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News - page 945

Campaigners want Apple to block your iPhone while you’re driving

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iPhone-7
Feature could save lives, campaigners claim.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Relatives of four U.K. citizens who were killed by the driver of a truck as he used his phone while driving are campaigning for Apple to introduce a feature disabling drivers’ iPhones from working in the car.

“There is an epidemic of people using their phone at the wheel,” said Doug Houghton, who lost two of his sons in the incident. “And what do you do with epidemics? You cure them.”

Benedict Cumberbatch’s SNL toilet ad pokes fun at Apple

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egogjz9h9gac7z6uztti
And it comes in Jet Black, too.
Photo: SNL

Whether it was Slack’s CEO last week or SNL this past weekend, it seems the world can’t go more than a few days without paying homage to an iconic piece of Apple marketing.

In a new sketch for Saturday Night Live, none other than Benedict Cumberbatch stepped up to the plate bowl to offer a take on a futuristic toilet ad, which looks suspiciously like Ridley Scott’s “1984” ad for the original Macintosh.

Check it out below.

Has Apple become boring? [Friday Night Fights]

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FNF
Are you still excited by Apple in 2016?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple might be the biggest company in tech, with revenues that make eyes water every quarter, but even some fans think it’s getting a little boring in Cupertino.

Friday Night Fights bug Following last week’s big MacBook Pro event, Apple has delivered everything it had planned for 2016. We’ve had upgrades to iPhone, Apple Watch, and the 12-inch MacBook; brand new AirPods (though those aren’t shipping yet); the diminutive iPhone SE and the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

But was all that enough, or could Apple have done more? None of these releases were really that revolutionary, and investors are still waiting for Apple’s next big thing. So, is it true? Is Apple really boring now?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over these questions and more!

Hype, 1-Bit Rogue, and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Want to find out which apps were gracing our iPhones, iPads and Macs this week? Check our list below.

From a search engine that will search every single thing to ever grace your Apple device to a couple of awesomely fun retro-inspired games, this is the perfect way to spend the remainder of your weekend.

Why the masses are mad about MacBook Pro, this week on The CultCast

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The reviews are in on Apple's new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar...
The reviews are in on Apple's new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar...
Photo: @YSR50

This week on The CultCast: Get out your pitchforks — we’ll tell you why a lot of folks are very unhappy with the new MacBook Pros. Plus, we compare the MacBook Pro’s performance to older models and similarly priced machines; Apple calls it quits on external displays; and the end of an era — one of Mac’s most iconic features gets retired.

Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. Casper’s American-made mattresses have just the right amount of memory foam and latex, and people everywhere love them. Learn why and save $50 off your order at casper.com/cultcast.

This iPhone film festival wants you to submit your masterpiece

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The Disposable Film Festival showcases video shot on iPhones and similar gadgets.
The Disposable Film Festival showcases video shot on iPhones and similar gadgets.
Photo: Disposable Film Festival

Calling all iPhone filmmakers! The Disposable Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 10th annual program in March 2017.

Heralded as the “Oscars of online video,” the Disposable Film Festival showcases the finest films made on everyday devices and “disposable media,” including cellphones, point-and-shoot cameras, DSLRs, webcams, screen-capture software, Flip cams, and newer technology like Google Glass, 3-D printed stop animation, and more.

Clever keychain keeps iPhone 7 dongle with you at all times

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You'll never lose your dongle again.
You'll never lose your dongle again.
Photo: Uncourage

If you own an iPhone 7, you now know the pains of having to carry around a dongle. The thing about dongles is they’re terribly easy to use. So instead having to worry if you brought your adapter today, one clever Apple fans has made carrying a dongle as easy remembering where your keys are.

Find My iPhone might soon work when your device is dead

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iPhone 7 back
Apple is making it harder to steal iPhones.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac.

Recovering your lost iPhone may get a lot easier soon, based on a patent Apple was recently awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The new patent describes a method for determining an iPhone’s location after shutdown that would make Find My iPhone work even if a thief turns your device off.

Luminar takes the negatives out of photo editing

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Macphun Luminar
Luminar by Macphun shows its might with simple pre-sets and slider bars.
Photo: Macphun

If Apple has made photography for the masses easy, then Macphun wants to knock down remaining barriers that might keep some from using software to bring creative style to those photos.

It’s latest Mac-based photo editing software, Luminar, is its first all-in-one app that will include a variety of features to help photographers of all levels make corrections and bring creative finishing to their images.

Neil Young returns to Apple Music

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Neil Young hates your silly music stream services
Neil Young previously swore off Apple Music for quality issues.
Photo: Kris Krüg/Flickr

Well that didn’t last long! Having previously taken almost all of his music off streaming services due to their alleged poor sound quality, Neil Young is back on Apple Music, Spotify and Rdio — as well as new music service Amazon Music Unlimited.

The creator of the high-fidelity PonoPlayer, Young last year published a missive in which he said that he didn’t want his music to be “devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution.”

Somewhere along the way, though, it seems his stance his changed.

Apple was the only smartphone maker that made real profit last quarter

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money
Apple is making hella bank, as the kids say.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The iPhone’s market share is down around the world, but you know what’s up? Its profitability related to other smartphones.

