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Apple hires top medical researcher to boost health game

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Stephen Friend is the latest medical guru to join Apple.
Stephen Friend is the latest medical guru to join Apple.
Photo: TED

One of the biggest names in medical research has joined Apple and will likely provide a huge boost to the company’s medical efforts.

Stephen Friend, co-founder and former president of Sage Bionetworks, accepted a job at Apple recently, and although the two sides are keeping quiet on what exactly Friend will be doing, he’ll likely be one of the leaders of the company’s growing digital health team.

Boston Dynamics’ freaky new robot can clean your kitchen

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This robot is a total neat freak.
This robot is a total neat freak.
Photo: Boston Dynamics

Alphabet-owned Boston Dynamics robots are ready to invade your kitchen.

The company unveiled its newest robot, SpotMini, an all-electric version of its Spot robot. Taking some design cues from its bigger sibling that weighs 160 lbs, SpotMini is a simplified model that is smaller and lighter, allowing it to roam your house with more dexterity than Boston Dynamics’ previous bots.

It’s a total neat freak and can clean your house, too, thanks to an elongated neck extension:

Jony Ive now holds doctorates from Cambridge and Oxford

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Sir Jony Ive is now a Cambridge graduate.
Sir Jony Ive is now a Cambridge graduate.
Photo: University of Cambridge

One of the world’s oldest universities has given Apple’s VP of Design, Jony Ive, another honorary PhD to add to his growing collection.

Not to be out done by their centuries old rivals at Cambridge, the University of Oxford conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree to Sir Jony at a ceremony on June 22, giving him two degrees from two of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities.

This Bluetooth speaker lives up to the name ‘boombox’ [Deals]

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G-Boom
The G-BOOM is ready to rock the block.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

What ever happened to the boombox, the chunky sound blaster built to bring the noise anywhere, and built to last? With all the effete Bluetooth speakers on the market — designed to be compact and pretty — the G-BOOM does away with pretense and gets right to the point.

This thing is tough, with rubber feet, a big, dumb handle on top that begs you to take the G-BOOM with you, and a sturdy build with plenty of space for the speaker’s powerful sound driver. Of course it also packs in all the nifty wireless features you’d ever want. It’s a modern take on the classic boombox that’s just $79.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Today in Apple history: Power Mac G5 goes on sale

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G5 computer
Do you remember the Power Mac G5?
Photo: Apple

Thursday23Sometimes affectionately called the “cheese grater,” the original Power Mac G5 first went on sale on June 23, 2003 — offering what was then Apple’s fastest-ever machine and the world’s first 64-bit personal computer.

Check out the video of Steve Jobs introducing the computer 13 years ago today.

KFC’s new chicken box can charge your iPhone

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No one asked for this.
No one asked for this.
Photo: KFC

The world’s largest fried chicken chain has come up with a wacky new idea that will fill your stomach as well as your iPhone.

As part of a promotion in India, KFC has introduced a new limited edition “Watt A Box” that packs all the greasy finger-lickin’ chicken you could want, along with with a USB port and portable battery that eaters can use to recharge their iPhones with while grubbing.

Check it out:

Focus Matrix helps you focus on the things that matter

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Focus Matrix features
Focus Matrix brings simple yet effective time-management tools to iOS and Mac.
Photo: Xwavesoft

This post is brought to you by XwaveSoft.

“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important,” President Dwight D. Eisenhower reportedly once said. “The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” This idea underpins a way of organizing tasks named for the former general, using a grid to position tasks in the order they should be taken on.

Focus Matrix turns this time-honored approach to task management into a feature-rich app for both iOS and Mac.

Dropbox for iOS can now scan physical documents

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Dropbox can do this now.
Dropbox can do this now.
Photo: Dropbox

Managing your digital files with Dropbox has been one of the best tools for cloud users for years, but the service is now ready to take its talents to the physical world with a new update that makes it easier to collaborate with people wherever you are.

Should you trust an iOS app to find a babysitter? This mom says yes

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There are apps to connect people to all sorts of services. Hello Sitter finds babysitters parents can trust, according to the app founder.
There are apps to connect people to all sorts of services. Hello Sitter finds babysitters parents can trust, according to the app founder.
Photo: Hello Sitter

A New York City mom has created an Uber-like iOS app that makes finding a babysitter as simple as finding a ride.

