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News - page 990

Apple II fans find themselves in hog heaven at KansasFest

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Cult 2.0
Kathryn Szkotnick worked quickly to grab all the pieces for an Apple IIGS during KansasFest's "Garage Giveaway."
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugCult of Mac’s David Pierini traveled seven hours and (39 years) this week to Missouri to witness the annual celebration of the Apple II computer known as KansasFest, which runs through Saturday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Yellowed keyboards, monitors and disk drives sat in orderly piles. It certainly wasn’t pretty to look at, not when you compare these ancient artifacts of personal computing to a shiny new MacBook Pro.

But 80 infatuated campers could only see their first crush and they were ready to pounce. In a matter of minutes the gear would be claimed, and this dash and grab Wednesday was the kickoff the 28th annual KansasFest. If you don’t know KansasFest, the short answer is found in a cheer shouted to officially open the event: Apple II forever!

Apple’s secret electric car hits a speed bump

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apple car
A rendering of an Apple car with a different kind of bumper
Photo: Motor1

Drivers won’t be hitting the highways in Apple’s self-driving vehicle at all this decade.

Apple has reportedly pushed back the goal launch date of its secretive electric car project that has been in the works since 2014. Previous rumors claimed Project Titan is aiming for an unveiling in 2019, but it may have hit a speed bump.

Snowden’s iPhone case tells you when you’re being spied on

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Edward Snowden is building his own iPhone case.
Photo: PubPub

When you think of Edward Snowden the first phrase your mind goes to probably isn’t “quality iPhone case manufacturer.” Nonetheless, the famed NSA whistleblower today announced that he has presented just such a smartphone accessory at an event at MIT’s Media Lab.

Anyone want to venture a guess as to the case’s unique selling point?

Researchers want to turn your iPhone into a mood ring

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jeff-williams-researchkit
Your iPhone could soon track your mood as well as your steps.
Photo: Apple

Your Apple devices might be able to help you track steps, workouts and more, but as of yet no iPhone, Apple Watch (or, let’s face it, any other gadget out there) has been able to accurately measure mental and emotional conditions.

That could be changing due to the so-called “Mood Challenge” program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program calls for researchers and technologists to come up with a way of convincingly tracking mood using an iPhone and ResearchKit — and it’s just announced its five semi-finalists.

The quest for the perfect leather iPhone wallet case

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Edward Field blue Libby
Small-batch iPhone wallet case maker Edward Field gets colorful with its new Libby line.
Photo: Edward Field

SAN FRANCISCO — Teddy Winthrop is into leather. Like, way into it. In the year since he launched Edward Field, his high-end iPhone wallet case company, he’s been obsessing over ways to make his leather cases sleeker, more functional and more straight-up appealing to the humans who use them.

“It’s weird,” he told Cult of Mac while discussing the mission of his company, which launches a new line of products today. “I never thought I’d be passionate about wallets.”

Corning’s new Gorilla Glass could make iPhone 7 display super tough

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iPhone 6 Plus_7
Dropping the iPhone 7 might not be a disaster every time.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Breaking the screen on your next iPhone is going to be a little bit harder, if Apple goes with the next version of Corning’s Gorilla Glass.

The company debuted Gorilla Glass 5 today that is destined to arrive on smartphones later this year, offering better durability than any other version when its dropped from 5 feet or lower.

Apple faces class action lawsuit over AppleCare+ refurbs

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Crack! This one's got to go back to Apple.
Crack! Apple's replacement program is facing a lawsuit.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple was hit with a new class action lawsuit today in California by customers who have purchased the company’s AppleCare and AppleCare+ plans to cover damages on iPhones and iPads.

At the heart of the lawsuit is Apple’s long-held policy to replace broken devices with units that the company claims are good as new in performance and reliability, even though they’re second-hand refurbished models.

Apple seeds macOS Sierra public beta 2 to testers

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Photo: Apple

Along with dropping the second public beta of iOS 10 this morning, Apple has seeded a new beta of macOS Sierra for members of its Apple Beta Software Program.

