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Prince is dead, but don’t bother searching Apple Music for his tunes

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Prince is dead, but his music lives on. Just not on Apple Music.
Prince is dead, but his music lives on. Just not on Apple Music.
Photo: Scott Penner/Flickr CC

As news of Prince’s unexpected death spread today, shocked fans hoping to stream his tunes on Apple Music came up empty.

In the streaming era, the incredibly prolific musician — best known for his string of hits and Grammy Awards in the 1980s — is practically a ghost.

Tim Cook cracks Time 100 list yet again 

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LOVELOUD
Apple CEO Tim Cook will introduce the band Imagine Dragons Satuday at the LOVELOUD Festival in Utah.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been named as one of Time’s 100 most influential people list that rounds up the top leaders, artists, and public figures that have shaped the world the most the last year.

Cook has frequently appeared on the list, but perhaps is more deserving of it than ever this year after leading Apple in a public fight against the federal government of digital security and privacy. Other notable people on the list include Bernie Sanders, Kendrick Lamar, Vladimir Putin, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Felix Kjellberg (a.k.a. PewDiePie).

Now you can try Apple’s latest batch of betas

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Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Get your iOS device up to date fast and easy.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Members of Apple’s public beta testing program can now get their hands on all the new software updates Apple dropped on developers yesterday.

New betas for iOS, tvOS, watchOS and OS X have been seeded to the public, bringing a bunch of bug fixes for every Apple platform, as well as some new features on iPhone.

iPad port of magical miniatures game should be the next big thing [Reviews]

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Bring all the fun of an analog board game to your iPad.
Bring all the fun of an analog board game to your iPad.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If I ran the world, Krosmaster Arena, a fabulously fun and deep strategy game that started out as a board game with delightfully sculpted miniature figures, would be topping the charts right alongside stuff like Clash Royale or Angry Birds.

Of course, I don’t, but I’m hoping each one of you reading this tries it out on your iPad so you can experience the joy of playing it digitally.

Hungry publicity hound saves his spot in Apple history

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Greg Packer is described as a professional line-sitter with a knack for getting publicity. He often can be found at or near the front of the line at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City whenever a new iPhone is about to go on sale.
Greg Packer goes where the new iPhones are.
Photo: Gizmodo

Cult of Mac 2.0 bugGreg Packer is a shirtless footnote in the history of the iPhone. The retired highway maintenance worker from Long Island made a name for himself as the first person to line up for the sale of the first iPhone in 2007.

During his nearly weeklong stint sitting outside the Fifth Avenue Apple Store in New York City, scores of reporters came by to interview him as he sat in a lawn chair, at times not bothering to put on a shirt during his many closeups.

What’s a virtual private network, anyway? [Deals]

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Trust in an industry-leading VPN: surf the web anonymously and without restriction
Trust in an industry-leading VPN: surf the web anonymously and without restriction
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There’s a good chance you’ve heard about virtual private networks, or VPNs, but have no idea what they are. VPNs are, in essence, a way of establishing a secure and direct connection — like one you might have between two computers in the same office.

Using fancy techniques like dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols and encryption, a VPN distributes a connection that runs according to the same security and operational rules as that direct connection, only it’s distributed through a public network — namely, the internet.

iPhone 7 could have Intel inside

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Your next iPhone may be powered by Intel.
Your next iPhone may be powered by Intel.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Skylake processors aren’t the only new Intel tech Apple plans to use in 2016.

Starting with the iPhone 7, Apple may finally ditch Qualcomm modems in favor of a new chip from Intel which has pretty much missed out on the entire iPhone revolution.

Apple’s post-3.5mm jack headphones sure sound smart

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patent_style_2
New headphones will switch between wired and wireless modes without dropping audio.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In advance of the next-gen iPhone, which will reportedly ditch its 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of wireless or Lightning EarPods, Apple had filed a patent application for hybrid headphones capable of switching between wired and wireless options without dropping audio in the process.

