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Stay safe by going online with a VPN [Deals]

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Windscribe VPN
Time to stop messing around and start protecting yourself by using a VPN.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

You probably keep hearing about how important it is to use a VPN to get online. That’s because it is important. With all the data and identity theft, content restrictions, and other online snooping, it’s just plain unwise not to have a VPN. If you’re looking for a place to start, we’ve got a great deal for you.

Apple’s peer-to-peer payments service won’t just be available in U.S.

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay Cash will let you send money to friends using the Messages app.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay Cash, Apple’s new peer-to-peer payments service set to debut with iOS 11, looks like it will be coming to Europe, alongside the United States.

That’s based on a new trademark application Apple filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) this week.

Apple competes with Netflix over Jennifer Aniston drama series

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple will have to splash the cash to secure rights to new drama series.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly battling with Netflix over the rights to a new original drama series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

The show is based around the workings of a morning television TV chat show, possibly (hopefully!) suggesting something similar to Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom or Sports Night.

Tim Cook signs letter supporting DACA immigration rights in U.S.

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Tim WWDC
Silicon Valley supports the rights of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as kids.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook has joined the CEOs of Microsoft, Amazon, HP, Google, and others in signing a letter from immigration reform group FWD.us.

The letter asks that President Donald Trump keep in place legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children. Without this protection, they could be subject to deportation.

5 outrageous theories about Apple’s iPhone 8 invite

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Apple invite
Apple fans have a lot of theories about the iPhone 8 invite.
Photo: Alberto Bagnoli/Twitter

After the maddeningly vague invites went out for Apple’s next iPhone unveiling, it took fanboys on the internet no time at all to come up with crazy theories about what the picture on the invitation “really means.”

This year’s invite seems very abstract and completely devoid of hints. But if you squint your eyes and huff enough glue, you too can find some clues about what Apple plans to announce on September 12.

Here are some of the most outlandish theories we’ve seen from fans decoding the invite:

How to switch off Auto Brightness in iOS 11

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Auto Brightness iOS 11
Auto Brightness has been hidden in iOS 11, but it can still be found.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You’ve all been there. You’re sitting near a window or a lamp, reading an excellent article on your iPad — perhaps a well-written How-To from Cult of Mac — and your iPad’s screen Auto Brightness is going haywire. You slide open Control Center, and set it back where you want it, and continue reading. Then, you turn the iPad a little too far towards the light, and the screen brightness creeps up again.

In iOS 10 and prior, you’d just open the Settings app, tap Display & Brightness, and hit the switch for Auto Brightness. In iOS 11, that option has disappeared. The good news is that it hasn’t gone — the Auto Brightness switch has just moved.

WriteMapper mixes mind maps and text editing

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WriteMapper-Hero
WriteMapper is a great app for getting your thoughts in one place.
Photo: WriteMapper

WriteMapper is a new Mac app that combines a mind mapper with a text editor. It works like a regular mind-mapping app, with easy-to-create nodes to get your ideas down and arrange them. But if you open a node, you get a full-featured, cleanly-designed text editor in which to write, so you don’t have to switch to a word-processor or anything else to complete your project.

Then, when you’re done, you can export the mind map as a document to publish it, or whatever you want to do with the finished text.

Developers receive surprise iOS 11 beta 9 update

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iPhone 7 iOS 11
An all-new iOS 11 beta is here!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple surprised developers today with the release of an all-new iOS 11 beta for testing, coming just four days after the previous beta build was seeded.

The new beta build is accompanied by the ninth beta for tvOS 11. Both of the new builds appear to add a number of bug fixes and performance improvements and likely signal that the public release isn’t that far away.

Apple tells FCC to preserve net neutrality by banning fast lanes

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Protect your connection when logging on over public Wi-Fi networks.
Apple has come out in favor of net neutrality.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple has finally broken its silence on the argument for net neutrality today by sending the FCC its comments on whether carriers and internet service providers should be able to provide fast lanes for companies that pay extra.

As a company that sells content through its online stores and services, Apple warned the Trump administration to not roll back protections. The company didn’t take a stance on whether the FCC should be able to protect the Internet like a utility, but it urged FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to keep the current rules in place.

Eliminate tangled cords with this gadget organizer [Review]

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cord and gadget organizer
The BUBM case corrals the little things in your everyday tech carry.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Best List: BUBM gadget and cord organizer by ATailorBird

Pulling your charging cord from your shoulder bag or backpack can resemble that gag where you think you’re opening a can of peanuts and get surprised by springy snakes. Your bag’s other contents can catch on your cords and fly out.

The BUBM cord and gadget organizing case offers just one surprise. The mundane task of organizing your cords and other small accessories turns out to be fun and satisfying.

Why ARKit will be Apple’s biggest innovation in years

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ARkit
ARKit is going to be a tasty innovation for Apple.
Photo: Alper Guler

From the iPhone 8 to iOS 11, Apple’s got no shortage of big launches coming in the next few weeks. But the one with the biggest long-term potential for Apple is one that Tim Cook says makes him want to “yell out and scream” with excitement.

