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A dual flash drive perfect for transferring data between iOS devices [Deals]

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iKlips makes it easy to store and transfer data for any iOS device.
iKlips makes it easy to store and transfer data for any iOS device.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The iKlips might be the easiest and fastest data storage and transfer option for iOS devices. At 32 gigs, it’s got a USB on one end and a Lightning on the other, making it easy to access your music, photos, documents, and more at a moment’s notice. Right now a 32 gig iKlips drive is just $65.

Apple Watch’s biggest competitor is running into problems

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Photo: Fitbit
Fitbit's in the s**t.
Photo: Fitbit

We still don’t have exact sales numbers on the Apple Watch, but something is clearly having a big impact on Fitbit, Apple’s biggest rival in the fitness wearables category.

Fitbit stock dropped 19 percent today after its forecasts missed estimates, and analysts downgraded the stock as a result. Fitbit shares have declined 44 percent this year so far.

And the Apple Watch? By all accounts we’ve heard, it’s doing pretty darn well.

Beloved iPod shuffle is reborn for the Spotify era

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Mighty Clipped and plugged in
The new Mighty wants to bring Spotify to those with an active lifestyle.
Photo: Mighty Audio

Today, the iPod shuffle you’ve been hoping for is getting a shot at life — no thanks to Apple. Mighty Audio is launching its Kickstarter campaign for the new Mighty streaming music player, a small clip-on device that can stream Spotify wherever you go without having to use your smartphone. A portable, affordable music player with streaming capabilities? Yes please.

Everything that’s new in iOS 9.3 beta 4

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iOS 9.3 Beta 4

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS 9.3 inched one step closer to its public launch yesterday with the developer release of beta 4, which brings a handful of new features to iPhones and iPads along with a couple of bug fixes.

iOS 9.3 beta 4 doesn’t contain any huge new features or a graphics overhaul, but it polishes up what is already a solid operating system. In today’s video, Cult of Mac will show you all the best new features iOS 9.3 beta 4 has to offer in under two minutes.

Check it out:

Apple’s fight with the FBI does nothing to harm its brand

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Apple takes second spot in list of UK's best employers
Apple's brand value is safe and sound.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

People may be split over whether or not Apple is doing the right thing by defying the FBI by refusing to create an iPhone backdoor, but according to a new report, Apple’s squabble over privacy isn’t likely to have much of an impact on its brand appeal — however much Donald Trump wants people to boycott the company’s products.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster this morning revealed the results of a survey of 1,0002 Americans — suggesting that an equal number of people are more or less enamored of the brand as a result of the recent news, while the majority of respondees claim not to know anything about the story.

Can you juggle three iPads? (Yes, but you probably shouldn’t)

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Olga Kay shows off her mad iPad juggling skillz.
Olga Kay shows off her mad iPad juggling skillz.
Photo: Olga Kay

The cheapest iPad costs $269. The most expensive iPad costs $1,079. And they’re all basically wafers of easily-damaged silicon, sandwiched between even more easily shattered glass.

The point? You don’t want to drop an iPad, let alone three of them. Yet that’s just what Olga Kay risked, trying to answer one timeless question: can you juggle iPads?

Pro-Apple privacy protests are planned for 50 cities around the U.S. today

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Encryption protest San Francisco
Protests will take place at 5.30pm today.
Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac (via Apple and protestsign.org)

Grassroots protests against the government’s attempts to hack the iPhone are set to take place today in nearly 50 cities around the United States, beginning at 5.30pm local time.

“FBI Director [James] Comey has been repeatedly asking the White House and Congress for a backdoor to encrypted phones for the past year,” privacy advocates Fight for the Future representative Holmes Wilson tells Cult of Mac. “If he says he doesn’t want this kind of access going forward, he’s just lying, and you can see it in the public record.”

According to Wilson, this is why this story is such a big deal — and what Cult of Mac readers can do to get involved:

No precedent, eh? Justice Department wants Apple to unlock 12 more iPhones

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iPhone 6s
Did anyone seriously believe this wasn't going to happen?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

FBI director James Comey and his supporters suggest that making Apple break its iPhone encryption for the San Bernardino shooter case would be a one-off event, and not the start of a slippery slope into unwanted surveillance.

