I hate taxis. I hate having to find one. I hate having to talk to the driver. I hate paying them, and then worrying about how much I’m supposed to tip them (presumably spending the entire journey chatting to their cousins via Bluetooth headset counts as “service.”) So I’m very happy to have Taxi Turvi in my arsenal. It’s a weapon to be wielded against dodgy cabbies.
NBA hoops legend, Shaquille O’Neal – or as his friends call him, ‘Shaq’ – is used to dominating foes on the basketball court, but when he went up against Steve Jobs he got a heavy dose of his own medicine.
The Big Artistotle has come out of the closet. He’s a geek. In fact, he says he was a geek before geeks were cool. Back when the original iPhone was announced, Shaqtus knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew Steve Jobs. Rather than waiting for the iPhone to be released, Shaq Fu called up Steve Jobs multiple times and begged him for an iPhone, but El Jobso wouldn’t budge.
It was one of the first, and only times, that The Big Maravich has been denied. Don’t feel bad for him, though; Shaq Diesel has a bright rapping career ahead of him if the geeky iOS development stuff doesn’t pan out.
Here’s a video of Wilt Chamberneezy retelling the story to Bloomberg:
Readdle, the creator of some of the best productivity apps for iOS, has today replaced its awesome $6.99 Calendars app with a new version that won’t cost you a penny. It has all of the same great features it’s always had, only now you can enjoy them for free.
It seems you can’t go anywhere these days without seeing an advert for the iPhone. They’re on billboards in the street, they’re there when you switch on the TV, and you’ll also find them in newspapers and magazines. But believe it or not, there’s one company that spends more — a lot more! — on advertising its smartphones than Apple does.
That company is Samsung. In 2012, Samsung outspent Apple by more than three to one in smartphone advertising, with a number of large campaigns on TV, in print, and on the Internet. In total, the Korean company spent $401 million advertising its phones.
Joby Ingram-Dodd is a lucky guy. First, he has an awesome name which sounds like he’s a successful gold prospector from the 1800s. And second, he bought a tough-as-boots iPhone.
Oh, and he has, like, the best job ever.
You see, Joby managed to drop his iPhone 4S 60 meters (almost 200 feet) from the top of a wind turbine onto a concrete parking lot way below. And guess what?
Tony Stark is essentially Marvel’s answer to Steve Jobs, if Steve Jobs looked like Robert Downey Jr., was kidnapped by the Taliban, had a nuclear reactor installed as a replacement heart, and built himself a set of power armor.
In every other way, though, the two are exactly similar, which is what makes it natural that Steve Jobs’s greatest creation — the iPhone — is now capable of “suiting up” in Tony Stark’s greatest invention, the Mark VII power armor.
YourTube, a popular jailbreak tweak that brings new features to the official YouTube app — including video downloading and ad-blocking — has been updated to support jailbroken devices running the latest iOS 6 firmwares. The latest version is available to download from Cydia now, and it’s free to existing YourTube and YourTube HD users.
When Apple launched its new Maps app with iOS 6 last September, one of its headline features, Flyover, only supported a handful of big cities. But the Cupertino company has been hard at work in the background to extend its reach, adding support for additional locations all over the world.
In the past few months, Apple has brought Flyover to an additional 16 cities, plus extended its coverage in 14 of the cities already supported.
Google Now, the intelligent personal assistant that was introduced to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean last June, appears to be gearing up to make its debut on iOS. The feature will be integrated into the Google Search app for iPhone and iPad, according to a promotional video that was allegedly posted to Google’s official YouTube channel prematurely — before quickly being pulled again.
Ok, so it’s not a life-changer, but the Apple Store app has just been updated to version 2.5. There are now new delivery options available in the app, and you can choose different shipping options for each different item in an order. Want your iPad smart case shipped to your office, your iPhone charger to your home, and pick up your iPad mini at the local Apple Store? You can arrange for that now in the app itself.
There’s a new section in the Express Checkout screen, too, which lets you know whether a purchase will be available for pickup at the nearest Apple Store, at least for US customers.
Every time I’ve used the Apple Store App, whether to purchase an item in store or order it ahead of time, I’ve been impressed by the seamlessness of the transaction. It’s like having a better, more portable Apple Store website on my phone, and it makes it easy to make Genius Bar or workshop reservations at my local store. The app allows you to purchase and pick up products from the store, personalize iPads and iPods with engraving, choose gift-wrapping options, configure new Mac purchases, and track your stuff once you’ve bought it.
And? It’s really a ton of fun to walk into the store, scan an item, type in my iTunes password, and walk out with that item. Feels all sneaky. I also like that just showing up with my iPhone and a reservation for a Specialist notifies them and me. It’s just plain cool.
What’s New in Version 2.5
– New delivery options make it even more convenient to get your Apple products. Choose different shipping options for different items in an order.
