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World’s first HomeKit community springs up in San Jose

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HomeKit is now getting packaged into new homes.
HomeKit is now getting packaged into new homes.
Photo: KB Home

Apple’s HomeKit platform is set to power an entire community currently under construction in San Jose.

Real estate development firm KB Home revealed today that its new community, Promenade at Communications Hill, will be the first ever in the US to have HomeKit technology built-in, providing a seamless experience from the foundation up.

Should Apple license macOS for third-party Mac Pros? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Wouldn't you like a powerful PC running macOS?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has finished unveiling its product lineup for 2016, and yet again it appears to have forgotten about the Mac Pro. The high-end desktop will be three years old next month, and although it might look pretty on the outside, it’s way past its best on the inside.

Friday Night Fights bugApple won’t tell us why the Mac Pro isn’t a priority anymore, but its focus is clearly elsewhere. This is a problem for creative professionals who rely on the extra power the machine provides. For some, the iMac just isn’t beefy enough.

Some believe Apple should license macOS to third-party computer makers that are willing to cater to the pros Apple is ignoring. It’s a move Apple would never make, but is it a good idea?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether Apple should let rival PC vendors build macOS machines!

How to delete Safari extensions on macOS Sierra

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Extensions featured-2
Get rid of certain extensions for good!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Extensions can be very useful on Safari for Mac, adding functionality, and — in Apple’s words — letting users, “explore the web the way you want.” But how do you get rid of them once they’re installed?

If you have issues with extensions causing crashes, glitches, or you just don’t plain want them anymore, here’s our easy guide to removing them.

How industrial design is changing the tech industry [Kahney’s Korner Podcast]

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Belkin's design director Oliver Seil says designers are basically psychologists.
Belkin's design director Oliver Seil says designers are basically psychologists.
Photo: Oliver Seil/Belkin

For many ugly years, manufacturers considered industrial design an afterthought. They would outsource the task to a contractor or neglect it altogether, in an effort to get products out quickly and cheaply.

The result: hideous-looking products that didn’t work well or proved difficult to use.

Nowadays, companies like Apple are changing the game when it comes to incorporating industrial design and user experience into product engineering.

On this episode of Kahney’s Korner, I talk with Oliver Seil, senior design director with Belkin International’s Innovation and Design Group. Seil is Belkin’s Jony Ive, the top designer who overseas the company’s diverse array of products.

Belkin specializes in mobile accessories, from power packs and iPhone cases to WeMo home automation products

iPhone 8 mockups tease Apple’s bezel-free future

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iPhone 8 concept
Apple is already driving an OLED boom.
Photo: iDropNews

The iPhone 7 has barely been out for two months but the first concept designs of next year’s iPhone are ready to get you hyped for a future without bezels.

Early rumors for the 2017 iPhone have claimed Apple plans to make some major changes. The home button and bezels at the top and bottom could get the boot. And with a curved OLED display, Apple’s next phone may be the most beautiful one ever.

Take a closer look:

macOS bug gives MacBook Pros a fake graphics upgrade

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Is your MacBook Pro reporting the right graphics?
Photo: MacRumors

A bug in macOS Sierra is incorrectly telling some users that their MacBook Pro just got a nice graphics upgrade.

Some 15-inch units are packing Intel Iris Pro 580 graphics, according to the built-in System Information report. But in actual fact, they have Intel Iris Pro 530 graphics instead.

Claim lifetime ownership of your terabyte in the cloud for a special price [Deals]

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Zoolz is offering two forms of high capacity cloud storage for a single super low price
Zoolz is offering two forms of high capacity cloud storage for a single super low price
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

These days, having a mixed storage strategy is the only sensible way to consider your data ‘backed up’. The cloud needs to be part of the equation, and if the high cost of secure cloud storage has kept your storage on the ground, we’ve got good news. As of today, Zoolz is offering a terabyte of secure cloud storage for life at 10 bucks less off an already massive discount. Right now you can get a lifetime of Zoolz for just $29 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Late Show ridicules Apple’s pricey design book

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Designed-by-Apple-in-California-2
Apple's pricey book is the subject of a new parody.
Photo: Apple

Earlier this week, Apple debuted its pricey $200-$300 Designed by Apple in California coffee table book — and, boy, has it already garnered a ton of publicity. Not all of it favorable.

In a fake ad which debuted on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Apple book is ridiculed for, well, basically being an insanely expensive book.

Check it out below.

Former WSJ editor will help lead Apple’s PR assault on China

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Apple Store
The mural outside one of Apple's Chinese Apple stores.
Photo: Apple

Apple has hired a former Wall Street Journal correspondent from China to assume the post of PR Director for its Shanghai office.

Given that Apple shows such a mastery of the press, it’s no surprise to hear that it’s used to picking the cream of the tech-reporting media crop to work in its PR roster. Wei Gu falls into this category — even if her new role comes at a challenging time for Apple in China.

