Mobile menu toggle

News - page 1051

Paws and check out how cute this game is

By

Paws game
Oh no, our feelings! Why are swans so cruel?
Photo: Might and Delight

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a game that looked as simultaneously adorable and mysterious as Paws, but here it is.

The upcoming title, which will drop on both Mac and PC March 24, puts you in the role of a sweet, lost lynx cub trying to find its way back home. And that sounds really sad, but the graphics in today’s announcement trailer are so charming that we could probably power through the pain.

Check it out below.

Price cuts pay off: Apple hits all-time high in India

By

india
Apple is doing all it can to grow in India.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple posted record sales in India during the final quarter of 2015, positive financial news for Cupertino amid forecasters predicting a rough start to the new year.

Apple shipped a record 800,000 devices to India from October through December, a record spurred by a wider distribution base, discounts, buybacks and installment plans.

Weird attachment spikes your drinks with negative ions

By

Cocktail by Steve Buissinne beverage power
These bubbles could be coming from you. But not in a farty way.
Photo: Steve Buissinne/Pixabay

Sometimes, you look at your boring glass of ginger ale and think, “This could really use more ions.” Or maybe you don’t, but the makers of the Beverage Power have done that thinking for you.

It’s a small device that the company says will attach to any drinking glass or water bottle. It has a contact on its side that your hand activates, and you complete a circuit when the drink touches your mouth. That introduces a “small, safe electric current” that floods your drink — and, therefore, your body — with negative ions.

And here’s why the company says you’d want to do that.

8-bit Star Wars death scenes take the sting out of Episode VIII delay

By

Watch every Star Wars death scene in 8-bit action.
Watch every Star Wars death scene in 8-bit action.
Photo: pipocaVFX

Disney revealed today that Star Wars Episode VIII will be delayed until December 15th, 2017.

It’s only an extra seven months, but it means fans will have to wait two years to find out what happens next to the characters of the highest grossing movie of all time.

If you’re looking for some Star Wars awesomeness in the meantime, the folks at pipocaVFX created an incredible 8-bit video of all the death scenes in Star Wars. You can watch your favorite character die in cutesy 8-bit format below, but bewarned, it includes spoilers from The Force Awakens.

Yik Yak stomps onto the web

By

yik-yak-stomps-onto-the-web-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201601Yik-Yak-logo-jpg
Because it's worth seeing how much your community loves you from a computer too.
Photo: Yik Yak
Yik-Yak-logo
Because it’s worth seeing how much your community loves you from a computer too. Photo: Yik Yak

The app that has become famous around college campuses is now ready to show itself in a different form: as a desktop website. The creators have been testing a web version of Yik Yak in private beta for a while now, but as of today the site is open for public use.

Mobile make-out game is even more grotesque than it sounds

By

Smooth Operator make-out game
You may think you're ready for what's about to happen, but you aren't.
Photo: Beardo Games

If you’ve been waiting for the ultimate make-out game experience on your iPhone, keep waiting. This one looks gross.

Smooth Operator will be out just in time for Valentine’s Day, and it looks like exactly the thing to bring your festivities to a halt. It’s a co-op kissing title that is all about you and your partner following on-screen cues to make sure that your avatars keep their waggling tongues moving and … interacting.

We really can’t overstate how unsettling this thing looks, but if you want to see it in action, check out the trailer below.

Your iPhone can now alert you every time police kill someone in the U.S.

By

Archives sends push notifications when police kill someone.
Archives sends push notifications when police kill someone.
Photo: Josh Begley

Controversial coder and data artist Josh Begley is back with a new app called Archives that shines a light on the contentious issue of police violence that’s rocking the U.S.

Archives’ premise is simple: Every time cops kill someone in the United States, your iPhone receives a simple alert containing only the victim’s name.

Ford exec: Apple and Google can succeed at building vehicles

By

ford-exec-apple-and-google-can-succeed-at-building-vehicles-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201601fordapplecarplay2016jan770x488-jpg
Ford is embracing the Silicon Valley vision of cars.
Photo: Ford
Ford is embracing the Silicon Valley vision of cars. Photo: Ford
Ford is embracing the Silicon Valley vision of cars. Photo: Ford

Compared to some of the other automotive naysayers, Ford has been outspoken about the fact that Silicon Valley might (shock horror!) actually be able to successfully disrupt the car industry.

Now a Ford exec says his company actually welcomes the competition from companies like Google and Apple.

3D scanner will let you count food calories with your iPhone

By

12525212_1560596404265506_1488941261415058133_o
A prototype of NutriRay3D in action.
Photo: NutriRay3D

There are many meal-tracking apps and iOS-compatible smart scales out there, but for really dedicated calorie-counters the problem with the majority of them is that they don’t give you the nutritional content of the exact meal sitting in front of you.

