We’re excited to announce new promotional opportunities on The CultCast, Cult of Mac’s new technology podcast.
Since our launch on February 24th, The CultCast has been consistently positioned as a top-five technology podcast on iTunes, and has had multiple appearances as iTunes’ #1 most popular tech podcast. We’re off to an amazing start!
There’s no question that the iPad and iPhone are two of the best ways to watch a movie. But the biggest problem is getting our favorite DVD’s on to the dang things. Sure, you can go to iTunes and buy a digital copy of your movie, again. But that costs a lot of money if you want a digital copy of all your movies, and if you already own the physical disc, what’s the point? Plus, once you download those movies, the iPad only has a limited amount of storage available. Those two hurdles prevent a lot of people from fully realizing the beauty of owning an iOS device by watching their favorite movies.
This week we’re bringing you two solutions to get over your DVD ripping hurdles: the MacX DVD Ripper Pro Stream Edition and MacX Video Converter Pro by Digiarty. MacX DVD Ripper Pro Streamer’s package includes the ability to rip movie files from the DVDs you already own, convert them into iPhone and iPad supported video files, and wirelessly stream them to your iOS device. MacX Video Converter Pro can take those files and convert them to any video format you need, or download your favorite Vimeo and YouTube videos right off the web. Not only is Digiarty’s software awesome, and easy enough for your momma to use, but they’re giving it away, FREE, to all Cult of Mac readers for the next 7 days!
Here’s how to get your copy:
We’ve seen quite a few hardware/app combinations that promise to turn your iPhone into a beautifully simplistic remote control for your TV, but most of them fall short with a level of complexity that always brings us back to our old remote control setup. The VooMote is different. Not only is it ridiculously easy to use, but it looks great, has a minimal footprint, and is completely customizable so it adapts to whatever configuration you might need. Just plug in the Zapper to your 30pin connector and that’s it. Boom! You’re ready to go.
Its light-weight design is the size of a paperclip which maximizes the convience factor as it effortlessly converts any iOS device into a smart universal remote that controls virtually all your A/V gear. Within the app you can customize the layout and look of your remote screen so you don’t have a bunch of buttons bothering you that you never use. You can even create macros to execute a series of functions with only one touch. There’s no extra hardware to setup. No messy menus. Just a simple accessory to rule your television dominion. It’s available in a multitude of vibrant colors including, Red, Pink, Blue, Green, White and Black. The VooMate Zapper is awesome, and at $69.99 it’s cheaper than most universal remotes on the market.
Today we’ve teamed up with VooMote to giveaway two brand new VooMote Zappers to two of our lucky readers. Entering the giveaway takes less than a minute and you’ll be that much closer to having the best universal remote on the market.
Here’s How To Enter:
The iPad is hands-down, one of the best platforms to play video games on. Games just seem to envelop you in a wave of child-like wonder once you start playing. One of our favorite types of iPad apps are Tower Defense games that force users to employ strategy combined with realtime action. There are hundreds of games out there, but one of the coolest and unique games we’ve played is Tesla Wars by Synaptic Wave.
Even though I’m on a computer like 10 hours a day, I still suck at a lot of computer things. Like making a resume that looks worthy of distribution. Apple’s Pages app is one of the best word-processing tools available, but people like me need some extra help to make high quality documents without the fuss of complicated interfaces. The guys at Emendo Media saw that problem and have come out with an awesome new app to help iOS users create gorgeous, well designed documents through Pages using their iOS app Templates For Pages Pro.
Templates for Pages Pro is the best way to create professional looking, high quality and polished documents with Apple’s Pages application on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. With more than 222 different templates divided into 20 different categories, the app significantly expands the possibilities of Pages creating all kinds of trendy, functional, and time-saving documents. The app makes it super easy to create letterheads, invoices, resumes, coupons, newsletters, flyers, and so much more that look like they were touched by a professional designer.
Today, we’ve partnered up with Emendo Media to give 10 free copies of their amazing app to our readers. Even if you don’t use Pages a ton, you’ll want to keep this app in your back pocket for those times that you do. Entering the contest is easy, but you have to play to win.
Here’s How To Enter:
Our affiliate partner MacUpdate is offering their new March 2012 Bundle featuring VMware Fusion 4, Drive Genius 3, PDFpen 5, Typinator 5, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and five other top-notch apps for $49.99. Ten of the eleven apps have never been offered in a bundle before.
Here are the details:
Review by Jordan Trimas
The Seagate GoFlex Slim Performance Hard Drive ($100) is a compact, sleek, and fashionable storage accessory good for both Mac and PC users. If you’re looking for a sexy and functional piece of computer candy, the GoFlex Slim is the Prada of portable storage solutions.
Review by Kelly Keltner
Many headsets promise a headset utopia, making smartphone users’ heads fill with visions of commanding their world with a simple voice command.
The Plantronics Marque M155 ($60) and the Motorola HX550 ($60) both make similar promises, with the HX550’s packaging going as far as to promise a “complete hands-free solution.” Both headsets offer liberation from holding the phone, but how do these midrange ‘sets match up to the marketing promises — or the abilities of their more expensive siblings?
Review by Jordan Trimas
Let’s face it, with the smörgåsbord of gadgets that most of us use these days, having a few different bags to accommodate and protect our cherished portables is paramount. Despite a few minor drawbacks, the Tenba Messenger Large Photo/Laptop Bag ($110), may be good enough to replace a couple of your bags, backpacks or cases — especially if you’re a photography professional/enthusiast or techie with a DSLR and a laptop.
Review by Kelly Keltner
Let me begin this review by saying, while I’ve found some love for certain models, I don’t really care for most canalphones: They’re uncomfortable, and while I love the idea of plugging a foreign object into my ear and having that object deliver magical sounds just like an owl delivers a Howler, I usually wind up being disappointed with either the sound or the fit. So, with that in mind, it was time to try the Etymotic mc3 ($100).
