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Edward Snowden says FBI’s claims against Apple are ‘bull****’

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Edward Snowden.
The government is lying to us? Color me surprised!
Photo: Laura Poitras / Praxis Films

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden made a (virtual) appearance at yesterday’s “Blueprint for Democracy,” during which he threw some shade on the FBI’s claims that only Apple has the power to help it unlock the iPhone at the heart of the San Bernardino shooting case.

“The FBI says Apple has the ‘exclusive technical means’ to unlock the phone,” Snowden told the audience. “Respectfully, that’s bullsh*t.”

We won’t get to watch Steve Jobs battle Bill Gates on Broadway

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Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, rivals and friends.
This is presumably before they break into the big tap-dancing number.
Photo: AllThingsD

If you’ve long dreamed of seeing the epic tech rivalry between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates staged as a Broadway musical, written by two of the writers from Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken (and who hasn’t?), well, I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a bit longer.

That’s because the somewhat unflatteringly-titled Nerds has seen its Broadway opening — originally scheduled for April — cancelled after one of the sources of funding pulled out of the project.

No, Siri won’t let people break into your iPhone

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Siri interrogation video The Daily Show
Siri don't snitch.
Photo: Comedy Central

The Internet has exploded recently over reports claiming that evildoers can trick Siri, Apple’s digital assistant, into giving them access to your iPhone without entering your passcode. But our own testing confirms that these claims aren’t just exaggerated; they’re hilariously mistaken and wrong.

Posts warn against the “terrifying new way” that teh haxxorz can get into all of your secret data, but the people reporting on and testing the supposed methods are really just taking a really long path to unlocking their own phones normally.

Check out the creation of the Steve Wozniak wax sculpture

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Steve Wozniak Madame Tussauds San Francisco
Are you ready for The Woz in wax?
Photo: Madame Tussauds

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is well on his way to becoming a life-sized action figure.

Not really, but we’re nerds, and that’s how we prefer to think of the prospect of Madame Tussauds’ waxperts immortalizing a person. Woz’s statue is set for an unveiling later this month, and the museum has published some great footage and pictures of the subject’s sitting, which included a lot of photographs and measurements as well as a healthy dose of green gloop.

Check it out below.

March Madness app brings split-screen glory to Apple TV

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Apple TV is the home of March Madness.
Apple TV is the home of March Madness.
Photo: Cult of Mac

When the NCAA Men’s Basketball championship tips off on March 15th hoops fans will have an all-new way to get their fix using Apple TV.

The new March Madness Live streaming app will contain an exclusive Apple TV feature that lets users watch two games side-by-side, but you’ll need to be a paying TV subscriber to use it.

Apple Watch concept is a wrist-mounted life remote

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Berr's design is one of the best Apple Watch concepts we've seen.
Berr's design is one of the best Apple Watch concepts we've seen.
Photo: Adrian Berr

When it comes to Apple Watch concepts, they tend to be conservatively similar to the current Apple iteration of its wrist computer.

Adrian Berr has come up with a new concept for an Apple Watch that actually takes the concept further: it looks like an Apple Watch, just evolved.

Instead of trying to replicate all the function of an iPhone, this concept is more like a wrist-mounted remote control for your life.

Chinese couple sold 18-day old daughter for iPhone

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baby-iphone
Sorry, baby. Daddy needs an upgrade.
Photo: Tatsuo Yamashita/Flickr CC

A young man in China was found guilty of selling his 18-day old daughter in exchange for enough money to buy himself a new motorcycle and iPhone.

The 19 year-old man identified as ‘A Duan’ by local Chinese media reportedly found a buyer for his newborn through the popular messaging app QQ and negotiated the entire deal without the consent of the child’s biological mother.

Best iOS apps for tracking TV shows and movies

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If you want to keep up on your favorite shows and movies, these are the best apps to do it.
If you want to keep up on your favorite shows and movies, these are the best apps to do it.
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnail A few years back, I looked forward to checking into my favorite TV shows and movies on GetGlue and seeing how many of my other friends were watching what I was. There’s something to be said about movie- and TV-tracking apps that build a sense of community, which is why I think GetGlue did so well with its initial strategy.

Since GetGlue went away, I’ve had to find other ways to not only track my favorite TV shows and movies, but build watch lists and get recommendations from friends. Here’s what I’m currently using and why I think they’re the best movie- and TV-tracking apps for the job, at least for now.

