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News - page 1016

Apple had a different stance on helping the FBI in 2008

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iPhone
Apple's not always been opposed to helping the government.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Here in 2016, Apple may be at odds with the FBI on the subject of iPhone unlocking — but things weren’t always that way!

According to a new report, when the FBI first asked Apple to help it unlock an iPhone, way back in 2008, Apple didn’t just comply with the order; it actually helped prosecutors to draft the court order.

Microsoft wants to transform your typing with Hub Keyboard for iPhone

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hub
Microsoft's Hub Keyboard makes it easy to send documents and more.
Photo: Microsoft

If you’re a fan of custom iOS keyboards and want to add a bit more functionality to your text messaging, check out the newly-released iOS Hub Keyboard from Microsoft.

This nifty keyboard lets you copy and paste recent items, grab and share URLs of Office 365 documents in OneDrive and SharePoint, and easily send contact details.

Apple criticizes ‘discriminatory’ Mississippi religious freedom law

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SF pride
Apple is a strong supporter of the LGBT community.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple has voiced its displeasure at a new Mississippi law that lets government workers and some private citizens refuse to sell goods and services to LGBT citizens on the basis of their religious beliefs.

“We want Mississippians to know that our stores and our company are open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love,” said an Apple representative, arguing that the Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act “empowers discrimination.”

FaceTime proposal leaves hopeless romantic stuck on a cliff

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cliffhanger3
This proposal turned out to be a real cliffhanger.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Whether it’s customizing a smartwatch to deliver the message, or persuading the developers of a popular app to help you win over the woman of your dreams, tech fans have certainly come up with some adorably neat ways to propose to their loved ones over the years.

Decidedly less so was the plight of Apple user and, apparently, godawful mountain climber Michael Banks. His idea? To climb 600 feet up Morro Rock in California — so that he could get a volcanic outcrop as his background — and then pop the question via FaceTime. Before getting hopelessly stuck, of course.

Panama Papers: Apple supplier denies evading $22 billion in taxes

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money
Foxconn denies evading its taxes.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The “Panama Papers” leak of 11.5 million documents from ultra-secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has already named and shamed heads of state, government officials, business owners and celebrities who reportedly evaded tax thanks to the scheme.

But one name which hasn’t been talked about too much is Apple supplier Foxconn, which is accused of evading taxes of up to a massive $22.86 billion via investments in Panama — although the company denies that this is the case.

Weird-ass Apple Watch mount makes a good argument

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Wear Differently Apple Watch mount
Apparently, this is the best place to keep your Apple Watch, although a band might be good if you ever want to put your hand down.
Photo: Wear Differently

A newly launched Kickstarter campaign features an Apple Watch mount that looks really strange but might actually solve some problems.

The imaginatively named “It” comes from Wear Differently, and it boldly suggests that the top of your wrist is not the best place to wear your smartwatch. Instead, designer Bridger Bell says, you should be carrying it in a small nook between the base of your thumb and radius bone.

You can see It in action in the proof of concept video below.

Cookie Monster gets real behind the scenes of Siri ad

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Cookie Monster Siri ad behind the scenes
Working with Siri can be hazardous.
Photo: Apple

We loved that recent Siri ad starring the lovable Muppet, Cookie Monster. And a new video gives us more with some mock behind-the-scenes footage.

In the original spot, Cookie Monster used Siri’s hands-free functionality to set a timer while his delicious cookies baked. And he even asked the digital assistant to play some tunes on Apple Music to help him pass the time. But the new video offers a lot more, including bloopers, outtakes, and what happens when the cookies are done.

Check it out below.

Instagram comes to life with this inexpensive printer

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epson-xp-430
A printer that doesn't suck.
Photo: Epson

Epson’s new all-in-one printer, the Epson XP-430, positions itself as an affordable wireless printer that also integrates with the photos on your social networks. You can use the included Epson Creative Print software to link your Instagram account and print out your photos, plus scan and share photos directly to your Facebook. It’s pretty nifty, considering printers are typically some of the most tedious gadgets on the planet.

