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10 Mac storage tips to help you free up extra hard drive space

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Running out of hard drive space on your Mac? These 10 tips can help you free up space you didn't know you were even using!
Running out of hard drive space on your Mac? These 10 tips can help you free up space you didn't know you were even using!
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailIs your Mac out of storage space, or getting dangerously close? If so, there are lots of things you can do to free up some much-need disk space. In many cases, you don’t even have to remove personal files and media. From finding and removing duplicate photo libraries to learning how to better utilize some of Apple’s cloud services, we can help you figure out what’s eating your storage and, more importantly, how to fix it.

Heavy-duty Lightning cable is damn near unbreakable

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Let's put the "indestructible cable" through the paces.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

As important as it was for Apple to make the switch from 30-pin cables to Lightning cables alongside the release of the iPhone 5, there is one significant problem Apple has yet to address over the years: the durability of its charging cables. They bend, fray, tear and sometimes just stop working altogether even with only moderate use over time. Thankfully, third-party accessory makers have caught on to this, and have started offering solutions. One such offering is the MOS Spring Lightning Cable, which claims right on the packaging to be “the indestructible charge/sync cable.”

Apple to build $25 million office in India

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India
Apple wants to dramatically improve its 2 percent share on the smartphone market in India.
Photo: Tim Cook/Twitter

Apple has set its sights on taking over the smartphone market in India and its planning to bring more than just retail jobs to the country in the process.

The company confirmed today that it is planning to invest $25 million in a new office complex this year in Hyderabad that will bring 4,500 jobs to the area during the construction process.

Got an old Android? Sell it to us for a great price!

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It's easy to turn your old devices into cash.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Got an old Android you don’t use anymore? It’s useless to you in the bottom of a drawer, but if you dig it out and dust it off, you can sell it to us for cold hard cash!

We’re buying used and broken Android and Microsoft devices through our new buyback program, and we pay more than Best Buy, Gazelle, and Walmart in most cases. We’ll even buy used wearables, watches, and devices that don’t even work anymore.

Bon Appétit takes iPhone food photography to whole new level

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Shot on iPhone 6s.
Shot on iPhone 6s.
Photo: Marcus Nilsson/Bon Appétit

Hipsters have been using the iPhone to document their meals on Instagram for years now, but the culinary geniuses at Bon Appétit are taking iPhone food photography to unprecedented levels for its March issue.

Bon Appétit sent its top photographers to shoot everything from food festivals to fine-dining dishes for next month’s Culture issue, only instead of lugging around their pro-level DSLRs and wide array of lenses, the photogs were only allowed to use their iPhones.

The end result is a gorgeous 43-page spread that will make your mouth water. The issue hits newsstands this week, but the company has already revealed some of the incredible photos that you won’t believe were shot on iPhone.

Hours left to nab these amazing deals on tech tools and gear [Deals]

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Visually organize all your data and tasks with a single intuitive app
Visually organize all your data and tasks with a single intuitive app
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Want to stay organized and productive with your data? Tired of juggling USB cords, running out of juice on your laptop or worrying about data theft when you go online? If you answered yes to any of that, check out some of these deals ending in just a matter of hours.

Sorry, haters! Signs point to a massive January for Apple

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iPhone 6s boasts a new 12-megapixel camera.
Reports of the iPhone's demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Forget all the doom predictions about Apple — according to Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White, the company may have just had its best January since 2008.

Although Apple itself has said that iPhone sales are likely to fall for the first time ever in the January quarter, White claims that his own analysis of Apple’s suppliers suggests that things are looking far from bleak.

Steve Jobs is now available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD

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Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs movie is coming to Netflix
You can now enjoy Steve Jobs from the comfort of your living room.
Photo: François Duhamel/©2015 Universal Studios

If you didn’t catch Steve Jobs in theaters (and, based on the box office, chances are you didn’t!) Universal Pictures Home Entertainment today released the movie on Blu-ray and DVD.

Extras for the controversial, somewhat divisive film include an “Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs” bonus feature, and audio commentaries from director Danny Boyle, writer Aaron Sorkin and editor Elliot Graham.

