, which was first published on reddit and reported by Swedish tech site Teknikveckan, shows a pair of smart plug accessories that would allow your to control “dumb” devices with your smartphone or connected speaker.

Prepare the perfect cocktail with Highball [50 Essential iOS Apps #50]

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Highball app with small bar
Highball is the best cocktail app for building and perfecting your drink repertoire
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: HighballThe perfect cocktail can compliment nearly any moment in life. Whether it’s celebratory event, a social drink, or a work function, the blend of flavors in a quality drink can be icing on the cake. Highball makes saving or sharing your favorite drink recipes easy and beautiful. Best of all, you’ll never have to guess whether the perfect cosmo has 1oz of cranberry juice, or 2.

Save your reading list for later with Pocket [50 Essential iOS Apps #49]

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Pocket app article view
Pocket makes it easy to catch up on the articles in your reading list on your own schedule.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: PocketStaying informed and up-to-date with the latest news is tough. Scrolling through Twitter or browsing the web can often lead to news stories that you want to read, but can’t be bothered to read RIGHT NOW. With Pocket, you can save those stories for later and catch up on the stories you want to read on your schedule.

Save your ideas, thoughts, and memories with Day One [50 Essential iOS Apps #48]

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Day One journal entry on iPhone with Day one on iPad in background
Day One makes it easy to create a vibrant and modern journal documenting and archiving your life.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Day OneResearch shows that keeping a journal is great for your mind. It allows you to clear your thoughts or think through problems in different ways. Finding a good way to journal is easy with the Day One app. Designed to provide a feature-rich, modern journaling experience, Day One gives you the ability to keep track of, write about, or create a virtual archive of almost anything you want.

Paper app turns your iPad into a sketch book [50 Essential iOS Apps #47]

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Cult of Mac logo poorly painted with Paper app
Paper by FiftyThree might not make you a good artist, but it does make it fun and easy.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Paper app For the past several years, the iPad has served as a tool to digitize the analog world. Board games are now virtual, books are electronic, and with the art app Paper by FiftyThree, your sketches and artwork are turned digital. Thanks to the incredible touch interface of the iPad and Apple Pencil, the app makes your device feel like its analog counterpart.

Take back your music library with Cesium [50 Essential iOS Apps #46]

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Cesium album view Airplane Mode
Escape the annoyance of Apple Music and enjoy your personal music library with Cesium
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Cesium When Apple Music launched in 2015, the service received mixed reviews. One of the biggest gripes was the impact it had on the Music app. Instead of it being a place for your music library, the app began catering to the streaming service.

Cesium offers a better music library experience. The simple, brilliant app brings back the classic Music app (aka the “iPod” app), making it easy to view and enjoy your personal song library.

Escape emails and get work done with Slack [50 Essential iOS Apps #45]

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Slack iOS app on iPhone in front of computer
Slack helps you get work done by opening up direct lines of communication.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Slack Email can be a total productivity bottleneck. Following conversations between multiple participants gets confusing. The unfortunate result of all this email chaos? Important tasks get lost in long email chains.

Luckily for collaborators everywhere, messaging app Slack replaces the need for internal email, allowing for real-time productivity and communication for teams. Instead of redundant threads and signatures, Slack strips away the cruft of the email inbox. It turns your communication into what it was meant to be — a conversation.

Clue helps you understand your period. [50 Essential iOS Apps #44]

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Clue app current cycle screen
Clue helps you understand your body's reproductive cycle.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: clue appFor the last few years, health has been a key focus area for Apple. Fitness tracking, sleep tracking, nutrition tracking, mindfulness and even reproductive health have made their way into the Health app. Unfortunately, when it comes to your sexual wellbeing, Apple’s offering is pretty minimal. With Clue: Period and Ovulation Tracker, you can track a wide range of physical and mental details and gain useful insights into patterns and abnormalities in your natural cycle.

Annotable makes annotation and markup powerful and easy [50 Essential iOS Apps #43]

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Annotable redacted information in document
With Annotable, you can easily hide sensitive information in photos and screenshots.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Annotable appSome of the most useful apps on iOS take system features and turn them up to 11. For a few years, the photos app has had basic markup tools but it’s felt underwhelming and lacked pro features. Annotable for iPhone and iPad adds pro-level annotation and markup tools to highlight or hide whatever you want in an image.

