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It’s probably not very popular to say on a Mac blog, but Windows Phone 7 is actually pretty damn good. Not iOS good, of course, but it does a lot of cool, unique things, and unlike Android, doesn’t just rip off Apple’s ideas wholesale: its tiled Metro UI is very pretty, very informative, very smart and its own thing entirely.

Even so, if you’re on an iPhone, you aren’t likely to envy Windows Phone owners very much, but if you want to see how the other half lives — and find out for yourself that it’s not actually that bad — Microsoft has just posted a WP7 emulator in HTML5 on their official site.

So far, nothing in the iOS 5.1 beta seeded yesterday has supported the rumors that Apple would add new capabilities to Siri with the first official point update, but there is at least one big new addition to Siri with the release of yesterday’s beta: it gives developers limited Siri integration.

The U.S. Government isn’t exactly known for smart spending, but at least that $10,000 hammer actually works. That’s more than the Department of Labor can say after they blew almost $200,000 on an utterly crappy app for the iPhone and Android.

The company making ‘Gorilla Glass,’ the tough material used by iPhones and iPads, today announced a 25 percent drop in sales due to lower demand for tablets. Corning cut its outlook after saying it will increase LCD glass production by just 5% to 10% instead of the expected 20% or more.

Our opinion of the government has never been lower, and every day there is ample proof why. Take the FAA, for example. Despite the absolute lack of evidence that your iPhone can knock a plane from the sky, passengers are still told to turn off their phones. The reason why such a Luddite-like rule exists without any proof? Because there’s no proof iPhones won’t hurt planes, either. Don’t get whiplash shaking your head in utter amazement.

Research in Motion — roundly clobbered in the smartphone and tablet market — is now trying to hang onto its core enterprise customers. It’s formula is to concede defeat by Apple and Android, then sell its rivals’ victory as a reason to stay with the Waterloo, Ont. company.

If you’ve thought about developing apps and tweaks for Apple’s iOS devices, but the idea of the company’s App Store approval process puts you off, then maybe it’s time to avoid that with The iOS Hacker’s Handbook. Written by a team of Mac and iOS security experts — including some prominent members of the jailbreaking community — this book promises to teach you all about the vulnerabilities and exploits in the iOS firmware.

Wenner Media has announced today that it will soon be bringing a digital edition of its Rolling Stone magazine to your iPad, but not before it’s finished with The Beatles. This week, the company is set to launch a port of The Beatles: The Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide for your tablet.

Sometimes an image just speaks for itself.

[via Flickr]

Despite being caught in Apple’s vise-like iPad and MacBook Air grip, Acer continues on with the belief there must be a market somewhere remaining for netbooks – maybe China. Monday, the head of the company’s China operations said “emerging markets” could boost vanishing profits. On Monday, the head of the company’s China operations said “emerging markets” could boost vanishing profits. In other words, everyone else may think netbooks suck, but they’re still good enough for those third-world citizens who don’t know any better.

Last week, we published a video how-to that demonstrated a number of simple ways you can make Mac OS X look and act more like iOS. To be added to that list is an awesome new utility from Pilotmoon that makes the copy & paste function on your Mac look just like the copy & paste function on your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Do you love typing on your iPad, the feel of your digits drumming atop virtualized letters glowing out of slippery glass? No, we thought not: for serious typing, few do, which is why the iPad keyboard case market is doing so well. So I have some haptic problems with this Kickstarter project to bring a wireless multi-touch glass keyboard and mouse to market. Aesthetically, though? Gorgeous.

According to redditor cheeseboyhalpert (doubtlessly a nom de plume), this portrait of Steve Jobs was created out of nothing but words, beautiful words.

London based design consultancy BERG have surpassed themselves with their latest idea, simply called Little Printer.

Have you ever jumped into your car with your iPad in your hands, slapped it on the dash in a hurry to get going, then had it slide right off into the passenger door the second you turn out of your road? The SofShell case for iPad 2 can prevent that, because this amazing case will cling to almost anything — including a Porsche doing 60 miles per hour.

Missed Black Friday? Forgot about Cyber Monday? Well I bring thee good tidings, friend! Our new Cult of Mac tee is the perfect holiday gift for any Apple lover in your life. This 100% Jerry-Macguire-approved tee is finely crafted right here in the USA, is limited in quantity, and is just $22. Want to send one to your cousin in Kazakstan? Good idea! These fine garments also ship worldwide!

Don’t let another shopping day slip by, the holidays will soon be upon us. You can pick up our new tee and other Jobsian-type graphic tees right now over at MightTees.com.

Following the release of Apple’s iOS 5.1 beta yesterday, developers have been trawling through its code in an attempt to uncover references to upcoming products that Apple didn’t intend for you to see. We’ve already seen references to a next-generation Apple TV and a fourth iPad 2 — believed to be destined for Sprint — and now the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 product identifiers have been discovered.

Whoops! That’s what the App Store review team at Apple will be saying when they see what they let slip by today. A $15 app by the name of “iTether” lets you have unlimited tethering from your iPhone’s 3G connection to your Mac or Windows computer.

We’ve tested the app out, and it actually works! So much for the carriers’ expensive personal hotspot plans.

With rumors suggesting that Apple is preparing to take on the TV market, we all wait with bated breath for what Apple has in store for our living rooms.

Thanks to a finding in the newly-released iOS 5.1 beta, a next generation Apple TV is one step closer to reality. The device has been given the “J33” codename internally by Apple.

Cult of Mac reader Pasquale recently sent us this picture of his new tattoo. He notes that the tattoo is “still healing” in the photo.

Steve Jobs was famous for his “one more thing…” tease at the end of certain Apple keynotes. Pasquale also told us why he chose to get such a tattoo on his arm.

Just like the Hanfree iPad stand we featured back when it was a Kickstarter pipe-dream (it’s real now though), Dave Culter’s Flote iPad stand blends decor, design and device. The result? An iPad stand that lets you position your iPad anywhere you damn well please — and looks good doing it.

Here’s a quick and awesome spot by Mark Gurman: the just-released iOS 5.1 beta makes mention of a new version of the iPad 2 internally dubbed iPad 2,4, and it seems probable that it is a model that works on Sprint’s CDMA network (and can suck thus up Sprint’s unlimited 3G data, albeit at definitively limited download speeds). Were any of you die-hard Sprint subscribers waiting for a compatible iPad 2 before taking the jump?

Apple has just seeded the first iOS 5.1 beta to developers, along with XCode 4.3 beta. What’s new, only time and playing around with iOS 5.1 will tell, but according to past reports, iOS 5.1 should not only get to the bottom of the iPhone 4S’s battery drain issues, it should also introduce some cool new Siri functionality. We’ll have to wait and see though.

After the jump, the release notes. Are you a developer who has noticed something new in iOS 5.1, or seen the update fix your iPhone 4S battery drain problem? Please tip us!

The LandingZone is a dock for the MacBook Air that boasts a Mini DisplayPort, 4 USB ports, an Ethernet port, and a handy clamp or managing cables and your power cord. There’s also support for the Kensington lock cords so you’re MacBook Air stays safe.

For $200, the LandingZone looks like a pretty solid docking station for your MacBook Air. The project on Kickstarter is needing to reach its $50,000 goal before shipping begins, and pledging right now guarantees you a unit when they roll off the production line.

In case Apple needed more of a pat on the back, comScore has reported that the company was the fifth most-visited retailer on Black Friday. Apple is the only individual product brand to make it so high on the list.

Sitting behind the likes of Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Amazon, Apple’s success on Black Friday is unprecedented.