Well, it seems that someone needs to tell the Department of Justice that, because the D.O.J. is reportedly salivating at the thought of being able to hack iPhones for criminal investigations — with court orders being filed for Apple to help extract iPhone data in a further dozen cases around the U.S.

Bill Gates insists Apple should help the FBI unlock iPhone

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
On this occasion, it's Bill Gates who is thinking different.
Photo: AllThingsD

We’re decades removed from Bill Gates’ vicious battle against Steve Jobs, but Gates isn’t quite as ready as some of his contemporaries to side with Apple concerning one of tech’s biggest stories of 2016.

In a new interview, Gates defies Silicon Valley consensus, arguing that Apple should create an FBI backdoor for the iPhone — and siding with FBI director James Comey by suggesting that this wouldn’t, in fact, set a dangerous precedent for the possibility of future snooping.

Manhattan D.A. can’t wait for Apple to lose encryption case

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iPhone 5c by uveX encryption
It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing.
Photo: uveX/Pixabay

If Apple loses its encryption battle with the FBI over the data contained on a terrorist’s phone, it will make Manhattan’s district attorney and police commissioner very happy.

Despite the federal government’s claim that the updated version of the iPhone’s operating system will only be used on this case, D.A. Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. sees a government victory as a sure way to get Apple to unlock a bunch of other devices his office is sitting on. And by “a bunch,” we mean hundreds of phones that the company could suddenly be compelled to compromise.

Zuckerberg backs Apple in fight against FBI

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quotes on Apple
He doesn't agree with Tim Cook.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Apple has added Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to its growing list of elite tech allies that support that company’s fight against the FBI’s demands to create a back door on iOS to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.

During an appearance today at the the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zuckerberg said that adding backdoor access to devices is neither effective nor the right thing to do.

Best iPhone and iPad apps for project managers [Reviews]

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6 apps every project manager should have installed on their iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
6 apps every project manager should have installed on their iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Photo: Allyson Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailProject management can get overwhelming quickly, especially if you’re juggling multiple initiatives and deadlines at once. From keeping your team on track to ensuring there is good communication and planning between you and your client, there are tons of project management apps available in the App Store to help you tackle even the most challenging of tasks.

I’ve been using my iPhone and iPad to help me manage teams and keep projects moving for the better part of five years now. While my workflow constantly changes as tools and apps become better and better, here are my favorite project management apps that I just couldn’t do without.

Snapchat debuts new geofilters, but they’ll cost you

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Celebrate your birthday on Snapchat with custom, smaller, paid geofilters.
Celebrate your birthday on Snapchat with custom, smaller, paid geofilters.
Photo: Snapchat

Folks looking to promote their next big block-party, wedding or musical shindig can now get in on Snapchat’s action with these new temporary geofilters for the popular photo-sharing service.

Called “On-Demand” geofilters, they’ll allow anyone, including local businesses, to create temporary location-based filters that will show up whenever other Snapchatters walk through the area defined when they’re created.

The bad news? The new feature will cost you $5 per filter to create.

Fertility study accuses your phone of spermicide

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fertility-study-accuses-your-phone-of-spermicide-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201602Cherries-by-music4life-jpg
Sorry, guys: We have some bad news for your berries.
Photo: Holger Schué/Pixabay

We were already worried about keeping hotel keycards in the same pocket as our cell phones, but it turns out that our devices might be erasing some slightly more important things. Namely, men’s sperm.

In a new study, fertility experts claim that men who keep their mobiles anywhere near their reproductive organs — in their front pants pocket, for example — “may bear adverse effects on sperm concentration.” The scientists also found some correlations between lower sperm counts and talking on the phone for more than one hour a day and using the phone while it is charging.

More than half of Americans think Apple should give into FBI demands

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touchid
Most Americans thinks Apple should comply with FBI.
Photo: Apple

The FBI claims Apple’s resistance to its demands to hack the San Bernardino terrorist’s are part of a marketing brand strategy, but if it is, it’s not one that the American people support.

A new poll from the Pew Public Research Center has revealed that over half of the country opposes Apple’s position in its privacy battle against the FBI, while only 38% of Americans think Apple should not unlock the iPhone to ensure the security of its customer’s private data.