Documents is the files app iOS deserves [Essential iOS Apps #42]

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Documents app main screen
Documents offers mobile access to all your files, across your servers and cloud storage products.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: DocumentsFor the last few years, discussions about whether you can do “real work” on iOS have circled the internet. One of the most commonly cited issues with iOS was the lack of a file browser. In iOS 11, Apple gave us the Files app, but it suffers from some major limitations. Documents by Readdle takes the file management on iOS to the next level.

Your iPhone is your time card with Hours [50 Essential iOS Apps #41]

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The Hours app running timer
Time tracking is as easy as hitting "start" with the Hours app
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: HoursIf you’ve ever done a freelance project, worked as a consultant, or spent any time being self employed, you know how important keeping track of time spent working can be. Some people prefer to log their time on a sheet of paper, while others have little routines to mark the start and stop of work. Hours for iPhone is a time tracking app designed to make logging your time easy.

Unleash your graphic design prowess with Pixelmator [50 Essential iOS Apps #40]

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Pixelmator on iPad surrounded by camera gear
Pixelmator is a powerful, all-in-one graphic design app for photographers and designers alike
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: PixelmatorSince its introduction, the iPad has slowly won over new markets of people. Over the past couple years, photo and image editing apps have found a home on Apple’s tablet. Pixelmator for iOS takes photo editing and graphic design on iOS to a new level, bringing a photoshop-like experience to your fingertips.

Discover new music you’ll love with Spotify [50 Essential iOS Apps #39]

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Spotify app now playing screen
Spotify and Siri are finally a team.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Spotify Streaming music has revolutionized the way we listen to music on the go. Starting with streaming radio, and quickly evolving to carrying millions of songs in your pocket (thanks to cellular data), streaming services have enabled incredible access and discovery of great music.

With Spotify, you can experience your favorites and discover great new music better than ever, thanks to algorithmic intelligence and some genius features.

Save time and money on parking with ParkWhiz [50 Essential iOS Apps #38]

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ParkWhiz Start Search screen
ParkWhiz makes finding parking as easy as searching our destination.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: ParkWhiz appIf you live near a big city, or travel to metro areas frequently, you know what a pain in the butt parking can be. Parking lots and garages use confusing signage to trick you into spending more money, and some less expensive spots are often poorly labeled or hidden entirely. With ParkWhiz, you can get the most bang for your buck, and know exactly what you’re getting. Best of all, you’ll save time so you can enjoy your trip without adding stress.

Give the perfect GIF with GIFwrapped [50 Essential iOS Apps #37]

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You'll be amazed at how easy GIFwrapped makes finding the perfect animated GIF.
You'll be amazed at how easy GIFwrapped makes finding the perfect animated GIF.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: GIFwrapped In the ’90s and early 2000, animated GIFs were a staple of web design. Today, they’re still imperative to the web, but for entirely different reasons. With GIFwrapped, you can search a massive database of GIFs, create a personal library of your favorites, and save the ones you find on social media for later.

Refuel for less with GasBuddy [50 Essential iOS Apps #36]

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GasBuddy makes it easy to see where refueling will cost you less.
GasBuddy makes it easy to see where refueling will cost you less.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: GasBuddy gas app It’s road trip season, and that means gas prices can have a big impact on your vacation. Sometimes what seems like a decent gas price is actually a ripoff because you don’t know about the local station around the corner that’s selling fuel for far less.

If you want to get the best gas price, use GasBuddy for iPhone. The app shows you where all the nearby gas stations are. Better still, GasBuddy helps you find the best prices on gas, wherever you are.

Understand your sleep patterns with Pillow [50 Essential iOS Apps #35]

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Pillow on Apple Watch report
Pillow users your Apple Watch or iPhone for sleep tracking and reporting your sleep quality.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: pillow sleep tracker appDo you ever wake up feeling exhausted, even though you are sure you slept well the night before? Or do you find yourself getting that 2:30 feeling a few hours early without any clear explanation? With the Pillow sleep app for iPhone and Apple Watch, you can get detailed analysis of your nightly slumber. Even better, you can gain insight into your body’s ideal sleep and wake times.