But we’re willing to assume some risk when catching a lift to the airport. Turning a young son or daughter over to algorithm-matched childcare is another matter. Hello Sitter CEO Lauren Mansell personally vetted each of the more than 200 qualified sitters available through the app by answering this question — Would I leave my daughter with this person?

Get 5 years of unlimited cloud backup for less than a dollar a month [Deals]

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G-Cloud
It's time to take control of your backups.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Losing or breaking a phone can be seriously upsetting, especially when it means losing all the stuff you forgot to back up. G-Cloud’s app for iOS and Android makes it easy to back up all your devices’ files on Amazon’s super-secure AWS Cloud under a single account. This is easy and reliable cloud storage, with unlimited space for five years, and you can get it now for $29 at Cult of Mac Deals.

NASA’s Apple TV app gives you realtime view of Earth from the stars

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HEADING
Your own private window from the International Space Station!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple loves talking about Apple TV’s impressive screensavers, which let viewers fly through some of the most jaw-dropping locations on the planet. You know what’s even more impressive than the world’s most gorgeous locations, though? The most dazzling locations out of this world!

That’s the concept behind NASA’s stunning new Apple TV app, which offers realtime views of the Earth as glimpsed from the International Space Station, among other space-age features.

Today in Apple history: Apple backs down in Taylor Swift battle

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Taylor Swift Apple Music ad
These days, Taylor Swift regularly appears in Apple ads.
Photo: Apple

Wednesday22On June 22, 2015, Apple backed down following a brief standoff with Taylor Swift over royalty payments from the soon-to-launch Apple Music service. The company reversed a policy that would have denied royalties to artists during the streaming music platform’s initial three months of operation.

In doing so, Cupertino signaled that this was a kinder, gentler Apple than may have existed previously. Provided the whole thing wasn’t one big publicity stunt, that is.

iPhone display maker takes hit as Samsung steals OLED orders

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battery
Apple's OLED dreams are turning out to be a nightmare for some.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The rumors that Samsung is ramping up its OLED facilities bodes well for superior displays on next year’s iPhone refresh, but there’s one party that’s not quite so pleased: struggling Apple display maker Japan Display.

The reason? Because while other companies bet big on OLED, it seems that Japan Display doubled-down on its LCD technology — and may now be suffering the effects of its ill-timed decision.

How LeBron and Cavs channeled Steve Jobs to beat Warriors

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Eddy Cue isn't cheering for Lebron this year.
LeBron took some advice from Eddy Cue's boss this year.
Photo: USA Today

The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks in NBA history on Sunday when they came back to beat the Golden State Warriors — Apple’s favorite team — in the NBA Finals and Steve Jobs was part of the reason why.

LeBron James had to dig deep for inspiration when the Cavs lost the first two games of the NBA Finals. After spending the weekend watching old Muhammad Ali fight, James reportedly realized his team needed something they could connect to to make them believe the series wasn’t over. So before Game 3, James gathered his teammates and played a portion of Steve Jobs’ infamous Stanford Univeristy commencement address from 2005.

iOS 10 hands on: Everything that’s new in Apple Music and Apple News

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News and Music ios10
Apple News and Apple Music get much-needed redesigns in iOS 10.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 10 brings much-needed design overhauls for the Apple Music and Apple News apps.

The big iOS update, which is currently in beta but should hit iPhones and iPads this fall, brings huge changes to the Apple Music UI as well as minor improvements to navigation in the music app. To see all the changes in action, watch the Cult of Mac video below.

Ex-Apple engineers want to make your dumb car smart

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Pearl's RearVision adds a camera to your car.
Pearl's RearVision adds a camera to your car.
Photo: Pearl

It will be years before we get to see how simple and amazing a car designed by Apple will be, but for now a new hardware startup created by ex-Apple engineers is ready to give us the next best thing.

Pearl Automation, an autonomous car tech startup co-founded by Apple veteran Bryson Gardner, revealed its first product today that makes your dumb car smarter by adding a new feature usually only found on luxury vehicles.