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iTunes 11 might just be the best version yet, with a beautiful new user interface and a plethora of great new features that we love. But with everyone these days streaming all-you-can-eat music from excellent apps like Spotify and Rdio, we had to ask—is it too little too late? On our all-new CultCast, we’ll tell you which iTunes 11 features we love most, but which one feature it really needs to stay relevant in the world of music.

Then, we ponder a new gold-plated iPhone accessory so ridiculous, it might just be genius.

All that and a brand new Faves & Raves on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Read on for the show notes and to learn how you could promote your product or service on one of our future episodes.

Apple loves to hide little surprises, or “easter eggs,” within its software — such as the memorable quotes inside its OS X icons, or the temporary date (Jan 24, 1984 — when the first Macintosh was unveiled) given to apps downloaded from the Mac App Store. A new one has been discovered that’s sure to please Lord of the Rings fans.

Typing a simple comment into Terminal reveals a Lord of the Rings timeline that Apple has hidden in OS X. Here’s how to access it.

Apple promised us its new 21.5-inch iMac would go on sale in November, and it has just about met that deadline. You can now order the Cupertino company’s sexy new all-in-one via its online store, with shipping in 1-3 business days. The 27-inch model is also available to order, but that one will take 2-3 weeks to ship.

Longtime Apple executive Bob Mansfield just had a big pay day, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mansfield just cashed in 35,000 shares of Apple stock valued at $582.21 per share, earning him $20.37 million.

After announcing his retirement but then staying on at Apple to lead the company’s mysterious new “Technologies” group, Mansfield now reports directly to CEO Tim Cook. He’s just as instrumental to the company’s success as ever.

The iPhone 5 is now available for purchase unlocked at an unsubsidized price on Apple’s U.S. online store. Customers should also be able to pick up an unlocked iPhone 5 in U.S. Apple Retail stores as well. Pricing starts at $649 for the 16GB model.

It typically takes Apple a couple months before it starts selling a new iPhone model unlocked. Today a new option has appeared in the online store for selecting an unlocked model without a two-year carrier contract.

Apple has just reissued the OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 supplemental update for late-2012 Macs, including the 21.5-inch new iMac and Mac mini, as well as the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. There aren’t any reasons given for the original retraction of the update, and no noticeable changes in the list of fixes that are included in it.

The Boomerang is a new Kickstarter iPad accessory from the one-device-to-rule-them all crowd — it’s a combination universal mounting system and frame. The hinged, X-shaped frame snaps onto the back of your iPad, while a powerful, centrally located magnet of its back allows it to attach to a wide variety of stands and mounts that Uros Cadez, the project’s creator, has already designed. Even without any accessory mounts, the frame’s hinge can ratchet to prop the iPad up at three different  angles. Another plus: The Boomerang’s corners were designed so it wouldn’t get in the way of a Smart Cover.

Is Apple running out of room in Cupertino proper? Perhaps, as new details have emerged that show Apple planning to occupy a new site that could contain 1,200 workers or more in Santa Clara, CA. Developer Peery Arrillaga has made a deal with the Cupertino-based tech company to custom tailor a two-building office campus, currently under construction at the north side of Stevens Creek Boulevard, just a few minutes from Cupertino city limits.

Redbox Instant by Verizon, the Netflix competitor by, well, Verizon, just became a bit more real today, as details released onto the web.

According to GigaOm, the streaming video service will charge customers as little as $6 per month, have apps for Android, iOS, and Xbox 360, and will go live as early as December 17.

Apple and Starbucks have parted with (RED) to help give a little back this holiday season. Buy a $15 iTunes + $15 Starbucks gift card combo online, and both companies will donate 5% of proceeds to help fund AIDS research.

(RED) has been a longtime partner with Apple. If you buy a red colored iPod from Apple, a small percentage of the sale also goes towards the fight to end AIDS. You can order a holiday gift card basket from Apple, Starbucks and (RED) now.

The fine folks at The Iconfactory have put up a teaser page for Twitterrific 5, the next major version of their popular Twitter client. Version 5.0 will run on the iPhone and iPad, which hints at development of Twitterrific for Mac winding down.

As Twitter continues to make it harder and harder for third-party devs to support traditional clients, only a few apps like Twitterrific remain. Considering that Twitterrific was the first real Twitter app, we hope to see it live on. The Iconfactory seems to be committed as ever (at least on the iOS side).

Twitterrific 5.0 for iOS drops next Thursday, December 6th. We’ll have a full review when it goes live in the App Store.

Source: The Iconfactory

Apple unleashed a slew of software updates this afternoon, including an iOS update for the second and third-gen Apple TV. Today’s  5.1.1 update brings full support for iTunes 11 and a number of stability improvements.

iTunes 11 has a music queuing feature called “Up Next,” and the Apple TV can now interface with Up Next to show what’s about to play. The new iOS Remote app also lets you manage your queue from an iPhone or iPad.