And, hey, if you don’t feel like shelling out for it, you can always enter our free giveaway here.

Apple Pay will go live in China this week

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple Pay is finally coming to Apple's second biggest market.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

It may have taken a bit longer than Tim Cook hoped, but Apple Pay is finally launching in China this week — with bank representatives from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Guangfa Bank and China Construction Bank revealing that the mobile payments service will be available from February 18.

These three banks will be joined by 16 other Chinese banks and financial organizations over the coming months.

Kanye ‘the next Steve Jobs’ West turns his back on Apple

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Kanye
Kanye rocking his Apple Watch Edition.
Photo: Justjared

Whether it’s proclaiming himself the next Steve Jobs, screening the recent Aaron Sorkin movie as a birthday gift for his wife, appearing with a rare custom gold-band Apple Watch Edition, or inviting Steve Wozniak to be one of the first to see his baby daughter, Kanye West has always been an enormous Apple fan.

That appears to have changed, however, with the mercurial rapper/pop star sending out a series of bizarre tweets in which — among many, many other things — he pleads with Facebook and Google (but not Apple) to invest $1 billion in “Kanye West ideas” and says that his latest album will never appear on Apple Music.

Best news and RSS apps for iPhone and iPad

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The built-in Apple News app won't cut it for many. Try these awesome news and RSS apps instead!
The built-in Apple News app won't cut it for many. Try these awesome news and RSS apps instead!
Photo: Ally Kazmucha/The App Factor

app-factor-logo-thumbnailThe iPhone and iPad are both great ways to consume news and RSS on the go, or while simply lounging around the house. No matter what service you use — Feedly, Feed Wrangler or something else — there are tons of RSS and news apps that support them. If you don’t need a news aggregator service, or don’t even know what that means, there are still news apps that can help you find interesting things to read.

These are currently the best of the best news apps available for iPhone and iPad — and why I think they’re so great.

Switch to AT&T and get $650 per line, second phone free

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AT&T really wants your business.
Photo: AT&T
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AT&T really wants your business. Photo: AT&T

AT&T wants you! So much so that the carrier is currently offering $650 per line when you switch from Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon and bring your number with you.

What’s more, if you buy one of the latest devices, you’ll get a second handset free.

Sony’s pico projector makes a big, bright picture

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Sony's $350 MP-CL1 Pico Projector is small and easy to use.
Sony's $350 MP-CL1 Pico Projector is small and easy to use.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

You should never take a video projector camping — it completely defeats the object of the great outdoors. Unless you have kids. Then it’s handy to beam a movie onto the side of a tent to keep them quiet while you drink.

Perfect for the job is Sony’s $350 MP-CL1 — a small, battery-powered pico projector. Not much bigger than an iPhone 6+, it beams a surprisingly sharp and bright image that belies it’s small size.

Hook it up to your iPhone via a HDMI cable and adapter, and you’re off to the woods.

Turn your phone into a virtual reality portal [Deals]

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DSCVR easily turns almost any mobile device into a VR viewscreen.
DSCVR easily turns almost any mobile device into a VR viewscreen.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Virtual reality is finally here…if you can afford it. Picking up one of those sleek new headsets is going to set you back hundreds of dollars, but why drop so much coin when you’ve already got most of what you need for immersive VR in your pocket? DSCVR easily turns your mobile device into a full fledged VR headset for iOS or Android, and right now you can get one for just $24.99.

Apple confirms it’s working on a fix for ‘1970’ iPhone bug

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iPhone 6s
Apple's working to fix the problem.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple has acknowledged the existence of a somewhat bizarre bug which bricks any iOS devices that has its date set back to 1970 — and confirms that a fix is on the way.

“An upcoming software update will prevent this issue from affecting iOS devices,” Apple notes on one of its support pages.

While there’s no word on exactly when this software update will be made available, it’s good to know that Apple is on the case.