This set, with a three-button remote on the cable and four sets of super-sealing, deep-seating eartips (two flanged, two foam), was now tasked with being tested by me. May the Force, that I’ll probably have to use to shove them into my ears, be with them.
Review by Jordan Trimas
It’s nice to know that when I get caught in the rain with my headphones on, I don’t have to anxiously hide them if I’m wearing the Monster iSport Immersion In-Ear Headphones ($180). Did your kid spill his Kool-Aid on them? They’re machine washable!
Review by Kelly Keltner
Griffin’s Sport Armband for iPhone ($30) — a product name that fills my head with visions of iPhones running around the track (“Go, go, little 3GS! You can do it! You’re not too old!”) — allows you to get up and go without worrying about your iPhone. It’s a decent attempt at making workout clothing for the iPhone, but just as with those just-a-bit-too-tight yoga pants, there are a few bulges that might cause a few sideways looks in the gym.
Review by Jordan Trimas
The JayBird Freedom JF3 ($99) Bluetooth wireless headphones are a successful attempt to build upon a paramount technological concept: take something good and make it great — or in this case, take a good pair of IEM headphones and ditch the cord. It’s like a musical bris without the rabbi — or the baby.
UPDATE 3: And the images were fake.
UPDATE 2: Leander here. I go to pick up my kids after school and all hell breaks loose. Two things:
1. TMZ’s pictures are very upsetting but there is clearly news here. Unfortunately, the images make abundantly clear why Jobs just resigned. If these images are real, they graphically demonstrate what we all suspected — that Jobs is very ill, and has resigned because of it.
The question is how we should have handled it. Posting the pictures is a no no. We had this debate when the National Enquirer posted pictures of Jobs earlier this year. We decided they were ghoulish and stayed away. News editors face these decisions all the time when reporting terrorist strikes, famines, disasters or other events that generate upsetting images. Usually they don’t show the most horrific, graphic pictures, but they don’t shy away from reporting the news either.
We work in a highly-competitve, realtime news environment. Decisions about what to post and how is almost always immediate, on-the-fly. It’s impossible to make the right call every time. That’s why news outlets with more resources than we have employ several layers of editors. On this blog, everyone is encouraged to post as quickly as possible — it’s the only way to stay competitive — but that means the editorial process is sometimes post-publication, as it is now.
2. As for the “staff writer” byline, I’m not going to throw the blogger here under the bus, but there is a good reason they post anonymously. In the past, they’ve been the victim of persistent trolls. We decided — with my full blessing — that some of their posts were better posted anonymously to deflect the knee-jerk negative attention they were attracting. That didn’t mean that all posts by this writer should be anonymous, but the system defaults to the settings that were last used, which may be the case here.
Lastly, I regret that we posted the pictures, and I apologize for it. I’m sorry we caused offense. We hold Steve Jobs in the highest regard and affection. We sincerely wish him the best.
UPDATE 3: There are a lot of calls to take this post down. It is very tempting to delete mistakes — just disappear them — but it’s crucial to maintain the integrity of the editorial archive. If we disappear stuff without explanation or notice, how can anyone trust what we write? In fact, we try to be rigorous about making changes to posts after they’ve been published, using strikethroughs to correct mistakes and editorial notes (‘updated’) to add new material. When we make mistakes, we need to correct them, not delete them.
UPDATE: Editor’s note: We have pulled the TMZ photo. We had posted it because we felt it had clear news value, but we understand they are upsetting pictures. Apologies if we offended anyone.
TMZ has a pair of paparazzo pics posted today showing a very gaunt, frail Steve Jobs being helped — or almost held up — in what looks like a parking lot. They are incredibly hard to look at.
We’re holding out hope that they are fakes.
The pictures are here. Warning, they are very upsetting.
Reuters blogger Felix Salmon wrote a provocative post about Tim Cook and his personal life.
“Tim Cook now the most powerful gay man in the world. This is newsworthy, no? But you won’t find it reported in any legacy/mainstream outlet.”
When a photo is worth 1,000 words…
Review by Kelly Keltner
I have a love/hate relationship with routers. I love what they do and the freedom they give me; hate that they never quite live up to my expectations. I’ve been through numerous routers over the years and have yet to find one that truly impressed me. However, Belkin’s N750 DB Wireless Dual-Band N+ Router ($130) might be the first that I’ve had a good overall experience with right out of the box.
Walmart is starting to look like a prime place to nick an iPad.
Recently, a pair of crooks successfully pulled a bait and switch by returning an empty box — now there seems to be a gang targeting Walmarts for iPad thefts with an even simpler ruse.
It looks like Apple may have won round two in the global fight against Samsung in the tablet turf wars.
German news agency DPA just reported that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Imagine playing from your iPhone against anyone with an Android phone. That epic battle between Mac and PC types will be a more common option if an Austin startup is successful.
A FedEx driver was arrested for forging signatures on iPad deliveries and selling the stolen goods.
It’s back-to-school time. And with so many universities handing iPads to students, parents may wonder how many devices they truly need.
“I just bought this iPad, but I’d like to return it.” OK, the Walmart clerk must have thought.
Duh. Who would buy an iPad, then return it a few minutes later?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8KVz0CKbwU&feature=player_embedded
iPhone 5 knock-offs are already available in China, even though the real thing doesn’t even have a solid ship-date yet. Even in white!
Of all the product tie-ins Apple never approved, getting an iPod for predicting a death has got to be the worst.
Cynical journos have long had newsroom betting pools on when public figures would meet their makers but website whenwillamywinehousedie.com brought that gallows recreation to the Internet public back in 2007.
The prize? An iPod Touch.
