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Underwater drones, intelligent camera assistants and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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A drone that's just like a fish.
A drone that's just like a fish.
Photo: BIKI

Crowdfund Roundup bugWouldn’t it be great if you could capture stunning videos of sea life up to 196-feet deep without even getting your feet wet? You can with BIKI, the world’s first underwater drone for deep sea video recording.

It’s just one of the awesome ideas in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We also have ultra-strong Kevlar Lightning cables, a modern cassette tape that’s also a standalone music player, an intelligent camera assistant that ensures you get a perfect shot every time, and more!

For creative pros, the right screen makes all the difference

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LG has been partnering with leading design institutions to prove that better monitors means better creative work.
LG has been partnering with leading design institutions to prove that better monitors means better creative work.
Photo: 'Curve and Create' by @Littledrill featuring LG UltraWide Monitor 34UC98

This post is brought to you by LG Electronics, maker of UltraWide monitors.

Today’s visual content gets consumed on screens of all sizes, from smartphones to building-size projections and everything in between. That gives everybody’s eyeballs plenty of great stuff to look at no matter where we look. But for creative professionals, the size of the screen can prove key to the process — and to the quality of the content they produce.

Kodak’s first camera-smartphone finally lands in the U.S.

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Kodak Ektra smartphone
The Kodak Ektra is a camera with a smartphone built in.
Photo: Kodak

The Ektra, Kodak’s camera-forward smartphone that launched in Europe around the time Apple’s iPhone 7 Plus debuted, is now available in the U.S.

The iconic but fading photo company partnered with Bullitt Group to develop a device that is, first and foremost, a camera, but also a smartphone to help reverse its fortunes by getting competitive in the mobile photography industry.

Macphun to offer software for Windows-based photogs

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Macphun brings its imaging software to Windows.
Macphun brings its imaging software to Windows.
Photo: Macphun

The imaging software company Macphun is about to make its products fun for photographers who use Windows.

The award-winning and, until now, Mac-centric company announced today it will launch a public beta version of its all-in-one photo editing software Luminar for Windows this July.

Apple is already testing micro LED displays for the future

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battery
Apple's busy investigating future display technologies.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

2017’s iPhone 8 will be the first iPhone to boast an OLED display, but Apple’s not stopping it research into future display technologies.

According to a new report, Apple will be producing a small number of trial micro LED screens in the second half of 2017 at a factory in Taoyuan, Taiwan. While this isn’t the kind of production volume necessary for a product, it will give Apple the ability to evaluate whether or not these would be a good fit for future devices.

ZestDesk aims to make you a stand-up worker [Review]

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The portable office that also gets you off your butt, at least for a while.
The portable office that also gets you off your butt, at least for a while.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Your postal carrier doesn’t usually ask about the contents of a package he’s dropping off, but I couldn’t blame him for being curious about a long box with a logo that said ZestDesk.

I explained to him it was a kind of standing desk and that I would be reviewing it. The man who is on his feet for his entire work day asked me what I did for a living and I said, “I sit at a computer, mostly, and write.”

To be clear, I sit on a couch or a comfy chair at a coffee shop with a MacBook Pro on my lap or belly and do not miss the cubicle life. A standing desk sounds so Type A and I worked hard to get further down the alphabet.

Upgrade your brain with a new language [Deals]

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Rosetta Stone Language Box Sets (Levels 1-2)
Learning a new language doesn't have to be difficult, and this box set from Rosetta Stone is a great place to start.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Spring is here, everything is new and blooming and the world invites you to explore its wonders. Of course that’s a lot easier to do if you speak more than your native language. There are few better ways to learn a new language than with Rosetta Stone. Their program is world famous for how effective it is, with an immersive method that’s been used even by national governments to train international employees. Whether you’re eager to learn Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, or Italian, Rosetta Stone can teach you to read, write, and speak with fluency. And right now, you can get box sets for levels 1 and 2, both digital and physical DVD versions, for just $119.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

32GB iPhone 6 is now on sale in the U.K.

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iPhone 6
The iPhone 6 is Apple's biggest selling iPhone of all time.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

If you want an affordable iPhone, but you don’t want to settle for a 4-inch iPhone SE, you might want to check out Apple’s relaunched 32GB iPhone 6.

It originally made its debut in emerging markets back in March, then in the U.S. — and now you can buy it in the United Kingdom.

Six community colleges in the U.S. will be teaching Swift this fall

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swift_uikit_macbook_2
Time for your Swift class!
Photo: Apple

Want to learn Swift in school? Apple wants you too as well, which is why its just launched a new app development curriculum for its mobile programming language aimed at high school and community college students.

The curriculum, which is available as a free download today from the iBooks Store, will be adopted by six community college systems serving nearly 500,000 students this fall. No doubt more will follow in the near future.

China is losing interest in the iPhone

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China iPhone sales
Tim Cook meets with Apple store employees in China.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook hasn’t been shy about proclaiming China Apple’s future biggest market, but right now it’s causing the most problems.

