Cult of Mac

With iOS 9, Apple introduced a whole slew of multitasking features including picture-in-picture, so I can watch a video while using another app. Even though this was technically already possible on the Mac, there hasn’t been an easy way to get a video to overlay another window so I can focus on both at the same time. Well the new Fluid Browser solves that problem, quite magnificently I might add.

Fluid is its own web browser, but it’s not meant to replace Safari or Chrome for my main usage. Instead, I open up Fluid and go to a website where I want to play video, like YouTube or Netflix. The video itself will enlarge to fit the width of the browser window. Then magically, if I click somewhere else on my desktop, Fluid will float above the other windows and even has adjustable opacity so I can make the video as prominent on screen as I want.

Apple has unveiled its plans to build a flagship store in the heart of Stolkholm, Sweden, and it’s just as gorgeous as you’d expect.

Wendy Beckman, head of Apple retail stores in Europe, presented the proposal at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, complete with a miniature model on display for the public. The new Apple Store borrows some designs elements from the iconic Fifth Ave Apple Store with a large glass box comprising the store space, with a stylish metal roof on top.

The proposed store would blend in with the Royal Garden, surrounded by fountains, cafe tables, a large pool, and tons of trees. Visitors will be able to stop by around the clock to enjoy the beautiful scenery and free Wi-Fi.

Check out the 3D model of the new store:

Who needs ad-blockers when your carrier has your back?

Three has unveiled plans to begin blocking “excessive and irrelevant” mobile ads at the carrier level so users on its network don’t have to endure them when browsing the web on their smartphones and tablets.

It doesn’t matter how iron clad your external hard drive looks — if the fragile disc inside it skips the wrong way or the motor putzes out, you’re looking at a lot of money and time to get your data back. That’s why cloud storage makes great sense for backing up your most important files, and SkyHub is offering an opportunity to protect your data for life. Right now you can get a lifetime subscription for $49.99.

Apple is planning to fight the FBI’s terror probe by invoking the right of free-speech and they’ve hired the most legendary free-speech lawyer in the country to help them win.

Theodore Olson, famous for successfully arguing before the Supreme Court that money is a form of free speech in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, is joining Apple’s fight against the FBI’s order to build a backdoor into San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c.

Rely on Facebook Messenger to keep in touch with friends and family? Still wondering why Facebook split it out into its separate app? To the first question, it’s about to get more annoying. And to the second? It’s because Facebook’s about to let companies start messaging you in Messenger.

Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil has long been one of the Mac apps we can’t live without. The app allows Mac users to pump audio on an app-by-app basis to any AirPlay speaker within range.

Now, AirFoil 5 is here. And it’s a huge update. Not only does it introduce functionality that allows AirFoil to send audio to Bluetooth speakers and headphones (not just AirPlay devices, like the Apple TV), it can also send audio to multiple speaker groups at once.

Longtime Cult of Mac readers know I can be a sucker for wood. It’s a material with integrity, and I like the way it juxtaposes with Apple’s preferred design materials of metal and glass. I loved using Monolith’s beautiful wood veneers with my old iPhone 5. And I can’t wait to try Pad & Quill’s new gorgeous wood cases for the latest iPhones.

A mother used Apple’s Find My iPhone feature to track down her kidnapped daughter, tracing the teenager to a McDonald’s parking lot more than 150 miles from her home in Pittsburgh.

The unnamed daughter was being held against her will by her ex-boyfriend, who allegedly kidnapped her and bound her hands, feet and mouth with duct tape — but apparently (thankfully!) forgot to remove the victim’s iPhone.

Apple Pay made its debut in China this Thursday, but things didn’t go quite as smoothly as hoped — largely thanks to the sheer number of users trying to register with the service.

According to local reports, many users were faced with system errors after struggling to link their credit cards to their Apple Pay accounts.

Apple has defied orders to unlock the iPhone 5c for the FBI. But they’ve just been given a little more time to change their mind.

Steve Wozniak may not have been directly involved with Apple for years, but there’s no doubting where his allegiances lie concerning the current Apple vs. FBI skirmish concerning whether or not Apple should help unlock the iPhone at the heart of a criminal investigation.

Speaking with CNET, Woz made clear his opinion that, “You can’t trust who is in power,” and argues that, “Terrorism is just a phony word being used” to try and justify the potential unwarranted snooping in our lives.

Jony Ive memorably (allegedly) claimed that Swiss watchmakers were “f**ked” due to the arrival of the Apple Watch, and almost 18 months later it seems his prediction is a whole lot closer to coming true.

That’s because, according to new research from Strategy Analytics, global smartwatch shipments have overtaken Swiss watch shipments on a global basis for the first time ever.

See? This is why it’s a bad idea to bet against Jony!

When it comes to hacking the iPhone, it’s hard to find anyone with more experience breaking into Apple’s software than Will Strafach, aka Chronic.

