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To vastly simplify matters, every LCD screen is made up of a bunch of pixels connected to each other with a mesh of tiny little wires. These pixels don’t actually emit light themselves, but simply regulate the color of the light being displayed in that pixel. Behind this mesh is a lamp, and before a pixel can light up on your screen, the light from this lamp needs to shine through this mesh of wires. Because this mesh is so densely packed, though, the lamp needs to shine very, very brightly to get through… and the brighter an LED light shines, the more power it soaks up.

This is why the new iPad needs such a massive battery. The Retina display has over 3 million pixels in in a tiny area, which means the mesh behind the display is even thicker and more densely packed. To compensate, Apple needs to use a very bright light to shine through this extremely dense mesh, which results in worse battery performance over all.

What if there was a way to make the mesh of wires behind every pixel a lot less dense? That’s the idea behind Sharp’s IGZO technology, and the reason why we’ve been excited about it finally coming to Apple products since at least the beginning of the year. Now it looks possible that, with the iPad mini, we could finally get our wish, as Sharp is now announcing that their IGZO tech comes in 7-inch varieties… and they are releasing a tablet to prove it.

I wasn’t expecting to laugh at a confessional song about how good one man was at Apple’s iWork and iLife suites, and how it ended up resulting in the loss of his cherished cat, Winslow. But laugh I did. Long and hard. Happy hump day, everyone.

Via: Reddit

Plain text geeks, prepare for nerdgasm: Jesse Grosjean’s Folding Text app is out of beta and in the Mac App Store. Folding Text, as you may remember, is a Markdown-compatible plain text editor with special superpowers.

The violent driving sensation that is Carmageddon makes its debut on iOS today, 15 years after it was first released — and subsequently banned for its twisted mix of automotive killing machines — on Mac and PC. It’s available to download right away from the App Store, and it’s free for today only — so grab it quick.

Invites to Apple’s iPad mini announcement went out yesterday, so it’s time speculation turned its focus to when the much-anticipated device will actually go on sale. One source claims that you’ll be able to pick it up in shops on November 2, with pre-orders starting a week earlier — on October 26 — via the Apple Online Store.

When Apple began selling the iPhone 5 on September 21, it quickly became the fastest-selling iPhone to date, with five million units sold in the first three days. However, sales have started to slow down since then, and they’ve begun falling short of analyst expectations.

It’s not that customers aren’t buying it, or that the iPhone 5 isn’t successful. The reason it’s not meeting expectations is because Apple’s manufacturing partner, Foxconn, simply can’t make it fast enough. Its design is so complicated that it’s the most difficult device Foxconn has ever built.

The iPhone 5 has been on sale for nearly a month now, but we’re still yet to see any official third-party Lightning accessories. It’s not that accessory makers are slow at producing them, it’s that Apple is yet to finalize its Lightning policies and give manufacturers the go-ahead to use its new connector.

Fortunately, this is expected to happen next month. Apple will hold a conference in Shenzhen, China, between November 7 and November 8 with its Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad (MFI) program partners to finalize its Lightning plans, according to a source “close to Apple’s accessory manufacturing partner.”

At yesterday’s second U.S. Presidential Debate, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney were both asked about the iPad, the Mac and the iPhone, specifically in relation to how to get Apple to start manufacturing their products in America again. The two candidates’ answers differed, with Romney opining it was because China “cheated” and Obama saying that “there are some jobs that are not going to come back.”

Sega has turned its hand to vertical jumping games with a brand new title called Sonic Jump that’s coming to the App Store tomorrow. The title looks a lot like Doodle Jump, only it features Sega’s beloved blue hedgehog instead, and rather than being just an endless jumper, you’ll have to beat new and familiar stages in pursuit of the infamous Dr. Eggman.

IMore’s Apple supremo Rene Ritchie has rustled up this rather stunning wallpaper featuring the artwork for Apple’s just-announced iPad mini event. And not only is it rendered text-free for distraction-free backdropping purposes, but it’s retina-ized for your hi-res iPad pleasure.

Apple rarely buys other companies, so when the Cupertino giant makes an acquisition, it’s worth noting. CNET is reporting that Apple has recently purchased Particle, a small creative consulting company based in San Francisco that specializes in HTML5 development. Particle is a relatively small firm, but it has done some big projects for companies like Google, Sony and even Apple.

What does the acquisition mean? While the reason behind the deal remains unknown, Apple likely wants the web talent from Particle.

The MacHeist folks have thrown the covers off to reveal all the Mac software that you’ll get if you purchase the latest bundle for $29. In addition to this insanely good deal on some fantastic software, you’ll be gifting a charity of your choice (from a list provided at the site) with 25% of the proceeds. If all 1.5 million MacHeist members end up purchasing the bundle, that’s a lot of extra cash for the many worthwhile organizations in the charity list.

Just Mobile is one of my favorite third-party accessory makers for Apple products. They make beautifully minimal stands, chargers, styluses, and other random accessories for iPhone, iPad and Mac. What makes Just Mobile’s stuff great is that most of their products look like they were designed by Apple itself, and that’s no exaggeration—just take a look at their catalog. It’s all great.

A couple of the newest products to be announced by Just Mobile include the AluBase and AluRack MacBook mounts.

We just got tipped an email from a reader who emailed Apple VP of Mac Software Engineering Craig Federighi. Cult of Mac reader Stephen Gilbert emailed Federighi about not being able to use fullscreen Mac apps on multiple displays. When you make an app enter fullscreen mode in Lion or Mountain Lion, it will fill one display and blackout your secondary monitor.

