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How Aaron Sorkin’s interview with Lisa changed Steve Jobs

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Michael Fassbender is Steve Jobs.
Michael Fassbender is Steve Jobs.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Steve Jobs’ relationship with his first daughter, Lisa, plays a major role in the upcoming Steve Jobs movie, but according to screen writer Aaron Sorkin, that wouldn’t have been the case had he not scored a key interview even Walter Isaacson never got.

Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Steve’s first daughter, spent some time with Aaron Sorkin before he wrote the script for the upcoming film, and according to Sorkin, it completely changed what he was looking for in the movie.

Bypass all those pesky location restrictions with one simple app [Deals]

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Getflix lives up to its name, bypassing content location restrictions anywhere in the world.
Getflix lives up to its name, bypassing content location restrictions anywhere in the world.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

When shelling out for access to services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, you’re not banking on being barred from access just because you take a trip out of the country. Getflix is a service to make sure that never happens, and right now you can get a lifetime subscription for just $39.

Fantastical 2.5 brings goodies for iOS 9 and iPhone 6s users

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fantastical-ipad-slide-over
Okay, don't spend too much time multitasking. You have Cult of Mac reading to catch up on.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

Flexibits updated its popular Fantastical apps for iPhone and iPad this morning to take advantage of a number of new features in iOS 9 and on the iPhone 6s. Arguably the biggest improvement to productivity comes in the form of multitasking support for the iPad. Fantastical also threw in a dash of the new iPhone’s 3D Touch as well.

Jeremy Martin vying to be iPad artist of the stars

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Steve Jobs, creator of the iPad and created on the iPad.
Steve Jobs, creator of the iPad and created on the iPad.
Portrait: Jeremy Martin

Pope Francis and Miley Cyrus have little in common. One is a spiritual leader who displays awe-inspiring compassion and the other is a hyper-sexualized pop singer who loves to display her tongue.

Each carry the weight of celebrity and thus share space in a growing gallery of portraits by New York artist Jeremy Martin, whose medium of choice happens to be an iPad.

How to nest folders in iOS 9

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Nest your folders inside other folders with this iOS 9 trick.
Nest your folders inside other folders with this iOS 9 trick.
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

I’m not sure why iOS doesn’t officially support nested folders, despite the fact that people have been clamoring for them for years.

Needless to say, dropping a folder inside another folder is still a no-no in iOS 9.0.2 … unless you use this easy trick to nest your folders inside each other.

You won’t be Russian to buy this $3,000+ Putin edition iPhone 6s

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Caviar Putin iPhone
Imagine Putin this in your pocket.
Photo: Caviar

Apple sold 13 million iPhone 6s handsets in its opening weekend, but you probably won’t be Russian rushing to buy this “anniversary” iPhone 6s featuring the gold visage of Russia’s glorious leader, Vladimir Putin.

Created by Russian jewelry company Caviar, the limited edition custom iPhone will help you show those decadent capitalist pig-dogs in the West who’s boss thanks to a titanium finish, gold recreation of Putin’s chiselled face, velvet wooden collector’s box, and “free” car charger.

And all for the low, low price of $3,193.

3D Touch is coming to Android next

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3d-touch-is-coming-to-android-next-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510synaptics-png
3D Touch is coming to Android next. Photo: Synaptics
3D Touch is coming to Android next. Photo: Synaptics

With the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple has added an entirely new dimension to their touchscreens with the addition of 3D Touch, a new technology that lets you interact with touchscreen elements differently depending on how much pressure you use.

So how long until Android catches up? Not long, it looks like. Synaptics has just announced they’re coming up with a new touch controller that will give Android users their own version of 3D Touch.

Apple is ‘its own worst enemy,’ says antitrust monitor

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Apple can't ditch its ebook compliance monitor.
Is Apple finally free of Michael Bromwich?
Photo: Apple

In what is likely to be his final assessment to U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, controversial antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich admitted that Apple is doing well when it comes to antirust compliance — but decided to take a few parting shots at the company anyway.

“Apple has been its own worst enemy,” Bromwich said. “[Its] lack of cooperation has cast an unnecessary shadow over meaningful progress in developing a comprehensive and effective antitrust compliance program.”

Despite the fact that its compliance is “substantially stronger” than it was previously, that is!

John Sculley says Steve Jobs movie is ‘extraordinary’

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1984 --- Steve Jobs and John Sculley --- Image by Ed Kashi/CORBIS
Steve Jobs and John Sculley in 1984.
Photo: Ed Kashi/CORBIS

Former Apple CEO John Sculley says the new Steve Jobs movie is “extraordinary entertainment,” and thinks it will be “every bit as successful” as Aaron Sorkin’s previous Silicon Valley biopic The Social Network.

Like Andy Herzfeld, however, Sculley notes that the movie is not always accurate and that there, “was a lot of creative license taken.”

Apple TV dominates streaming, but it makes people sad

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Apple TV 4 brings iOS apps to the big screen.
We're getting really mixed signals here, Apple TV.
Photo: Apple

A new study puts Apple TV at the top of the streaming-box charts, but it’s faring less well in public perception on social media.

Adobe draws data for its quarterly survey, Digital Video Benchmark, from hundreds of apps and billions of online views. And the second chunk of 2015 had some surprises.