A new high-tech food scanner straight out of Star Trek hopes to help solve that problem, by giving you a new iPhone attachment called NutriRay3D, which will use 3D image processing to accurately calculate the volume and calorie measurement of any meal.

India may be about to get its own Apple Stores

By

India Apple Stores
The closest thing India currently has to an Apple Store.
Photo: Lawrence Sinclair/Flickr CC

With the Chinese economy slowing, Apple’s got another heavily-populated country in its sights — with Apple India filing an application to open official Apple Stores with the country’s department of industrial policy and promotion.

“We have just received Apple’s proposal. We are examining it,” said India’s DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant.

Apple Watch Hermès wings its way online Friday

By

Hermes Apple Watch bands are now available on their own.
Hermes Apple Watch bands are now available on their own.
Photo: Apple

The bulk of the country is about to get some very good news for their senses of style — and bad news for their bank accounts: The super-luxe Apple Watch Hermès will be available for purchase online at the end of this week.

Up to now, you’ve had to live in (or travel to) specific Apple and boutique stores in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, or Toronto to pick up the especially fancy editions of the Apple Watch. But starting Friday, you’ll just have to go to either Apple or Hermès’ official sites to score one of your own.

Adobe knows what stock photos will be hot, hot, hot in 2016

By

Quirky, personal tech will continue to attract.
Quirky, personal tech will continue to attract.
Photo: BIZOO_N / Adobe Stock

Adobe Stock thinks it knows the future.

At least, the stock photography collective run by Adobe Systems, thinks that photos showing personalized technology (wearables and VR headsets), hipster aesthetics (Instagram, beards, and flannel, anyone?), and more stylish selfies will rule the roost in the coming year.

What’s that mean to you? Well, chances are you’ll see more of these kinds of images in your Facebook and Instagram feeds, and every day advertising life. If you’re a creative professional, you’ll want to stay up on the trending imagery as it evolves over the coming months.

Here’s a rundown of the trends Adobe Stock thinks are coming your way in 2016.

Creepy phone case looks like it can listen in on your calls

By

Ear by bohed
"That would look fantastic on the back of my phone." -- possible serial killers
Photo: bohed/Pixabay

If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind case for your precious smartphone, here’s one that looks like it came straight out of Videodrome director David Cronenberg’s worst nightmares.

Have you seen that movie? It’s messed up.

This creepy phone case comes courtesy of artist Sarah Sitkin, who specializes in amazing, realistic representations of human body parts. And if you want one that looks like its upkeep will include the judicious use of cotton swabs, she’s created one that looks uncannily like you skinned it off of one of your victims as a trophy. But it will cost you.

Check it out below:

More evidence of Apple’s frustrating fight to build TV service

By

Apple TV
The streaming TV service is still on the way, but not without some bumps in the road.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

John Skipper, president of ESPN, talked quite a bit in an interview about the future of Apple TV and in particular, Apple’s plans for a streaming television service that may or may not include ESPN. He revealed that Apple is apparently having a hard time sorting out the details with programmers.

“We have ongoing conversations,” Skipper told The Wall Street Journal. “They have been frustrated by their ability to construct something which works for them with programmers. We continue to try to work with them.”

Apple TV’s software designer bails on Cupertino

By

The guy that designed Apple TV's software is leaving.
The guy that designed Apple TV's software is leaving.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is losing one of the chief designers of the new Apple TV just months after the product launched to the public.

Designer Ben Keighran revealed that he is leaving the company after joining Apple four years ago when his company Chomp was purchased by Apple to inject fresh talent into Apple’s streaming box.

Messaging app takes on Skype, WhatsApp with killer advertising

By

SOMA wants to grow its users for security reasons.
SOMA wants to grow its users for security reasons.
Photo: SOMA

If you are unfamiliar with the messaging app SOMA, you will soon learn about them through a confrontational advertising campaign that implores people to give up on Skype, WhatsApp and Viber.

It’s for your own good, the company says.

SOMA Messenger encrypts data end-to-end and auto-deletes messages, its team declaring the app to be the most secure in the space. It also allows up to 500 people for group chats and up to four in group video or voice calls.

iOS 9.2.1 brings lots of bug fixes

By

A new iOS 9 update is here
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to update your iOS devices!
Photo: Apple

The first public update for iOS 9 this year has finally arrived in the form of iOS 9.2.1, which was made available to all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users this morning.

Get it now: OS X update boosts Mac performance

By

A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
El Capitan's third big update brings performance enhancements and bug fixes.
Photo: Apple

The newest build of OS X El Capitan is now available to the public after undergoing a month of beta testing.

OS X 10.11.3 can now be downloaded and installed by all Mac users with supported hardware. It’s a free update that promises to bring a number of enhancements, including performance improvements and tons of bug fixes.