Aaron Sorkin is happy with his movie's accuracy. Photo: The Newsroom
Steve Jobs screenwriter Aaron Sorkin says his “conscience is clear” over accusations that his movie doesn’t portray events as they actually happened.
People have been split over the Steve Jobs movie, with some (like Woz, John Sculley, and Andy Hertzfeld) saying it’s a great achievement, and others (Tim Cook, Jony Ive, Laurene Powell Jobs) arguing just the opposite — despite not necessarily having seen it.
Dailan's new Apple Store back during its construction phase. Photo: Jake Smith
Apple is continuing its Chinese Apple Store expansion by announcing the opening of its 21st Chinese retail store in the city of Dalian, China.
A port city known for its clean air, good food, and luxurious shopping, Dalian attracts visitors from China, Japan, and Korea. In other words, it’s the perfect location for a new Apple Store — which is why it’s no surprise that it will be among the biggest Apple brick-and-mortar retail outlets in the world.
Yep, it's that time of the week again! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
How do weekends go by so quickly? It’s already halfway through the end-of-week break but — don’t worry — we’ve got the app hookup you need, whether you’re planning on a lazy game-playing Sunday, or a day of out-and-about photo-snapping action.
What have we picked as the best apps of the past seven days? Read on to find out.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The pros and cons of Apple’s new 4K and 5K iMacs, plus, the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 — we’ve got our grubby hands on Apple’s new peripherals and we’re ready to share what we love (and what we don’t).
And stay tuned for CultCast 2nd Hour with guest Blake J. Harris, author of Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, to be regaled with the story of the 90s video game war that pitted newcomer, Sega of America, against Nintendo, maker of Super Mario Brothers, Duck Hunt, and the unstoppable force that was the Nintendo Entertainment System.
You can see the difference Apple Watch is having on Cult of Mac readers' lives. Photo: Various
Around the world, Apple Watch is helping people make life-changing improvements to their health and fitness.
I recently asked Cult of Mac readers to share their experiences getting in shape with Apple Watch, and the response has been amazing. Here are some of the inspiring stories I received — and some great insights into how you can use an Apple Watch to smash your fitness goals.
Apple's A8 processor violated University of Wisconsin's patent. Photo: Apple
The University of Wisconsin-Madison defeated Apple in its patent lawsuit today, after a U.S. jury ordered the iPhone maker to pay the university $234 million in damages for infringing on patented microchip technology in the iPhone and iPad.
Apple’s bill for the infringement is significantly less than the $862 million fine the company was originally facing. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) had high praise for the verdict, saying it was improtant to protect the school’s inventions.
Ripple in still water/When there is no pebble tossed/Nor wind to blow.
Photo: Grate App
Only found in the New York and San Francisco Apple retail stores, this new tactile table really shows off the new 3D Touch features of the just released iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
As you can see in the video below, Apple’s got its new iPhones displayed on a new table that replicates the ripples from the fish videos shown on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices on the table whenever customers push on the iPhones themselves.
Don't discriminate between iPhone models. Chipgate doesn't exist. Photo: Apple
A test to pit the two different iPhone 6s models against each other — one with a TSMC chip and the other with a Samsung chip — has officially debunked Chipgate. It turns out there are no discernible differences in battery life between the two.
Consumer Reports acquired an iPhone 6s with an A9 chip made from TSMC and another from Samsung. They made sure all settings were equal on both devices including the carrier, brightness settings, wireless connections, iOS version, running apps and more. Then they got to work.
Intel and Apple have formalized a deal that has the iPhone maker producing its own smartphone modem. Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr
Intel wants to win part of Apple chip business, and according to a new report, it’s dedicating a small army of engineers towards creating a new LTE modem that could be destined for the iPhone 7
Over 1,000 employees have been assigned to the project to build a 7360 LTE modem chip for the iPhone 7, reports VentureBeat which also claims that if everything goes well, Intel could provide the modem and fabrication for Apple’s system on a chip.
Siri Eyes Free is coming to 2011 model Fords and earlier. Photo: Ford
Ford owners with a second-generation Sync infotainment system can now get Apple’s Siri Eyes Free feature for iPhone on the car dashboard, thanks to a new Sync 3.8 update.
The second-gen Sync system is found on Ford vehicles made since 2011 and earlier, but the company is just now making Siri Eyes Free available on its vehicles, even though Apple rolled out the feature with iOS 6 back in 2012.
The iQ bag includes a router to give the traveler a Wi-Fi hotspot. Photo: Andiamo
The tools inside the business traveler’s carry-on luggage have changed. The luggage itself has not.
Two companies are hoping to take off through crowd-funding with modern roller bags that fit all the essentials and charge your devices. One even has a router to give you a Wi-Fi hotspot where ever you land.
Microsoft is giving extra love to Mac owners. Photo: Microsoft
Looking to get a new computer this Fall? Microsoft thinks it has an unbeatable offer with its new Windows Tradeup program offers customers $200 to trade in an old PC and buy a new one at a Microsoft Store.
