Rob LeFebvre - page 16

The busier my life gets, the more disorganized I become. I fumble for a notepad when I’m out and want to get someone’s phone number. I think of get short story ideas when I’m in the shower, and I have tons of books and movies I want to get (usually when I’m broke). Don’t get me started on shopping lists. Who has time to write those out?

My digital life is just as disorganized. There are web links to save, photos of stuff I want to share with friends, and notes I need to refer to while writing articles on the web. They’re each in their own separate apps or websites, making pulling everything together a pain.

Notes in iOS 9 solves this dilemma by allowing us all to keep all our photos, notes, shopping lists in the one place we’re most likely to find it: on our iPhones.

Better yet, you can dictate an idea for your next screenplay right out of the shower, then pick up your iPad when you get to work and resume it right there.

Here’s how to get the most out of your new Notes app, and never be disorganized again.

Figuring out which content-blocking apps you want is going to be tough with so many of them vying for your attention. Which one should you choose?

A day after iOS 9 made content blockers possible, we’ve got Purify, Peace, Crystal, Silentium, Blockr, Freedom, Blockr and 1Blocker, just to name a few.

These apps are garnering a ton of attention and reaching the top of the paid app charts. With so many content blockers out there, what’s the difference? Why choose one over the other? It’s so confusing, so we did a little digging. Here’s what we’ve found out.

If you want to use the new gee-whiz features of iOS 9, like Picture in Picture to FaceTime with your significant other while you write a paper in Pages, or you want to Slide Over a Twitter app to keep track of all the goings on while you surf the web, you’re going to need a newer device.

However, all is not lost if you have an older device. Most of the power of iOS 9 is under the hood, making even older devices just a little more battery efficient, just a bit more useful.

iOS 9 includes a new feature that desktop users have had for a while: content blocking. More conventionally known as ad blockers, this software cuts out all the advertisements and other cruft from web pages, allowing faster load times and a more streamlined experience.

Of course, most websites you read these days (including Cult of Mac!) rely on advertising to keep the lights on.

Luckily for all of us, most new content blockers let you whitelist specific sites so you can continue to help them pay their bills.

Apple’s flip-flop on game controllers for Apple TV might be bad news for developers, but it’s great news for gamers.

It’s a virtual guarantee that all games will work better out of the box when running on the refreshed Apple TV, which will have its own App Store for the first time.

We’re all going to be diving into the deep end with iOS 9. While many of the changes are subtle, there are a fair number of differences in both the visual style and the under-the-hood workings of Apple’s new mobile OS.

That means this a perfect time to take a deeper look at all the killer stuff you don’t want to miss. These iOS 9 tips will help you make the most of all the great new features.

When you back up your iPhone before upgrading to iOS 9, you have a couple of choices. You can use iCloud or iTunes.

For your best, most comprehensive backup, connect your iPhone (or iPad) to iTunes. Seriously, iTunes backs up almost everything — and it’s your best bet for downloading iOS 9 when the upgrade becomes available today.

Here’s how to do it.

Update: Apple has delayed deployment of watchOS 2, possibly for a day or more, after discovering a bug that’s taking longer to fix than expected.

Are you ready? It’s finally time to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 2. The software upgrade will let you run third-party apps right on the Watch without your iPhone, add nightstand mode and new watch faces (including your own photos), and much more.

If you’re ready to make it so, read on and get all these new features on your wrist today.

Whether you’re getting a new iPhone 6s or not, you’re going to want to upgrade to iOS 9 to take advantage of everything Apple’s new mobile operating system has to offer.

iOS 9 is ready to revolutionize your mobile life, but there are a few things you should do before making the leap. Here’s how to get your iPhone (or iPad) ready for its iOS 9 upgrade — the right way.

Have you ever found yourself staring at the Netflix or Amazon Prime Video screen on your TV, or drooling a bit while you page through the Redbox screens at a red kiosk near you?

It’s frustrating, especially when you’re always hearing about movies that you must see right now, but can’t seem to remember when you’re on the couch (or sofa, get it?) with a remote in hand.

The developers of Sofa have you covered, though, with a new app aimed at helping you find and track all those flicks you haven’t seen, but want to.

“Me and My Other Me” is a series of illustrated portraits of celebrities. The roster of folks drawn up include tech giants like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as well as music mega-stars like Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.

What makes them creepy–aside from the highly detailed cartoonish art style, that is–is that they’re portraits of both younger and older versions of the subjects.

Just take a look at a few of these disturbing pieces of art below and you’ll see what I mean.

Sometime in the last few weeks, I’ve had a big problem with Apple Music.

Whenever I’d start an album or playlist, I’d only hear the first song I chose, over and over and over.

I’d hit the Up Next list button and see the same song, endlessly repeated.

The fix is an easy one, but man did it frustrate me for weeks. Here’s how you can make sure you’re not stuck on repeat.

If you missed Apple’s big event this past Wednesday, we’ve got you covered. All the details you need are here in one convenient digital magazine for your weekend reading pleasure. Want to know all about the new iPhone 6s? The new Apple TV? What about the iPad Pro with it’s new Apple Pencil?

It’s all here, so don’t be shy – download the latest issue of Cult of Mac Magazine right here and dive in to get the skinny on these exciting new products, plus much much more.

