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News - page 1152

Check out Goodwood, Jony Ive’s favorite car festival

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The Goodwood Festival is a celebration of racing and hill climbs.
The Goodwood Festival is a celebration of racing and hill climbs.
Photo: Peter Leung/Twitter

The annual race car festival at Goodwood is underway this year, with 100,000 attendees all clamoring to see the hot rods and race cars speed their way to the top of the uphill course.

Avowed gear-head Jony Ive travels to the South of England each year to see the festtival; chances are he’s there now ogling the sweet lines of a fancy race car or taking in some ideas for the rumored Apple car.

Check out some of the cool rides from this year’s festival below.

Steve Jobs documentary director says Apple is a Scientology-like cult

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On balance, we prefer the look of Apple's spaceship campus.
On balance, we prefer the look of Apple's spaceship campus.
Photo: PictorialEvidence / Wikipedia CC

One is a cult-like organization which bilks its (often celebrity) followers out of huge amounts of money, while intimidating people who dare to speak out against its dangers. The other is Scientology.

Or at least that’s the parallel drawn by Oscar-winning documentary director Alex Gibney, who claimed to see similarities between Apple and the L. Ron Hubbard-founded religion during a recent screening of his Steve Jobs documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine.

Your next Apple Watch could save you from carpal tunnel syndrome

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Your
Your "other" workout had better be cardio.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has been working on the Apple Watch’s heart-rate monitor ever since the wearable launched in April. First, it was taking your pulse every 10 minutes. Then, it was doing it every 10 minutes unless you were moving around because the company said that a resting heart rate is a better health indicator than a “doing whatever” heart rate.

And that’s correct, but a newly released patent hints at some future improvements for the function that could also spare you some wrist pain and warn you about stress.

Apple Watch band is filled with cool tech, patent reveals

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You can swap out bands within 14 days if you regret your choice. Source: Apple
It's not just a hunk of plastic.

Your Apple Watch band contains some cutting-edge fabrication technology that could extend into other fashion accessories, according to a patent filing released today.

The patent describes an ingenious method for molding “woven fibers” into any desired shape and securing them without stitching.

Original show may have tanked, but Heroes Reborn looks genuinely exciting

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Where have all the heroes gone; long time passing.
Where have all the heroes gone; long time passing.
Photo: NBC Universal

Heroes Reborn reboots the 2006 NBC cult-hit Heroes with a whole new cast of characters, and some familiar faces, too.

While the original series ended up being awful after the fantastic first season, both due to the 2007/2008 writers’ strike and series creator Tim Kring’s distraction over the latter couple of seasons.

The big draw of that first season was ordinary people discovering their extraordinary powers, set in a comic-book inspired world just brimming with possibility. You really cared for these characters as they stumbled and fell trying to become heroes in the face of a world — and a super-villain, Sylar, masterfully played by not-yet-a-superstar Zachary Quinto.

Here’s hoping the new reboot will have original creator Kring working at the top of his form again; the new trailer (below) has me pretty excited that it’s true.

Fallout Shelter digs deep to get to the top

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Fallout Shelter is making some serious cash, but not at your expense.
Fallout Shelter is making some serious cash, but not at your expense.
GIF: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Post-apocalyptic free-to-play iOS game Fallout Shelter is proving that engaging gameplay and treating your players like valued customers pays of huge dividends.

Developer Bethesda today revealed that the game, only just released, has pushed aside all other takers in the App Store, becoming the top downloaded game in 48 countries, and the top downloaded app (including games) in 25 more.

Looks like a fun, quality game that doesn’t trick you into buying in-app purchases can be successful after all.

iPhone to power nation’s largest LGBT health study

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The nation's largest LGBT study is powered by ResearchKit
The nation's largest LGBT study uses ResearchKit
Photo: The Pride Study

Thanks to Apple’s new ResearchKit software, breakthroughs have already been made in the study of Parkinsons disease and Asthma. Now, a team of researcher are planning to use the iPhone and ResearchKit to study a subject we still don’t know as much about as we’d like to: LGBT health.

Spotify extends free trial facing pressure from Apple Music

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Spotify is taking what it knows about your music tastes to curate a personalized weekly playlist.
Spotify has increased its free trial for users outside the U.S.
Photo: Spotify

Apple Music’s launch is just days away, and Spotify is already running to catch up to the free trial Apple thinks will convince you to become a paying customer.

In an attempt to match Apple’s controversial three-month free trial period, Spotify announced that it will extend its Premium free trials from 30 days to 60 its days, but only if you’re outside the U.S.

Taylor Swift is bringing ‘1989’ to Apple Music

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'1989' is coming to Apple Music
'1989' is coming to Apple Music
Photo: Taylor Swift

After waging a war against Apple Music in the name of indie artists, Taylor Swift has finally decided that she will let fans stream her newest album, 1989, on Apple Music when the service launches last week.

Swift announced her decision to make the album available on Twitter this morning, saying it’s the first time she’s felt right in her gut that now is the time to embrace streaming.

Drake, Elton John, and Pharrell will have their own Beats 1 shows

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Beats 1 will be the first channel to announce MTV's 2015 VMA nominees.
Beats 1 delivers 24/7 internet radio.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning to launch its new streaming music service in less than a week and the company plans to pack a lot of star power to get iOS users to tune in.

As part of the new Apple Music service, Beats 1 Radio will use a host of celebrities to plan and host their own music shows that will touch on everything from golden oldies brought to you by Elton John, to hip new Millennial songs with teen Jaden Smith spinning the discs.

