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Meet the 8 new Apple + IBM enterprise apps introduced today

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IBM
Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple’s partnership with IBM has birthed eight new enterprise apps that the companies announced today on Apple’s Business apps page. The new MobileFirst apps focus mostly on healthcare by providing hospital techs and nurses new methods to access patients records, log data and track progress.

Along with the four new healthcare apps, IBM and Apple also created apps for insurance agents, flight attendants, retailers and industrial production.

Take a quick tour of the new apps below.

Apple’s gorgeous new MacBook gets unboxed early

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Light as a bubble, thin as a paper. Photo: Apple
Light as a bubble, thin as a sheet of paper. Photo: Apple

Apple’s new MacBook won’t go on sale for another week-and-a-half. But if you want to get an advance glimpse of the next-gen notebook, you can check out a new unboxing video, which shows off the device’s ultra-thin form factor for the first time in all its glory.

The video’s in Vietnamese, but if you’ve been keeping up with our coverage here on Cult of Mac, you should know what to expect — from the edge-to-edge keyboard to the minimalist USB-C port. Did I mention how much I want one?

The best and worst April Fools’ Day jokes of 2015

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Find out who killed Khaleesi in the throne room. Photo: ThinkGeek
Find out who killed Khaleesi in the throne room. Photo: ThinkGeek

There’s not a more annoying day of the year to get on the Internet than April Fools’ Day. Ready or not, it’s here, and companies are spewing out a wave of fake product announcements, some of which we actually wish were real.

Don’t get pranked by this year’s jokes. We’ve rounded up the best and the worst of this year’s Internet jokes so you can laugh along, rather than being that embarrassing friend on Facebook peddling news that Tupac has come out of hiding.

Factory-worker-turned-Apple-supplier is named China’s richest woman

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Foxconn employees accused of $43 million iPhone scam
Tim Cook meets a worker at the Foxconn factory during a recent trip. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Here’s a pretty incredible story: The CEO of Apple touchscreen glass supplier Lens Technology has been named China’s richest woman, after demand for her company’s output saw shares climb 10 percent in a single day.

What’s impressive isn’t just that an Apple supplier rakes in enough cash to accumulate a $7.1 billion fortune, however, but rather the journey that 44-year-old Zhou Qunfei has taken to get there. Prior to getting into the glass manufacturing business as an executive in 2004, Qunfei worked on the factory line for another glass-maker in tech manufacturing hub Shenzhen.

Why withholding Apple Watch from U.K.’s biggest mobile retailer is a brilliant move

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Don't expect to see the Apple Watch at the Carphone Warehouse. Photo: Flickr/Jose and Roxanne CC
Don't expect to see the Apple Watch at the Carphone Warehouse. Photo: Flickr/Jose and Roxanne CC

The Apple Watch could be Apple’s next mass-market iPod-like product, but the company’s not quite ready to see it popping up everywhere yet.

With the Apple Watch launch just 24 days away, Apple has reportedly declined to supply the U.K.’s largest mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, with its debut wearable device.

“We would love to be able to stock the Apple Watch,” Carphone’s chief executive Graham Stapleton told The Telegraph newspaper. “I’ve got to be careful what I say but I think they are just going another way with it. We have not been given the opportunity.”

Second Mad Max trailer is even more unhinged than the flaming guitar in it

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I can hear the power chords now. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures
I can hear the power chords now. Photo: Village Roadshow Pictures

The world has gone mad again, and Max is there to witness. We’ve got a whole new trailer for the Mad Max: Fury Road reboot, and it’s full of insane-looking characters, viciously modded cars and a simply deranged flaming electric guitar that shows up a little over halfway through the trailer.

“In this wasteland, I am the one who runs from both the living and the dead,” says (presumedly) Tom Hardy’s Mad Max in a voiceover. “A man reduced to a single instinct: survive.”

An extra bonus — besides a shaved-headed Charlize Theron looking like a totally sane badass — is that bizarre-looking long-haired dude with the Bane-like dentistry mask who seems to be glaring at everyone and everything in several of these short, action-packed scenes.

