Mobile menu toggle

Staff Writer - page 14

Recover, back up and restore your iPhone without touching iTunes

By

Dr.Fone iPhone data recovery
Dr.Fone gets under the hood of iOS to make iPhone data recovery simple.
Image: Wondershare

This post is brought to you by Wondershare, maker of Dr.Fone.

Say you’ve deleted your messages before backing up your iPhone. Usually the best iTunes can offer is a shrug. With a convoluted and opaque system of options, it makes a task that should be a simple matter — finding the stuff you need and getting (or returning) it to your device — overly confusing and frustrating. Worse yet, iTunes can often lead to results you’re not looking for.

iPhone 7, 7 Plus and Apple Watch 2 preorders begin: Here’s how to do it

By

Say hello to the new iPhone.
Say hello to the new iPhone.
Photo: Apple

Preorders for the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 have started.

Time is of the essence as you make your overnight purchase: Taking even an extra few minutes to place your preorder could leave you with a second-choice device or cause your shipment to be delayed. (Initial units will ship Sept. 16 to stores in 28 countries.)

Demand for the new devices is already high, so check out Cult of Mac’s guide to helping you get the exact iPhone 7 or Apple Watch you want.

Here’s what to do:

The super-thin iPhone cases you’ve been waiting for are here

By

Totallee thin iPhone cases
These super-slim iPhone cases by Totallee offer maximum protection and minimum bulk.
Photo: Totallee

This post is brought to you by Totallee.

You know that feeling when you get a new iPhone case and find yourself wondering why it couldn’t be just a little — maybe even a lot — thinner? Sickening, right?

After all, the iPhone was designed to sit in your hand like a slender sliver of shiny wonder. The more it gets sheathed in armor, the less it feels like the sleek, tactile technological marvel that it is.

For the highest price, trade in your old phone before iPhone 7 ships

By

Cult of Mac buyback

Photo: Warren R.M. Stuart/Flickr CC

Now that the iPhone 7 has finally been revealed, you are probably experiencing some mixed emotions. Elation at the possibilities of the new dual-camera system. Despair that the dual-lens hardware is only available on the iPhone 7 Plus. Sheer terror at the loss of a headphone jack. And yet pure desire to own the new iPhone 7 — especially in that jaunty Jet Black color.

Chances are the only thing better than getting the new iPhone is that we will pay you cold, hard cash for your old iPhone. Seriously. And the sooner you sell your old phone, the more money you can get for it. In this post-keynote world we’re now living in, buyback prices tend to drop very quickly, so check out our Cult of Mac iPhone trade-in page and get a quote for your old device today!

Wondershare PDF Creator for Mac: Make creation of PDFs from Office files fun and easy

By

Wondershare PDF Creator for Mac optimized
It's simple to crank out PDFs with Wondershare PDF Creator for Mac.
Image: Wondershare

This post brought to you by Wondershare, maker of PDF Creator for Mac.

Wondershare has cemented itself as a dominant software-development company around the globe, thanks to an array of world-class software tools it has designed and tailored to fit the demands of the market.

Use this data-transfer tool for a seamless transition to iPhone 7

By

AnyTrans Clone function
iOS data-management software AnyTrans makes your upgrade to iPhone 7 simple.
Screenshot: iMobie

This post is brought to you by iMobie, maker of AnyTrans.

It’s almost time for the iPhone 7. And, as when any new iPhone model hits the scene, there are sure to be plenty of people staring at their newly booted devices, wondering where some of their favorite data went.

Download and archive Instagram photos and videos automatically

By

4K Stogram
With 4K Stogram, you can automatically download Instagram photos and videos.
Photo: 4K Stogram

This post is brought to you by 4K Stogram.

For many of us, Instagram is the primary place to get our daily fix of fresh images and videos. We’ll spend hours browsing the feeds of friends and family, and our favorite artists, public figures or journalists. But all that addicting content — including what you post yourself — stays on Instagram’s servers, where it’s a bit of a hassle to find and only accessible by logging in.

Recover lost iPhone data the simple way with this free-to-try Mac app

By

iMyfone
So many ways to lose your iPhone data; one simple way to get it back.
Image: iMyfone Technology Co.

This post is brought to you by iMyfone Technology Co., maker of iMyfone D-Back.

Conversations, photos, notes — with the iPhone, the data we rely on most has never felt closer or more convenient. But when something goes wrong and that data disappears, it’s anything but convenient. And iTunes, with its tricky backup scheme based on bulk syncs rather than individual selections, doesn’t always help.

How much does in-house app development really cost?

By

How much does in-house app development really cost?
Putting a price tag on in-house app development can be tricky.
Photo: MacPaw

Our new App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

If you’re developing a Mac app, you’re faced with a major either/or decision: whether to distribute inside or outside of the Mac App Store (MAS). Sticking to the MAS means you’ve got access to tools for licensing, hosting, crash reporting and other necessary tasks. However, Apple’s tools may not be what’s best for your app.