The new build comes two weeks after the first macOS Sierra was made available to testers, and is available for download immediately through the Mac App Store’s software update section.

Public testers get iOS beta 2 update

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iPhone SE
Get your hands on the new iOS 10 beta.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The second public beta of iOS 10 has been made available to testers today, coming just two days after Apple seeded the third beta to developers.

The final version of the update isn’t expected to launch until fall but Apple is getting eager fans a sneak peek of the new features coming to Siri, Messages, Notifications, Photos, Apple Music and much more.

Pokémon Go could add massive $3 billion to Apple revenue

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Pokémon Go could mean big things for Apple's bank balance.
Photo: Yokohama's Pokémon Festival

Apple could stand to gain $3 billion in incremental, high-margin revenue as a result of the success of Pokémon Go, claims Needham analyst Laura Martin.

In a new note issued to investors, Martin observes that the enormously successful Candy Crush raked in $10 billion at its height of success in both 2013 and 2014. Of that, Apple retained 30 percent as part of its profit sharing deal with app-makers.

Pokémon Go, on the other hand, already has 10 times the number of users Candy Crush enjoyed, and it’s growing all the time.

Apple’s new Shot on iPhone ads feature lots of slo-mo and timelapse

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Going down.
Going down.
Photo: Apple

Apple has added two new spots to its iconic ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign that highlight the iPhone’s video capabilities.

The short new ads only last 15 seconds. One highlights the effects you can get by using iPhone’s slo-mo video and some windblown hair, while the other captures how thrilling it is to zip down the cable car in Bregenz, Austria.

Watch them both below:

India may finally be about to get its own Apple Stores

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Apple Store Union Square San Francisco
Apple may finally get the chance to open major Apple Stores in India.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

It’s been a long time coming, but from the sound of things India is finally about to get its first official Apple Store, according to people familiar with the matter.

Apple’s biggest supporter? None other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is set to grant the company a three-year exemption to India’s rules about foreign single-brand retailers sourcing a significant portion of their products from India.

Chinese youths smashing their iPhones in protest against U.S.

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Cult of Mac buyback
Apple is running into more problems in China.
Photo: Warren R.M. Stuart/Flickr CC

Tim Cook has been open about the fact that he views China as Apple’s future biggest customer, but right now it sure seems like the company can’t get too many breaks there.

Not only has Apple had its products booted off the list of approved state purchases in China, been forced to shut down its iBooks Store and iTunes Movies in the country, and been sued for broadcasting an obscure patriotic movie from 1994, but now young people are reportedly smashing their iPhone to protest U.S. foreign policy.

Apple Stores will now pay you to sign up for Apple Pay

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Now is a good time to sign up for Apple Pay.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

The next time you make a purchase at your local Apple Store, expect to be asked if you want to buy your items with Apple Pay.

Apple is launching a new promotion for its contactless payment system this week that will emphasize paying with your iPhone or Apple Watch rather than busting out a credit card. And those that haven’t signed up for Apple Pay yet will get some free money.

All the iOS 10 beta 3 changes that make iPhone even better

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News and Music ios10
Apple made a lot of improvements to iOS 10.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s jam-packed iOS 10 update has gotten even better in its third beta, which brings a bunch of tiny new features that start to make iOS 10 feel like a polished product.

The list of changes in iOS 10 beta 3, which was seeded to developers this week, isn’t as long as the last update. But Apple has added some really nice tweaks to the lock screen, Apple Music, iCloud Drive and Messages, in addition to a ton of bug fixes and stability improvements.

Check out the most important new additions to Apple’s upcoming mobile OS, which is slated to launch on iPhones and iPads this fall:

Kia offers free CarPlay, Android Auto upgrades

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Is your Kia eligible for free CarPlay?
Photo: Kia

Kia is offering free CarPlay or Android Auto upgrades for some of its latest vehicles, allowing drivers to get their hands on the smartest in-car platforms. Cars equipped with the AVN 4.0 navigation system or the UVO3 dash interface are eligible.