The legendary hacker has spent years reverse engineering each version of iOS to give jailbreakers full control of the iPhone and he’s got some very important insight into the FBI’s demands that Apple hack the iPhone. 

Mainly, don’t do it!

Online petitions can seem like screaming into a hole sometimes, but that isn’t stopping a crop of them from emerging in support of Apple’s stance on phone encryption.

In fact, our survey of signature-calls about Apple’s current refusal to provide the FBI a way to access the data on a locked phone belonging to one of the assailants in last year’s San Bernardino shooting turned up exactly none that demand the iPhone maker to give the government what it wants. And this is something, considering we also turned up one petition that called for a pair of tortoises to stop having to carry around iPads at the Aspen Art Museum and another that demanded that the United States legalize cockfighting.

Opinions are all over the place, is what we’re getting at, but people seem pretty sure that they don’t want Apple to unlock its phones. Here’s a quick look at some of the petitions going around.

If you want people to read–and hopefully respond–to your emails, you should really pay attention to the data.

Email service Boomerang, which lets you schedule emails into the future as well as find out who’s read them, did a little research into its own customers to find out what, exactly, will get recipients to read your missives.

Turns out, if you write like an emotional 3rd grader, you’ll get better results.

Super-elaborate, open-world games with stats, exploration, or an engrossing storyline are great, but sometimes you just want to put your foot in some ninjas’ faces. And that’s where Kick or Die really delivers.

This mobile title has been out for a couple months, but it’s just received an update that adds some new challenges and bosses. We didn’t play the earlier versions, but the new one is a fast-pased, dead-simple kickstravaganza that will keep your thumbs on their toes, even though that sounds completely stupid and impossible.

The game’s fun, though.

Avid Instagram users like to know when new photos show up on the social media platform so they can be the first to like, respond, or even comment on their favorite Instagrammer’s pictures.

You can do the same thing by turning on notifications for a specific user, letting you know exactly when your buddies post to Instagram.

Here’s how to enable this cool hidden feature.

There are plenty of opposing views about how Apple should handle the FBI’s demand to create a backdoor to unlock a dead terrorist’s iPhone.

One idea we haven’t heard before, however, is a concept put forward by former Apple CEO John Sculley: Cupertino could help provide the desired information, but Apple (not the government) could be in charge of reading the messages.

iPhones and iPads have become more than just media-consumption devices in so many ways. From using an iPad as a virtual cookbook to using it as a portable way to develop a website, the iPad and iPhone are extremely useful in everyday life. One of the biggest categories where these devices have made a huge difference is music.

Cybersecurity legend John McAfee has sided with Apple in the company’s fight against the FBI over creating a backdoor to access the San Bernardino shooter’s locked iPhone 5c.

But just because McAfee thinks Apple shouldn’t unlock the smartphone doesn’t mean he thinks he shouldn’t do it.

In an open letter regarding Tim Cook’s decision to deny the FBI request, McAfee has offered up the services of his team of superhero hackers to unlock the iPhone — and he says it will only take them three weeks.

Stanley is a bendable, leather-and-felt iPhone stand that thinks different.

Instead of the standard aluminum and white plastic of many an iPhone stand, Distil Union’s Stanley is a soft, approachable bit of gear that will bend into all sorts of positions, letting you set the viewing angle and height of your iPhone with very little effort.

It’s a refreshing alternative to the typical tech common to other stands, a fact that’s gotten the Stanley funded at more than twice the requested amount on Kickstarter.

Best List: Eve Energy Switch and Power Meter by Elgato

Thanks to this cool little HomeKit gadget from Elgato, I know exactly how much energy my PlayStation 4 uses (79 watts). I also know how much energy is sucked away by my living room lamp (40 watts), my big HDTV (143 watts) and my Apple TV (8 watts).

All I did was plug each of these devices into Elgato’s new Eve Energy Switch and Power Meter, and then pull up the associated app on my iPhone to get instant information on the power being pulled through whatever I’ve plugged in.

The smartplug is also voice-activated, letting me turn on and off whatever device is attached to it.

Neat, huh?

Apple is finally providing a solution for customers whose iPhones are bricked by the disastrous Error 53 issue that disables iPhones that had a home button or cables related to Touch ID replaced by an unauthorized third-party.

The company released iOS 9.2.1 this morning as an iTunes-only update that can restore devices that have been taken out by Error 53. Apple published a new support document detailing what causes Error 53 and how to repair iPhones effected.

An official statement was also released apologizing for Error 53, saying it was intended to only be used in factories to check hardware.

Apple isn’t skimping on processing power when it comes to the iPad Air 3 and iPhone 5se that are expected to be revealed next month.

Even though the new 4-inch iPhone is being aimed as a mid-range smartphone, Apple reportedly plans to include the same A9 processor found in the iPhone 6s, while the iPad Air 3 will pack the A9X processor found in the iPad Pro.