Working with Windows files on a Mac has never been easier

By

NTFS for Mac
Why is it so difficult to work with Windows files on a Mac? It doesn't have to be!
Photo: Paragon Software Group

This post is brought to you by Paragon Software Group, maker of Paragon NTFS for Mac.

Mac and PC are like yin and yang, or oil and water — essentially similar yet significantly distinct. It’s not just a difference in personal computing preference: The two platforms are literally built not to communicate with one another.

Apple and Microsoft coded their operating systems using completely different languages for writing files to drives, HFS+ and NTFS respectively. OS X offers only limited support for files written to a Windows-formatted drive, whether an external hard drive, SSD or USB stick, which can mean major headaches if you’re living or working in a cross-platform world.

How to launch a Mac app and succeed

By

MacPaw DevMate
You need a game plan if you want to successfully launch your Mac app.
Image: MacPaw

Our new App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

So you’re going to launch an app for Mac. Congrats! Now you’ve got to figure out an app marketing strategy that will get it to the widest audience possible.

There are many ways to approach the birth of a new product, but even in a field as fast-growing and dynamic as the world of apps, experience has yielded accepted wisdom about the best ways to start and maintain a successful campaign. Here are great rules of thumb for maximizing impact and customers for your app.

Weary of your wearable? Sell it to us!

By

broken wearables buyback
It's time to turn tour trashed wearables into cash.
Illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Ever open the drawer and go, “Oh yeah. I own a Jawbone UP”? It’s easy to forget about an old fitness tracker or smartwatch you’ve got stashed away, but the Cult of Mac buyback program makes rediscovering an unused wearable more like finding a forgotten wad of cash.

We’ll give you the best price for your wearables, from shiny Apple Watches to older, well-worn products that most other buyback programs won’t accept. It’s a no-brainer to quickly and easily turn an old, unused wearable into cold, hard cash.

10 reasons to release your apps outside the Mac App Store

By

DevMate
The Mac App Store isn't the only way you should distribute your apps.
Image: MacPaw

Our new App Business section is brought to you by MacPaw, maker of proven Mac apps.

Like death and taxes, distributing your new app through the Mac App Store can seem inevitable. It’s widely considered the easiest way to get the widest exposure for an app, a centralized marketplace for software with a captive audience of buyers.

But ever more developers are looking beyond the Mac App Store (MAS) for distribution options that best serve their app. MacPaw, maker of DevMate, performed an interesting survey of developers to ask if they prefer MAS or another app store alternative, and why.

Manage projects of any size with Project Planning Pro for Mac

By

Project Planning Pro
Project Planning Pro is a great tool for keeping your projects on track.
Photo: i2e Consulting

This post is brought to you by i2e Consulting.

Keeping any project on track is like cooking a meal, requiring close attention to all the ingredients as well as the sequence and timing of critical tasks. In the kitchen you use a cookbook; in the digital workplace, you face a dizzying array of platforms and software for keeping all the goals, team members, deadlines and contingencies in order.

Project Planning Pro streamlines all that, and right now Cult of Mac is offering a special 30 percent discount on the Mac version of the easy-to-use software.

This iTunes alternative will free up space before your iOS 10 update

By

MacX MediaTrans
MacX MediaTrans makes it easy to back up and manage everything on your iPhone or iPad.
Image: Digiarty Software

This post is brought to you by Digiarty Software.

Anyone who keeps half an eye on the world of Apple knows that iOS 10 and iPhone 7 are about to drop. This is a big deal: These major upgrades will bring a wide range of new capabilities and features, so you’ll likely be feeling the itch to upgrade soon.

But before you install iOS 10, or migrate to the iPhone 7, you ought to make sure you properly manage the data on your outgoing device. MacX MediaTrans offers a way to do just that, and it’s easier to use and more reliable than iTunes.

Cloud Raiders comes to Mac, and its high-flying action never looked better

By

Cloud Raiders for Mac
Cloud Raiders, a visually stunning and endlessly addictive base-building strategy game, is now available for Mac.
Image: Game Insight

This post is brought to you by Game Insight.

If you’re a fan of base-building strategy games, there’s a good chance you’ve been playing Cloud Raiders on your mobile phones and tablets in the last few years — but you might not know that Cloud Raiders recently made the jump to the Mac App Store. We’ve been playing it on Mac, and as a geeky crew of gamers, we’re impressed.

Itching to get the iPhone 7? Sell your old iPhone to us first!

By

Even if it's busted, we'll give you the best price for your old iPhone.
Even if it's busted, we'll give you the best price for your old iPhone.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Boy, iPhones sure do grow up fast. There’s a brand new model out almost every six months, while the one in your pocket gets sluggish and senile.

If you’re looking to upgrade and aren’t sure what to do with your hobbled old phone, sell your iPhone to us first! Most of the time, Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program can get you more money for your outdated, used or even broken devices than Gazelle, Walmart, Best Buy, and Apple themselves.

Eve Energy smart switch lets you manage your home’s energy use effortlessly

By

Eve Energy offers easy tools for controlling and monitoring home electricity use.
Eve Energy offers easy tools for controlling and monitoring home electricity use.
Photo: Elgato

This post is brought to you by Elgato, makers of Eve Energy.

