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News - page 1129

Video reminds us of how far iOS and Android have come

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Android vs Apple Round 1
Ready? Fight!

We’ve spent thousands of man-hours over the years debating whether Android is better than iOS, or vice versa. A new video series by YouTube video producers ColdfusTion explores that same premise, by talking through the history of both platforms and how they’ve evolved over the years.

Whether you’re new to the world of mobile, or just fancy a trip down memory lane on a Friday, it’s well worth a watch. Check it out below:

Alabama Shakes singer gives Instagram guitar lesson

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Brittany Howard and the Alabama Shakes on tour in 2014.
Brittany Howard and the Alabama Shakes on tour in 2014.
Photo: Liza Agsalud/Wikipedia CC

Rock music history is rife with musicians who developed a sort of god complex from money and fame.

A recent posting on Instagram indicates fame is unlikely to corrupt Brittany Howard, lead singer and guitarist for Alabama Shakes, who used the photo- and video-sharing platform to give a fan a guitar lesson.

Apple might try to turn your car into a cockpit

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Apple's first car product might be a heads-up display.
Apple's first car product might be a heads-up display.
Photo: Milan Nykodym/Flickr

Apple is looking to bring fighter-jet technology to your car’s dashboard, according to a new report that claims the iPhone maker is working on a 27- to 50-inch heads-up display for automobiles that will be completely controlled by gestures.

Apple reportedly presses pause on its TV service

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Complications with the TV networks might push back Apple's live TV service announcement.
Photo: Apple

Originally slated for announcement during Apple’s alleged September 9 event, the rumored live TV service launch is now being pushed back to 2016. It turns out those stubborn TV networks are foiling Apple’s plans to deliver sooner. Fortunately, the new Apple TV hardware should still get a proper unveiling next month.

Leaked memo reveals Apple’s obsession with packaging

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Apple Stores are about to look like this inside and out.
Photo: Apple

We already knew that Apple has taken an interest in how its third-party partners present their wares in the Apple Store, but a leaked memo is describing just how seriously the company is taking this new initiative.

Other than the clean white background that it’s so fond of, Apple is also asking vendors to pay attention to the typefaces they use and even the angles from which they photograph their products.

So it turns out Apple is controlling and particular. Who knew?

Marc Newson says auto industry is ‘at the bottom of a trough’

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Marc Newson is peeved at the auto industry but he loves vintage Ferraris.
Marc Newson is peeved at the auto industry but he loves vintage Ferraris.
Photo: Spanich Coches/Flickr

It’s an open secret that Apple is poised to take on the auto industry with its rumored electric car project, and according to Apple design guru Marc Newson, the automotive industry is stalled.

In a new interview, the Apple designer touches on a number of topics, ranging from his love of fountain pens to his current design pet peeve: boring cars.

Apple’s last iOS 8 update fine-tunes Apple Music

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A new iOS 8 update is here.
A new iOS 8 update is here.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’re eagerly anticipating iOS 9 next month, but Apple’s got a few more fixes to give us in iOS 8.4.1, which is likely the final mobile upgrade to iOS 8.

Apple released iOS 8.4.1 to the public this morning, bringing with it a number of performance enhancements and bug fixes, plus some nice updates for Apple Music and Beats 1.

This power strip will take all devices and not overcharge

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Satechi's aluminum power strip provides one elegant charging home for your devices.
Satechi's aluminum power strip provides one elegant charging home for your devices.
Photo: Satechi

Each of our devices needs a mothership so to speak, that place where, at the end of a long day with the battery in the red, they can all return to one place and dock to recharge. This thought occurs to me every time I go to leave the house and must first round up my phone, iPad, computer and camera batteries from the various outlets I left them at the night before.

The accessories company Satechi has built the International Space Station of power strips.

Samsung’s answer to Apple Watch is coming Sept. 3

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This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch.
Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung's brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung
This is Samsung’s brand new smartwatch. Photo: Samsung

After announcing its new Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ in New York City this morning, Samsung promised the next big thing is right around the corner.

The South Korean company was referring to its new Gear S2 smartwatch — its first with a round display — which will get its full reveal on September 3.

