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iOS 9.3 will take the mystery out of Wi-Fi Assist

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Wi-Fi Assist may be chewing up your data.
In iOS 9.3, Wi-Fi Assist will give you more of a heads-up.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Apple is increasing transparency on its Wi-Fi Assist feature in iOS 9.3, which is currently available in public beta. And it’s not just doing it for your sake.

The occasionally controversial iPhone setting is getting a minor but potentially super-useful upgrade that will not only make it more user-friendly, but could also save the company a ton of money in legal costs.

How to play retro arcade games on your Apple TV

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Play classic arcade games right on your Apple TV.
Play classic arcade games right on your Apple TV.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Want to play your Mega Man 2 ROM on your new fourth-generation Apple TV? How about Super Mario Bros. 3?

It’s a ton of fun to play classic console arcade games, especially if you have a few ROMs lying around on your hard drive and would like to play them on the big screen.

Here’s how to get your new Apple TV all set up to rock some retro games.

Investors think Apple isn’t greening quickly enough

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Apple Campus 2 will be one of the 'greenest' buildings in Silicon Valley.
Apple Campus 2 will be one of the "greenest" buildings in Silicon Valley.
Photo: Apple

Apple is known as one of the most environmentally conscious companies in the world, but some shareholders think the company needs to to a lot more if it hopes to meet the aggressive goals set by the Paris Agreement last year.

Boston-based investment firm Jantz Management has filed a resolution for Apple shareholders that would request that the Board of Directors reveal on plan to shareholders by June 2016 on how Apple plans to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emission status for its facilities and major suppliers by 2030.

Betas for new iOS and OS X versions go public

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Now the public can try out the new betas, too.
Now the public can try out the new betas, too.
Photo: Apple

Now you can try out the latest and greatest operating systems for Apple products, thanks to public betas for iOS 9.3 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.4. Both are now available for testing — even if you don’t have a developer account.

You can grab both updates from Apple’s beta program website for free. Take note, however, that this is trial software — and updating could cause some apps and features on your iOS or Mac devices to go funky or stop working altogether. Use these at your own risk.

Recycle your old device — save the planet

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Stitched Panorama
There's no reason for your useless old electronics to befoul the planet.

If there’s one thing we know, it’s that technology is continually evolving. This is what we love about it. The excitement of the next Apple product, the newest TV or car. Innumerable websites keep up with rumors and changes, and companies show off their latest and greatest technology and electronics at countless conventions.

But there’s one big problem with this. What happens to our old stuff when we move on to the next thing?

Programmers: It’s time to tame Python

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Learn Python, one of today's most widely used programming languages.
Learn Python, one of today's most widely used programming languages.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you’re pursuing a career in coding, you’re going to have to reckon with Python, one of the most popular programming languages in use. A valuable addition to any resume, it’s a powerful and adaptable language composed of variables, loops, and statements. If that sounds like a foreign language to you that’s because it is, but that can change today if you jump on this bundle of Python lessons for just $29.

Trendy design awards proclaim Apple Watch Hermès ‘life enhancer of the year’

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Hermes Apple Watch bands are now available on their own.
This will enhance your life. Or so hipsters say.
Photo: Apple

Trendy lifestyle magazine Wallpaper* has named the Apple Watch Hermès as 2015’s “Life Enhancer of the Year” in its annual design awards.

The awards were judged by a panel including the architect David Adjaye, jewellery designer Delfina Delettrez, legendary ad man George Lois, Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne, and designers Patricia Urquiola and Konstantin Grcic. They appear in the magazine’s February 2016 issue.

Sorkin snubbed as Steve Jobs lands two Oscar nods

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Kate Winslet, middle, praises the portrayal of Steve Jobs by Michael Fassbender (right).
Kate Winslet, middle, and Michael Fassbender, right, received Oscar nominations for Steve Jobs.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Steve Jobs flopped at the box office and with Silicon Valley, but with two Oscar nominations the film continues a kind of redemption tour through the awards season.

Jobs actor Michael Fassbender was nominated for best actor and co-star Kate Winslet, who already won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of former Apple marketing chief Joanna Hoffman, received a supporting actress nomination.

Transforming Apple Watch strap is more than meets the eye

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How a future Apple Watch could attach to your fridge or MacBook.
Photo: USPTO/Apple

Apple has come out with some gorgeous bands for the Apple Watch, but if a patent application published today is to be believed, future Apple Watch straps may get a whole lot more useful.

Specifically, the patent application describes a magnetic band capable of folding, origami-style, into a standalone mini display, protective case, fridge-mounted magnet, or even an extra screen for your iMac.

Talk about robots in disguise!

iPhone 7 concept is a blast from Apple’s past

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Your next iPhone?
Photo: Arthur Reis

The iPhone 6s is only four months old, but Apple watchers already are looking to the future and imagining what delights the iPhone 7 may hold in store.

A new concept design created mixes the present iPhone 6s design with a curvaceous back piece straight out of the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3Gs era, complete with beautifully rounded edges. Check out a concept video below.

A9 chipmaker records highest earnings in its 29-year history

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chips
There's money in chips.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a.k.a. the world’s largest contract chip maker and one of Apple’s two suppliers for the present-gen A9 chip, has announced that its 2015 earnings were the highest in its 29-year history.

Contrasting with reports of developers said to be suffering the effects of weakened Apple orders, TSMC has thrived on the back of the iPhone 6 and 6s — with $9.15 billion in net profits this year alone, representing a 16.2 percent annual increase.

Samsung may spend $7.47 billion to be an even bigger part of iPhone 7

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The Apple brand is the big difference.
Friends forever?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 7 will be big business for Apple, but you know who else will be benefitting from it? That’s right: Apple’s long-time frenemy, Samsung.