We’ve been told for a long time to expect the Internet of Things to give us a new relationship with our homes. By releasing HomeKit, Apple took a big step toward turning that prediction into reality, offering a platform for apps to interact with your home right through your iPhone.

This cloud-based Apple device management solution coordinates the moving parts of any mobile workforce

By

Jamf Now makes it easy for any business to establish and operate a network of Apple mobile devices.
Bushel makes it easy for any business to establish and operate a network of Apple mobile devices.
Photo: Bushel

This post is brought to you by Jamf Now.

Work has gone mobile, and businesses large and small must now keep up with the growing number of devices used by their employees to get the job done. Maybe you’re a contractor keeping track of repair crews from a field office Mac, or a store owner with iPhone-enabled inventory runners. Or maybe you run a coffee shop using iPads to process sales.

There are many reasons you might want a mobile-enabled workforce, and a lot of ways to go about setting one up, but many of them are quite expensive.

Focus Matrix helps you focus on the things that matter

By

Focus Matrix features
Focus Matrix brings simple yet effective time-management tools to iOS and Mac.
Photo: Xwavesoft

This post is brought to you by XwaveSoft.

“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important,” President Dwight D. Eisenhower reportedly once said. “The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This idea underpins a way of organizing tasks named for the former general, using a grid to position tasks in the order they should be taken on.

Focus Matrix turns this time-honored approach to task management into a feature-rich app for both iOS and Mac.

Freelancers will appreciate this invoicing innovation

By

Invoicely takes the pain out of invoicing.
Invoicely takes the pain out of invoicing.
Photo: StartupStockPhotos/Pixabay

This post is brought to you by Invoicely.

With the exploding number of freelancers and independent business owners, we might need to rework an old phrase to say, “Nothing is certain but death, taxes and invoices.”

Keeping track of which clients need to pay you, and which vendors need paying, is a mind-numbing but necessary part of surviving in today’s economy. Many of us utilize our own DIY systems for invoicing. But Invoicely — a free, cloud-based service designed for freelancers that can scale up to work for businesses of all sizes — delivers handy features that make invoicing the least of your worries.

LG shows off its latest UltraWide monitor with a little help from DevinSuperTramp

By

LG's new line of UltraWide monitors allow for shooting and editing in aspect ratios usually reserved for the pros.
LG's new line of UltraWide monitors allow for shooting and editing in aspect ratios usually reserved for the pros.
Photo: LG Electronics

This post is brought to you by LG Electronics.

Even if you’ve never heard of DevinSuperTramp, it’s a good bet your eyeballs have engaged one of his gorgeous videos of people at play.

Whether it’s parkour in the Shire, boogie boarding off wet rocks, parasailing, base jumping or squirrel suiting, you name the ill-advised activity, and this guy’s probably shot it — with glorious production values.

With 200 videos, 4 million YouTube subscribers and over 765 million views, he’s doing something right. One of the keys to his success is keeping on top of the latest, greatest gear.

Harvard and MIT teamed up for this open-source online education platform

By

Education is easy with EDX's learning platform.
Education is easy with EDX's learning platform.
Photo: EDX

This post is brought to you by EdX.

It’s often said that the internet makes it possible for anyone to get educated on any subject. But just as in offline modes of education, the many models of online teaching and learning are far from perfect, with plenty of room for improvement and innovation.

A joint effort between Harvard and MIT — dubbed EdX — is aiming to provide not only a place for learning new skills, but a platform for innovating new ways of teaching and learning over the web. It’s a nonprofit online education platform partnered with nearly 100 of the world’s leading universities and institutions — Harvard, MIT, Microsoft, Caltech, Columbia, you get the picture — to provide students anywhere in the world access to more than 1,000 certified courses. As an open-source platform, it also offers educators an opportunity to design and implement their own modes of teaching.

Want to sell your iPhone? Better do it soon

By

It's a great time to convert your Apple gear into cash.
It's a great time to convert your Apple gear into cash.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Although WWDC is mostly software focused, it’s also significant reminder that Apple is always moving forward with new devices and other big announcements on the horizon.

Unfortunately for us Apple addicts that means you have to be prepared to shell cash when Apple busts out a surprise ‘One more thing…’ announcement, but it turns out Apple devices are a really good way to recoup some of those costs.

How BYOD can be as fun as BYOB

By

VMWare AirWatch BYOD
Employees prefer their own iPhones. AirWatch could be your BYOD solution.
Photo: William Iven/Pixabay CC

This post is brought to you by VMware AirWatch.

Let’s face it: Asking a person to carry around two devices all the time, one for work and one for play, is just inefficient. When organizations implement overbearing management or ignore privacy concerns, they almost force users to carry a device for work and a device for personal use.

While a few employees may enjoy the air-gap separation of church and state, most people buckle under the stress of having two separate devices to potentially forget in a cab or leave on the airport bathroom sink (true story!).