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Freelancers will appreciate this invoicing innovation

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Invoicely takes the pain out of invoicing.
Invoicely takes the pain out of invoicing.
Photo: StartupStockPhotos/Pixabay

This post is brought to you by Invoicely.

With the exploding number of freelancers and independent business owners, we might need to rework an old phrase to say, “Nothing is certain but death, taxes and invoices.”

Keeping track of which clients need to pay you, and which vendors need paying, is a mind-numbing but necessary part of surviving in today’s economy. Many of us utilize our own DIY systems for invoicing. But Invoicely — a free, cloud-based service designed for freelancers that can scale up to work for businesses of all sizes — delivers handy features that make invoicing the least of your worries.

Spotify is first music streamer to reach 100 million users

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Spotify
Spotify is the largest music streamer in the world.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify now has more active users than any other music streaming service on the planet, but when it comes to paid subscribers, it looks like growth has stalled.

The Swedish music streaming service revealed today that it now has 100 million active users — up from the 75 million it had last year — however its paid subscribers total hasn’t budged since March.

Apple loses to Facebook and Google as top talent attractor

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Apple adds 5 new vice presidents to its executive lineup
Employees love working at Apple.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple is one of the top 5 companies in the U.S. when it comes to attracting and keeping talent, but its rivals Facebook and Google are even better.

LinkedIn has come out with its first ever Top Attractors list based on insights from tracking billions of data points of its 433 million members and discovered that in the employee perks arm race, few can top Google.

Snap underwater selfies with this waterproof camera [Deals]

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YoCam
Pocket-size and waterproof, the YoCam is ready for splashy summer fun.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Cameras are just getting more versatile, and the YoCam is proof. It’s designed to work in any scenario you can imagine, from snapping selfies to setting up a security camera or filming underwater. It’s small but feature rich, and connects with a versatile app that will make this a great go-to camera, all for $179 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Today in Apple history: eWorld opens its virtual doors

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macintosh_90s
Short of a Nirvana MIDI playing in the background, you can't get more 1990s than this!
Photo: Andrea Grell/Ste Smith

Monday20 On June 20, 1994, Apple launched its short-lived eWorld service. Why is eWorld so significant? Because it represented Apple’s first deep dive into being a provider of internet services — several years before Steve Jobs returned to the company and embraced the importance of going online.

Part messaging service, part news aggregator — and all with Apple’s customary premium prices — eWorld was ahead of its time.

Apple will be able to open retail stores in India on one condition

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Photo: Apple
Apple wants to open a flagship Apple Store in India, similar to its Fifth Avenue outlet.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s plans for a string of retail stores in India hit a hurdle last month when the country’s finance minister ruled that Apple must conform to local sourcing laws in order to be granted a permit for the country. Requiring that Apple procure 30 percent of its goods locally, this seemed like it put a decisive halt to plans for Apple Stores in India.

Fortunately, it seems that cooler heads have prevailed — as part of a much larger rethink that goes way beyond Apple.

1979 Revolution, Slip Away, and other apps of the week

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appsoftheweek_1024
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Happy Sunday everyone! During seven days in which Apple revealed iOS 10 and Mac OS Sierra to the world, developers released some great new apps and updates into the App Store.

From a great choose-your-own-adventure game set in 1979 Iran to a price comparison search app, here are our picks for apps of the week.

Check out these great sketchnotes from Apple’s WWDC

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Apple's 2016 WWDC Keynote. Sketchnote 1 of 2
Apple's 2016 WWDC Keynote. Sketchnote 1 of 2
Photo: Andy McNally/@andymcnally

There’s nothing more cryptic than someone else’s notes. Not so Andy McNally’s.

McNally, a senior UI design consultant from Memphis, Tenn., created several great “sketchnotes” of the talks at Apple’s WWDC.

Sketchnotes are a form of visual thinking that combine notes and sketches. They’re increasingly popular, inspiring an army of aficionados and books by noted practitioners. The Core77 design site has a whole Sketchnotes section that’s worth exploring.

McNally kindly allowed us to reprint his WWDC sketchnotes. Check them out:

The best WWDC 2016 announcements plus iOS 10 hidden features on The CultCast

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You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
You'll need to be a registered developer to get them today.
Photo: Apple

This week on The CultCast: It’s our WWDC 2016 reactions! Plus: All the WWDC announcements worth getting excited about; the best hidden iOS features not mentioned onstage; more confirmation that a MacBook Pro with OLED touch bar is imminent; and a very strange iPhone 7 rumor surfaces.

Our thanks to Freshbooks for supporting this episode. FreshBooks is the easy-to-use invoicing software designed to help small business owners get organized, save time invoicing and get paid faster. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.

Best deals of the week: Bone-conductive headphones, Lytro’s Illum camera, and more [Deals]

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iOS Coding Master
Get unbeatable deals on Lightning cables, cameras and more.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

This week’s best deals include some high tech goodies. From headphones that send sound straight into your skull, to invincible Lightning cables and the groundbreaking Lytro Illum, and a comprehensive education in iOS development. It’s a red letter week for deals, you should definitely check these out:

Apple Watch is getting better at fitness tracking, but it still sucks for running

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Activity app rocks. Workout app sucks.
Activity app rocks. Workout app sucks.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

At WWDC this week, Apple all but confirmed that Apple Watch is really just a health gadget. Tim Cook described it offhandedly as a “device for a healthy life,” and most of the watchOS 3 segment of the keynote was devoted to health and fitness.

This focus on health makes sense. As an activity tracker, Apple Watch is arguably the best on the market, and watchOS 3 will make it even better. Apple’s wearable is ideal if you are simply looking to live a healthier day. But, despite some minor improvements, Apple Watch still sucks if you are into running.

Best of WWDC 2016: Hands-on with iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS, watchOS 3, and more

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Apple laid out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Apple laid out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac has all of this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference covered for you. Check out all the WWDC 2016 announcements worth getting excited about as well as the best hidden iOS features not mentioned by Apple.

It’s all in this week’s free Cult of Mac Magazine. We give you hands-on videos of the latest developments including iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS and watchOS 3. Plus, how to improve your fitness with Apple Watch.

Here are this week’s top stories.

Is iOS 10 exciting enough to boost iPhone demand? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Are you excited for iOS 10?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 10 is no small upgrade. It’s actually the biggest we’ve seen since the massive redesign that came with iOS 7 almost three years ago. But is it exciting enough?

FNF-bugDespite all the new features and improvements, iOS 10 doesn’t exactly bring anything groundbreaking. It’s not going to change the way you use your iPhone or your iPad, and it still doesn’t deliver some of the things fans have been calling for.

So, is iOS 10 enough to boost iPhone demand?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over Apple’s latest iOS upgrade.

iOS 10’s ‘Raise to Wake’ only works on new iPhones

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iOS 10
Not everyone is getting Raise to Wake.
Photo: Apple

One of the best new features of iOS 10 won’t be available for all devices that are compatible with Apple’s jam-packed mobile update.

Raise to Wake is such a simple and transformative new feature in iOS 10 that it feels like iPhones should have had it for years. Turning on the lock screen by just picking up your iPhone makes getting to notifications and apps quicker, but unless you have an iPad or iPhone released in the last year, you won’t get to enjoy it.

Apple is taking away your rifle (emoji)

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The rifle won't be made into an emoji.
The rifle won't be made into an emoji.
Photo: Andrew Stawarz/Flickr

Getting your hands on a rifle emoji is about to get a lot harder for all smartphone owners thanks to Apple.

The Unicode Consortium proposed earlier this year to add a rifle emoji as part of the Unicode 9.0 release this year, but according to a new report, the controversial firearm won’t make the cut after Apple campaigned internally to have it removed.

iOS 10 notifications redesign is better than the real deal

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Grouping would make iOS 10 notifications much better.
Grouping would make iOS 10 notifications much better.
Photo: Zuno Young/Medium

The paint is still drying on iOS 10 after just being unveiled earlier this week, but one UI designer has already come up with an amazing redesign of the Notifications screen, and we hope Apple’s paying attention.

Notifications have a bigger emphasis than ever on the lock screen now that Slide to Unlock is dead, however the way Apple displays them is kind of ugly if you get multiple notifications from the same app.