FBI reveals unlocking tool doesn’t work on iPhone 5s and higher

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iPhone will never be 100 percent hacker-proof.
iPhone will never be 100 percent hacker-proof.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

The iPhone unlocking tool used by the FBI to unlock the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone 5c can only be used on “a narrow slice of phones” the agency admitted.

FBI director James Comey revealed that litigation between Apple and the federal government has ended, but the tool the agency purchased to unlock the device does not work on the iPhone 5s or newer iPhones, including the iPhone SE.

Intelligent app monitors your lending portfolios across multiple marketplaces

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lending-robot-dashboard
See your LendingClub, Prosper and Funding Circle portfolios at a glance.
Photo: LendingRobot

LendingRobot today launched a pretty important mobile app for peer lenders. It’s LendingRobot Dashboard, and it lets these lenders monitor all their portfolios across three separate services: LendingClub, Prosper and Funding Circle. It’s the only mobile app available that allows investors to connect from across multiple marketplaces and see their portfolios at a glance.

Rogue One trailer puts the war in Star Wars

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will star Felicity Jones as a Rebel spy.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will star Felicity Jones as a Rebel spy.
Photo: Lucasfilm LFL

The first trailer for Rogue One, the first stand-alone Star Wars movie, finally dropped this morning and it looks absolutely amazing.

There’s so much war going on in the two-minute trailer that our minds can barely take it all in. Prepare to get Star Wars fever all over again!

Reddit finally unleashes its official mobile app

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reddit-finally-unleashes-its-official-mobile-app-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201604Screen-Shot-2016-04-07-at-143219-png
Reddit: The Official App is finally here!
Photo: Reddit
Reddit: The Official App is finally here! Photo: Reddit
Reddit: The Official App is finally here! Photo: Reddit

Well over a year after snapping up Alien Blue, the most popular third-party Reddit client for mobile, Reddit has finally launched its official client app.

Customers who download Reddit: The Official App in its first week will receive three free months of Reddit Gold, giving them an ad-free Reddit experience when using the mobile app, as well as additional features when browsing Reddit on a desktop or laptop.

White House won’t back bill forcing tech companies to break encryption

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Having not one but two U.S. presidents in your fan base is pretty good going. Sadly, President Barack Obama is not allowed an iPhone as part of his official wardrobe and is stuck on BlackBerry. That hasn’t stopped him from openly lusting after the iPhone 6 in recent pics, though. He’s also admitted to spending hours each day on his iPad.Photo:
President Barack Obama is playing it cool when it comes to encryption.
Photo: Pete Souza/Wikipedia CC

The White House is refusing to publicly support new draft legislation that would give judges the right to force tech companies like Apple to help law enforcement break encrypted data.

The measure was put forward by Sens. Richard Burr and Dianne Feinstein, respectively the Republican chair and top Democrat of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Both Burr and Feinstein have been contacted by the FBI regarding a briefing on how the bureau was able to circumvent iPhone encryption on an older Apple device.

FBI is telling anti-encryption senators how it hacked the iPhone

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Apple offers up to $1.5 million to anyone who spots a software flaw
Remember when hackers were the good guys?
Photo: Hackers, United Artists

The FBI’s not cluing Apple in on how it allegedly hacked the iPhone 5c at the heart of the San Bernardino investigation, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happy to spill the secret to select members of Congress.

According to new reports, the feds have began briefing certain anti-encryption U.S. senators about the way in which it managed to access data on the handset belonging to shooter Syed Farook.

Coachella 2016 will rock Apple Pay and iBeacon support

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Apple will make Coachella a more enjoyable experience for attendees.
Photo: Square

Apple is all about music these days, which is why it makes perfect sense that the company would be keen to target the hip, young, presumably disposable-incomed revelers at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Thanks to Square, Coachella’s official point-of-sale provider, attendees will be able to use Apple Pay to buy food, drinks and other assorted merchandise, while the festival is also building iBeacon support into its official app.

Why the iPad has never shipped with a calculator app

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iPad Pro
Finally the reason for no native calculator app adds up.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

As crazy as it sounds given the wide range of use-cases Apple makes possible with the iPad, it has never shipped with a built-in calculator app. And, according to a recent post on Twitter from a user claiming to be an ex-Apple employee, we may finally have an explanation.