According to analysts at Oppenheimer, Apple’s “Reality Distortion Field” is fading in China, as iPhone sales drop 20 percent. That’s at least twice as bad as any other market.

1Password can now lock down your data when you travel

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Don't give up your data while you travel.
Don't give up your data while you travel.
Photo: 1Password

1Password, the ultimate password management app for iOS, now makes your data even more secure when you travel.

Its new Travel Mode removes every vault from your devices except for those marked “safe for travel.” If you’re asked to unlock your smartphone or tablet at the border, only the passwords you really need will be exposed.

New video reveals redesigned iPhone 8 in all its glory

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iPhone8
Is this what the new iPhone will look like?
Photo: Benjamin Geskin

Designer and leaker Benjamin Geskin has posted a short video online, showcasing what he claims to be an identical dummy unit of the iPhone 8.

Backing up a lot of previous rumors about the next-gen handset, Geskin’s iPhone features a curved glass infinite display, lack of physical Home button, and vertical dual camera setup. Check it out below.

Jony Ive’s BFF has created a spectacular new timepiece

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a_20010362_copy
It's all yours for $12,000.
Photo: Hodinkee

Jony Ive’s BFF Marc Newson may have played a role in the design of the Apple Watch, but he’s now turned his attentions to designing an entirely new timepiece. Although this isn’t one that you’ll be wearing on your wrist!

Instead, it’s a $12,000 limited edition hourglass, designed for the world’s leading online wristwatch magazine, Hodinkee. Check it out below.

Quick tip: How to translate words in iOS with a single tap

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translate dictionary ios
Translate any word with a tap on iOS.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The Look Up feature in iOS, which lets you tap on a word and look it up in the dictionary, the web, Wikipedia, and more, is one of the most useful things about reading on an iPhone or iPad. But did you know that you can also add new dictionaries, including translation dictionaries for foreign languages? That’s right. You can look up words in all kinds of other languages and translate them into English, or vice versa.

Apple begins testing 5G data speeds for iPhone

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iPhone 7 red
iPhone 8 rumors haven't had an impact yet, either.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Insanely fast mobile data speeds could be coming soon to Apple’s iPhone lineup, based on a new filing with the FCC that reveals the company has begun testing 5G network technology.

Apple recently applied for an experimental license to use new wireless technology called “millimeter wave.” The FCC approved Apple’s permit today and revealed some details about the project by making the company’s application public.

How to use Text Replacement to avoid typing the words you hate

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Text Replacement shortcuts in iPhone
Text Replacements are easy to set up, and save a ton of time and hassle. You can even use them with emoji.
Photo: Cult of Mac

What if you could type out any of your email addresses just by tapping on the same key a few times? Or do Google searches over and over on a favorite website just as easily? What about easily typing that special symbol that’s so hard to reach on the iOS keyboard that you usually never bother? All this, and more, can be yours, if only you’ll spend a minute or two setting up some text replacement shortcuts. Let’s do it right now.

Verizon CEO reveals plan to launch TV streaming service

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AOL just got bought by the king of mobile.
Verizon has a massive platform for video content.
Photo: Verizon

Once Verizon’s acquisition of Yahoo finally gets completed this summer, a new TV streaming service could roll out to customers shortly after.

The news that Verizon is planning to enter the highly competitive streaming TV market was revealed today by the company’s CEO Lowell McAdam, who says the platform will be a great place to test out an over-the-top service.

Microsoft takes aim at iPad with new Surface Pro

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The Surface Pro looks slick.
The Surface Pro looks slick.
Photo: Microsoft

The iPad Pro is getting some fresh competition from Microsoft after the company just took the wraps off its newest tablet, the Surface Pro.

It’s been over 16 months since Microsoft’s would-be iPad-killer was last updated. Although its the 5th version of Microsoft’s tablet, this go around the company decided to ditch the number suffixes and pack the Surface Pro with more features than ever before.

DevMate and Paddle join forces for all-in-one software platform

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It's going to be easier than ever to sell your software online.
It's going to be easier than ever to sell your software online.
Photo: DevMate, Paddle

DevMate and Paddle are joining forces to provide macOS developers with a single platform for building, managing, licensing and selling their software online.

The merger will combine the capabilities and expertise of both businesses for a unique, “next-generation platform” that hopes to make life easier for software creators.

National security requests for Apple user data doubled in last half of 2016

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Apple Security Jacket
Apple has shared the number of user data requests it received last year.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

National security requests for user data from Apple doubled in the second half of 2016, compared to the first six months, Apple’s newly-published biannual transparency report reveals.

Apple received somewhere between 5,750 and 5,999 orders during the July-December period of last year, compared to the 2,750 and 2,999 requests it was handed in the January-June period. This represents the highest total count in the 3.5 years since Apple first began releasing this information in a six-monthly report.