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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance for Mac killed by bad DRM

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Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
There is no workaround.
Photo: Konami

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance can no longer be enjoyed on Mac after the studio that ported the game to macOS shut down.

Transgaming decided it would be a good idea to protect the title with DRM that required a constant online connection to one of its own servers to confirm the game was genuine. Now that those servers are no longer available, the game is worthless.

Apple News now offering Midterm Elections coverage

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Apple News
Apple wants to be your one-stop-shop for political news.
Photo: Apple

Are you a political junkie with an iPhone? If so, you are the target audience for a new Apple News feature, offering an easy way to follow the 2018 Midterm Elections for readers in the United States.

With tech platforms often being blamed for the spread of fake news online, Apple News’ feature proudly claims that it is a “trustworthy” place to get up-to-date information; boasting curated stories from a diverse range of “reliable sources.”

Fortnite’s long-awaited Playground mode lands this week

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Fortnite
Team Rumble just got a lot better.
Photo: Epic Games

Fortnite’s new Playground mode will finally be available inside Battle Royale this week, giving players the ability to hone their skills in a more forgiving game type.

Playground lets teams “run wild on your own private island,” where you can build and fight at your leisure. You will instantly respawn when you die so that you don’t have to wait to get back into the action.

Hacker discovers bypassing iPhone passcode limit just requires a keyboard [UPDATED]

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iPhone passcode limit can be bypassed with a keyboard
A hacker claims the iPhone passcode limit can be bypassed with an external keyboard.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Companies like Grayshift help police bypass the passcodes on locked iPhones. One might think that this requires some byzantine hacking skills. Apparently not.

A hacker reports that iOS has a soft spot when it comes to external keyboards, allowing someone to send as many passcode attempts as desired. The passcodes have to be submitted correctly, though.

Cult of Mac Magazine: HomePod is still hopeless, and it’s (mostly) Siri’s fault

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cover

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: HomePods went on sale in Europe this week, and I ordered one. It arrived the very next day. I tried it out, and then sent it back to Apple the day after that. Why? Because it’s a half-finished product. Siri is just as glitchy and annoying on HomePod as elsewhere. It doesn’t work properly with a Mac.

You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.

Take executive control of your Instagram feed [Deals]

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This app makes it easy to schedule your Instagram posts for maximum effect and engagement.
This app makes it easy to schedule your Instagram posts for maximum effect and engagement.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Instagram is a great way to share quick snapshots of your life. But it can also be an incredibly powerful storytelling platform. Unfortunately, the Instagram interface doesn’t make it easy to think big, so where do the power users turn?

Celebrate Pride with this rainbow Apple Watch band [Pride Month]

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The Love is Love Pride band from Nyloon closely resembles Apple's own rainbow Apple Watch band that was released last year.
The Love is Love Pride band from Nyloon closely resembles Apple's own rainbow Apple Watch band that was released last year.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

June is Pride Month and Nyloon has issued a woven nylon rainbow Apple Watch band for its wearers to celebrate and show support for the LGBT community. Plus, who doesn’t love rainbows?

The band, which comes in both 38 and 42 mm, is part of a Nyloon’s growing collection of popular nylon bands for Apple Watch. The Love is Love Pride band is a limited-release, so grab one now.

Apple finally acknowledges its new MacBook keyboards suck

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MacBook butterfly keyboard
A new petition accuses the MacBook 'butterfly' keyboard of failing when a single speck gets in the wrong place.
Photo: Apple

The butterfly keyboards on the new MacBook and MacBook Pro are officially defective.

After months of outcry from angry customers, Apple has finally acknowledged that the new keyboards have some serious problems. The company says the issues are limited to a small percentage of MacBooks, but its offering free repairs.

Tinder explores becoming slightly less of a hookup app

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Tinder Picks currently only for iPhone
The new Tinder Picks option -- currently testing exclusively on iOS -- helps you find people you have something in common with.
Photo: Tinder

Tinder Picks is a feature this dating app is testing that might make it a better way to find people you’re compatible with emotionally, not just sexually.

Picks takes the user’s profile and shows them pictures of people who have similar jobs, educations, and interests.

How to make automatic, local, Time-Machine-style backups of your iPhone

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Set and forget.
Set and forget.
Photo: Cult of Mac

iCloud backups are just about the best thing ever. Not only is all your data safe if your iPhone is lost, or dies, but you can also use it to setup a new iPhone with minimal fuss. But iCloud is in the cloud, and local backups also have their uses. For instance, maybe you don’t like the idea of all your data on someone else’s computer? Or perhaps you just want double-protection in case you can’t access iCloud some time.