How to clear your pervy Instagram searches

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Get rid of any incriminating evidence.
Get rid of any incriminating evidence.
Photo: Jaelynn Castillo/Unsplash

We’re not saying that you search for inappropriate stuff on Instagram or anything, but if for some reason you’d like to clear your search history in the photo sharing app, you can.

You can’t view your search history directly, but it does inform your new searches, making it “easier for you to find your favorite people and hashtags again quickly,” according to Instagram.

So, if you don’t want certain (ahem) searches to show up when you’re looking for new things, here’s how to clear your Instagram searches.

Customize your MacBook with precision skins [Reviews]

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Precision-fitted skins from dbrand let you put a personal wrap on your electronic devices.
Precision-fitted skins from dbrand let you put a personal wrap on your electronic devices.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Best List: MacBook Pro Skin by dbrand

The time I spend hacking away on my laptop at coffee shops, hotel lobbies and conference room floors I inevitably spot another MacBook user with a cooler-looking laptop than mine, filling me with envy.

Well, dbrand has the goods to make the other coffee shop patrons jealous.

New El Capitan beta is now available to developers

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A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
A new beta is out for OS X El Capitan.
Photo: Apple

Apple has seeded a new beta build of OS X El Capitan to developers this morning in the form of OS X 10.11.4 beta 4.

The new beta build can be downloaded directly from Apple’s Developer Member Center, or via the Software Update option in the Mac App Store if your Mac is already rolling on the last El Capitan beta.

Apple drops new betas for iOS, tvOS, and watchOS

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iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
iOS 9.3 beta 6 is here!
Photo: Apple

A big batch of new beta software has landed on Apple’s Developer Center today.

The fourth beta builds of iOS 9.3, tvOS 9.2 and watchOS 2.2 are now available for developers to test bringing a host of new features to the iPhone like NightShift mode, improved Apple News and Apple Music apps, and some great education features for iPad.

FBI could hack San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone using acid and lasers

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
There's one risky hacking method the FBI hasn't tried yet.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

The FBI claims there’s absolutely no other way for it to access San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c expect other having Apple create a backdoor. But according to Edward Snowden there’s at least one other option: acid and lasers.

The former NSA contractor and privacy activist appeared in a virtual talk at Johns Hopkins University and pointed out that even though FBI insists forcing Apple to hack the iPhone is the only way forward, that’s simply not true.

Steve Campus? Apple working with Jobs’ family on special tribute

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Apple Campus 2 Rendered
The Steve Jobs Campus, anyone?
Photo: Apple

According to Tim Cook, Apple is working alongside Steve Jobs’ family to come up with an idea for the “right way” to pay tribute to him with Apple’s upcoming “spaceship campus.”

In an interview with Fortune, Cook confirmed that, “We will definitely honor [Steve] in the right kind of way,” with the new campus — whose opening has reportedly been delayed from 2016 until early 2017.

To find what’s slowing down your Mac, you have to dive deep [Deals]

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Go deep into the inner workings of your computer to keep it running at top performance.
Go deep into the inner workings of your computer to keep it running at top performance.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Our computers are thinner than ever, but also deeper, meaning getting to the bottom of a problem takes expertise or just the right tool. TechTool Pro 8 goes beyond basic diagnostics to plumb your system’s inner workings, even testing the motherboard, to keep your Mac running at peak performance. Whether you’re using one computer or several, this is a tune-up kit worth getting. And right now you can get a copy of TechTool Pro 8 for just $39.99.

Mom who lost son in San Bernardino shooting takes Apple’s side

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apple-store-fifth-avenue-nyc-new-york
Apple fans are rallying behind the iPhone maker's fight vs the FBI.
Photo: Simone Lovati/Flickr CC

Carol Adams’ son, Robert Adams, was among the 14 people killed by Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife on December 2 in San Bernardino, but she doesn’t think the FBI should force Apple to hack the terrorist’s iPhone.

Adams said she stands by Apple’s decision to fight the FBI’s demands to weaken the iPhone’s security in order to access information on Farook’s locked iPhone, explaining that the constitutional right to privacy “is what makes America great to begin with.”