What a $1,000 investment in Apple in 1996 looks like today

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money
Note to self: always bet on Apple.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As a tech fan, there are plenty of times — particularly when you hear about billionaire investors and record-breaking stock prices — when you wonder whether you would have had the foresight to predict things turning out the way they have.

Would you have bet big on Apple around the time of its 1980 IPO? Was it obvious that Steve Jobs was going to turn around the company in 1997? Or would you have been the equivalent of folks calling the Titanic an unsinkable ship, and pouring your life savings into pre-crash dot-com companies?

An amazing new data-viz shows how the returns on a $1,000 investment made in Apple, Microsoft and IBM would have fared over the next 20 years following January 1, 1996. Check it out below:

7 things you need to know about the new Kindle Oasis

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kindle oasis
The Kindle Oasis takes e-reading to a new level.
Photo: Amazon
The Kindle Oasis takes e-reading to a new level. Photo: Amazon
The Kindle Oasis takes e-reading to a new level. Photo: Amazon

Even though speculation about what to expect ran wild, the formal introduction of the Kindle Oasis last week still left a lot of people surprised.

We’ve got the lowdown on the most important things you need to know about Amazon’s newest eBook reader model, which is due to begin shipping April 27.

Apple settles ‘unfair’ service agreement on Samsung’s home turf

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
South Korea's fair trade watchdog persuaded Apple to change its conditions.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

Apple has revised a so-called “unfair” business agreement concerning the conditions South Korean repair service providers must work under in order to do business as part of the Apple Authorized Service Provider Program.

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) had complained that Apple had the ability to terminate contracts with local businesses without any prior notification, and without taking responsibility for losses incurred by its withdrawal of the Authorized Service Provider label.

Facebook Messenger now offers group voice chat for up to 50 people

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HEADING
Facebook just made chat more sociable.
Photo: Facebook
Facebook just made chat more sociable. Photo: Facebook
Facebook just made chat more sociable. Photo: Facebook

Facebook is continuing its mission to try and replace your standard telephone number with its latest update for Facebook Messenger — allowing up to 50 users to jump on a VoIP audio call for a group chat.

The feature, which started rolling out globally yesterday, allows anyone to start a group call by hitting the app’s Phone icon and selecting the group chat members they want included. The members will then receive a Messenger call simultaneously, which they can join at any point the conversation is taking place.

Low-cost Android makers are hurting thanks to iPhone SE

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low-cost-android-makers-are-hurting-thanks-to-iphone-se-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201604iphonesearray-800x620-jpg
The iPhone SE is causing a headache for low-cost Chinese OEMs.
Photo: Apple
The iPhone SE is causing a headache for low-cost Chinese OEMs. Photo: Apple
The iPhone SE is causing a headache for low-cost Chinese OEMs. Photo: Apple

Apple’s affordable 4-inch iPhone SE is causing a major headache for Chinese makers of low-cost Android phones.

Supply chain manufacturers in Taiwan and China are reportedly becoming more conservative about building up inventories of smartphone components from companies including Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo as the iPhone SE squeezes the competition.

Samsung crushes Apple in smartphone shipments as iPhone plummets

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Samsung Galaxy
Look out, Apple!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Look out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android
Look out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android

Samsung couldn’t have wished for a better start for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Not only are sales shaping up to beat expectations, with an estimated 10 million sales during March alone, but according to the latest data, the new handsets helped Samsung crush Apple in smartphones shipments last quarter.

Apple postpones Q2 earnings report

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Apple investors will have to wait a day to hear the latest financials from the mother ship.
Apple investors will have to wait a day to hear the latest financials from the mother ship.
Photo: Apple

Apple has delayed its annual Q2 financial report by one day to April 26, 2016.

Apple’s investor site shared the news Wednesday, saying the postponement is out of respect for Bill “The Coach” Campbell, one of Steve Job’s favorite tech advisors and longtime Apple board member, who passed away earlier this week.

Cool concept brings the eMac back from the dead

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eMac 2016 concept
Look what's back. Kinda.
Photo: CURVED/labs

We’d almost forgotten about the eMac, but some designers have refreshed it for 2016.

The clever thinkers over at Curved have come up with a concept that brings the teardrop shape back for a new generation. Their version combines that classic design with more-recent Apple hallmarks. And while we’re not completely sold on some parts of it, it’s still a pretty handsome machine.

Check it out below.

iOS 10 concept video has everything we want at WWDC

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ios-10-concept-vittici-beckett
Federico Vittici and Sam Beckett brought a better Control Center and more to life.
Photo: Federico Vittici/MacStories, Sam Beckett

Since there is still much to learn about the upcoming iOS 10 debut presumably at WWDC this year, Federico Vittici of MacStories and concept designer Sam Beckett took it upon themselves to bring their dreams to life. They worked together to design an incredible concept video that fulfills Vittici’s wishes for the next version of iOS. The video is nothing short of stunning and their implementation of his (completely reasonable) feature requests will have you absolutely drooling.

How to use Apple Watch to find your iPhone (even in the dark)

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Use your Apple Watch to find your iPhone, regardless of ambient illumination.
Use your Apple Watch to find your iPhone, regardless of ambient illumination.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

I’m willing to bet that you’ve misplaced your iPhone around the house before. I know I have; almost once a week I’m wondering where I set down that magical device. Is it in the bedroom? The kitchen? The (gasp) bathroom?

If you’ve got an Apple Watch, though, you can use its ping feature to find your iPhone with an audible sound, and even a flashing LED if you need it.

Here’s how.

BMW and Daimler put the brakes on Apple Car deal

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Apple Car
Magna International Inc. is making cars for BMW.
Photo: BMW

Talks between Apple and German carmakers Daimler and BMW have fallen apart, after Apple sought to strike a deal with the companies for its electric car project. 

BMW and Apple have been rumored to be talking about a partnership for nearly a year now. Apple supposedly wanted to use BMW’s i3 carbon fiber body as the basis for its car but it appears that the company will have to go solo for now. 

Using your phone while it charges can kill you

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using-your-phone-while-it-charges-can-kill-you-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201504Galaxy-S6-charging-jpg
Safe to pick up?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

 

Safe to pick up? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Safe to pick up? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

It might be time to think twice about using your smartphone while it is charging.

Suhana Mohamad, a 30-year-old mother of two from Malaysia, was tragically killed by her handset after being electrocuted during a phone call.

Apple drops new batch of betas for every platform

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ios-9-3-notes
IOS 9.3.2 beta 2 is here.
Photo: Apple

A fresh new batch of Apple beta software is now available for developers two weeks after the company dropped its last big set of new software.

New beta builds of iOS 9.3.2, watchOS 2.2.1, tvOS 9.2.1 and OS X 10.11.5 can be found in the Apple developer center, bringing a bunch of new bug fixes, and hopefully some feature improvements as well. 

Pax 2 is a breath of fresh air for vapers [Reviews]

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The Pax 2 is so simple any toker can use it.
The Pax 2 is so simple any toker can use it.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Best List: Pax 2 vaporizer by Ploom

Putting your mouth around a Pax 2 vaporizer is like smoking the future.

At a time when every other vape company is making smoke boxes that look giant battery packs with an exhaust pipe, Ploom — the Silicon Valley-based startup behind the Pax loose-leaf vaporizers — is killing the market with a dank dose of subtlety.

‘Racist’ Snapchat filter turns anyone into Bob Marley

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HEADING
Snapchat desperately hopes every little thing will turn out to be alright.
Photo: Ste Smith/Luke Dormehl
Snapchat desperately hopes every little thing will turn out to be alright. Photo: Cult of Mac
Snapchat desperately hopes every little thing will turn out to be alright. Photo: Cult of Mac

A Bob Marley-themed Snapchat filter designed to celebrate 4/20 has backfired, with hordes of users accusing the company of promoting “blackface.”

It’s the latest instant outrage to flare up on the internet, and a total bummer for anyone just trying to enjoy the high holy day for pot smokers. After all, isn’t April 20 the one day of the year we should all be kicking back and chilling out?