Gamify your commute: Waze drops Easter eggs all over the road

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Need to gamify your ride? Waze has you covered. Photo remix: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
Need to gamify your ride? Waze has you covered. Photo remix: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

Crowd-sourced navigation app Waze has got a neat little idea for this coming Easter: little eggs you can drive over while using the app for points (three per egg!) and bragging rights.

So, as you drive down the street, headed to the grocery or picking up the kids, you can maximize your route to get as many egg points as possible.

This fun little promotion is happening now (it started last week) and will last through April 5.

NASA’s new Mars mission technology looks like a flying saucer

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NASA is testing a saucer-like space craft that could bring heavy payloads to Mars. Photo illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA is testing a saucer-like spacecraft that could bring heavy payloads to Mars. Photo illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Flying saucers from Mars is the stuff of science fiction. But a flying saucer from Earth is part of the mission to get astronauts to the Martian surface.

NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory completed a successful spin test of a saucer-shaped experimental craft in front of a live web audience Tuesday. The saucer will next lift off by balloon from Hawaii, where from 120,000 feet it will be dropped to test a new kind of parachute and an inflatable Kevlar ring to add drag for a slower descent.

Apple patent puts a twist on facial recognition unlocking

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Photo: David Schiersner
You selfies may soon unlock (and lock) your iPhone. Photo: David Schiersner

Apple is looking to up its selfie game in a new patent awarded to the company by the United States Patent and Trademark Offices today. The new patent would allow iPhone and iPad users to unlock their devices by simply taking a selfie, rather than using Touch ID or a passcode.

Android phones have had facial unlocking features for year, and there have been iOS jailbreak hacks as well, but Apple’s patent comes with a twist – devices will also automatically lock when they don’t recognize your face.

Apple is officially ready to accept your Watch app

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Apple Watch did some monster pre-orders in its first day on sale. Photo: Leander Kahney
It's time to submit your Apple Watch app. Photo: Leander Kahney

Apple today announced that all members of its Developer Program can now officially submit Watch apps to the App Store; potentially triggering a gold rush similar to that seen when devs were first able to create iPhone apps early on its lifecycle.

Developers are encouraged to submit their WatchKit app, icon, screenshots, and description for review by Apple’s testers.

iPad comes under fire from Surface 3 running full Windows 8.1

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Photo: Microsoft
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s early attempts to the tablet crown from Apple hasn’t really gone according to plan. All the Surfaces from the original to the Pro 2 were flops, but Microsoft seems to have hit its stride with the Surface Pro 3. Now it’s ready to take on the iPad with an even cheaper tablet.

Today, Microsoft unveiled its thinnest and lightest tablet ever, the Surface 3. At 1.37 pounds it’s just a little bit heavier than the iPad Air 2, but boasts a bigger screen and price tag that starts at $499.

Chinese smartphone maker apologizes for likening Apple to Hitler

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Yep, they went there. Photo:
Yep, they went there. Photo: Letv

A Chinese smartphone maker has apologized for an ad comparing Apple to mass-murdering Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler.

The ad depicted a cartoon Hitler performing the Nazi salute, with his red armband showing the Apple logo instead of a swastika.

Text on the advert read, “Under the arrogant regime of iOS domination that developers around the world love yet hate, we are always carefully asking, ‘is this kind of innovation okay?'” It went on to describe Apple as a “dusk empire,” suggesting that it’s on the wane as a company.

Check out the CEO’s grovelling apology below.

Amazon wants to turn your house into a shopping cart

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Oh wait, this wasn't a joke?
Photo: Amazon
Photo: Amazon

Amazon has made ordering stuff online ridiculously easy with its huge warehouses shipping online orders to Prime members in an instant. Apparently ordering stuff online is just too damn hard though, so today Amazon announced it’s newest creation: Dash buttons.

The new Wi-Fi connected buttons can be placed throughout your home, allowing you to replenish supplies of your favorite products with just the push of a button. Once pressed, Amazon creates an order and sends an alert to your phone so you can cancel if the kids are spamming for more mac and cheese.

Lethal chameleon tongue does not disappoint in slow-mo

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BBC Earth Unplugged/YouTube
Meet the world's most deadly tongue. Photo: BBC

Gene Simmons has a show-stopping demonic tongue wag. But it’s nothing compared to the tongue action of a panther chameleon.