That product is ARKit, the augmented reality platform Apple unveiled this year at WWDC. Here’s why it’s going to be massively important for Apple.

Pokémon GO adds its best Legendary Pokémon yet

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Legendary
Get your passport ready! (Or be prepared to wait.)
Photo: Niantic

Pokémon GO developers Niantic have debuted three new Legendary Pokémon in the popular augmented reality game.

The trio of Raikou, Entei, and Suicune, from the Gold, Silver and Crystal incarnations of the game, are arguably the best Legendary Pokémon yet. Although to catch ’em all you’re going to need to shell out for some plane tickets. (Or exhibit a bit of patience!)

Possible Apple antitrust complaint being investigated in China

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Apple Store
The mural outside the Hengzhou Apple store in China.
Photo: Apple

China has confirmed that it is reviewing a possible antitrust complaint against Apple for allegedly abusing its market position in the country.

The complaint, from 28 Chinese developers, claims Apple charged excessive fees (the company’s usual 30 percent) and also removed apps from its App Store without providing a full explanation.

Apple reportedly planning its biggest ever iPhone for 2018

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iPhone color
The new iPhone 8 is set to be big. Next year's could be even bigger.
Photo: Ben Miller

The iPhone 8 may be Apple’s most significant handset update since 2014, but if you’re a lover of large smartphones you may be better off waiting on next year’s iPhone.

That’s according to a new report, claiming that Apple has started development of an additional sized OLED iPhone for 2017, which will be the largest screen iPhone yet.

Achievements Unlocked: Pedometer++ now gives awards

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pedometer 3 achievements
Health, energy, and a long life are no longer the sole rewards for taking a walk.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Pedometer++, from developer Underscore David Smith, is everyone’s favorite step-counting iPhone app. It’s simple, it is accurate, and it just works. Now, in version 3.0, the four-year old app gets a neat new Today widget, and — brace yourself — Achievements.

Tap into iOS 11’s one-handed keyboard for easier typing

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iOS 11's one-handed keyboard
iOS 11's one-handed keyboard makes typing easier while you sip a coffee with the other hand.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The plus-sized iPhones might be a great fit for media consumption, but the large screen makes one-hand typing inconvenient. It can be a pain to type on your iPhone with one hand while sipping coffee with the other.

Thankfully, iOS 11’s keyboard includes a one-handed mode that shrinks the size of the keyboard, thus making it easier to type with one hand. Here’s how to enable and use iOS 11’s one-handed keyboard.

How to stop your iCloud and Apple ID getting hacked

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don't get hacked
A good password is just the start of good security.
Photo: 1Password

If you have a lame password, then your iCloud account will eventually get hacked. You might not think a hacker is interested in you, but you’re wrong. The good news is that there are several easy steps you can take to lock your Apple ID down and make it safe.

If you don’t think it’s important, consider this: Your photos, your email, all your browsing history, your credit card information, all of the files you have in iCloud, your contacts, notes, calendars, and all your personal messages will all be open to anyone that hacks your account. Not only that, but you can then be impersonated on social media, so that all your other accounts can be hacked too.

Apple joins last-ditch bid for Toshiba’s chip division

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Toshiba
Toshiba is ready to go public.
Photo: Toshiba

Acquiring Toshiba’s chip-making business could still be in play for Apple after all, even though the company’s previous attempts to secure the coveted division with Foxconn fell through.

According to a new report, Apple is part of a “last-ditch” bid to acquire Toshiba’s chip-making ability along with Bain Capital and a few other players. If successful, the acquisition could give Apple a serious weapon in its battle with Samsung for smartphone supremacy.

This fake iPhone looks so good it almost fooled the experts

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From the back, the fake iPhone looks just like the real thing. (The fake phone is on the right.)
From the back, the fake iPhone looks just like the real thing. (The fake phone is on the right.)
Photo: Gabe Trumbo/MyPhones Unlimited

This fake iPhone looks so impressive that it fooled us for a hot minute. A rose gold iPhone 7 Plus clone, it shines just like the real thing. At first glance, it seems to deliver everything you would expect from a real iPhone: Lightning port, dual rear cameras, even a touch-ready Home button.

In short, this is the highest-quality iPhone clone we’ve ever seen. It’s a surprising indicator of just how good Chinese manufacturers are getting at reproducing Apple products. And it’s also a cautionary tale for anybody looking to buy a used iPhone.

Rescue your data from a dysfunctional hard drive [Deals]

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Data Rescue 4
This award-winning data recovery software can make sure you keep your most important files.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Every hard drive is like a time bomb of inconvenience, just waiting to go off. If you’ve backed up your Mac’s drive onto an external drive, that’s good. But if you’ve been using computers long enough, you know that the day may come when both go kaput.