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News - page 1169

Supergirl is latest rare super heroine to snag TV series

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Melissa Benoist takes on the disttaff side of Superman. Photo: Variety
Melissa Benoist takes on the disttaff side of Superman. Photo: Variety

CBS just landed Supergirl, the network’s first series pick up for the upcoming season.

This is, of course, rather historic, since the last decent female-led superhero show was 1975’s Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter. It’s even got a chance of being pretty good, as it’s coming from the same creators of successful DC properties The Flash and Arrow, both over on the CW Network.

The less said the better about Electro Woman and Dyna Girl or the more modern yet still awful Birds of Prey.

Parody iPhone ad is just about the freakiest thing you’ve ever seen

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What do you get when you cross an Apple ad with J-horror? Photo: Noka Films
What do you get when you cross an Apple ad with J-horror? Photo: Noka Films

From the dystopian “1984” Macintosh commercial to its disastrous “Lemmings” follow-up, Apple ads haven’t always been full of jokes, tinkly music and Jony Ive saying “aluminium” in a soothing voice.

Nothing Apple has ever created, however, has been quite as weirdly disturbing as this iPhone ad parody from the folks at Noka Films.

iPhone is killing it in Europe thanks to Android switchers

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Photo: Cult of Android
Photo: Cult of Android

Europe was supplanted by China this past quarter as the second most important market for Apple, but according to a new report from Kantar, the iPhone-maker is gaining grown in Europe thanks to Android switchers.

Over 30% of Apple’s new customers in Europe last quarter switched over from Android. All the new converts have pushed iOS’ marketshare in Europes five largest countries to 20.3%, marking a 1.8% increase from 2014.

Check out the graph below:

Apple Watch dominates competition in Consumer Reports test

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post-321758-image-93c01572b3080ab3a461a118fd6a0787-jpg
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’ve already seen the Apple Watch’s durability get tested in some pretty extreme ways. Now Consumer Reports is weighing in with tests of its own and Apple Watch dominated the smartwatch competition.

Both the stainless-steel Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport passed their water-resistance test. The stainless-steel model also stood out for its sapphire display after surviving a test of up to 9 Mohs, just below diamond hardness.

Watch the full test below:

Apple Watch inches closer to in-store pickup

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Apple Watch supply is finally catching up with demand. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is getting ready to offer customers the chance to pick up their new Apple Watches in brick-and-mortar retail stores, according to a new option on the Apple Online Store describing the service as “available soon.”

On eBay and Craigslist, every Apple Watch is pure gold

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Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The Apple Watch is a hot ticket on eBay and Craigslist as owners cash in on long wait times. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo:

With shipping dates for new Apple Watch orders slipping to July and beyond, some owners are selling their devices in hopes of turning a quick profit.

It seems to be working. There’s a brisk trade of Apple Watches on eBay and Craigslist, with some used devices fetching up to twice their retail value.

“I am wearing the watch as we speak,” said one seller, who identified himself as Ben and has a stainless steel Apple Watch on Craigslist for more than $200 over the list price.

“I’ve been wearing the Watch since I posted that hoping to get a small profit,” he said. “Part of me hoped nobody would offer me the extra few hundred because I really wanted to wear this gorgeous first-gen product! I haven’t worn a watch in 10 years.”

Tim Cook lunch auction hits $200,000, but time’s running out

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How much would you pay for lunch with Tim Cook? Photo: Apple

If you fancy sitting down over lunch with Tim Cook, along with being the Apple CEO’s guest at a future Apple keynote, you’d better hurry.

That’s because today marks the end of the annual Tim Cook Lunch auction to raise money for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights — with the bidding currently standing at $200,000.

FTC already concerned about possible Beats Music antitrust violation

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So long as the next episode doesn't include antitrust violations, that is. Photo: Beats Music
So long as the next episode doesn't include antitrust violations, that is. Photo: Beats Music

Apple may be struggling to finalize deals with record labels ahead of its Beats Music rebranding this summer, but that’s not stopping the U.S. Federal Trade Commission from scrutinizing it for potential antitrust violations, according to a new report.

The reason? Despite currently experiencing an 8 percent drop in its iTunes popularity, Apple’s history as the largest seller of music downloads means it could theoretically abuse its position to put rival companies on the back-foot.

Former Apple retail boss’ new gadget site will send tech experts to your home

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Steve Jobs and Ron Johnson at Apple's Fifth Avenue Apple Store grand opening.
Steve Jobs and Johnson at Apple's Fifth Avenue Apple Store grand opening. Photo: Richard Agullar
Photo: Richard Agullar

Ron Johnson, a.k.a. the former Apple retail guru who played a key role in launching the Apple Store, has officially launched his new startup.

Called Enjoy Technology, Johnson’s website sells dozens of high-end tech gadgets, including smartphones, laptops, speakers, tablets, and drones — only with the added twist that customers get free home setup from an expert at no extra cost.

Conan O’Brien shows us how to fix Apple Watch’s tattoo problem

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Photo: Team Coco
Tattoos are no problem with Apple Watch Hand. Photo: Team Coco

Apple Watch has a known issue where it doesn’t exactly play nice with tattoos. For some wearers with dark wrist tattoos the device can’t detect if you have a pulse, but according to Conan O’Brien, it’s not really glitch if Apple can sell you a fix.

So far Apple’s only advice seems to be, “just don’t get wrist tattoos,” but the late-night TV show host has come up with his own hilarious way to fix the TattooGate problem.

Let us introduce you to the Apple Watch Hand:

Apple wants to dissect your genes with the iPhone

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Gene testing, coming soon to an iPhone near you. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Gene testing, coming soon to an iPhone near you. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo:

The next big feature for the iPhone might involve a lot of spitting. Apple is planning to launch new Research Kit studies at WWDC in June that will focus on DNA studies, according to a new report, claiming Apple is collaborating with researchers in the U.S. to create two new apps.

The new apps will be based on ResearchKit, Apple’s software platform that helps scientists and hospitals run medical studies on the iPhone. If successful, the new studies could give many iPhone users their first look at their genetic information by sending a ‘spit-kit’ to an Apple-approved laboratory.

Patents suggest Apple TV wand full of Cupertino magic

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"Applus TViticus!" Photo: Warner Bros.

The high-tech “magic wand”-style controller rumored to ship with the refreshed Apple TV this summer may be the culmination of close to a decade’s R&D on the part of Apple.

Is this the “simplest user interface you could imagine” that Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson about when he claimed he had “finally cracked” the way to build a perfect TV?

If so, we’ve combed through the patents to reveal how it might work.

Move over, Marissa! Angela Ahrendts is highest-paid woman in U.S.

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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
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Stealing Angela Ahrendts away from Burberry didn’t come cheap for Apple. The new VP of retail operations quickly became one of the top paid execs at Apple in 2014, and according to a new report, the former Burberry CEO has already become the highest paid woman in the U.S., beating out Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer.

The true definitions of the world’s most popular emojis

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Instagram found a way to decipher emojis. Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Apple

 

Emoji have gone from cute little pictograms only teens use, to a near-universal method of expression for all languages in about four years. Instagram has been tracking the use of emoji in posts and noticed an explosion of emoji after Apple added the keyboard to iOS in October 2011.

Today, nearly 60% of all Instagram posts in Finland use emoji, while users in countries like France, U.K., Russia, Italy and U.S.A. include emoji in 40% – 50% of posts. Using a tool called word2vec that reads through text and predicts the context around a given emoji, Instagram’s engineers have combed through millions of posts to decipher the true meaning of emoji.

Here are the most popular emoji and their definitions:

Vainglory’s biggest update yet brings character skins to the MOBA-fest

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Six new hero skins are here! Photo: Super Evil Megacorp
Six new hero skins are here! Photo: Super Evil Megacorp

If you’re like us, you’ve been playing the crap out of the amazingly addictive online arena game, Vainglory, since it came out for the iPad and iPhone, ganking enemies from the safety of the bushes, releasing the Kraken, and pushing down the lane to smash the opposing team’s base crystal to win the game.

While the development team at Super Evil Megacorp has released updates in the past, they’ve just dropped the most major update yet: the introduction of a character skin system to customize the look of your heroes as they dash across the map, wreaking havoc and crushing the enemy team.

There are six new heroes with two tiers of customization out in the update today, with a ton more to come.

Here’s how it’s going to work.

Home Depot says lack of Apple Pay support is nothing personal

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How to set up Apple Pay on Apple Watch.
Apple Pay on Apple Watch. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

An outcry from customers who found that Home Depot no longer accepts Apple Pay resulted from an upgrade to the hardware chain’s in-store payment systems.

Stephen Holmes, Home Depot’s director of corporate communications, told Cult of Mac the problem is not specific to Apple Pay. This means that nobody, including Google Wallet users, can make electronic payments right now because the company is working on its NFC terminals.

“We don’t have the capability to accept [Apple Pay] online, and our NFC is currently inactive as we upgrade our systems,” he said.

Apple TV picks up new USA NOW and CBS Sports channels

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Add CBS to the list of broadcasters ready to sign a deal for Apple TV
Apple TV gained some new channels today. Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

The redesigned Apple TV and its accompanying streaming service are still nowhere to be seen, but Apple beefed up its channel offerings for its little black box today, adding new icons for USA Now and CBS Sports.

The new Apple TV’s channels offer viewers access to on-demand sports, TV shows, and movies to customers in the United States, and Apple’s also added Shomi and Crave TV for users in Canada. Both new channels are available as an over-the-air update and should be showing up on users’ boxes today.

Here’s a look at what you can watch:

Luxury watchmaker IWC takes on Apple Watch with new strap sensor

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This ugly sensor is IWC's answer to Apple Watch. Photo: IWC

If you need more evidence that the luxury Swiss watchmakers are as truly screwed as Jony Ive predicted, look no further than IWC’s laughable answer for keeping up with the Apple Watch.

The luxury watch company is adding a smart sensor called IWC Connect to the strap of its Big Pilot watch, a favorite of horologist collectors including John Mayer. Details on what the fitness sensor can actually do haven’t been revealed, but IWC created a ridiculously dramatic teaser trailer for the new strap that you can watch below:

Lonely Apple Watch buyers turn to the Internet to share their heartbeats

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Photo: Apple
I just want someone to share my heartbeat with! Photo: Apple

One of the most original features of the Apple Watch is the ability to send your heartbeat to a friend or loved one. With only a small fraction of Watches having shipped, however, early adopters are turning to the Internet to try and find other Apple fans willing to test out the new feature.

I can’t quite work out whether this is depressing, or the perfect hook for a 2015 update of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s You’ve Got Mail.