Shock horror: it involves Steve Jobs being a perfectionist.

Check it out below.

Apple Watch Hermès straps to be sold separately in new colors

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Apple-Watch-Hermes-1
Apple's most fashion-conscious bands yet.
Photo: Apple

Apple is about to introduce new color options and buying options to its celebrated Apple Watch Hermès collection — allowing customers to, for the first time ever, purchase the bands separately.

The new color options are available in the Single Tour, Double Tour and Cuff configurations, and come in Bleu Paon (green), Bleu Saphir (blue), Blanc (white), and Feu (orange) colors.

Apple Campus 2 will have 500 huge Dutch tables

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Apple Campus 2 table
Like this, but bigger. Way bigger.
Photo: Arco

We’re excited for the completion of Apple Campus 2, if only to see the amazing, time-lapse clip somebody is sure to cobble together from all of those in-progress drone videos. And the new facilities are so close to completion that the company has already started picking out furniture.

The main building is huge, and it’s going to need a lot of desks and chairs, sure. But it will also include some common areas, and Apple’s ordering up 500 custom-made “Pod Island” tables from Dutch manufacturer Arco to give its employees someplace to hang out, mingle, and collaborate.

And they look really cool.

There’s more than meets the eye to Xiaomi’s transforming tablet

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theres-more-than-meets-the-eye-to-xiaomis-transforming-tablet-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads20160412924431_10153328869581612_1188829891401646381_n-jpg
The transforming Mi Pad 2 in its "normal" state.
Photo: Hugo Barra

It’s not every day you see a tablet transform into a, well, a Transformer. But that’s exactly what we’re going to show you today, after Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra shared photos of a Mi Pad 2 that morphs into a robot.

Fans of the Transformers universe, whether that be the original cartoons back in the 1980s or the more recent reboots of the franchise, will no doubt agree that this is about as awesome as the Mi Pad 2 gets.

Taylor Swift treadmill tragedy pays off for Drake

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Taylor Swift Apple Music ad
It's way less awkward without the sound.
Photo: Apple

Drake’s apparently making bank off of a recent Apple Music ad featuring Taylor Swift faceplanting onto a treadmill.

The video launched less than a week ago on April 1, and since it went live, iTunes sales of Drake’s song “Jumpman,” which features prominently in the spot, have more than quadrupled, Billboard reports. And the playlist Swift pulls up to motivate herself for her cardio workout is showing pretty good numbers on Apple’s streaming service, too.

If you aren’t one of the millions of people who has already seen the Apple Music ad, you can check it out below.

This is the ‘iPhone 6 SE’ Apple should have made

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The 'iPhone 6 SE' has a 4-inch screen with an iPhone 6 body.
The 'iPhone 6 SE' has a 4-inch screen with an iPhone 6 body.
Photo: Computer Bild

The design of the iPhone SE is a bit stale for some Apple fans, but if you’re dying for a 4-inch iPhone that comes with the sleek curves of the iPhone 6 and 6s some determined modders from Germany have found the perfect solution.

Unhappy with the iPhone SE body, Computer Bild managed to take extract its guts and shove them into one of those fake 4-inch iPhone 6 housings from China we spotted last month. After more than two hours of careful modding, the end result is the iPhone SE Apple should have built. Better yet, it actually works.

You can watch the madness unfold below, but this is one mod you might not want to try at home.

J-pop group ‘hacks’ iPhone for amazing music video

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Lyrical School is ready to assault you with wackiness.
Lyrical School is ready to assault you with wackiness.
Photo: Lyrical School

Making a music video that shines bright in the vibrant Japanese-pop market isn’t easy, but if your band needs some tips, look no further than the amazingly whacky video the group Lyrical School just dropped.

Rather than filming the video for their first single ‘Run and Run’ in normal landscape format, the crew pulls off a brilliant trick by shooting in vertical mode to make it look like your iPhone has been hacked while you’re watching.

The effect isn’t quite as immersive if your iPhone language isn’t set to Japanese, but the attention to detail is pretty impressive and highlights Twitter, iOS 9.3’s Night Shift mode, Live Photos, and more.

Make sure you watch the video below on your iPhone: