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Win It Wednesday: Win 5 years of Adobe Creative Cloud [Deals]

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Get access to the world's most powerful suite of tools for digital creation.
Get access to the world's most powerful suite of tools for digital creation.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you use a computer to make content, you’re going to be working with Adobe. The company’s software is key to everything from photography and video editing to website design and digital document drafting. And all these powerful programs are contained within Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.

Right now you can enter to win five years of free access to this indispensable suite of tools — a $2,999 value! — at Cult of Mac Deals.

Instagram’s gorgeous new logo comes with revamped iPhone app

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It's about time!
Photo: Instagram

Instagram is rolling out a brand new user interface on iPhone that ditches bright colors to make your photos look even prettier… but no one really cares about that. The real news is the brand new logo that comes with it.

Filled with beautifully bright colors like a sweet acid trip, it’s the first new logo Instagram has had since it launched five years ago, and it replaces the familiar retro camera, which was starting to look a little long in the tooth.

Microsoft desperately trying to lure more customers to its empty stores

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Microsoft may be headed for a smackdown in Manhattan. The maker of all devices PC is reportedly laying ground for a retail outlet just six blocks from Apple's Fifth Avenue store, one of the most photographed landmarks in New York. And a glistening cube that rakes in more than the sparklers at nearby Tiffany & Co.

If Redmond had only taken note from what happens in Oregon: here's our totally unabashedly unscientific pictorial take on Apple and Microsoft stores in downtown Portland. 

All photos: Nicole Martinelli/Cult of Mac
The retail battle front isn't exactly balanced.
Photo: Nicole Martinelli/Cult of Mac

Whether it’s DJs using MacBook Pros at their openings or shots of them looking emptier than a Killian Bell surprise birthday party, Microsoft Stores have long been a bit of a punchline compared to the crazy success of Apple’s own brick-and-mortar retail outlets.

But a new report underlines just how poorly Microsoft Stores are doing as they finally crawl past the 100 store milestone — but without being able to attract a significant number of customers along the way.

How to transfer your iPhone media to Mac (and back again)

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Back up your iPhone to your Mac on the go.
Back up your iPhone to your Mac on the go.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Want a quick way to move your photos, music and documents from your iPhone to your Mac? What about backing up your iPhone on the go?

iKlips Duo is an innovative little gadget that will do both. It’s a well-made, MFi-certified USB stick that lets you connect to your iPhone (or iPad) via its Lightning port and to your Mac via a USB 3 port. Toss it in your bag and rest assured that you’ve always got a way to get your data off your iOS device.

It’s simple, easy and doesn’t require iTunes or iCloud. Here’s how to transfer your iPhone media to your Mac or PC, and then put it back, if you like, using the iKlips Duo.

John Sculley isn’t a believer in the Apple Watch just yet

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john-sculley
The Apple Watch is the only Apple product Sculley doesn't currently own.
Photo: Web Summit/Flickr CC

Even a year on from its launch, former Apple CEO John Sculley isn’t convinced the Apple Watch is a must-have Apple device just yet.

“I think the Apple Watch is beautiful, but it doesn’t have enough utility to be something that I feel I have to have at this point in time,” he says in a new interview with The Street, noting that it’s the only major Apple product he doesn’t use.

Apple News just got a lot friendlier for publishers

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news-apple
Will you give it another shot?
Photo: Apple

Apple today made a number of changes to Apple News that make the platform much more friendly for content publishers — especially those who are only just signing up. The company now allows all channels to use custom graphics, and allows old stories to be added seamlessly.

iPhone-size power pack will jump-start your car [Reviews]

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JumPack
Give your phone a jump-start with the JumPack.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

JumPack Power Pack CPP 8000 by Cobra

If you’re anything like me, you carry a ton of gadgets. Keeping them all charged is a juggling act and, inevitably, there’s always one device I’ve neglected to keep juiced.

Coming to my rescue though, Cobra sent over a JumPack Power Pack to charge up all my devices. Plus, it comes with an extra trick up its sleeve.

Check out the full video review below.

The value of old iPods could be music to your ears

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Tony Hawk, Madonna and No Doubt are just a few of the names whose signatures graced Special Edition models of the iPod Classic.
Tony Hawk, Madonna and No Doubt are just a few of the names whose signatures graced Special Edition models of the iPod Classic.
Photo: Ivan Chernov

Cult of Mac 2.0 bug Nick Wellings listens to music on his iPhone, preferring not to disturb any one of his 108 iPods.

He figures his collection would hold 231,000 songs, but only one has ever been touched or seen the light of day. They remain factory-sealed in their boxes.

The iPod’s status as an icon was brief but seismic, a sleek and at-times-colorful trigger of upheaval to the music industry in the middle of the century’s first decade. Soon the iPhone, which grew more powerful with each generation, relegated the iPod to junk drawers, closets and boxes, next to that cassette-tape-playing Sony Walkman.

Want to see if your iPhone’s been hacked? There’s an app for that

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hacking pic
You might think your iPhone's safe, but are you sure?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

You could be using a jailbroken iPhone containing malicious software that spies on your every move and you wouldn’t even know it.

It might be unlikely, but it happens, and you should be aware of it — especially if you buy used devices. Fortunately, you can now get a simple app that tells you in an instant whether your iPhone or iPad has been hacked.

Amazon just declared war on YouTube

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Can it win?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Amazon is already battling Netflix and Spotify and plenty of other content providers, but it wants an even bigger challenge. The retail giant today unveiled Amazon Video Direct, a sharing platform that’s taking the fight to YouTube.

Apple display maker desperate for iPhone’s OLED switch

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iPhone6-display
The sooner Apple shifts to OLED displays, the better.
Photo: Apple

Apple display maker Japan Display has, quite literally, millions of reasons why it’s desperate for Apple to switch to OLED displays for the iPhone as soon as possible.

The company reported a ¥31.8 billion ($293.5 million) loss for the recently-ended fiscal year as the rising value of the yen, and slowing iPhone and iPad sales, hit the manufacturer hard. And according to its bosses, it’s counting on Apple introducing OLED iPhone displays to help bail it out!

You aren’t too cool to learn to code [Deals]

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Learn to Code 2016

Coding isn’t just something nerdy developers and network specialists do — it’s becoming an expected skill for anyone who works with a computer. Learning to code has never been more valuable, and it’s also never been as easy, which this bundle of lessons proves. With 8 courses in Python, PHP, Ruby, and other essential elements to understanding and using code, it’s a great way to get the skillset you need to get the salary you want. And right now you can get the Complete 2016 Learn to Code Bundle for $59 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Exciting iOS 10 concept reinvents notifications, adds home screen widgets

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iOS 10 will be a milestone for Apple.
Photo: iPhone-tricks

If 2016 is like previous years, Apple will unveil its annual iOS refresh at next month’s WWDC event.

While currently we haven’t heard too much about the milestone iOS 10, a group of dedicated Apple fans have taken it upon themselves to imagine what the upcoming improvements and feature set mat look like in the form of a nifty concept video. And if Apple comes up with anything like what they’ve dreamed up, we’re happy to say that we’ll be very, very pleased indeed.

Check it out below.

Canada’s top banks jump on Apple Pay

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Hockey, maple syrup, and now Apple Pay, too!
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay’s availability in Canada has taken a giant step forward with two major Canadian banks starting to offer the service starting today.

Beginning Tuesday, Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will support Apple’s NFC payment technology, along with ATB Financial and Canadian Tire Financial Services — while three other banks out of Canada’s Big Five are set to hop on the bandwagon over the coming months.

Comparison video drives home why iPhone 6s is Apple’s best ever phone

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That's quite the iPhone collection.
Photo: EveryApplePro

Particularly for those of us who have always used iPhones, it’s fascinating to be reminded of how far the technology has come in under a decade.

With that in mind, a recent video by YouTube channel EveryApplePro puts every iPhone model Apple has ever put out (with the exception, unfortunately, of the new iPhone SE) through a battery of tests to check everything from startup time to speaker output to, yes, even their heat signatures.

Check it out below.

Why Apple stock is far from dead

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iphone stocks app
Apple shares have been taking a beating!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

AAPL stock fell to a new 52-week low last week, signaling its longest loss streak in 18 years, but portfolio managers aren’t close to throwing in the towel on Apple just yet. In fact, this could turn out to be the equivalent of a Black Friday sale for anyone wanting to get their hands on some massively undervalued stock!

“Things aren’t as bad as everybody thinks,” said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, speaking on CNBC‘s “Squawk on the Street.” “[Apple has] a tremendous amount of room to grow.”

Steve Jobs may have influenced Apple Watch more than you know

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Why Salesforce chief gave up AppStore.com for Apple
What would Steve do? The Apple Watch, apparently.
Photo: Ben Stanfield/Flickr CC

The Apple Watch is the first major new Apple product line to be launched under Tim Cook, but according to Apple analyst Tim Bajarin (who, unlike many Apple commentators, actually knows a lot of the people he writes about), it’s a product which owes a tremendous amount to Steve Jobs and his experiences.

Here’s how Bajarin explains it:

Apple’s changing auto design without even having a car out

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Apple car truck
We're pretty sure the Apple Car won't look like this. Not a chamfer in sight.
Photo: devastatormonstertruck.com

We haven’t even gotten an official announcement of the Apple Car yet, but it looks like the company is still working its way into the automotive industry.

That’s according to the staff at car news site The Drive, which placed Apple’s chief design officer Jony Ive and CEO Tim Cook on its list of “The 10 Most Influential People in Automotive Technology.” They didn’t top the list, however; that would be crazy. But they did place higher than some people who are actually in charge of real vehicles that people are driving around right now.

But The Drive backs its decisions up pretty well.