5 ways the Galaxy S7 beats the iPhone 6s

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Samsung-Galaxy
Yup, water-resistance is one of them!
Photo: Samsung
Yup, water-resistance is one of them. Photo: Samsung
Yup, water-resistance is one of them. Photo: Samsung

As the iPhone’s biggest rivals, Samsung’s latest Galaxy smartphones have to be good enough to convince consumers that they’re a better buy. None do that better than the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

According to the overwhelmingly positive reviews published today, the duo have a number of big advantages over the iPhone 6s. Here are 7 of them.

Facebook algorithm will learn new slang before you do

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Wonder how Facebook users will react to this new software.
Wonder how Facebook users will react to this new software.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Spend some time around any teenager and you’ll probably hear some new slang that you don’t understand. If you do get it, and you’re not a teenager or young adult yourself, chances are it’s already gone the way of the dodo in the minds and twisted hearts of said youngsters.

Facebook is hoping to combat this with a new software patent that would detect and gather new lingo as it appears on the social network, making it available to everyone.

As if we needed one more reason to feel old.

Smart sensor will blast you with backyard weather data [Reviews]

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Like my own personal weather station for the backyard.
Like my own personal weather station for the backyard.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Eve Weather by Elgato

Sure, I can check the weather using any number of built-in or third-party apps on my iPhone, but what if I want to know what the humidity is in my own backyard?

Weather nerds rejoice — we now have a way to access and track the weather from anywhere this simple, easy to use white box and associated app is placed. The Eve Weather outdoor weather sensor melds right in with Elgato’s other HomeKit-compatible products, too, letting me check the details of my local microclimate with ease.

I can also ask Siri what the temperature is in the backyard, which is all kinds of cool.

iPhone may get even bigger in 2017 with 5.8-inch OLED screen

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Does iPhone really need to get bigger?
Does the iPhone really need to get bigger?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If the iPhone 6s Plus seems just a little bit too small in your monstrous hands, fret not dear giant friends: Apple may be planning to go even bigger with a super-sized iPhone 7s Pro.

Apple is looking to add a 5.8-inch OLED display to the iPhone in 2017 or 2018, according to a new rumor that claims Samsung is already on board to supply the screens.

ExxonMobil finally brings Apple Pay to the gas pump

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Apple Pay iPhone
Paying at the pump is about to get a lot easier.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Filling up your car with gasoline is about to get a lot quicker, now that the world’s biggest oil company is finally adding Apple Pay to its pumps.

Starting today, ExxonMobil is activating Apple Pay at more than 6,000 gas stations across the U.S., allowing customers to buy gas or a car wash without having to bust out their wallets.

Maintain your privacy on public Wi-Fi networks [Deals]

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Protect your connection when logging on over public Wi-Fi networks.
Protect your connection when logging on over public Wi-Fi networks.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Hopping on a public Wi-Fi network can make anybody feel vulnerable, and with good reason — there are plenty of risks of identity theft and other security threats lurking around unguarded web access points. This Wi-Fi Hotspot Protector is a great way to log on with peace of mind, detecting imminent security threats, encrypting all your online traffic, and more. Right now you can get a lifetime subscription for just $29.

Netflix’s hidden streaming menu will solve your buffering woes

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Netflix
Expect Netflix to stay in the no. 1 spot for the foreseeable future.
Photo: Global X / Flickr CC

It’s happened to all of us: We get to the thrilling conclusion of the latest Daredevil or Jessica Jones episode, and suddenly Netflix’s “buffering” logo appears, bringing our TV binge to an abrupt and unwelcome end.

Luckily, you can use Netflix’s hidden streaming menu to set your streaming speed to a lower tier, which should bypass the buffering foolishness. Here’s how to find it.

Steve Jobs movie finally gets some love

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Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs.
Another shot at glory?
Photo: François Duhamel/© 2015 Universal Studios

Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs movie bombed hard at the box office and failed to win anything at the Oscars, but the MTV Movie Awards are apparently a bit kinder than the Academy and the movie-going public. The Jobs semi-biopic just got nominated for the movie awards show’s Best True Story prize.

Kind of ironic, given Steve Jobs’ myriad inaccuracies, don’t you think?

5 tips to keep your iPhone on lockdown

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iphone_disabled
Secure your iPhone with these handy tips.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iPhone security has dominated the news for the past couple of weeks, so it’s understandable if you’re worrying about your own iPhone.