Apple pulls games with Confederate flag artwork from App Store

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Apple's yanking down the Confederate flag
Apple's yanking down the Confederate flag
Photo: Civil War 1863

It’s been over 150 years since the South lost to the Union army in the American Civil War, but only recently has the call to finally remove the Confederate Flag from public places picked up steam. Now Apple is getting in on the action too by banning all Civil War games from the App Store that display the Confederate Flag in “offensive and mean-spirited ways.”

New rumor exposes Apple’s dual-lens camera plans

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I'd pay extra for this.
Why make do with one lens when you could have two?
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has been secretly experimenting with dual-camera iPhone lenses for three years, according to Altek’s Xiaru Wen, the CEO of the company responsible for building similar camera modules for HTC and Huawei.

The report claims that Apple has been held up by two challenges until now: technical problems resulting in blurred images, and an inability to find a manufacturer able to build enough of the components in the allotted time.

But things may be about to change.

Will.i.am thinks the Apple Watch is weird

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Ahrendts
Will.i.am cheesin' with Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts at the Apple Watch unveiling.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Black Eyed Peas founder Will.i.Am has been an Apple fanboy for years, but when it comes to supporting Jony Ive’s new wearable, the singer thinks it’s just weird.

During a panel discussion at the Cannes Lions festival, Mr I.Am said he recently saw a man at the gym with an iPhone 6 strapped to his arm even though he was wearing an Apple Watch, and it just didn’t look right he told SaleForce CEO Marc Benioff.

How the Swiss Army Knife was the iPhone of its day

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The first Swiss Army Knife, which was issued to soldiers in October of 1891.
The first Swiss Army Knife, which was issued to soldiers in October of 1891.
Photo: Wikipedia

With an iPhone in your hand and thousands of apps at your disposal, you may think you have the one gadget that can get you out of any situation.

But there’s a kind of analog handset that offers sharp solutions to cut through unexpected challenges. The Swiss Army Knife comes from the 19th century but never gets old.

The red handle and silver cross is enough to inspire confidence knowing that what unfolds from it could help you solve problems, build things, keep you on the job or possibly save your life.

Slim Shady stands up for first Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe

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Beats 1 could soon be broadcasting from an Apple store.
Eminem is the first major musical guest on Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

DJ Zane Lowe is clearly intent on getting Beats 1 kicked off with a bang, since he has posted an image to Instagram revealing that hip-hop artist Eminem will be his first guest interview when Apple Music launches next week.

Lowe joined Apple from BBC Radio 1 earlier this year, where he had previously interviewed top-tier music names including Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z, Rick Rubin, and Chris Martin.

Some T-Mobile iPhone users are suffering a case of ‘blue screen of death’

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t-mobile
T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
Photo: T-Mobile

Numerous T-Mobile iPhone users are complaining that their handsets are reportedly suffering bizarre outages, causing them to reboot at half-hourly intervals.

On social media, users are describing how their Uncarrier iPhones crash every 20 to 30 minutes while they are using certain apps, leading to a Microsoft-style “blue screen of death” and then a reboot.

Apple component orders again hint that Force Touch is coming to iPhone 6s

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The Force Touch trackpad as seen in the recent MacBook.
The Force Touch trackpad as seen in the recent MacBook.
Photo: Apple

More and more evidence is racking up that Apple will introduce its Force Touch technology — previously seen in the Apple Watch and recent MacBook models — as a chief feature for the upcoming iPhone 6s.

According to a new report citing industry sources, Apple has upped its orders for the flexible printed circuit boards necessary for incorporating Force Touch into its next-gen iPhones — with its main FPCB suppliers being Zhen Ding Technology and Flexium Interconnect.

Apple will pay same streaming royalty rate as Spotify during free trial

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Iovine
Jimmy Iovine talks up Apple Music at WWDC 2015.
Photo: Apple

Having agreed to pay out royalties to music artists during the initial three-month trial period of Apple Music, Apple will reportedly pay rights holders 0.2 cents per stream, according to a new report.

This rate is similar to that paid by other streaming companies, such as Spotify, for their free tier. Apple is also said to be still negotiating a smaller free for songwriting rights which be paid to publishers.

The patent that proves Apple wants to put fingerprint scanners inside displays

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Touch ID as you know it could be about to change.
Touch ID as you know it could be about to change.
Photo: Apple

Recent reports claim that Apple is looking to eliminate the need for a physical “home” button on future iPhones by integrating Touch ID fingerprint sensors into the main display. Now we have the patent application to prove it!

Published Thursday, Cult of Mac got its hands on a patent application entitled “Fingerprint Biometric Sensor Including Drive Signal Level Updating,” which reveals how Apple has been exploring processing circuitry capable of acquiring fingerprint data by using special “sensing pixels” within screens.

MIT: Apple is smarter than Snapchat, dumber than Google

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Tim Cook commencement
S-M-R-T.
Photo: George Washington University

Tesla Motors is the smartest company in the world, according to MIT Tech Review’s latest survey of the brainiest corporations. Apple, which was not on last year’s list returns at number 16, beating out other firms like ride-sharing company Uber and smartbulb-maker Philips. MIT cites the newly released Apple Watch and touchless payment method Apple Pay as its reasons for inclusion, saying that these two products “set the pace for competitors.”

You can see the full list of smartiespants in the table below.

UK Apple Pay comes up short at the cash register

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Apple Pay is coming to the U.K. this fall.
Apple Pay for the U.K. It's coming sometime, maybe.
Photo: Apple

Merchants in the United Kingdom are preparing their shops and wares for the launch of Apple Pay this fall, but they have some extra work to do if they want to make the big sales.

Apple Pay U.K. will come with a £20 per transaction limit unless shop owners have the latest gear on their counters.