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Today in Apple history: G4 Cube makes its (ill-fated) debut

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Ad for Apple Power Mac G4 Cube that shows the computer, with the words,
Do you remember Apple's G4 Cube?
Photo: Apple

July 19 July 19, 2000: Apple launches its futuristic-looking Power Mac G4 Cube. The clear computer is one of the company’s most jaw-droppingly gorgeous machines, but ultimately becomes one of its biggest disappointments.

Technologically, the G4 Cube was a game-changer. Financially, it was one of Steve Jobs‘ most notable failures.

macOS Sierra beta 3 is now available to developers

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macOS Sierra is here!
macOS Sierra is here!
Photo: Apple

Following the launch of three new beta builds this morning, Apple has now made a new beta of macOS Sierra beta 3 available to developers this afternoon.

The new beta is available for download directly from the Mac App Store and comes two weeks after Apple dropped the second beta build of macOS Sierra that brings a ton of new features, including Siri for Mac, auto-unlock with Apple Watch, Apple Pay, better iCloud integration and more.

Apple Music finally gets audio fingerprints from iTunes Match

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apple music app
This fix might stop Apple Music from garbling your library.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple Music’s matching software has a terrible history of replacing artists’ live songs with a studio version, but that will finally be a thing of the past, thanks the addition of audio fingerprints from iTunes Match.

A quiet rollout of the iTunes Match audio fingerprint to all Apple Music subscriber is currently underway, fixing the less accurate metadata version of iTunes Match that was currently used on Apple Music.

Apple releases updates for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS

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Safari iOS 11
iOS 9.3.3 has arrived.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Along with seeding a batch of new beta builds for developers, Apple has a slew of new updates for the public this morning, bringing bug fixes and other software improvements to every single one of its platforms.

The public release of OS X El Capitan 10.11.6, iOS 9.3.3, watchOS 2.2.2 and tvOS 9.3.3 are now available to Apple users, after five beta builds were seeded to developers.

When will Apple take gaming seriously? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Gaming isn't great on most Apple devices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Less than two weeks after making its debut, Pokémon Go is already the most popular mobile game in U.S. history, earning developer Niantic millions of dollars every day. Apple takes a 30 percent cut of that, but is it doing enough to make gaming great on its own platforms?

Friday Night Fights bug It’s hard to argue gaming could be better on iPhone and iPad — though we could use better gaming accessories — but platforms like tvOS and macOS seem somewhat neglected. With Mac sales finally falling, should Apple do more to appeal to gamers?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we throw virtual hands over gaming on Apple devices.

iOS 10 and macOS Sierra betas are now open to the public

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iPhone SE
Public testers can download iOS 10 now.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple fans who want to get a glimpse of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra before their public release later this fall will finally get the opportunity to install the new software today.

Coming just two days after the release of the second beta of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra to developers, Apple is now letting members of its public beta program install the new software, which debuted last month at WWDC.

Apple unleashes more betas for iOS, OS X and tvOS

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Safari iOS 11
Advertisers aren't keen on the improved Safari in iOS 11.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Developers got an exciting new batch of iOS 10 and macOS betas yesterday, but Apple is still working on new updates for iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan.

Apple seeded the fifth betas of iOS 9.3.3 and OS X 10.11.6 to developers and public testers this morning, along with a new build of tvOS 9.2.2 just for devs.

watchOS 3, macOS Sierra and tvOS 10 get second beta builds

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macOS Sierra is here!
A beautiful new beta is here.
Photo: Apple

Apple is serving up a fresh batch of beta updates for developers today with the release of new versions of tvOS 10, watchOS 3 and macOS Sierra.

The second beta builds of the new operating systems, which were unveiled by Apple at WWDC last month, are now available in Apple’s Developer Center (along with a new iOS 10 beta that brings minor changes to the big software update).

Big, comfy headphones make Mac gaming even better [Reviews]

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Mac accessories 2016
The Siberia 350 heads phones are light and comfortable.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Massive over-ear headphones are the best way to immerse yourself in a video game, whether you’re managing the minutiae of Civilization V, hiding from the xenomorph in Alien Isolation, or blasting your way across multiplayer maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Huge sound is a big part of gaming on your Mac, PC or PS4, and these fantastic-sounding and incredibly comfortable Siberia 350 headphones from SteelSeries are the best way to get your game on without sacrificing on comfort.