Despite its own smartphone business running into problems, Samsung will reportedly play a massive part in iPhone 7 manufacturing. As well as the storage chips, RAM and processors Samsung already builds for Apple, a new report from Korea claims that Samsung Display is also Cupertino’s pick to supply Apple with flexible OLED panels for future iPhones.

And Samsung was willing to drop some serious coin to secure the contract.

Enthusiasm is cooling for Apple Watch (and what Apple can do about it)

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Apple Watch OS2 add a friend
Are people falling out of love with the Apple Watch?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch usage is dropping off as the novelty factors fades away, according to a new study. While Apple’s wearable has found a place in many owners’ gadget ecosystems, the device is still viewed as distinctly nonessential.

However, the new report includes a list of users’ desired features for Apple Watch 2 — and many of them are things Apple is supposedly working on already.

The Google interview process is harder (but less horrible) than Apple’s

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the-google-interview-process-is-harder-but-less-horrible-than-apples-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201601Job-Interview-photo-by-Ibrahim-Adabara-jpg
Job Interview photo by Ibrahim Adabara
The interview process is getting longer, but at least that gives you an extra day or two to decide what kind of tree you would be. Photo: Ibrahim Adabara/Pixabay

If you’re dreaming about being a software engineer at either Google or Apple, you should brace yourself for an ordeal.

A new report comparing the difficulty, experiences, and lengths of interview processes from a variety of tech companies says that a Google interview is the hardest one you can undertake. Apple did slightly better in that regard; it was the fourth toughest. But the data suggest that one of those two processes is considerably more pleasant.

Apple’s latest failure: advertising

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apple-iad-banner
Apple just isn't cut out for the business.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s six-year dabble into the world of advertising has come to an end. The company is reportedly surrendering its iAd program over entirely to publishers. That means publishers will get full control over the creation of ads, ad management and selling them. Apple apparently just doesn’t want anything to do with the ad business anymore.

Nancy Pelosi explains Apple Watch break at State of the Union

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Nancy Pelosi Apple Watch
To be fair, we looked at ours a few times, too. Those alerts really want our attention.
Photo: PBS NewsHour (via YouTube)

It seems that Nancy Pelosi had a bit of distraction during the President’s speech Tuesday.

During last night’s State of the Union, President Obama reflected on his time in office and outlined his hopes and visions for the country’s future. It was a conversational, grounded, and relatable address that covered the outgoing leader’s successes and even some regrets.

But at one point, cameras captured the former Speaker of the House tapping away on her wearable.

Clueless Jeb Bush just discovered his ‘Bat Phone’ (Apple Watch) makes calls

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Jeb Bush is amazed by his "Bat Phone."
Photo: Des Moines Register

Jeb Bush is a huge Apple Watch fan even though he knows how to use it about as much as he knows how to beat Donald Trump. The presidential hopeful is always incorrectly referring to the device as an “iWatch” — and apparently didn’t discover until today that it can make calls.

Bush received an untimely call during an interview Wednesday with The Des Moines Register’s editorial board, but had absolutely no idea where the talking voice was coming from. After reassuring reporters that his “watch can’t be talking,” Bush was politely informed that indeed it can.

“I’ve never had my Bat Phone turned on,” exclaims a befuddled Bush in the video. “That’s the coolest thing in the world.”

Watch the goofy incident below:

Google’s self-driving cars aren’t quite ready for the open road

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googles-self-driving-cars-arent-quite-ready-for-the-open-road-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201601Minority-report-driverless-cars-jpeg
Minority report self-driving cars
We may have to wait a bit longer for the Minority Report future of driverless cars.

As it stands now, self-driving cars may be more accident report than Minority Report.

In a disclosure to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the search-engine giant outlined specifics of its driverless-car testing from November 2014 to December 2015. Demo vehicles reportedly logged about 423,000 miles over that period. During that time, testers recorded over 300 “anomalies” that required them to take control from the vehicles, either through hardware malfunctions or on their own judgment.

The report suggests that we’re not quite as close to the fully autonomous future that science fiction and our amazing dreams have hoped.

How to use VLC to watch any video on Apple TV

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appletv
Apple TV's new app could give us the interface we've dreamed of.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

So you’ve got a fourth-generation Apple TV (the one with Siri Remote and all the apps) and you’ve just downloaded VLC, the “play everything” video app that was just ported to tvOS.

The last few versions of Apple TV haven’t included any storage for video files, and the same is true of the latest model: All the device’s storage is for apps and associated media files. Getting your own videos up on the big screen using VLC takes a little finesse.

Here’s how to watch any video (with a few caveats) on your Apple TV via VLC.

White House wants to jump-start self-driving cars

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Obama wants to give self-driving cars a boost.
Obama wants to give self-driving cars a boost.
Photo: Google

Pretty much every company in Silicon Valley is working on a self-driving car project, and if the Obama administration has its way, they may hit the road sooner than expected.

While Apple and Google are busy developing their visions for our future Autopia, the Obama administration plans to announce its effort to boost the development of self-driving cars on Thursday.

Voice-boosting TV speaker makes sure you never miss a word

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grace-digital-voice-enhanced-tv-speaker - 1
This TV speaker could Grace your living room or bedroom.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

Grace Digital’s Voice Enhanced TV Speaker promises to enhance the sound of your television and potentially give it a volume boost. The sound was engineered with voices in mind because, more than anything when watching TV, dialogue is what you need to hear. As a bonus, a Bluetooth connection lets the speaker work with any Bluetooth-enabled computer or smartphone.

I hooked up Grace Digital’s Voice Enhanced TV Speaker to my television and gave it a whirl.