Have no fear, though: here are some handy tips to help keep your iPhone secure, from both hackers and the FBI.

Today’s video will walk you through 5 easy-to-do tips that will make your iPhone more secure.

Hillary Clinton weighs in on Apple’s FBI standoff. Kind of.

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iPhone 6 Plus_8
Clinton had no-so strong words for followers of the current privacy debate.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Other than a lasting love of Wall Street, Hillary Clinton’s poll-driven opinions on hot-button issues change as often as most people change their underwear.

But saying whatever the popular opinion is poses a problem when, as with Apple’s current privacy vs. “national security” standoff with the government, people voters are undecided on the issue. What do you do when someone asks you about it on the campaign trail, then?

If you’re the possible future POTUS, you take the bull by the horns and, well, offer an opinion that’s about as inoffensively middle-of-the-road as a Coldplay song in a wallpaper commercial.

Justice Department hopes to overturn Apple’s privacy win in New York

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iPhone mobile encryption touch id
The government would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling iKids.
Photo: Olly Browning/Pixabay

The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to overturn a ruling protecting Apple from unlocking the iPhone at the center of a New York drug case. The recent ruling from a New York magistrate judge stated that the government can’t compel Apple to unlock an iPhone involved in a criminal investigation, using the All Writs Act.

So the decision must have been wrong, of course!

Tim Cook involved in secret meeting to stump Donald Trump

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20724666936_32e70d7b9a_k
This story is going to be a Hollywood movie in 20 years, isn't it?
Photo: Michael Vadon/Flickr CC

Donald Trump doesn’t seem to like Apple much, and apparently the feeling is mutual. A new report claims Tim Cook joined an exclusive group of billionaires, tech CEOs and politicians who flew to a private island resort over the weekend to talk about how best to stump Trump.

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds like the opening of a Tom Clancy thriller?

Woz takes up ‘Innovator in Residence’ post at High Point University

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InnovatorInResidence_Outlines
Apple's co-founder has a new role.
Photo: High Point University

Compared to his Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak has always seemed more of a bumbling academic type: the sort who would much rather be getting his fingers dirty in research labs than flying in a shiny Gulfstream jet to negotiate new iTunes terms with a music label.

Which is why Woz would appear to be a perfect fit for his newly-announced role as North Carolina-based private liberal art college High Point University’s latest “Innovator in Residence.”

What’s the betting that theses dedicated to why the Apple II was the best computer ever suddenly get a major boost in numbers?

Square payments reach Australia without Apple Pay

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Square personal payment
Square's point-of-sale system is headed to Australia, but Apple Pay is a didgeri-don't.
Photo: Square

Australian small-business owners can now avail themselves of Square’s personal-payment system, which should make their lives slightly easier. And they could use all the help they can get considering they live in a country whose ecosystem was apparently designed by a comic-book supervillain. But vendors who have been looking for a way to accept credit cards can now breathe a little easier — once they’ve checked their shoes for deadly, deadly spiders.

A notable omission, however, is that Square’s restricting its offerings in that country to the older reader, which only accepts magstripes and chip cards. So unfortunately, our friends down there will have to wait a little longer for Apple Pay.

Robotic assistant makes you glad Siri is just a voice

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Nadine robotic assistant
Robotic assistant Nadine has the kind of face we can imagine only half-covering a soulless, plastic endoskeleton after the explosion failed to kill her.
Photo: Nanyang Technical University

Anyone who’s been wringing their hands in anticipation of the day we’ll each have a physical, robotic assistant to schedule our days and keep us company should be careful what they wish for because the future is here, and it is creepy.

“Nadine” comes from scientists at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore, and its face looks very similar to its creator’s, Professor Nadia Thalmann. But its terrifying, pruny hands come from somewhere else, like the nightmares we had when we were eight and watched director David Cronenberg’s version of The Fly even though our parents specifically told us not to.

You can see Nadine in action in the video below.

Use a mouse on iPad without jailbreaking

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Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Add a mouse (and other peripherals) to your iPad or iPhone.
Photo: DoBox

The development team at DoBox wants to make your iPad even more useful. This wireless box will let you connect a mouse, a wired keyboard, or even a printer to your iOS device (or Mac) and let you turn your iPad into even more of a productivity workhorse.

Check out the video below.