– An even easier way to see if the product you want is available for pickup at your favorite Apple Retail Store (U.S. only).
Source: App Store
With features like Bluetooth 4 connectivity, hundreds of levels of pressure sensitivity, and a built-in undo button, the Pogo Connect Pen (currently about $79 $62 on Amazon) sounds like an amazing drawing and painting tool for your iPad or iPhone.
Question is, how’s it perform in real life? I took it for a test drive to find out.
Pulse has been one of our favorite newsreader apps for the iPad since it was released in 2010, but it’s looking for a new home.
According to a new report, LinkedIn wants to buy the maker of the iOS app Pulse, and they’re not afraid to spend big.
Derek Sivers recently wrote a piece about how he believes everyone should learn basic programming, but where do you start? What school should you go to? What book is the best? What website will offer the best resources? Cult of Mac Deals is here to help – no matter whether it’s a course for you or for a child out there that you know would eat up a coding course.
The Coding for Beginners Course you’ll receive over 216 lectures and 7 hours of content. Normally this video course would cost you $597, but now you can get it for only $69 – a savings of 88%!
The Automatic Link is a new iPhone accessory that’s been built to provide you with all of the important information you’ll ever need to know about your vehicle. It plugs into your car’s on-board diagnosis port, then transmits all sorts of data to an accompanying app on your iPhone.
Not only will Automatic Link help you identify why your “check engine” light is on, but it’ll also give you all kinds of data about the journeys you make, it’ll help you remember where you parked your car, and it’ll help you change your driving style to save gas.
Rdio has today updated its iOS app to introduce new album and playlist views to the iPhone, and to make a number of improvements to the app’s user interface. You can now enjoy large album art, see what your friends have been listening to, and more.
The official Tumblr app for iOS received a major overhaul back in November, delivering a completely redesigned dashboard, iPad support, and lots more. But the improvements aren’t about to stop there. Today sees the release of Tumblr 3.3, which adds a new camera, the ability to create photosets, and more.
Portability and ease of use makes the iPad the perfect product for staying connected – whether you are on the move or in the comfort of your bed. At its core, the iPad is essentially the screen portion of a Macbook with touch capabilities. But there hasn’t been a true keyboard that acts like an external keyboard – one that you can use that keeps the iPad the tablet it was meant to be.
Until now, that is.
The Touchfire keyboard is our latest Cult of Mac Deals offer and you can get it for a limited time at the low price of just $50 – with FREE shipping to the US and international countries included!
I use Freshbooks on the web all the time to send out invoices and request payment for various writing and freelance jobs I have. It allows me to create invoices, send them, and have people respond to me as if I have a real business with real invoices. It’s pretty slick. Other features include time tracking, project management, estimates, and expense tracking.
Now, there’s an iOS app that lets you do the same things, right from your iPhone.
If you love to watch videos on your smartphone to kill time, odds are, you own an iPhone. For some reason Android users don’t watch nearly as much video on their smartphones as iOS users, even though Android has more marketshare.
If you like good coffee and don’t own an Aeropress, you’re missing out – the thing is just $30 and it’ll make better coffee than a stovetop moka pot, and it’s fun to use to boot.
And better still, there’s now a companion app. Developed by Jarrod Glasgow, Aeropress Timer is an iPhone app which combines Aeropress recipes with a countdown timer for the perfect cup, every time.
Ever needed a way to use your iPhone to control your iPad camera, or vice versa? No? How about using your iPod touch as a baby monitor, with an iPad upstairs to monitor your baby’s nap time? Or keeping an eye on a pet in the other room with your iPhone? You might want to take a picture with your iPhone on a tripod, to get a large group of people in the shot, because let’s face it, no one’s arm is that long.
With Blux Lens, a remote for Blux Camera, you can do just that. Here’s how.
Often, simple=good. And the Sine Cable Stand from UrbanPrefer is both simple and good. It does two things: works as a cord-wrapper for your iPhone’s power cable, and acts as a handy-dandy stand for your iPhone while it charges.
Being in business with Apple can’t be all that bad right now. Despite a report this morning that claimed Apple’s suppliers experienced weak sales in February, there are a few Apple suppliers that are hiring more employees to meet demand.
Both TSMC and Hon Hai are looking to hire 5,000 new employees, which might mean that Apple really is looking to ditch Samsung in favor of TSMC.
We’ve seen Philips’ Hue lightbulbs do some pretty cool stuff, but things are about to get crazy. Philips revealed that they have some open APIs and an iOS SDK for the Hue connected lighting system.
The official SDK for Hue means that third-party apps and hardware can pick up where Hue left off and bring new features to the Hue system that Philips can’t bring on its own.
Last month we heard that even though Apple just posted a record breaking quarter, sales of the iPad were lower than internal expectations.
Backing up claims that Apple is having a down month, Topeka Capital says that they’ve been monitoring Apple’s suppliers and February was a very bad month for companies that help make Apple products.