For some reason Apple doesn’t allow you to use an app in fullscreen mode while viewing content on another display, and it’s annoying. For instance, entering fullscreen mode for an iTunes movie will make it impossible to use your second display while the video is playing. Not exactly an optimal experience for those who fancy lots of screen real estate.

iFixit called the the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display the “least repairable” laptop ever made, and for good reason. Apple’s super-strong glue, soldering, and proprietary screws make it impossible to replace the battery, upgrade RAM, swap the circuit boards, etc. That’s why Apple originally withdrew its products from EPEAT, the American standard for eco-friendly consumer electronics. After plenty of public outcry, Apple issued an apology and re-added its products to the EPEAT’s registry, despite the fact that laptops like the Retina MacBook Pro aren’t exactly “green.”

Last week EPEAT said that Apple’s products, including new laptops like the Retina MacBook Pro, meet its eligibility requirement for registry approval. Now EPEAT is giving the Retina MacBook Pro its highest “Gold” approval rating.

When Apple sends out invitations for their media events, they often include little hints as to what people can expect to be announced. The iPhone 5 event nvitation had the shadow of a gigantic five emerging from underneath the date, and the iPad 3 invitation showed off the clarity of the tablet’s still-unannounced Retina display.

In comparison, today’s invite for the October 23rd event doesn’t seem to have many clues as to what Apple is announcing. The design of the invitation doesn’t seem to mean much. However, the writers of Apple’s invitation have tipped their hat a little bit in the wording of the invitation: “We’ve got a little more to show you.”

What does it mean? Well, everything Apple is expected to announce next week is either a smaller version of an existing product (thinner iMacs, a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro tear) or ‘mini’ (the iPad mini, a new Mac mini). It’s not a lot to go on, but it’s definitely a purposeful choice and a nod to the products we’ll see next week.

There are an unlimited number of ways a developer can manage to get their new game rejected by the App Store police. Terry Cavanagh’s free game was rejected for probably the silliest reason you’ve ever heard – he told users that in-app purchases are complete nonsense.

The maker of Super Hexagon submitted his new iOS game, Don’t Look Back, to the App Store a few weeks ago. The game itself is a very basic retro scrolling adventure type game with blocky pixel art. The game is supposed to be free, so in the app description Cavanagh tried to point out to people that they can play Don’t Look Back without having to worry about purchasing items in the game. The game description submitted to Apple read:

iTwin SecureBox is a movie-thriller plot waiting to happen. It is also a security device modeled on those tacky his-n-hers heart-shaped pendants which snap in two so you can “show your love” at all times.

Back in the mundane real world, the iTwin SecureBox is a hardware encryption gadget for DropBox.

Imagine that you are chatting to somebody on your iPhone. Now imagine that — at the touch of a button — you can cause a fragrance to squirt from their iPhone and into their unsuspecting nostrils. Amazingly, there is a device which will make this nightmare scenario real, and — of course — it comes from Japan.

Owners of the new iPod Touch may spend a lot more time manually updating the brightness of their device because, unlike previous models, the iPod Touch doesn’t have an ambient light sensor or auto-brightness settings.

After checking the iPod Touch spec sheet, we found out yesterday that Apple left the sensor out on purpose. Why did they ditch it when users have come to expect it? According to a purported email from Apple VP Phil Schiller, the iPod Touch was just too dang for them to fit it in.

Apple’s iMac line hasn’t been updated since May 3rd, 2011. On average, that makes an update almost a year overdue. So you know a big update is coming, and rumor has it that when it comes, the new iMac will jettison the the optical drive to achieve a vastly thinner, teardrop form factor.

We were curious what that would look like, so we asked our designer Dan Draper to mock-up what a revised iMac with a thinner design would look like while largely retaining the iMac’s iconic portrait. The answer is familiar, and yet entirely new… the best iMac yet.

The new iMac is believed to be announced next week at Apple’s October 23rd event. Check out the full concept after the jump, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Today is Steve Jobs day in the state of California. October 16th was declared Steve Jobs day by Governor Jerry Brown on Twitter shortly after Apple’s co-founder and former CEO passed away last year following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Although it may have been a one-off holiday, today is a perfect opportunity to reflect upon Steve Jobs’s legacy.

Been looking for an excuse to exercise? Then look no further than the App Store, for a new app from Striiv — the people who brought us the “smart pedometer” — will count your steps and turn them into gold. Virtual gold, that is. Metaphorical virtual gold. Whatever. Rewards?

It’s finally here. After months of rumors and speculation, the iPad Mini keynote is just days away. Apple just sent out invites to their October 23rd event where they are expected to reveal the iPad Mini, 13-inch MacBook Pros with Retina display, and possibly some new iMacs. The tag line for the event is “We’ve got a little more to show you.”

The event will take place in San Jose at the California Theatre on October 23rd at 10AM PDT. Along with the new hardware, the iPad Mini event is rumored to focus heavily on iBooks. Cult of Mac will live-blog the event, so mark your calendars and tune in.

It’s nearly time for Halloween, which mean you really need to figure out what you’re going to wear when you go trick or treating. Yeah, you could just stop by the store and buy a costume that thousands of people across the country are also going to buy, or you could be totally awesome and make your own.

To help you out we’ve created a guide on how to make your own Apple themed costume. Some are extremely easy, while others require a lot of work. No matter which costume you choose to go with you’ll be ready to show of your love for Apple in a unique way. Check them out:

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