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Luke Dormehl - page 208

Dr. Dre is leading Apple’s video charge

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Dre's finally apologizing for his misogyny.
No, Apple hasn't forgot about Dre.
Photo: Beats

Dr. Dre is a major force in Apple’s push toward offering original video content, according to a new report from Variety.

“Dre’s purpose in life is to come up with something that moves the needle,” co-founder Jimmy Iovine says. “He’s done that really seriously a bunch of times. And now he’s experimenting with video. And what he does will be unique, and he will get there. My responsibility to Apple and to him is to put him in that position where he can.”

Apple nabs new TV dealmaker from Amazon

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apple tv and siri remote
Apple TV just got a new experienced negotiator.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has hired the former head of Amazon Fire TV, Timothy Twerdahl, as a new vice president for Apple TV. Alongside Amazon, Twerdahl has also previously worked for Netflix and Roku.

In Twerdahl’s previous role at Amazon, he was in charge of negotiating media deals. This is an area Apple has struggled with, with one previous report claiming that content dealmaker Eddy Cue was viewed as arrogant by TV execs during negotiations.

Twitter wants to make ‘abusive’ tweets disappear

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Apple wants patent trolls to stop ‘gaming the system’
Internet trolls are real.
Photo: Andrew Becraft/Flickr CC

Twitter has announced that it’s ramping up its efforts to stop online abuse by implementing new tools designed to banish trolls and make itself into a “safer place.”

The microblogging company will introduce measures designed to stop repeat offender users from making new accounts to troll people who have blocked them. It will also change its search function to get rid of “potentially sensitive” content from showing up in regular search results.

Long-awaited BeatsX earphones finally arriving this week

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Save big on a pair of BeatsX
Coming this Friday to an Apple store near you.
Photo: Apple

After leaving us hanging for five months, Apple’s new BeatsX headphones will finally go on sale this Friday, according to a new report.

The $150 wireless headphones will be available in white and black, as well as previously unannounced gray and blue options — although these will ship further down the line.

Malevolent Machines is an endless runner for shoot-em-up fans

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Screen Shot 2017-02-07 at 15.30.15
Because who wants to just run in an endless runner?
Photo: Goodnight Games

Do you like your endless runners with a dose of run-and-gun action, a sprinkle of old world steampunk style, and a whole lot of pixel-art charm?

If so, you’ll probably get a kick out of Malevolent Machines, a new auto-runner game from Goodnight Games, which promises to take gamers of a certain age back to their misspent youths playing Metal Slug and Altered Beast — and to drag younger players along for the ride, too.

Check out the trailer below:

‘Spaceship’ campus showcases Apple’s obsessive levels of perfectionism

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Apple hQ
Seriously, were you expecting anything else?
Photo: Apple

The inside of Apple’s forthcoming “spaceship” campus — now entering the final stages of construction — demonstrates typically Apple level of design perfectionism, according to a new report.

Apple’s demands for the project reportedly include rules that no vents or pipework be reflected in the massive glass windows which run around the campus. There are also copious details on the special wood used throughout the building, nitpicks about minimalist signage, and much, much more.

Apple reportedly starting iPhone 8 production early

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iPhone8
Is this how the new iPhone 8 will look?
Photo: Imran Taylor

Apple is getting a head start manufacturing the iPhone 8, according to a report from analysts at BlueFin Research Partners. “Early indication [is that Apple is] trying to pull in next generation iPhone builds as much as possible,” write John Donovan and Steve Mullane in a note issued this morning.

However, the analysts remain unsure whether this means Apple will debut the iPhone 8 earlier than its expected September launch date.

Apple backs legal brief against Trump’s travel ban

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Yeah, we're pretty incredulous about your ideas, too, Mr. Trump.
Apple has clashed with President Trump previously.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Apple has joined 96 other tech companies signing a legal brief against President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

The amicus brief, which was filed late Sunday night in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, makes the argument that immigrants are vital for both society and the economy.

Apple renews bid to sell refurbished iPhones in India

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Apple supplier is increasing its ability to build masses of iPhones in India
Apple wants to grow its brand in India.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple wants the right to import and sell refurbished iPhones in India, according to a new report.

The company previously tried to roll out a similar scheme, only to have it squashed by a consortium of local smartphone OEM rivals. This time, however, Apple has the bargaining chip that it plans to manufacture iPhones in India working in its favor.

Crazy-expensive Japanese iPhone case is a handcrafted work of art

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Screen Shot 2017-02-06 at 13.28.57
Well, there goes this month's rent money. And the next.
Photo: SQUAIR

Fancy protecting your iPhone with a hand-crafted aluminum case that’s worth at least twice what you paid for the handset? Then you may be interested in SQUAIR’s Slit iPhone 7 case, a fancy new case that reflects the “stoic” sensibilities of its Japanese creators.

At $1,700 (plus tax), that’s a whole lot of stoicism.

Fire Emblem Heroes, Linea and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Looking to get up to speed on the week’s hottest apps? We’ve got your back!

