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Jurassic World Alive is Pokémon Go with a T. rex

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Jurassic World Alive
ARKit, uh, finds a way.
Photo: Universal/Ludia

People got bored of Pokémon Go pretty quickly, but 20-foot-tall flesh-eating dinosaurs prove way harder to ignore. That’s the gist of Jurassic World Alive, a new augmented reality game that’s coming to iOS this spring to coincide with the release of the new Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom movie.

Taking inspiration from the aforementioned Pokémon game, it lets you capture dinos by walking around, train them up, and then battle them against others. Check out the pretty awesome-looking trailer below.

Apple trumpets its plans for fixing factories

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

Apple this week acknowledged it is still battling poor working conditions and environmental violations with some of its overseas supplier factories, but highlighted programs to solve ongoing issues, according to a company audit.

Apple’s annual Supplier Responsibility Report addressed conditions at 756 sites in 30 countries last year and scored facilities based on its Code of Conduct.

Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose likens Tim Cook to Donald Trump

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Axl
Rose apparently isn't the biggest fan of Tim Cook.
Photo: Raph_PH/Wikipedia CC

Tim Cook is the “Donald Trump of the music industry,” claims outspoken Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose.

There’s no further explanation from Rose, who posted the message on Twitter. It’s probably not meant as a compliment, though. Rose previously criticized Trump for appointing controversial ex-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as his attorney general and accusing the president of “whining.”

Google Chrome is making passwords simpler to download

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Google Chrome password download
Importing to a password manager will be easy.
Photo: Francois Beaufort

Google is making it easier to download all your saved passwords from Chrome. It has long offered the ability to export the data, but the process has been complicated and cumbersome. That’s going to change “soon” with a new export system.

Google’s video calling app adds useful feature you don’t get with FaceTime

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Google Duo
Google Duo has added video voicemails.
Photo: Google

Google Duo, the FaceTime rival video calling app from Alphabet, has received an update adding an often-requested feature that FaceTime still doesn’t offer: video voicemails.

That means that, should you try and video call a person who doesn’t pick up, you can still record up to 30 seconds of video and send it them. These video messages can easily be played inside the Google Duo app. Check out the video explainer below.

General Magic documentary sheds light on Apple spinout’s glorious failure

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General Magic
General Magic wanted to build an iPhone-like device back in the 1990s.
Photo: General Magic

Are you familiar with General Magic? If you’re not, and you’re a fan of tech history, you really should be. A cutting edge startup founded by Andy Hertzfeld, Bill Atkinson and other veterans of the original Macintosh team, it was one of the most exciting tech companies of the 1990s — before it all came crashing down.

Now a new documentary is set to debut at the 17th Tribeca Film Festival, telling the story of General Magic and its efforts to build a breakthrough handheld computer.

‘Right to Repair’ bill could be coming to Apple’s home state

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Cult of Mac's buyback program pays good money for your gear, even broken ones.
Lawmaker Susan Talamantes Eggman wants to bring 'Right to Repair' to California.
Photo: Warren R.M. Stuart/Flickr CC

Apple’s home state of California could embrace the “Right to Repair” act if a new bill introduced by lawmaker Susan Talamantes Eggman is passed.

California is the 18th state in the U.S. to look into the possibility of making electronic devices easier to repair. The Right to Repair act would compel tech companies to release repair guides and make official parts available to any customers or third-party repair shops who want them. Doing so could have multiple benefits, such as reducing the amount of e-waste produced every year.

FBI seeks industry help unlocking iPhones and other devices

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FBI Director
FBI Director Christopher Wray says law enforcement should be able to access any phone.
Photo: FBI

The FBI wants the tech industry to help unlock thousands of smartphones and tablets involved in criminal cases each year.

FBI Director Christopher Wray did not single out any companies during his talk at a cybersecurity conference today. Still, Apple certainly sits at the top of his wish list.

How to get the iPad’s keyboard shortcut cheat sheet on Mac

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CheatSheet
Press and hold…
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

One of the iPad’s handiest features is its keyboard-shortcut cheatsheet. Whenever you have a USB or Bluetooth keyboard attached to your iPad, just hold down the Command key and wait for a second. An overlay will pop up showing you all the keyboard shortcuts available for the current app.

Did you ever wish you could do the same with the Mac? After all, you always have a keyboard connected the Mac, so a cheatsheet overlay should be even more useful. Then you need CheatSheet, an app that does exactly that.

Check out these amazing, creative iPhone home screens

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squeeze iPhone
Grip and squeeze could be a feature on future iPhones.
Photo: Dan Rubin/Twitter

It’s not like you can ever find the app you’re looking for on your various home screens anyway, so why not do something fancy with those icons instead? Like, making your home screen an expression of your inner chakra, man. Or getting in tune with the color harmonies of the universe or whatever.

Whatever hippie crap you’re using to justify it, the results can be amazing. And who knows — if you arrange your home screens by color, then maybe you’ll actually end up finding things faster.

