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The secret messaging app getting millions of downloads

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SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
SOMA Messenger is gaining popularity around the world for free and secure communication.
Photo: Instanza Inc.

Harvard classmates Lei Guo and Oliver Hayen created what could have been just another messaging app. They knew they had something unique, as every app development team claims, so they put it in the hands of 2,000 people and hit launch.

Within 30 days, their app SOMA Messenger had 10 million users and has been growing since. They’d love to brag about who is using it, except they can’t because of security measures built into the app that prevents even them from knowing SOMA’s users.

These comprehensive coding lessons are priced to move [Deals]

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Become a master of a wide range of coding techniques and languages with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Become a master of a wide range of coding techniques and languages with this massively discounted lesson bundle.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

This doorbuster of a deal will give you a wide range of essential coding knowledge that can pay for itself by pumping up your resume. With 8 Courses and over 74 hours of training, you can gain the major coding languages and skills that you’ve been waiting to learn. This body of knowledge normally runs for over $1,000, but right now you can get the whole shebang for $59.

Use the coupon code ‘DOORBUSTER’ at checkout to save an extra 15%.

Slowing handset sales triggers Samsung firing spree

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slowing-handset-sales-triggers-samsung-firing-spree-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201506apple-samsung-iphone-galaxy-patent-war1-jpg
When it comes to profits Apple's definitely on top right now.
Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC
apple-samsung-iphone-galaxy-patent-war
Apple’s definitely on top right now. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC

You know the way that Apple’s heroically struggling to build a new “spaceship” HQ capable of housing its army of brilliant worker ants who design the iPhone? Well, Samsung has an easier solution for its phone division: just fire a load of people.

New statistics published courtesy of Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service underline the degree to which Samsung’s smartphone business is struggling — with 5,000 employees booted out of the door over the past year, while 30 percent of execs are expected to follow them in the next month.

iFixIt: This Android phone beats the iPhone when it comes to repairability

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Apple’s computers and devices may be at the top of the review charts, but one way in which they almost never do very well is in iFixit’s repairability ratings. With hard-to-crack cases held together by copious amounts of solder and glue, it’s practically impossible to repair your own iPhone, iPad, or Mac by yourself. Apple routinely gets ranks of 1, 2, or 3 on iFixit’s “Out of 10” repairability scale.

But smartphones don’t need to be unrepairable. iFixIt just gave a smartphone a perfect 10 on its repairability scale. And surprise! It’s an Android device.

Apple forces you to buy only approved Apple Watch wireless chargers

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Want to do this? It'll cost you.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s official charging pad may be a not-too-cheap $79, but if you want to wirelessly charge your smartwatch, Apple’s not leaving you a whole lot of options.

That’s because, despite the wide range of Qi chargers around, Apple has made it so that its watch will only work with a select few which have received the Cupertino stamp of approval.

Apple’s spaceship campus is big enough to hold Disneyland

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Well, they're both working to build Tomorrowland.
Photo: Disney

Boasting a 100,000-square-foot fitness center, 11,000 parking spaces, 2,000 bike parking spaces, 2.8 million square feet of office space, and a 100,000-square-foot lab thrown in for good measure, Apple’s “spaceship” Campus 2 is pretty darned massive.

Struggling to wrap your head around that? Then consider that it’s big enough to house pretty much the entirety of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. And we’ve got the (mocked-up) photos to prove it.

Jimmy Iovine apologizes for sexist comments about Apple Music

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Apple's Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine sit in Walt Mossberg's famous red chairs to dish on Apple's Beats acquisition.
Jimmy Iovine is in damage control mode.
Photo: Pete Mall/Re/code

Like an over-the-air update to fix a faulty piece of software, Apple sprang into action following Jimmy Iovine’s Thursday interview with CBS This Morning — with Iovine apologizing for his sexist comments about women’s inability to find music because… you know, women.

“I could have chosen my words better,” the Apple Music boss, Beats guru and Interscope Records co-founder said in a statement.