European court rules Apple and other tech companies are violating privacy

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The European Court of Justice just handed down a disruptive ruling.
The European Court of Justice just handed down a disruptive ruling.
Photo: Cédric Puisney/FlickrCC

In a landmark decision Tuesday, the European Court of Justice ruled that European Union regulators can override the Safe Harbor agreement, a 15-year-old accord that has — until now — allowed Apple, Google, Facebook, and about 4,500 other U.S. companies to transfer data from European users to the U.S.

The court believes that the current agreement violates European citizens’ right to privacy by exposing their private data to the U.S. government through the American companies’ cooperation with U.S. intelligence agencies.

iPad Pro meets the mouse during Disney test drive

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Animators are raving about the iPad Pro.
Animators are raving about the iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

Apple gave Disney’s animators an early look at the iPad Pro with its accompanying pressure-sensitive Apple Pencil, and based on to the teams initial reactions, they’re in love.

“Let’s order a bunch,” said Disney Product Manager Paul Hildebrandt at the end of his brief hands-on with the iPad Pro. Disney’s artists got a preview of the iPad Pro’s drawing capabilities with apps like Pro Create and FiftyThree’s Pencil app that are both optimized for the iPad Pro, and they’re raving about the device’s sensitivity and palm rejection technology.

Check out some of the sketches Disney’s artists created during the demo:

Japanese helper-bot is as adorable as it is ridiculous

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This guy has traded in his smartphone for a RoBoHon.
This guy has traded in his smartphone for a RoBoHon.
Photo: Sharp/YouTube

Now if Cupertino really wanted to make Siri something special, they would give her a head, arms and legs, and make her dance when she plays music.

Sharp Electronics has either jumped ahead of Apple or jumped the shark tank with an animated robotic smartphone called RoBoHon. It does everything your current smartphone does but with moving appendages, an adorable, futuristic face and a sweet voice to make it a very personable sidekick.

Tiny gizmo will make you less of a loser

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The O wearable and app
The O wants to make sure you never forget your unicorn again.
Photo: The O

A new gadget hopes to help you keep tabs on your important items before you lose them.

The O is a small, electronic tracker that pairs with an app on your iPhone. You place it on (or attach it to) something you don’t want to leave behind, and you’ll get alerts if you do. It’s kind of the same “You forgot your phone” feature that we were hoping to get out of the Apple Watch when it strays out of range of its paired handset, but these little pucks are cool, too.

How to pin Safari tabs in El Capitan

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Keep your important tabs active in the background for easy access.
Keep your important tabs active in the background for easy access.
Screen: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Let’s be honest: there are a handful of sites that you visit a lot, open in tabs in Safari.

If you want to keep these tabs ready to go in every Safari window you open, even after you’ve quit Safari and re-launched it, you can use El Capitan’s new tab pinning feature to keep pages “open, up to date, and easily accessible.”

The sites you pin will stay active in the background, pinned to the left side of your tab bar. Here’s how to create (and get rid of) pinned tabs in Safari.

Creators rejoice: This subscription offers unlimited access to world-class video elements

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VideoBlocks is a subscription service that offers unlimited access to top-quality video elements, animated backgrounds and Adobe After Effects templates.
VideoBlocks is a subscription service that offers unlimited access to top-quality video elements, animated backgrounds and Adobe After Effects templates.
Photo: VideoBlocks

This post is brought to you by VideoBlocks.

High-definition video is increasingly fundamental to all sorts of online content, and it’s an ever-more-critical part of any design project. Unless you’re a pro videographer in addition to being a digital creator, you’ll have to get your footage from an agency or stock video site, often a pricey proposition for quality visuals.

How Microsoft’s ambitious new Lumia 950 phones compare to rivals

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Windows 10 Mobile
Windows phones could be about to make a comeback.
Photo: Microsoft
Could you fall in love with a Lumia? Photo: Microsoft
Could you fall in love with a Lumia? Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s new Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL have arrived, with high-end specifications, iris recognition technology, and the latest Windows 10 software. But do they have what it takes to persuade you to give up Android or iOS?

Find out in our in-depth comparison below.

Chill, haters — Sorkin says you might like his Steve Jobs flick

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Michael Fassbender is Steve Jobs.
Michael Fassbender is Steve Jobs.
Photo: Universal Pictures

Laurene Powell Jobs and Tim Cook have slammed Aaron Sorkins’ upcoming biopic on Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, but according to the Sorkin, they actually might like it, if they ever go see it.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has opposed the film by calling out “opportunistic” filmmakers like Sorkin for making movies about Jobs, while Steve’s widow tried to kill the movie starring Michael Fassbender. At a press screening in New York City on Monday, Sorkin addressed their concerns, saying it might surprise them.

HoloLens will transforms your living room into a robot battle ground

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HoloLens gaming is going to be insane.
HoloLens gaming is going to be insane.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft gave fans a glimpse of the future of gaming on HoloLens today with a demo of a new game under development called Project X Ray that lets you fight alien robots in your living room.

It’s kind of like the X-Men’s Danger Room, projecting holographic bad guys all over your walls, couch, and ceiling while you fight them off with a holographic laser-blasting gauntlet. It looks absolutely insane, and best of all it’s tether free: no wires, no cords, no connection to a PC required.