Boot Camp 6 brings Windows 10 to Mac

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Boot Camp now supports Windows 10.
Boot Camp now supports Windows 10.
Photo: Microsoft

Mac users can now use Windows 10 on their OS X machines, thanks to an update for Boot Camp released by Apple this morning.The new Boot Camp 6 update is still propagating through Apple’s servers, but some users have found the update is available on Windows partitions in BootCamp.

Samsung Pay goes head-to-head with Apple Pay this September

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Samsung Pay is finally on the way.
Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung
Samsung Pay is finally on the way. Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new phablets aren’t the only thing we got out of its Unpacked event in New York City today; the South Korean company also announced a launch date for its new mobile payments service. Samsung Pay will be coming to take on Apple Pay in the U.S. on September 28.

Your smartphone doesn’t have to be useless while it’s charging

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The Tilt stand on Kickstarter lets you use your smartphone without removing it.
Photo: Tilt
TILT-in-use-01
The Tilt stand lets you use your smartphone without removing it. Photo: Tilt

It’s pretty difficult to use your smartphone while it’s standing vertically. That’s why when we place our phones on a dock or stand, we tend to neglect them until they’re done charging. Challenging this habit are the makers of the Tilt stand, who seem to think you should be able to use your phone while it’s getting juiced.

If Apple made a flip phone, it’d look something like this

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A dual-screen iPhone wouldn't be such a bad idea.
A dual-screen iPhone wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Photo: Martin Hajek

Apple started a smartphone revolution with the introduction of the original iPhone in 2007, but despite the rise of high-powered phones, people in Japan are still clinging to their flip phones.

The closest Apple ever got to making a flip phone was the disastrous Rokr the company developed in partnership with Motorola, so concept designer Martin Hajek decided to reimagine what it would look like if Apple made a flip phone just for the Japanese market. The concept Apple flip phone comes with two screens — one for typing and another for content — as well as an obligatory lanyard and three color options.

Take a closer look:

German efficiency: Deutsche Telekom is already taking iPhone 6s pre-orders

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The iPhone 6s hasn't even been announced yet, but you can already pre-order it in Germany.
Photo: @OnLeaks

Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the existence of the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and possibly iPhone 6c, but German provider Deutsche Telekom is already letting you place orders.

The carrier has set up a special “online reservation service” where would-be next-generation iPhone owners can get first dibs on the new handsets, set to be announced on September 9.

These trailblazers took selfies before selfies were a thing

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Robert Cornelius made photography history with the first known self-portrait taken in 1839.
Robert Cornelius made photography history with the first known self-portrait taken in 1839.
Photo: Library of Congress

There was no selfie stick, no hashtags and no sharing with his BFF. In fact, when Robert Cornelius took his historic selfie, he sat still as a stone for 15 minutes, then watched the photo slowly appear on a silver-plated sheet of copper as he breathed in dangerous mercury fumes.

That was instant gratification in 1839.

Cornelius, using a wooden box fitted with an opera glass, likely deserves credit for taking the world’s first selfie. He didn’t make the picture out of vanity, but as an experiment to test a silver-plating method for the daguerreotype photographic process, which had been introduced worldwide just three months before Cornelius’ self-portrait.

Gene Munster says new Apple TV is definitely maybe coming in September

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The Loch Ness monster of Apple rumors isn't completely dead yet.
Will new Apple TV finally surface in September?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been chomping at the bit about an Apple TV since 2011, but according to a new research note he sent to clients Thursday, Apple has a good chance of finally releasing its new television at the company’s reported September 9 event.

Seriously, this time. OK, maybe. Let’s call it 50/50.

Dubious iPhone 6s benchmarks show just 1GB of RAM

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Questions are being raised about the iPhone 6s' RAM-ing speed.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Everyone is expecting the iPhone 6s to boast 2GB of RAM, but according to a dubious source claiming to be an Apple developer, we may all be wrong.

Switzerland-based Instagram user Fabien Wanner has posted what he claims to be a Geekbench 3 screenshot of the new device, revealing RAM of “just” 1 GB — the same as the current iPhone 6.

Apple takes aim at Facebook with photo-sharing patent

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Facebook's Moments app in action.
Photo: Facebook

An Apple patent application describes a way of identifying people in digital images using face-recognition technology and then making it easy to send copies of the image to everyone in it.

The concept is highly reminiscent of Facebook’s Moments app, which identifies people and places in images and then allows users to easily share with friends, without having to post the pictures to Facebook.