Jimmy Iovine explains Apple Music ads in worst way possible

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Iovine
Jimmy Iovine’s days at Apple are numbered.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music head Jimmy Iovine has won today’s “Yes, they really said that” award after an appearance on CBS This Morning.

Iovine was there talking up the latest ad for Apple Music, which features singer Mary J. Blige, actress Kerry Washington, and singer/actress Taraji P. Henson just kinda hanging out with knives and salsa dancing. This one follows the also-great original spot from September, but Iovine didn’t necessarily explain the origin of the woman-centric campaign (Selma director Ava DuVernay helmed both of them) as well as he could have.

Explore the galaxy, gather supplies, and don’t die in gorgeous new mobile game

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Last Horizon 01
Earth ain't the kind of place to raise your kids in Last Horizon.
Photo: Pixeljam

Last Horizon, which is out now for Mac, iOS (reviewed version), PC, and Android is a beautifully simple game: You leave your obliterated planet in a single rocket, heading out for a new home and gathering supplies along the way. It has two controls: turning and firing your thrusters. But it’s a lot more than that.

From that simple framework and its colorful, minimalist art style, a story emerges of hope, exploration, danger, fear, doubt, and, ultimately, triumph.

But it’s outer space, so you have to make sure that the thousands of things that will kill you don’t.

Budget-friendly smartbulb wants everyone to have cool lights

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Qube Smartbulb
The Qube Smartbulb is taking on more expensive lighting like Philips Hue.
Photo: Qube

I love my Philips Hue smart-lighting kit, but every time I’ve just randomly turned my living-room lights different colors in front of another person, they’ve asked the same question:

“How much did you pay for this?”

And then I just kind of mumble something because while the system has added convenience and versatility to my apartment, I’m still not super comfortable admitting that I plan on paying $60 for a light bulb. Instead, I just say, “It was for work,” and leave it.

But Qube, a new smart-lighting system that launches in April, wants to avoid that kind of awkwardness with bulbs that cost way less than its competitors but offer just as many opportunities for just the weirdest ambience you can design.

Transform your regular desk into a healthier standing one with this sturdy add-on

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Testing in a the real world is always best.
Testing in a the real world is always best.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Best List: Sit-Stand Desktop Workstation by Ergotron

I’ve got a love/hate relationship with standing desks. While I love the health benefits of standing, I seriously cannot stand at my desk all day every day. It needs to be easily adjustable.

Also, not all of us have the space for yet another desk in our homes or offices. Most of us have a regular, plain old desk. If you’re looking for a standing solution – you can convert that plain desk super easily with this Sit-Stand Desktop Workstation. It’s a heavy-duty, solid piece of work, and it sits right on top your regular desk. There’s room to strap on a monitor or two, or even just place your Macbook on top with an external keyboard and mouse below.

This Amazon Hack Will Make Online Shopping So Much Easier

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Amazon

Photo: Torley/Flickr CC

Let’s face it: Online shopping is amazing. Given the choice of shopping from home while relaxing in their PJs or fighting crowds and dodging overbearing salespeople, we bet most people will choose to shop online.

But shopping online has some drawbacks as well. Mainly, those drawbacks come in the form of having to sift through multiple colors and sizes of clothes and shoes to find the perfect piece at the perfect price. When prices vary depending on the size and color combination that you select, it can be difficult to assess an item at a glance.

Goodbye! Adele’s new album won’t debut on Apple Music after all

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Adele won't say
Adele won't say "Hello" to Apple Music.

Spotify and Apple Music subscribers won’t be able to stream Adele’s highly anticipated album “25” when it is publicly released tomorrow.

The album is sure to be one of the biggest sellers of the year, but according to a report from the New York Times, Adele’s people have informed companies that “25” will not be made available for streaming.

Got the sniffles? Uber is delivering flu-shots on demand

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House calls are making a comeback.
House calls are making a comeback.
Photo: Uber

Winter is here, which also means flu season is getting ready to knock you out. Finding time to get immunized may not be on the top of your To Do List, but Uber is making it ridiculously easy to get your flu shot with it’s new UberHealth option that will bring a registered nurse to your front door.

