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Inspired by MacPaint, Rogue Invader mixes retro art with modern gameplay

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Modern game, retro look. Does FOX know about these Zenos?
Modern game, retro look. Does FOX know about these Zenos?
Photo: Squishy Games

Upcoming sci-fi shooter Rogue Invader looks like a massive HyperCard stack in glorious motion. Currently on Kickstarter to fund the last bit of development, the roguelike game is the brainchild of Squishy Games founder Nathan Rees, who’s been making games ever since he discovered the joys of MacPaint as a kid.

Can you believe anybody’s still talking about Steve Jobs?

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Apple's doing great under Tim Cook... or is it?
Apple's doing great under Tim Cook... or is it?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you ignore its share price, Apple is doing incredibly well under Tim Cook, thanks in large part to the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. But its newest offerings, Apple Watch and Apple Music, may be off to rocky starts.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2This leads us to ask, once again, whether Apple has lost its spark without Steve Jobs. Is the company as exciting or as innovative under Cook? If Apple Watch can’t get us all to wear smartwatches and Apple Music doesn’t put Spotify out of business, does Apple have what it takes to revolutionize another industry?

Join us as we battle it out over those questions in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac.

Kahney’s Korner: Presenting the Cult of Mac Magazine app

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Cult of Mac is proud of its new magazine app on iTunes.
Cult of Mac is proud of its new magazine app on iTunes.
Photo: Cult of Mac/YouTube

I am super-psyched to introduce you to a new app coming soon to iOS: the Cult of Mac Magazine app.

The new version of our magazine app will be published every Saturday. I think it’s a really great way to read all the stuff we publish here during the week.

When it’s time for music, just reach for the BOTTLE

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The boomBOTTLE+ is a take-in-any-weather portable Bluetooth speaker.
The boomBOTTLE+ is a take-in-any-weather portable Bluetooth speaker.
Photo: SCOSCHE Industries

Don’t let the bottle in the name fool you. The boomBOTTLE+ by SCOSCHE Industries is no place for a beverage. But your ears will quickly realize it is filled with sound.

The boomBOTTLE, rolled out today on the SCOSCHE website, is a portable Bluetooth speaker that has the height and girth of the common water bottle, thus fitting in a drink holder on a bike, boat or camping chair.

Apple TV streaming service could cost more than $40

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Will the new Apple TV have exclusive shows and movies?
Will the new Apple TV have exclusive shows and movies?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s big event on September 9th is expected to include the unveiling of a redesigned Apple TV, but if you were hoping to get a taste of the company’s long rumored over-the-top TV subscription service, you’ll have to wait a little while longer.

Negotiations between Apple and content providers have stalled according to a new report that claims the economics of the subscription TV service remain a sticking point between Apple’s and its partners. The price Apple wants to charge consumers would be much higher than a subscription to HBO Go, Hulu, Netflix or Sling, but that’s still not enough for content makers who are asking for more cash.

This giant octopus is a sucker for good TV host

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This giant Pacific octopus didn't want to let go after meeting a new visitor.
This giant Pacific octopus didn't want to let go after meeting a new visitor.
Photo: BBC/YouTube

Who knew watching a guy get a bunch of hickeys would make interesting television?

When the affection comes from a giant Pacific octopus, you can’t help but be a little jealous of Matt Baker, a presenter for the BBC’s new Big Blue Live series.

Spyder’s battery case gives your iPhone extra legs

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The Spyder PowerShadow battery case is available for iPhone 5 and 6, with a model for the 6 Plus due in September.
The Spyder PowerShadow battery case is available for iPhone 5 and 6, with a model for the 6 Plus due in September.
Photo: Spyder

It may be a while before we see those long-lasting hydrogen-powered batteries in our iPhones. In the meantime, the options are bulky: pack your charging cord, carry a battery charger or go the power case route.

For those who don’t like the thickness or extra heft of power cases, Spyder has just introduced a new battery case weighing in at 3 oz and measuring a relatively thin 12.5 mm.

Google tells devs how to bypass iOS 9 app security features

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An image of the Google beta logo with the rainbow Apple logo in place of the first O
Google sure loves it ads.
Photo: Google/Apple

Google relies on ads for its revenue, which is why it’s no surprise that it’s undermining Apple by telling developers how to bypass some of the security settings Apple is implementing with iOS 9.

The App Transport Security (ATS) settings requires content which arrives on your iPhone to use the “https” encryption settings — making sure that third parties can’t track what users are doing on their iPhones.

Apple to help Pentagon develop military wearables

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edge-of-apple_1024
Apple is helping develop stretchable electronics for the U.S. military.
Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures/Cult of Mac

Apple is one of several companies and organizations teaming up with the Pentagon to develop high-tech wearables for the U.S. military.

The goal of the $171 million project? To develop stretchable electronics that can worn by soldiers, and eventually used for real-time monitoring of the structural integrity of ships and warplanes.

Sorry, 16GB iPhones will be around for at least one more year

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not-enough
16GB iPhones are hanging on for another twelve months at least.
Photo: Columbia Pictures

The iPhone 6s is set to be Apple’s biggest incremental “s” iPhone release of all time, but don’t expect the 16GB entry-level model to go anywhere.

A newly leaked photo appearing to show the next-gen iPhone’s user information sheet demonstrates that the 16GB base model will remain for at least one more year.

Check out the photo below:

Michael Fassbender: I don’t need to look like Steve Jobs

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Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs.
Fassbender doesn't think looking like Steve Jobs is particularly important.
Photo: Universal Pictures

One of the biggest criticisms of the upcoming Steve Jobs movie is that actor Michael Fassbender looks nothing like Jobs. In a new interview, Fassbender acknowledges the lack of resemblance, but says that making himself into a Steve lookalike was never part of the goal.