Apple’s App Store has been the undisputed revenue king since its inception, however, its once enormous lead is now quickly shrinking. That leading edge over Android is an argument that’s becoming moot as the Play’s revenue continues to grow at a ravenous rate. According to App Annie, an industry leader in app store analytics and marketing, Google Play’s revenues have skyrocketed 311% in the last year, compared to the App Store’s more conservative 12.9%.

When the PadPivot arrived, I scoffed: It’s just another iPad stand after all, and a weird-looking one at that. But then I started using it, an interesting thing happened: It grew on me quicker than almost any other gadget I have.

A few weeks later and the PadPivot has not only ousted several other widgets from my gear-bag, but – if it was pried from my fingers right now, I’d immediately order myself up a new one.

iTunes 11 was finally released today and it’s actually pretty great. The user interface has been streamlined so that superfluous crap gets out of the way when you don’t need it, and there are some genuinely cool features and tricks in the update. It’s a step in the right direction and I’m pretty surprised that I want to start using iTune again thanks to this update.

Now that you’ve had a little bit of time to play with iTunes 11, what’s your favorite feature? Up Next is pretty awesome and I’m digging the album view even though I prefer browsing via artists instead. How about you? What’s surprised you about iTunes 11 so far? What do you love about it? What do you hate? Come over to the Cult of Mac Forums and give us your thoughts on the newest version of iTunes.

Click here to go to the Cult of Mac Forums and tell us what you think of iTunes 11

Alongside the release of iTunes 11, Apple has also updated the iOS Remote app that can be use on an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to control iTunes.

Remote is simpler and easier with new ways to browse your library and see and edit upcoming songs with Up Next. A redesigned experience for the iPad shows all the songs in an album with the Expanded view and a more powerful search delivers results as you type.

Remote version 3.0 comes with a sleeker design that is similar to the experience offered in iTunes 11. You can download the new update for free right here.

iTunes 11 has a really neat new feature that lets users redeem a giftcard without typing in a single character. Users can simply hold their giftcard up to the FaceTime camera on their Mac and iTunes will read the code and redeem the value for it.

This is the greatest feature Apple has ever invented. No longer shall consumers be subjected to really long funky alpha-numerical gift codes as we hunt-and-peck our way through entering the code into our computer in exchange for some free iTunes bucks. 

After making customers wait an extra month, Apple believes iTunes 11 is finally ready for primetime. Apple just released iTunes 11 as a free download. You can get the update right here, or by choosing “Check for Updates” in iTunes.

Microsoft Surface is supposed to be Remond’s answer to the iPad. It’s beautiful and has a cool keyboard. But the reviews for the Surface RT were pretty underwhelming. We played with it too and though it was cool, but definitely no iPad killer.

The common consensus in the tech world is that we’ll have to wait till Microsoft releases the Surface Pro with full Windows 8 before making a judgement on Microsoft’s dreams of squashing the iPad. Well, things aren’t looking too promising because Microsoft just announced that the Surface Pro will be available in January 2013 except it’s going to be expensive, like holy-crap-I-just-blew-$900 expensive.

I hate camera straps. I’m forever taking one off and threading another one through the camera’s eyelets or hooking up some device to the tripod screw or just wrapping a neck strap around my wrist. For something that’s so simple, and has been around for so long, the camera strap sure is a badly-designed piece of junk.

The Leash, on the other hand (or other shoulder), is an attempt to combine all straps ever into one ultra-versatile sling. Does it work? Let’s see.

Just a few weeks ago T-Mobile’s COO said that there’s no way that T-Mobile would ever be able to get the iPhone because it’s just too damn expensive.

Things may have changed quickly though as a new report from Merrill Lynch is claiming that Deutsche Telecome will announce a deal to bring the iPhone to their U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile, next week.

In case you hadn’t guessed from the frequency of my posts about them, I’m still looking for a dock for my iPhone 5. The latest candidate for a spot on my nightstand is the “Charging & Sync Dock Cradle for Apple iPhone 5 with audio out” from USB Fever, and it is mentioned here primarily for its weird design.

You would think that after year’s of continually being ranked the worst US carrier, AT&T would have done something to pull itself from the bottom. Unfortunately, they haven’t. According to Consumer Reports’ latest rankings, AT&T once again holds the title for overall worst US carrier. AT&T shouldn’t feel too bad as not a single major US carrier scored above an overall satisfaction score of 72.

The Apple TV has become a mythical creature. Sustaining itself off the delicious nectar of Gene Munster’s wishful rumors, its remained hidden for years and who knows if it’ll ever make an appearance in the real world.

The latest rumor is that Apple will announce their TV set next year. If Apple does make a TV it’s likely to bring some huge changes to the cable television industry, and Time Warner’s CEO can’t wait.

Apple launched the fourth-generation iPad back in October, introducing a new A6X processor, a FaceTime HD camera, and its new Lightning connector. But despite those improvements, it appears the device isn’t selling as well as its predecessors. The reason? Another tablet is “cannibalizing” its sales.

But that tablet isn’t from Microsoft, or Google, or Amazon — or any other manufacturer for that matter. That tablet is the iPad mini.