The special promotion is only in effect today from 11AM – 3PM, with over 35 cities participating. Uber will deliver wellness packs for $10, and give users the option to request a free Fluzone vaccine for you and nine other people.

Here’s how it works:

You won’t have to remove your iPhone case to use these lenses

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The Iris lens series uses a mount that does not require you to remove your smartphone case.
The Iris lens series uses a mount that does not require you to remove your smartphone case.
Photo: Photojojo

Lens attachments for your iPhone can bring a fresh point of view to your photos but there are drawbacks. Some force you to remove the phone’s protective case to properly fit the lens. Others require a sticky mounting plate.

The mount for the Iris lenses by Photojojo looks like a little girl’s ponytail holder with a silicon housing holding one of three pop-in lenses that is attached to an elastic cord stretching and securing snuggly to diagonal corners of your iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.

Make Black Friday an occasion to get your Mac organized with this Mac app bundle [Deals]

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This massive bundle of deals can organize anyone's digital life in time for the holidays.
This massive bundle of deals can organize anyone's digital life in time for the holidays.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Instead of standing in line after Thanksgiving, get your productivity in line with these massively discounted apps for organizing any Mac. Everything from tuning your hard drive to editing PDFs and creating mixtapes and animations, if you work on a computer there’s something you can use, all for just $39.99.

Don’t even think about trying to repair your Apple Pencil

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You won't be easily taking your Apple Pencil apart and reassembling it.
Photo: iFixit

The Apple Pencil stylus accessory was one of the most-praised parts of the newly-launched iPad Pro — which, naturally, means that our friends at iFixit were tripping over one another to pull it apart and scoop through its gory innards like geeky zombies with a taste for tech components.

Here’s what they discovered in their customary teardown.

Jony Ive was right — Swiss watchmakers are dying

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Do Swiss watchmakers wake up sweating at the sight of the Apple Watch?
Photo: Apple

Jony Ive memorably (allegedly) described Swiss watchmakers as “f**ked” due to the then-impending launch of the launch of the Apple Watch, and one year later — like some kind of creepy, well-dressed soothsayer in an Apple-centric episode of The Twilight Zone — it seems he may have been correct.

Swiss watch exports suffered their biggest decline in six years in October, with sales dropping 12 percent to $2 billion. Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux in Zurich, describes 2015 as a year “to forget” for watchmakers.

Unless their name is Apple, of course.

Top 12 Black Friday ads (so far): Amazing TVs, smartphones, iPads and more

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iPad Air 3 will be the smartest iPad yet.
iPad Air 3 will be the smartest iPad yet.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Black Friday is inching closer and we’ve got plenty of ads to whet our appetite for savings. We’ve done our initial inspection, and we’re ready to present our first look at the best Black Friday ads. Here you’ll find all our favorite ads in one convenient place, from crazy-cheap TVs to Apple items galore.

Got an opinion on which ads are the best? After reviewing the list below, click here to vote in our poll about which doorbuster is top dog for 2015!

Talk show host explains why it pays to be pals with Jony Ive

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Ive
It pays to be nice to this man, apparently.
Photo: Apple

Popular U.K. talk show host Jonathan Ross (possibly best known to U.S. readers as the husband of Kick-Ass screenwriter Jane Goldman) recently gave an interview about technology as part of the IAB Digital Upfronts 2015 conference.

In addition to touching on Apple Watch and a variety of other tech topics, the most interesting anecdote came when “Wossy” talked about getting on the Apple free products guest list — including receiving an iPod shuffle months before it was publicly available.

How? Apparently it pays to be nice to students. Particularly if one of them turns out to be the future Sir Jony Ive.

Mini shock-absorbers could save your next iPhone from a nasty drop

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Apple doesn't want this happening to your future iPhones.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple’s always on the lookout for ways to improve the resiliency of its devices. For this reason, the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office today published a new patent application from the company — calling for retractable drop-proof bumpers to be built into future iPhone housing, capable of doubling as a flotation device in case your handset accidentally lands in water.