Kim Jong-Un sure looks happy with his MacBook Pro

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Designed in California, used in North Korea.
Photo: Apple

Apple has a large number of high-profile fans, but there are always bound to be one or two less desirable (but equally famous) ones who slip through the cracks.

One of these is North Korea’s super villain dictator Kim Jong-un, who apparently is quite the Apple fan — as evidenced by a recent photo posted on Twitter by Reuters’ Korean correspondent and author of North Korea Confidential James Pearson, showing Jong-un looking deliriously happy about his Apple MacBook Pro.

$300 3D printer lets kids design and print their own toys

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What I would have given for this as a kid.
Photo: Mattel
What I would have given for this as a kid. Photo: Mattel
What I would have given for this as a kid. Photo: Mattel

It’s easy to assume that traditional kid’s toys are taking a beating due to the sky-high popularity of tablets and smartphones among the younger generation.

But toy-maker Mattel is attempting to strike back with a concept that, honestly, sounds amazing: an affordable $300 3D printer designed to let your sprogs (or, let’s be honest, immature adults everywhere) print their own toys, as designed on an accompanying mobile app.

Apple users send 200,000 iMessages every second

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iMessage
A mind boggling number of iMessages are sent every day.
Photo: Apple

Since being introduced back in 2011, iMessage has gone on to become a monster hit for Apple as a communication tool.

How popular is it? According to Eddy Cue, iOS users cumulatively send up to 200,000 per second: a number which adds up to a whopping 63 quadrillion messages per year.

Earthquake damage hits Apple’s A-series chipmaker

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Chips
Bad news for TSMC.
Photo: Fabrizio Sciami/Flickr CC

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) might be on course to take over 100 percent of Apple’s A10 chip orders, but that’s not to say that it’s entirely without problems right now.

According to a new report, a recent earthquake which hit one of TSMC’s factories in southern Taiwan caused more damage than initially thought: with resulting wafer shipments for the first quarter of 2016 likely to fall as a result.

Kate Winslet takes home BAFTA award for Steve Jobs

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Kate Winslet, middle, praises the portrayal of Steve Jobs by Michael Fassbender (right).
"Who me?" Kate Winslet is surely the Oscar front-runner now.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Kate Winslet picked up another award win for her role as Apple PR guru Johanna Hoffman at last night’s BAFTA British movie award show.

Winslet’s win was the only prize won by Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs semi-biopic, which was also nominated for “Best Adapted Screenplay” and “Best Actor” gongs for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and lead actor Michael Fassbender, but lost out to The Big Short and Leo in The Revenant.

A prismatic puzzle game and other cool apps of the week

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Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re always keeping our heads up for the best new apps coming to our iOS devices and Apple TVs. We’re like prairie dogs that way, only we’re not as cute, and our homes are only metaphorical holes.

Every week, we round up the coolest new apps (or awesome updates to existing ones) that have hit Apple’s digital storefront in the past seven days. And if you’re spending your Valentine’s Day browsing the App Store for some new utilities, we have you covered. Also, we’re sorry that that is how you’re spending your Valentine’s Day.

Check out our weekly picks for apps of the week below.

Winning a Steve Jobs Blu-ray is easier than writing a biopic

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Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs.
You don't have to do any of whatever Michael Fassbender was doing in this scene to win yourself a Steve Jobs Blu-ray.
Photo: François Duhamel/© 2015 Universal Studios

Maybe moviegoing audiences didn’t completely fall in love with director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs, but we liked it a lot. And if you also enjoyed it — or are just looking to score yourself a free copy — keep reading.

If you want to code, you want these coding lessons [Deals]

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Master the easy-to-learn, multifaceted language behind Google and YouTube with 50 hours of training.
Master the easy-to-learn, multifaceted language behind Google and YouTube with 50 hours of training.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

There’s a lot to know for anyone looking to get into the lucrative field of coding for the web, and it’s a topic that grows every day. That’s why it’s good to develop some solid, focused fundamentals, which is exactly what these four courses offer. Covering Python, Javascript, iOS Xcode and SQL, it’s a great opportunity to develop your skills in one, two, three or four of the most critical corners of coding for web.