Alexa’s random, creepy laugh scares the crap out of people

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Amazon Alexa
It's about time.
Photo: Amazon

Anyone afraid that the robot apocalypse is imminent might head to the panic room now: Reports are coming in that Amazon’s Alexa smart speaker has begun laughing all on its own.

People who claim to have experienced this generally say they’re not interacting with their Amazon Echo, but it will suddenly begin laughing. Many of the descriptions describe the robolaughter as “creepy.”

Apple might drop new iPad Pro with Face ID in June

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bezel free
Prepare for an all-new iPad Pro.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will deliver a revamped iPad Pro during the June quarter of this year, according to a new report.

Inspired by the iPhone X, the device is expected to have significantly slimmer bezels and Face ID, and could make up for weaker-than-expected demand for Apple’s latest smartphones. Apple could also be planning a smaller, more affordable version of HomePod.

How to give your Finder window superpowers

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finder
No wonder this little chap is so happy...
Photo: Cult of Mac

The Finder has been with the Mac since day one, way back in 1984. But just because it’s old, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have some new tricks. Did you know, for instance, that you can add a path bar to the bottom of the window to show the path of the current folder on your Mac? Or that you can add a status bar in the same spot so you always know how full your drive is? Or that you can add a permanent preview pane over on the right side of a Finder window, even in icon and list views?

Let’s take a look, and see what else you can do.

How to make your iPhone speakers louder [Quick Tips]

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Tweak this iOS setting to make iPhone speakers louder. (Works with iPad and iPod, too!)
Tweak this setting to make your iPhone speakers louder. (Works with iPad and iPod, too!)
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple improves the speakers in iPhones, iPads and iPods with each release — usually making them louder than the previous generation. Still, people constantly complain that iPhones are not loud enough.

In our latest Quick Tips video, I’ll show you a super-easy way to boost those tiny speakers. Check out the video below to see how to make iPhone speakers louder!

New LTE tech brings screaming speeds — but not to iPhones

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T-Mobile LTE speed test

Photo: T-Mobile

T-Mobile has increased LTE speeds to a staggering 500Mbps in New York City. It has become the first carrier to test commercial Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology, which sends 4G signals over unused 5GHz Wi-Fi channels to increase bandwidth, in the United States.

LAA will soon be expanding its reach across the U.S. — but you won’t be able to enjoy it on iPhone.

Apple Music update fixes streaming issues on Android

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music streaming
The latest release also includes Chromecast support.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple Music subscribers who use Android devices can now enjoy stable streaming. Apple’s latest update fixes the frustrating playback issues some users were facing on certain devices. It also adds the ability to listen to music videos in the background.

For augmented reality maps to succeed, just add accuracy

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ARkit
New AR framework makes it easier to build mapping apps.
Photo: Dent Reality

The augmented reality revolution sparked by Apple’s ARKit needs a dash of accuracy if it’s really going to catch fire — especially when it comes to mapping.

That’s why London developer Andrew Hart created a location-aware toolkit that uses artificial intelligence to punch up the precision in apps built with ARKit.

“One problem with AR location experiences is the low accuracy of phone GPS and compasses, which makes it difficult to ensure that things line up,” Hart told Cult of Mac. “The toolkit uses computer vision techniques to recognize landscapes from tagged imagery, and then aligns the AR environment upon recognition. It works in different weather conditions, and means you can have really precise experiences.”

Get a massive bundle of tools featuring Bizplan and lessons for startups [Deals]

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Get the tools and knowledge you need to launch a successful startup.
Get the tools and knowledge you need to launch a successful startup.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

We’re still in the midst of a startup boom. The model of small, scrappy business-building has resulted in a body of knowledge about how to succeed. It’s also led to a bevy of tools that can help anyone, whatever they’re building. So we’ve gathered some of the best of them into a bundle of biz-boosting software.

Divisive iPhone ‘notch’ could disappear as early as next year

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Apple Watch
The iPhone notch may not be long for this world.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s probably the most iconic aspect of Apple’s iPhone X design, but according to a new report Apple will get rid of the “notch” design for future handsets released as early as 2019.

“Apple decided to get rid of notch design starting from 2019 models, and is having discussions with relevant companies,” an unspecified supply chain source is quoted as saying. “It seems that Apple is planning to implement full-screen that is more complete to its new iPhones.”

Ah, gwanda blitz! The Sims Mobile arrives on iOS

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Sims Mobile
Note: "Ah, gwanda blitz!" was the stock Sim phrase for "Hey, great idea!"
Photo: Electronic Arts

After a lengthy period in soft launch, The Sims Mobile is finally available for download worldwide — and it looks impressively close to its desktop older sibling.

As one of the top-selling game franchises of all time, everyone is surely familiar with The Sims. If you’re not, it’s a game in which you create your own virtual humans, design a home for them to live in, pick a career, and then, well, get on with living everyday life. Only more fun than that makes it sounds.

Check out the trailer below.