Jony Ive’s design book is much more than an ego trip

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Designed by Apple in California book
Apple's Industrial Design team has published a book of its work over two decades: Designed by Apple in California.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Increasingly, some Apple fans think Jony Ive has lost it.

He’s killing ports and headphone jacks left and right. The latest MacBooks value form over function. He’s designing gold watches for the 1 percent.

And now his glossy new photo book, Designed by Apple in California, looks like a $300, linen-bound ego trip.

Indie rockers Airplane Mode get their spark from Apple

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These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode.
These guys rock — and design great apps. Bassist Joe Cieplinski, left, and lead guitar and vocalist, Dave Wiskus, of the band Airplane Mode.
Photo: Airplane Mode

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugThe indie rock band Airplane Mode does indeed get its name from the feature on an iPhone that shuts off wireless transmission.

The name and the resumes of three of the band’s musicians — well-established iOS designers — have led more than a few people to assume they have found a source of cute parody music about Apple culture.

In fact, you won’t find any iPhones, iMacs or odes to Steve Jobs in the lyrics of the tight, hard-charging synth-driven music. However, the band’s roots in Apple culture permeate everything else, from its use of technology and understanding of social engagement to its start-up energy.

And there is one other way: Airplane Mode is making money.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro ad celebrates invention of the Touch Bar

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The Touch Bar is Apple's newest brilliant idea.
The Touch Bar is Apple's newest brilliant idea.
Photo: Apple

The new MacBook Pro finally lands in stores this week, and an awesome new Apple ad celebrates the arrival.

In the new spot, called “Bulbs,” Apple links the invention of fire, the wheel, plow and more to the creation of the Touch Bar, the thin OLED strip that completely changes how you interact with your Mac.

iPhone camera is the key to Apple’s AR future

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iPhone 7 iSight camera
The iPhone's camera will be an AR portal.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A secret team of Apple employees are working on a project that will turn iPhone cameras everywhere into a portal for augmented reality.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he’s bullish on the future of AR, and according to a new report the company is working on a total game changer.

This heart-healthy smart scale delivers what your fitness apps are missing

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Withings Body Cardio smart scale
The Withings Body Cardio smart scale adds crucial cardiovascular insights to your health data mix.
Photo: Withings

This post is brought to you by Withings, maker of the Body Cardio smart scale.

One of the great promises of the mobile and wearables revolution was that we’d all get unprecedented insights into our personal health. Apple even built a Health app into its mobile operating system. And what icon did Apple choose for its trailblazing Health app? An unmistakable red heart.

Now a heart-healthy smart scale can capture critical data about your cardiovascular health that can provide a fresh perspective on your wellness regimen.

Maybe Apple really will make iPhones in USA

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iPhone 7 back
Designed by Apple in California. Assembled by Foxconn in USA?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone may soon be made in the USA.

Donald Trump claimed during his campaign that he would force Apple to move production of its products back to America. According to a new report, Apple has already started looking into whether that would be possible.

Retailers expect AirPods to ship this month

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AirPods could finally be arriving soon.
Photo: Apple

Some rumors have warned that we might have to wait until the new year for AirPods to arrive, but a number of retailers expect them to arrive much sooner. According to one, they’ll start shipping before the end of the month.

iOS bug exposes photos and messages on locked iPhones

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photos in ios 10
It's shockingly easy to get into someone's photos.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Hackers have discovered a new method to unlock photos and messages on any iPhone, thanks to an iOS security flaw that utilizes Siri and VoiceOver.

iPhones running iOS 8 software and newer are vulnerable to the flaw, which was discovered by EverythingApplePro and iDeviceHelp. The group revealed the hack in a new video that shows you don’t need any coding experience or special hardware to pull it off. All you need is a few minutes alone with a victims iPhone and some help from Siri.

Apple secretly logs iCloud users’ iPhone call history

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Apple Security Jacket
Apple receives user call histories when iCloud is enabled, claims a new report.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple receives user call histories when iCloud is enabled, claims a new report from Russian digital forensics firm Elcomsoft.

The logs include information about calls made and received on an iOS device, along with phone numbers, dates, times, call duration, and even missed and bypassed calls — for both regular and FaceTime calls.

Roxio Toast price tag gets sliced as of today [Deals]

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Starting today, save even more on the best tool for screen capture, burning digital media and editing videos.
Starting today, save even more on the best tool for screen capture, burning digital media and editing videos.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you work with digital media, you’ve caught a whiff of Toast. It’s one of the premier software tools for converting and working with digital media of all kinds, whether video or audio, for online or physical playback. And now the 15th and most powerful version of Toast Titanium has dropped in price from a previous discount of 50 percent. As today’s deal of the day, you can get Toast Titanium 15 for $35 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Apple’s ‘Hour of Code’ classes will run for a whole week this year

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In previous years, Apple ran the events for just one day.
Photo: Apple

Apple has officially opened registration for its free “Hour of Code” workshops, which this year will run every day for a week at around 500 Apple stores around the world.

In previous years, Apple has offered just one day of workshops for its introduction to programming events, produced in partnership with Code.org.