Or maybe you just have slow internet, or you’re on a long trip away and there’s no Wi-Fi, only data-capped cellular?

For the Mac there’s Time Machine, which automatically makes incremental backups. For iOS, you can use iMazing, a multi-purpose Mac app which can backup your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, and do it automatically, and wirelessly, so it should be as seamless as Time Machine or iCloud Backups. Let’s see it in action.

One of Mac’s best Finder features is now on Windows PC

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QuickLook for Windows 10
Preview files before you open them with QuickLook for Windows 10.
Photo: Paddy Xu

It’s okay to use a PC alongside your Mac, but you’ll find that some of the best macOS features aren’t available in Windows. One of those is Finder’s awesome preview function, but you don’t have to live without it.

QuickLook is a free app that brings the same preview feature to Windows 10’s File Explorer.

Amazon’s unlimited reading app finally arrives on iOS

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Amazon FreeTime Unlimited for kids now available on the Apple App Store.
Amazon FreeTime Unlimited offers kids age-appropriate videos, books, and apps. It's now on the Apple App Store.
Photo: Amazon

Amazon FreeTime Unlimited just made the jump to to the Apple App Store. This service for children ages three to twelve offers thousands of books, movies, and games for a flat monthly fee.

The service launched years ago on Amazon’s own tablets, but only became available for iPad and iPhone today.

Whiny Watch wearer sues Apple for scratched finish, ‘mental stress’

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brilliantly scratch-resistant
A magnet inside the watch attracts the metal band, which scratches the watch, according a court filing.
Photo: iPhone in Canada

A Toronto man is suing Apple in small-claims court over scratches on his Apple Watch Series 3, which Apple markets as being “brilliantly scratch-resistant.”

Following the court filing, Apple allegedly offered to replace the watch and throw in a free accessory, but aggrieved watch wearer Dean Lubaki, 21, declined.

Supreme Court rules police need a search warrant to track your iPhone

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Tower
Your wireless service provider always knows where your iPhone is, but police can no longer access that data without a search warrant.

The U.S. Supreme Court just handed down a victory for privacy advocates: police can no longer access mobile phone tracking data without a warrant.  

Wireless providers know which of its cell towers each of their customers is connected to, giving it a basic idea of where all of them are. Law enforcement agencies used to be able to obtain this data without permission from a judge.

Take a sneak peek at the cheaper 6.1-inch iPhone for 2018

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6.5- and 6.1-inch 2018 iPhone models
Complications could keep us waiting for Apple’s more affordable iPhone.
Photo: OnLeaks

Apple will introduce three new iPhones this fall, according to recent reports. Its most popular is expected to be a brand new model with a 6.1-inch LCD screen, which will be more affordable than the rumored iPhone XI and iPhone XI Plus.

We’ve all been wondering what that handset will look like. The render below offers an early sneak peek — and makes us incredibly excited for this September’s big iPhone refresh.

Movies Anywhere puts your movies everywhere [50 Essential iOS Apps #29]

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Movies Anywhere my movies
Movies Anywhere syncs your movies across online services.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Movies AnywhereOwning digital movies used to be a pain in the neck. Movies bought on iTunes were trapped on Apple devices, Google Play movies on Google’s service, and Amazon purchases in Prime Video. At the same time digital copies included with DVD and Blu-rays were often stuck in services like Vudu, Flixter, or UltraViolet. With Movies Anywhere, you can finally sync most of your movies across various services, putting your movies everywhere you want to watch.

iPhone maker slams China’s overtime caps

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Foxconn
But there's a definite chance of further delays.
Photo: Foxconn

Foxconn could assemble even more iPhones if China eased restrictions curbing factories from abusing overtime, the company’s CEO says.

Billionaire Terry Gou says China’s rules on overtime keep workers from earning more and puts limits on Foxconn’s competitive edge.

Apple considered ditching the charging port for iPhone X

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Ex-student sentenced to 3 years in prison for massive iPhone scam
Yep, this would have caused some big headlines last fall!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In its quest to create the ultimate streamlined products, Apple sure loves getting rid of ports. When it came to the development of the iPhone X, however, it temporarily toyed with an idea that would have made ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack pale into insignificance.

At least, that’s according to a new report which claims Apple considered getting rid of wired charging completely for its 2017 iPhone, in favor of embracing its vision of a wireless future.