One of the biggest video gaming companies ever has just affirmed its support for the new Apple TV, itself just revealed this week by Apple.

Activision wrote a blog post detailing the games it will bring Skylanders SuperChargers, Guitar Hero Live, and Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved to Apple TV, which shows a confidence in Apple’s ability to create yet another fantastic home for gaming as it did with iOS.

These aren’t casual like Crossy Road (though those types of games will do well on the big screen, too), but full console versions of popular titles.

Former NBA player Rex Chapman pleaded guilty to four counts of felony theft this week. He was arrested for not only stealing over $15,000 worth of Apple gear from the store in Scottsdale, Arizona, but also for selling it at local pawn shops.

Chapman allegedly pretended to use the Apple Store’s self-checkout system, leaving without actually paying for the items.

Wow, that was fast – Logitech, purveyor of fine Apple accessories for a long time, has just pulled the curtains from around its new Create Keyboard Case, made to work with the iPad Pro just announced this morning. The case is an alternative to Apple’s also just-announced Smart Cover.

Perhaps its even more telling that Logitech worked with Apple to get its new Create keyboard to market on day one; something that never happened in the past at Apple. If the mothership is helping third-party companies ahead of new products, consumers will ultimately win out with more day-one options for all their magical Apple gear.

Making an iPhone is complex, for sure. Creating the hardware and software that rules our daily lives has been an ongoing, iterative process since 2007, when Steve Jobs revealed the first one.

Since then and on up to the newly announced iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the iPhone itself has improved bit by bit while still wowing consumers as better enough to upgrade to.

“You can’t just say, ‘Here it is. It does the same thing 5 percent better than last year,’ says senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller in an interview over at Bloomberg. “Nobody cares.”

In a device that’s the essence of complexity, refined, the new 3D Touch was super tricky to make, as the in-depth interview explains.

Most games you’ll get on the new Apple TV will likely take advantage of the new Apple TV remote, with its accelerometer, gyroscope, voice, and touch controls.

But if you want to play more hardcore games, you’ll want a more hardcore controller like this new SteelSeries Nimbus, a full-on gaming controller that looks and feels a lot more like the kind of controller you’d hook up to your living room console.

From the iPhone to the iPad to the Apple TV, Cupertino’s constellation of magical devices just got a little more magical.

Did you expect all that Apple goodness? Most of what we heard today already churned through the rumor mill: the plus-size iPad Pro; new Apple Watch finishes and bands; a refreshed Apple TV with games, apps and Siri functionality. And, oh yeah, the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with a whole new level of Force Touch, called 3D Touch.

There were even a few surprises, like the iPad Pro’s new Smart Keyboard and the iPad stylus, dubbed the Apple Pencil. But throughout today’s keynote by Tim Cook and his lieutenants, the series of under-the-hood upgrades they revealed promise to push all Apple products forward into the future.

Let’s take a moment to boil down all two hours and 10 minutes of this incredibly dense and surprisingly succinct Apple event.

App makers who are part of Apple’s Developer program can now download the latest iOS 9.1 beta, build 13B5110e, from the Apple Developer page right now.

We’ve all been focusing on games as the killer apps for a new Apple TV reveal tomorrow at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, but even regular apps could bring Apple the audience it wants as it tries to leapfrog competitors like Chromecast and Roku with features that the other guys just don’t have (yet).

Heads up, everyone – this week is just impossibly full of news about the upcoming iPhone 6s, new Apple TV revisions, and a whole ton of fantastically fresh apps, games and gear. We’ve stuffed all that goodness into a digital magazine that can’t be beat.

Put your seatbelt on and buckle in for another rockin’ ride with Cult of Mac Magazine, available for free right now.

Imagine working on a sketch with a reference photo right next to it, or writing a paper while copying citations from an iBook. Or, heck, running YouTube in Safari while writing a post about Split View on the iPad (hypothetically).

iOS 9 brings this multitasking joy to your iPad, provided you have the latest and greatest iPad Air 2, since it’s the only device that can currently manage the power needed to run such a double screen.

So the next time you need to FaceTime with your boss in San Francisco but still take Notes on your iPad, you can easily make it happen.

Here’s how.

Our digital lives are busy. We send iMessages while we’re browsing the web, type in phone numbers and addresses while FaceTiming, and bounce between apps on our Macs constantly.

Now, with iOS 9 and a modern iPad, you can quickly browse the web, respond to a text message, or jot something down in a note, then slide that app away so you can focus on your original app.

This feature, called Slide Over, is going to make using your iPad a lot more fun and useful.

Here’s how to make it happen, assuming you have an iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, or iPad mini 3.

Playing Dungeons and Dragons as a youngster is a watershed moment of a modern adult’s formative nerd experience. Grownups, however, don’t necessarily have time to draw up characters or roll dice for strength and charisma stats, let alone spend weekends huddled around a table full of charts, oddly shaped dice and Cheetos.

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is a less-time-intensive way to recapture the dungeons (and dragons!) of yore in a cheeky, fun, self-aware way, all from the relative safety of your iPad, iPhone or select Android devices.

And now there’s an expansion for the mobile game, called Fist of +1 Fury, available as an in-app purchase for $1.99. Check out the trailer below for all the retro nerd fun.