In a week in which Apple announced record-breaking revenues, we’ve combed through the latest apps to bring you the cream of the crop. Whether you’re looking for Nintendo’s latest iOS game or a great sketching app, we think you’ll find something to entertain you…

Hacker spills code developed to crack San Bernardino iPhone

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Proposed bill could hold tech giants more accountable for child exploitation
Code may have helped crack iPhone 5c.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A hacker has released a cache of files allegedly stolen from Israeli mobile phone forensics company Cellebrite — including the hack it reportedly developed for the FBI to help break into older model iPhones.

In an interview with Motherboard, the hacker responsible said that the release was a demonstration that, “when you create these tools, they will make it out. History should make that clear.”

South Korean government wants to hear about exploding phones

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160927142551-samsung-note-7-fire-1-780x439
The Note 7 was one of the last year's hottest phones. And not in the good way.
Photo: Hui Renjie

In the aftermath of Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 debacle, the South Korean government is set to make it mandatory for manufacturers to report instances in which their handsets burst into flames.

“When the new rules come into effect, phone makers will also have to immediately launch an investigation — right after the submission of the report — to prove if the fires or explosions were caused by flawed parts or external force,” an official from The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is quoted as saying.

Apple accused of breaking FaceTime to force iOS 7 upgrades

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facetime
Some users say that iOS 7 made their iPhones run slowly.
Photo: Apple

A class-action lawsuit claims that Apple intentionally broke its FaceTime service on iOS 6 in order to get users to upgrade to iOS 7 — thereby making older iPhones run slowly.

The reason was allegedly driven by Apple’s desire not to have to continue paying high data costs to the company Akamai, which ran third-party servers used for handling FaceTime data.

Apple and IBM team up to develop United Airlines apps

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IBM
You could say that Apple and IBM's partnership has really... taken off!
Photo: Apple

Apple is teaming up with IBM and United Airlines to create new mobile apps for use by the airline’s front-line employees.

The apps will be designed for the roughly 50,000 Apple Watches, iPhones, and iPads that United Airlines has already issued to its flight attendants, gate agents, and other employees.

Apple signs Silicon Valley’s open letter bashing Trump’s travel ban

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Donald Trump signing document
President Trump signing an executive order.
Photo: The White House/Facebook

Apple will join other tech companies, including Alphabet, Facebook and Uber, in penning a letter opposing President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban.

News of the letter comes shortly after an interview Apple CEO Tim Cook gave to The Wall Street Journal, in which he described the “heart-wrenching” messages he had received about Trump’s executive order, which potentially affects hundreds of Apple employees.

Check out the draft of the open letter to Trump below:

Apple wants to use lasers to polish future ceramic iPhones

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Ceramic Patent
Apple has created an exciting new industrial process.
Photo: USPTO/Cult of Mac

Apple has invented a method for carrying out a “laser polishing” technique which could be used to help create future ceramic iPhones.

The company’s patent application covers an industrial process designed “for polishing a ceramic component using a laser.” The technique could be used to “produce a polished surface” on a wide range of materials, ranging from the white ceramic used for high-end Apple Watch Series 2 models to glass materials, like the reported casing being used for this year’s iPhone 8.

Steve Jobs’ widow cuts Disney stake in half

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Disney
Laurene Powell Jobs is now the fourth-largest Disney shareholder.
Photo: Carl Banks/Disney

While he was alive, Steve Jobs was Walt Disney’s single largest shareholder, courtesy of his role running Pixar, the company which transformed him into a billionaire. (No, it wasn’t Apple!)

However, it seems that Jobs’ family aren’t holding onto their largest stakeholder position, as Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell Jobs has since cut her stake in Walt Disney in two.

iPhone-controlled record player puts new spin on turntables

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It's the perfect blend of old and new!
Photo: Yves Béhar

Combining cutting-edge tech with a hipster retro aesthetic, designer Yves Béhar has created an awesome smartphone-connected compact turntable — which moves the arm, while keeping the record itself still.

Called the Love turntable, the results drag vinyl turntables well and truly into the 21st century, courtesy of a smart sensor-filled arm which scans the record and then lets you skip tracks using your iPhone. What could be better?

Apple plans to oppose Trump’s immigration ban

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President Trump: Apple encryption could protect ‘criminal minds’
Trump's immigration policy has hit a nerve with Tim Cook.
Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC

Tim Cook makes it clear that Apple is staunchly opposed to President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to a new interview.

“More than any country in the world, this country is strong because of our immigrant background and our capacity and ability as people to welcome people from all kinds of backgrounds,” Cook told The Wall Street Journal. “That’s what makes us special. We ought to pause and really think deeply through that.”

Prince’s biggest hits coming to Apple Music this month

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Prince
News good enough to make doves cry.
Photo: Jimi Hughes/Wikipedia CC

Prince may have been one of the most high-profile celebrity deaths of 2016, but his music will live on via Apple Music starting February.

A new report claims that Prince’s Warner Music Group albums — including iconic hits like “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Purple Rain” and “When Doves Cry” — will start streaming on February 12.

Apple blows off deadline to pay massive Irish tax bill

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Apple is worth more than the entire US energy sector combined
Apple has missed its tax deadline!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has missed the deadline to pay the 13 billion euros ($14.52 billion) tax bill it owes to the Irish government, according to a new report.

The bill was handed out last August by European Union competition officials, who ruled that Apple was taking advantage of illegal state aid allowing the company to route profits through Ireland.