“We decided that I didn’t look anything like [Jobs], and that we weren’t going to try to make me look anything like him,” Fassbender says. “We just wanted to try to encapsulate the spirit and make our own thing of it.”

Apple Music exec leaves unexpectedly

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Apple Music
The beat goes on, but one of Apple Music's key execs won't be part of it.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

In a surprising move, Apple Music senior director Ian Rogers has left Apple — just two months after the new streaming service was launched.

Rogers was key in shaping Apple’s online radio strategy, leading to the launch of Beats 1. Prior to joining Apple in August 2014, he worked as CEO at Beats Music.

New Walking Dead game will turn you into a f2p zombie

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Turn-based combat and city building action.
Turn-based combat and city building action.
Photo: Scopely

Hey, check it out — another free-to-play game with typical energy mechanics and city building aspects that will be familiar to anyone who’s played a similar build and battle game in the last year or so.

Unlike the other games, however, this one is set in Robert Kirkman’s award-winning comic book series. Titled The Walking Dead: Road to Survival, it’s set in the fortified town of Woodbury just prior to The Governor’s arrival. Fans of the story might enjoy messing about in the universe, especially with the fantastic, comic book-style art that infuses this whole project with an authentic zombie-apocalypes feel.

Check out the gameplay video below to see what I mean.

Apple’s iPhone 6s event will blow up the Internet

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The nondescript exterior of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium doesn't give an inkling what Apple's up to inside.
The nondescript exterior of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium doesn't give an inkling what Apple's up to inside.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — Just how big is Apple’s next product reveal going to be? All signs point to it being a massive blowout of an event — far bigger than the standard iPhone “s” upgrade the world is expecting.

Apple returns to its roots at historic San Francisco venue

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Apple will host its fall media reveal at the same place it unveiled the Apple II computer.
Apple will host its fall media reveal at the same place it unveiled the Apple II computer.
Photo: StadiumUSA

When Apple takes the stage at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco for the fall media reveal, company execs will walk knowing they are in a sacred space.

Sure the building is 100 years old this year and is part of the city’s renaissance following the devastating 1906 earthquake. But the ground at the auditorium really shook in 1977, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak brought the Apple II computer to the West Coast Computer Faire.

New reader will let you Apple PayAnywhere this fall

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PayAnywhere reader will support Apple Pay
Apple Pay is about to be available in a lot more places.
Photo: PayAnywhere

The updated version of the PayAnywhere mobile credit-card reader is set to launch next month, and it will be all about Apple Pay.

This new partnership will help make good on some of Apple head Tim Cook’s bold claims during the company’s most recent earnings report.

Star Wars unveils new Jedi on Instagram

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Finn is ready to take on Kylo Renn.
Finn is ready to take on Kylo Renn.
Photo: Star Wars

Instagram is finally killing the square, and to celebrate, Disney unveiled a new teaser for the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. The short new clip gives us our first glimpse of new Jedi Finn wielding Luke’s/Anakin’s blue lightsaber.

It looks like Finn and Kylo Renn are about to have a huge lightsaber duel in the wintery forest, and we can’t wait until December 18 to see the carnage.

Watch the full teaser below:

Surprise! Siri’s hints about Apple event aren’t that helpful

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Don't even bother asking Siri for a hint.
Don't even bother asking Siri for a hint.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple just confirmed its big iPhone 6s event will take place September 9, and while the art on the invite didn’t offer any clues, Apple did give us one tip: Try asking Siri for hint.

Tim Cook’s not about to let his digital assistant leak details of the big event, but we decided to give it a try anyway. After begging Siri to give us a hint, a tip, anything, all we got back was more shade. But at least the replies were pretty funny.

Here are all of Siri’s hints:

Take a closer look at iPhone 6s Force Touch display

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IPhone 6s parts are leaking like crazy.
IPhone 6s parts are leaking like crazy.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The iPhone 6s keynote might be less than two week away, but we’ve already seen a bunch parts leak out of upcoming smartphone. A source provided Cult of Mac with the images above of an iPhone 6s screen assembly. The new assembly is slightly thicker than the iPhone 6 screen assembly, which is in line with previous rumors that the new device won’t have the same width as the iPhone 6.

We haven’t been able to take a closer look at the screen assembly, but another leak this morning takes a closer look at a mysterious new chip on the iPhone display that appears to confirm Force Touch is coming.

Wearables soar in Q2 2015 as Apple Watch aims for the top

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Not everybody who bought the Apple Watch is wearing it.
Not everybody who bought the Apple Watch is wearing it.
Photo: Apple
Apple Watch is off to a great start. Photo: Apple
Apple Watch is off to a great start. Photo: Apple

Don’t believe the critics who tell you wearables will never take off, because they’re wrong. During the second quarter of 2015 alone, the wearables market grew a staggering 223.2 percent, according to the latest figures from IDC, and Apple Watch is working its way to the top to tackle Fitbit.

Android Wear, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found.

Apple Music brings the Latin groove with new partners

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20150630_apple-music_0010
Less playlist, more olé-list, amirite? Sorry about that.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has signed a deal with Latin American “cultural outlet” Remezcla to create playlists for Apple Music.

The company, which began as a Latino events guide for New York, specializes in Latin America’s musical “new wave.” It regularly produces content for brands and festivals eager to reach young Latino audiences — something Apple is more than keen to do with its new streaming music service.