The deal is even sweeter if you got a Mac though, because Microsoft says it’s willing to toss you an extra $100 your way to get you to defect from Apple.
The 4K iMac is pretty, but you can get a lot more for your cash. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Apple delivered the 4K iMac many fans have been waiting for this week, but it’s not quite the all-in-one powerhouse some were expecting. Look past its beautiful design and you’ll find a lot of drawbacks you probably wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) expect to get with a $1,500 computer.
The upside is, this gives another great topic for a slanging match.
So join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we go head to head over one question: Is the 4K iMac a total ripoff?
Get ready to meet the iPad Pro's smaller sibling. Photo: Apple
Apple still hasn’t given us an official release date for the upcoming Apple TV 4 and the iPad Pro, but if you live in Europe you can already pre-order the new devices.
Bids for this Apple I started at $370,000. Photo: Christie's
Some of the most important scientific instruments of the past 700 years are hitting the auction block later this month, but one of the newest creations in the lot — one of the very first computers created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak — is expect to fetch the highest bid.
Apple has some Magical new peripherals. Photo: Apple
Apple’s magical new Mouse, TrackPad and keyboard have been given the official teardown treatment from the guys at iFixit today, revealing the minuscule components inside the rechargeable new peripherals.
The teardown on the keyboard reveals the tiny new battery Apple squeezed in that has some design similarities to the iPhone’s battery. iFixit also took a closer look at the new Taptic Engine in the pricey Magic TrackPad 2, and filleted the Magic Mouse 2.
HYPER GLASS by Live Work Play has two invisible buttons for back and forward. Photo: Live Work Play
Perhaps as we continue to evolve, our thumbs will grow longer so future generations will be able to reach the back menu arrow at the top of the iPhone. But we can’t wait hundreds of years for that.
We either need to lift an extra finger, god forbid, or purchase a glass screen protector that essentially gives our struggling thumb invisible back and forward buttons.
Has Chipgate gotten Samsung the boot? Photo: Apple
Apple will snub Samsung and call upon TSMC to exclusively produce all of its next-generation A10 processors for 2016’s iOS devices, according to a new report. It’s thought Apple considers TSMC’s chips to be superior to Samsung’s in performance and efficiency.
Virgin Media’s Smart Pavement keeps you connected on the go. Photo: Virgin
You’ll never be without an Internet connection in U.K. towns and cities in the future, thanks to Wi-Fi-emitting sidewalks.
Chesham in Buckinghamshire has become the first town to deliver Wi-Fi at speeds of up to 166 Mbps, seven times the average broadband speed in the U.K., through “Smart Pavements” courtesy of broadband provider Virgin Media.
The wait for iPad Pro is almost over. Almost. Photo: Apple
Apple’s super-sized iPad Pro is one step closer to going on sale after securing the approval of the Federal Communications Commission. Both the Wi-Fi and LTE-equipped options were given the green light this week.
All three of Apple’s productivity apps just came out of beta on iCloud.com, and Apple’s also updated all of them for both iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. There’s a host of improvements and fixes both large and small for each app on each platform.
All the full specifications are over at Apple’s productivity suite landing page, but here are ten of the best improvements for this long-running, venerable suite of word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet apps from our favorite Cupertino-based company.
The Woz tells it like it is. Photo: Universal Pictures
Steve Jobs will be remembered as much for his negative personality traits as for his marketing genius, says Steve Wozniak in a new featurette for the upcoming movie, Steve Jobs.
The Woz waxes nostalgic about his friend and co-founder of Apple as his own recollections are interspersed with scenes and quotes from the movie.
“Steve Jobs is known for having some negative personality characteristics,” says Wozniak, “but did he balance the good with the bad or did the bad lead to the good?”
Check out the video embedded below to hear what Woz thinks.
There's a new collaboration tool in town. Will it survive? Photo: Dropbox
Dropbox has just entered the competitive space of online collaboration software, and it hopes to overcome its late start with a simple, intuitive tool called Paper.
Currently in private beta, Dropbox’s Paper is part Google Docs and part Slack, which just goes to show you how late the company is — describing a new product with an already ubiquitous competitor is never a sure sign of success.
Gary Allen at Apple's store in Tysons Corner, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. Photo: Gary Allen
It’s with great sadness that I heard about the passing of Gary Allen this morning. I met Gary several times over the years and called and corresponded with him many times. He ran IFOAppleStore.com, by far the best website about Apple’s incredible chain of retail stores, a topic that proved a rich hunting ground, given its size, influence and global reach. Gary had an encyclopedic knowledge of Apple’s stores and his site — now sadly offline — was an incredible resource.
Gary was also known for traveling all over the word to attend store openings, often camping out the night before. He visited London, Paris, Tokyo, Istanbul, Beijing and many, many other cities. Some saw this as eccentric, but the point was not the store opening itself, but the chance to socialize with a bunch of like-minded people. To get some idea of his devotion to his hobby, check out his Twitter and Flickr feeds, still online and full of pictures from his travels.
I wrote a profile of Gary a few years ago that is now also offline, so I’m resurrecting it below.