LG G5 is more than it looks at first glance. Photo: LGLG G5 is more than it looks at first glance. Photo: LG
LG is kicking off Mobile World Congress early this year with the anticipated unveiling of its new G5.
The device sports impressive specifications and an all-new modular design made out of metal, which lets users slot accessories into its bottom edge. LG calls these add-ons “Friends,” and you’ll be amazed at what they can do.
These stinky old Birkenstocks from Steve Jobs's NeXT years sold for a pretty price at auction today. Photo: Mark Scheff
An odd assortment of purported artefacts from Steve Jobs’s wilderness years – including a pair of his rated running sandals – were sold at auction today. And while it’s not entirely clear who bought them, all of the disparate items, dating back to Steve Jobs’s NeXT years, still ended up earning a pretty penny.
Stellar Wanderer is a space sim with both action and style. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Stellar Wanderer gets right into the action with space battles from the very first mission, which takes place in the full 360 degrees of your spaceship viewport.
You’ll take to the vastness of interstellar space, populated by huge space stations, rugged traders, and (obviously) hordes of space pirates to complete missions given to you by mysterious individuals and then taking the reward money to upgrade your craft and piloting skills.
There’s a lot of space in space, and you’ll feel every kilometer of it when you drop into Stellar Wanderer on your iPhone or iPad.
This LED smartbulb leaves little debate as the best replacement for your standard bulbs. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
LED light bulbs are at the point where there’s just no good reason not to switch over. The A19 ilumi LED Smartbulb embodies what’s best about this new energy-efficient, longer lasting light source, lasting up to 20 years and with 5 times the energy efficiency of a standard bulb. That isn’t even the half of what this awesome bulb can do, and right now you can get one for just $44.99.
MacBook Pros received their last big update in 2012. It's time for change. Image: Erfon Elijah/Cult of Mac
This week on The CultCast: Major MacBook Pro and Air redesigns may be coming in June; the magic of the MagSafe adapter; the best Mac for college; Apple versus the FBI; Apple explains “Error 53” and offers up a fix; and stay tuned for our favorite shows and apps in an all-new What We’re Into!
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to build a website that looks beautiful on any device that visits at Squarespace.com. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off.
Apple takes on the FBI. Cover Design: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac
Tim Cook sparked an internet controversy when he penned his open letter to Apple customers about why the tech giant was pushing back against a court order to create an FBI-friendly version of its iOS software.
Find out more about Apple’s epic battle over iPhone encryption, along with how to unlock your iPhones secret emoticons, 10 hard drive space-saving tips, the best news and RSS apps for your iOS devices, and a bit about John McAfee’s bid to hack the iPhone for the FBI.
All that and much more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. Here are the top stories this week.
The truth is (really) out there. Photo: tookapic/Pixabay
It’s been a crazy day for news in the case of Apple v. the federal government in the battle over the data contained on a mass-shooter’s iPhone, and some surprising facts are emerging between the two side’s shots at each other.
Today, we saw the Justice Department double down on the original court order, some predictable antics from presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Apple’s responses to both. But we’re also picking up some interesting details that make this already complicated issue even murkier. And things aren’t quite as simple as either side is claiming.
Here are some of the most surprising aspects of this case that have come out in the past few days.
Donald Trump said he'd force Apple to build its products in the U.S. at an earlier appearance, and he's found new reasons not to like the company. Photo: Washington Post (via YouTube)
Apple doesn’t seem terribly concerned with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a boycott of its products. If anything, it seems pretty proud to have drawn the controversial frontrunner’s ire.
During a phone conversation with reporters shortly after Trump’s call went out, senior Apple executives made their feelings about the campaign known — and their feelings are pretty funny.
Some folks are amazing Instagrammers. Photo: Hoil Ryu/Unslash
Instagram is a veritable playground of fascinating photography. The trick is to find accounts to follow that won’t waste your time with snaps of low-quality food or wacky pets. Unless you’re into that kind of thing.
So how do you find folks worth following? By checking out what the people you follow on Instagram are looking at, of course. You can also check out the photos you’ve liked, and add them to your feed if you haven’t already.
Here’s how to follow your friends’ hearts to fuel your Instagram addiction.
It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Photo: uveX/Pixabay
The U.S. Department of Justice think’s Apple’s hard public stance on encryption in the San Bernardino shooting case is nothing but a marketing scheme.
The agency said as much in a filing today that implored the court to “[compel] Apple to comply with its order.” It also cites the company’s past cooperation with law-enforcement investigations as evidence that its position has more to do with looking good to its customers than any actual inability to help authorities access the device.
The brief has been successful despite support from big companies. Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr CC
Donald Trump has threaten to permanently switch to Samsung if Apple doesn’t give in to the federal government’s demands, and he’s calling on all his followers to do the same.
At a rally in South Carolina this morning the US presidential candidate says that citizens should boycott Apple products until the company hands over the PIN to one of the San Bernardino terrorist’s iPhone 5c. Trump neglected to mention though that nearly all his tweets come from an iPhone.
Amazon's Echo and Alexa, helping us rhyme since 2016. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The latest update to the Amazon Echo adds a host of new news sources to the smart speaker’s Flash Briefing feature — and also gives it some mad rhyming skills.
Text editor apps are an important part of any writer's workflow. These are currently the top candidates for Mac owners. Photo: Alejandro Escamilla/Unsplash
One thing I do on my Mac more than anything else is write. On average I write about 10,000 words a week, and some weeks, I double that. And that isn’t even counting email and other kinds of communication. That’s why a great text editor app is imperative to my every day workflow. Without it, I couldn’t do my job.
No one who uses Apple products wants it to compromise the security of iOS by creating dangerous backdoors, but should it be working to find a safer solution that would provide the FBI with information when it’s needed?
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Androidand Cult of Mac as we battle it out over this hot topic — and be sure to weigh in at the end with your opinion!
John Sculley, photographed in 1990 when he was Apple CEO. Photo: Doug Menuez
John Sculley may be best known to a generation of Apple fans as the CEO who made the company choose between him and Steve Jobs. But he’s also a successful investor, mentor and entrepreneur — as well as the person who increased Apple’s sales from $800 million to $8 billion during his decade at the top.
In an interview with Cult of Mac, Sculley, who ran Apple from 1983 to 1993, tells why he doesn’t wear an Apple Watch, makes the case that AAPL stock is undervalued, explains how the Steve Jobs movie twisted facts, and talks about his new book Moonshot and the future of entrepreneurism.
Fluid Browser comes in handy for graphic design. And workplace distraction. Photo: George Tinari/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.
Three wants to banish bad ads. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of MacThree wants to banish bad ads. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
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.
SkyHub is offering easy, secure, capacious cloud storage for life. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals
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.
Ted Olson is one of the top legal minds in the country. Photo: Wikipedia Commons
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.
Facebook Messenger is getting ads. Photo: Facebook
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 just got a lot more powerful. Photo: Rogue Amoeba
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.
The wood on this case has an almost wax-line finish for scratch-resistance. Photo: Pad & Quill
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.
Find My iPhone may have just saved a life. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
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's China launch didn't go smoothly. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
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.