In fact, according to a new report from BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long, Apple accounted for 103.6 percent of all smartphone industry operating profits in the third quarter of 2016.

MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar tech was a Microsoft idea first

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macbook pro touch bar
Apple was late to the party. Kind of.
Photo: Apple

Apple might have just gotten to the Touch Bar with its new MacBook Pro, but according to a new report, Microsoft was working on similar adaptive keyboard technology as early as 1999.

To put that into context, that would be around the time that Apple first shipped its iMac G3 and way before the company started to embrace multitouch technology with the iPhone.

How this money man helped Steve Jobs turn Pixar into a powerhouse [Kahney’s Korner podcast]

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Lawrence Levy former Pixar CFO
Lawrence Levy, Pixar's former CFO and author of To Pixar and Beyond.
Photo: Lawrence Levy

In the early ’90s, Pixar was in the middle of creating its first movie, Toy Story, but the company was in disarray. It was bleeding cash and floundering around looking for a business model.

To help turn it around, Steve Jobs hired Lawrence Levy, a former corporate lawyer, to help figure out how to make Pixar a real business.

In this week’s episode of Kahney’s Korner, I talk to Levy about how exactly he and Jobs made Pixar into one of the most successful movie studios in history.

MacBook Pro parody ad pulls exactly zero punches

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macbook pro
The new MacBook Pro is stunning, but not without its flaws.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s latest MacBook Pro is a stunning feat of engineering, but it isn’t without its fair share of compromises. These shortcomings get showcased in the parody ad below, which pulls no punches when highlighting all of the $1,799 notebook’s nasty flaws.

Cheapo Androids erode iPhone market share globally

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iPhone
iPhones were a small part of the overall smartphone pie in Q3.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhones fell to just 12 percent of worldwide marketshare in Q3, claims a new report from Strategy Analytics — totting up the figures for what it claims was the fastest growth period for smartphones in one year.

Android phones, on the other hand, captured a record 88 percent of global smartphones shipments during the three month period. As for BlackBerry and Microsoft Windows Phone? Best not to ask, really!

Pokémon GO has a plan to stop you leaving

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Pokémon Go
Niantic has a plan to keep you coming back to Pokémon GO.
Photo: Niantic

Already bored of Pokémon GO? So are millions of others, it seems — but Niantic has tricks up its sleeve to get you back. With an update that’s coming “soon,” Pokémon GO will get daily and weekly bonuses that will encourage you to keep playing.

Apple Watch coming to Kohl’s department stores this month

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Apple Watch
Apple Watch is coming to a new department store chain.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

U.S. department store chain Kohl’s will start selling the Apple Watch at 400 of its 1,100 stores, beginning November 15.

The news comes shortly after rival chain Macy’s announced that it will start selling the Apple Watch at 180 of its stores. Interestingly, Kohl’s will differ from many other retailers by not selling the Apple Watch in its electronics section, but instead in its activewear and wellness category.

Review site lets consumers shine a light on media bias

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Got a beef about media bias? Rate My Media is place to call it out.
Got a beef about media bias? Rate My Media is place to call it out.
Photo: Rate My Media

This presidential election has produced a clear loser and it is not who you think. Journalism, with an already low approval rating, has lost even more support from a public not sure what to trust in the cacophony of media voices.

One university professor has started an internet conversation with a tool that aims to educate media consumers on the influences of media bias, which can be destructive with a single word or phrase inadvertently used in a sentence.

Apple is honing Siri’s skills in a secret U.K. office

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Siri
Hey, Siri, tell us about Apple's new secret U.K. office!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is using a “secret office” in Cambridge, in the U.K., to make Siri smarter, claims a new report.

Located approximately five minutes walk from the city’s train station, the fewer-than-30-person office shows no outward sign of being an Apple office. It includes a number of employees from VocalIQ, a Cambridge University spinoff, which was acquired by Apple in 2015 for as much as $100 million.

Salivating over Apple’s latest, greatest laptops? Sell your old MacBook to us first.

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smashed_macbook
If your MacBook looks like this, it might be time to trade in and upgrade.
Photo illustration: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Got your eye on one of Apple’s latest super-sexy MacBooks? Wipe the drool from your chin, and sell your old MacBook to us — even if it fell off a bridge.

You could go through the sketchy and time-consuming process of selling your computer on Craigslist, but good luck if it’s in less than mint condition. We’ve got a better way to make sure you get what you deserve for your old computer.

In most cases, Cult of Mac’s Apple gear buyback program offers more for used or broken devices than Gazelle, Walmart, Best Buy or even Apple itself.

Elgato’s HomeKit motion sensor is ready to automate your house

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The new Eve Motion sensor can detect when you get home.
The new Eve Motion sensor can detect when you get home.
Photo: Elgato

Turning your dumb old house into a Jetsons-style smart home of the future just got a little bit easier, with Elgato’s introduction of a super-cheap motion sensor.

The HomeKit-connected device, called Eve Motion, lets users pair it with other smart appliances and gadgets to automate workflows. You can then use Eve Motion to trigger a series of tasks, like turning on the lights when it detects that you walk into a room.