What is Apple’s most important invention? [Friday Night Fights]

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invention
What's your pick?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Now that all the excitement we had for WWDC has died down, it’s probably time we took a break from iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and all the other things you haven’t been able to avoid over the past couple of weeks. So for this week’s Friday Night Fight, we’re looking at Apple’s history.

We’re focusing on which product has been Apple’s most important throughout the years. Was it the Macintosh that changed personal computing? The iPod that put thousands of songs in your pocket? The iPhone that revolutionized mobile devices?

Join us as we battle it out over Apple’s best ever releases — and which one was most significant!

Today in Apple history: Power Mac G5 goes on sale

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Photo of the Power Mac G5 at time of launch
The gorgeous design of the Power Mac G5 set the template for Apple's most powerful computers.
Photo: Apple

Thursday23June 23, 2003: The Power Mac G5 goes on sale. Affectionately nicknamed the “cheese grater” due to its distinctive perforated exterior, it’s Apple’s fastest-ever machine — and the world’s first 64-bit personal computer.

“The 64-bit revolution has begun and the personal computer will never be the same again,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a press release describing the beastly machine. “The new Power Mac G5 combines the world’s first 64-bit desktop processor, the industry’s first 1 GHz front-side bus, and up to 8GB of memory to beat the fastest Pentium 4 and dual Xeon-based systems in industry-standard benchmarks and real-world professional applications.”

Apple to finally step up its AI game by opening Siri up to devs

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Photo of iPhone 4s, which brought Apple's AI assistant Siri to the masses
Siri won't be restricted anymore.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re all stoked for our first previews of iOS 10 and macOS from WWDC, but according to sources familiar with Apple’s plans, it’s going to be Siri that steals the show.

The virtual assistant is expected to make the leap to the Mac for the first time, and could also open up to third-party apps and services — allowing users to check in for flights, book Uber rides, and do more using only their voice.

Everything to expect from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC 2016 keynote

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WWDC's opening keynote will be at San Francisco's cavernous Bill Graham Auditorium.
WWDC's opening keynote will be at San Francisco's cavernous Bill Graham Auditorium.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s keynote to kick off this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference is going to be huge. So huge, in fact, that Apple already revealed some stuff early because Tim Cook and his Cupertino cronies won’t have time to cover everything during the jam-packed, two-hour event.

While WWDC might seem like a bit of a snoozefest for Apple fans who don’t know anything about Xcode and Swift, the 2016 edition of the annual developer conference should bring lots of new stuff even normals can get hyped about. The WWDC keynote will give us a peek inside the ever-evolving Apple ecosystem — and thus our clearest picture of the future of all Apple products.

This year, all of Apple’s platforms are set to get major updates, as are some of the company’s most popular services, like Siri and Apple Music. Here’s what to watch for during Apple’s keynote, which will kick off WWDC 2016 next Monday morning in San Francisco.

Slack voice calls give you another reason to ditch Skype

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Cult of Mac runs on Slack. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
You can now make calls on Slack.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The popular messaging platform Slack is ready to go from text-only to providing voice calls for teams that use the service to communicate.

Starting today, paying teams using the iOS, Mac and Chrome apps will be able to make group calls, giving you one less reason to keep Skype installed on your Mac.

Retro Apple fan makes 3D miniatures of classic Macs

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Charles Mangin likes them Apples, especially when he can recreate a 3D printed miniature version of his favorite computers.
Charles Mangin likes them Apples, especially when he can recreate a 3D printed miniature version of his favorite computers.
Photo: Charles Mangin

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugApple’s business model is based on the future, but sometimes a fan pines for the machine they had as a kid.

Self-taught hardware hacker and 3D printer artist Charles Mangin happily tries to satisfy those vintage tech longings by recreating pieces of Apple’s past in miniature. He even brings the screens to life — sort of.

Google can now locate your lost iOS devices

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Screen Shot 2016-06-02 at 16.34.39
Thanks, Google!
Photo: Google

So you forgot to activate Find My iPhone when setting up your new iOS device, and now you’ve lost it. Fear not, because thanks to Google, you have a backup service.

Simply type “I lost my phone” into Google Search and you’ll be able to locate all the devices connected to your account.