BBC Earth’s web series Earth Unplugged put the quirky chameleon in its slow-motion studio, shooting him at meal time at 1,500 frames per second, then playing it back 60 times slower than real time.

This chameleon’s tongue can shoot out of its mouth at a speed that’s four times faster than the highest acceleration of a fighter jet. The slow-mo treatment allows the viewer to appreciate the artistry of both the filmmakers and their hungry star.

Watch the best Apple Campus 2 drone video we’ve seen yet

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apple-campus-2
Check out Apple Campus 2 in 4k. Photo: Dane's Drone

 

Tim Cook makes frequent visits to Apple Campus 2 – which is still without an official name. It seems like drone enthusiasts visit the site more than Apple’s CEO. Search YouTube for ‘Apple Campus 2′ and you’ll get over 192,000 results, but this latest video is the best yet.

You can see the top floors of Steve Jobs’ spaceship start to take shape in Dane’s video that was shot on a DJI Inspire 1 drone with built-in 4K video. Dane told Cult of Mac he was in the Bay Area shooting a wedding and decided to get a view of the new campus. He setup in a nearby neighborhood and flew over the site.

Shot by starting off on the other side of the road from Apple Campus 2, the super-high resolution video really captures how massive the new campus will be once it’s finished in 2016.

Watch the full video below:

Apple faces investigation by International Trade Commission

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Ericsson wants to stop Apple selling iPhones in the United States. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Ericsson wants to stop Apple selling iPhones in the United States. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The Apple-Ericsson confrontation continues to heat up. The U.S. International Trade Commission says it will investigate Apple, based on two complaints alleging that Cupertino illegally infringed on Ericsson patents.

Ericsson previously asked the ITC to block Apple products, such as the iPhone, from selling in the United States while the case is being investigated.

How a California real estate developer helped create Apple as we know it

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A classic promotional shot emphasizes the stylish open-plan living found in an Eichler home. Photo: Eichler
A vintage promotional shot emphasizes the stylish open-plan living found in an Eichler home. Photo: Eichler

With an innovative architectural style that brought elegant living to the masses, real estate developer Joseph Eichler left an indelible mark on California in the 1960s.

His beautifully simple blueprints also had an undeniable impact on Apple’s co-founders — although Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs took very different lessons from his work. Remarkably, Eichler’s design philosophy continues to shape Apple’s products, inside and out, to this day.

“I was very lucky to grow up in an Eichler,” Wozniak told Cult of Mac, referring to his family’s four-bedroom home in Sunnyvale, California. “It greatly influenced my liking of simplicity and open style. I like it whenever I see those attributes in any architecture.”

Jay Z challenges Apple with artist-owned streaming music service

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Jay Z
Jay Z's got 99 problems, and Tim Cook may be one. Photo: NRK P3/Flickr CC
Photo: Flickr/NRK P3

On his Kingdom Come album, Jay Z talked about being a big star “befo’ Steve Jobs made the iPod.”

Now, close to a decade later, the hip-hop mogul is keen to show that he is still ahead of Apple by introducing his new streaming music rival to Spotify and Pandora, prior to Apple’s own rumored Beats Music rebrand.

Your Uber could be paying for others to ride

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Uber failed to win over Apple as a partner for its delivery business.
Dark web sites are reportedly selling Uber usernames and passwords for as little as $1. Photo: File/Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

Your Uber account is handy for catching a ride. It may also be handy for someone else to get around town on your dime.

Stolen Uber customer accounts have turned up for sale on the dark web for as little as $1, according to a report by the website Motherboard.

One seller claims to have “thousands” of user logins for sale.

Apple to reveal Q2 2015 results on April 27

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple’s stock has been a bit stagnant the last few weeks, but that could quickly change next month after Apple reveals to investors how much profit it raked in during Q2 2015.

Apple announced today that it will hold it’s quarterly earnings report for Q2 2015 on Monday, April 27th. Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri will reveal how many iPhone 6 units were sold in what’s expected to be the company’s second biggest quarter of sales ever.