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Apple embraces fashion world by sponsoring 2016 Met Gala

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Jony Ive
Jony Ive sure loves his fashion.
Photo: Apple

Apple is taking its next step into the fashion world by sponsoring the 2016 Met Gala, the annual star-studded event held in New York to benefit the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute.

The theme of next year’s event — set to take place on May 2 — is “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Jony Ive will represent Apple as co-chair of the event, alongside other luminaries including Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and Anna Wintour.

Pocket Keyboard unfolds into traveling text machine

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Plunk the Zagg Pocket Keyboard in your backpack for typing on the go.
Plunk the Zagg Pocket Keyboard in your backpack for typing on the go.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Best List: Zagg Pocket Keyboard

The Zagg Pocket Keyboard is for anyone desperate to carry the bare minimum. Well, the bare minimum would be to skip the keyboard altogether, but if you are looking for the convenience of an external keyboard without the hassle of carrying one, look no further.

That time already? Pangu drops iOS 9 jailbreak

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Pangu
Ready to break out of jail?
Photo: Pangu

Just weeks after iOS 9’s launch, Chinese jailbreak team Pangu has released the world’s first untethered jailbreak for Apple’s new mobile operating system.

The jailbreak, which covers iOS 9 through iOS 9.0.2 for all compatible Apple devices, is available for free, although OS X users will have to wait since there’s only a Windows installer available.

Apple faces $862 million fine for infringing university’s patent

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple faces a heavy fine.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple may face $862 million in damages for allegedly infringing on a patent owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s patent-licensing wing, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The Apple technologies that take advantage of said patent for increased processor efficiency? None other than the A7, A8 and A8X chips, which are found in the iPhone 5s, 6 and 6 Plus handsets, as well as several iPad models.

Uh-oh.

Photos capture just how much our phones disconnect us

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Quick – how often do you check your iPhone when you’re around other people? When you’re out dining? At home on the couch, maybe watching TV? At the bar? At parties?

If you’re anything like the rest of us, the answer is somewhere between “often” and “far too often.”

Photographer Eric Pickersgill noticed this phenomenon while sitting at a cafe one morning and decided to make some art about it. He calls the project Removed.

Coolmuster Android Assistant gives Android users total control over their devices’ data

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Coolmuster Android Assistant makes it easy to manage your Android smartphone.

This post is brought to you by Coolmuster.

There’s no sense pretending some of us iOS and Mac enthusiasts don’t dabble in the world of Android. Whether using phones, tablets or other mobile devices, we’ve come to rely on all our gadgets communicating reliably with one another, but when using both Apple and Android gear that isn’t always guaranteed.

Luckily, there’s a fix: Coolmuster Android Assistant, which will keep your Android devices working in harmony with your PC or Mac.

How to turn off El Capitan’s ‘shake to find’ mouse cursor feature

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This feature might bother you - might as well disable it.
This feature might bother you - might as well disable it.
Photo: Apple

When I lose track of my mouse cursor, I’ve always just wiggled it a bit to find it on the screen. It’s a natural gesture, and Apple’s capitalized on it with its new “shake to find” feature in El Capitan.

If you’re constantly shaking your mouse or swiping quickly on your mousepad, maybe while gaming or editing, the new feature might bug you.

Here’s how to turn it off (and turn it back on again if you want to).

iPhone 6s Plus somehow batters Galaxy Note 5 in real-world speed test

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On your marks, get set, go! Photo: PhoneBuff
On your marks, get set, go! Photo: PhoneBuff

When it comes to specifications, Apple’s latest iPhones look like they’re lagging far behind their Android-powered rivals. But thanks to super-efficient software, they’re not as slow and as outdated as they might look on paper.

This is demonstrated in the real-world speed test below, in which the iPhone 6s Plus somehow batters a Galaxy Note 5.

10 insane details about Apple’s new iMacs and Magic peripherals

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Apple has some Magical new peripherals.
Apple has some Magical new peripherals.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s new Magic Mouse 2 has some new tricks up its sleeve, but according to a behind-the-scenes look into Apple’s Input Design Lab, perfecting the new eco-friendly mouse with a gliding sound that was just right wasn’t as easy as a click.

The top-secret laboratory where Apple designs its Macintosh accessories opened its doors before today’s product launches, revealing all the insane details Cupertino’s hardware wizards obsessed over in the new iMac, Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Keyboard.

Everything from the chemicals used in the smaller iMac’s new 4K displays to the size of the keys on the new keyboard got mercilessly scrutinized.

DIY masks could make you a haunting Halloween hit

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Wintercroft Design will send you a template for you to construct your own Halloween mask.
Wintercroft Design will send you a template for you to construct your own Halloween mask.
Photo: Wintercroft Design

So a good Halloween costume idea is not coming to you. Steve and Marianne Wintercroft can get you started with an alluring mask.

The British design couple has made a company out of designing masks that the buyers build themselves. For a few bucks, you can download a template of a polygon constructed animal head that you print, cut and assemble.

Google records your voice searches — and you can hear them all

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Ok Google is listening... and recording. Photo: Google
Ok Google is listening… and recording. Photo: Google

Google is incredibly accurate at understanding voice searches, which makes it super useful on mobile when you might want to find information without using your hands. But did you know that the company records every single voice search you make?

What’s more, you can listen back to each and every one.

Some great ways to keep your cords in one place and in one piece [Deals]

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This magnetic organizer keeps all your cords, chargers, and other wired things in one tidy place.
This magnetic organizer keeps all your cords, chargers, and other wired things in one tidy place.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The more time goes by, the more cables we get for new devices or to replace broken ones, and the messier our desks get. We’ve gathered some of the best solutions for keeping your wired things well under control and in working order, like the MOS Cable Organizer. It’s a magnetic hub for keeping your headphones, charging cords, flash drives, and any other necessary connectors off the floor and within reach. It’s just $11.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

End storage nightmares by creating your own cloud

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The Helixee is a hard drive that, with an app, can give you cloud-like functions for storage and access from any device.
The Helixee is a hard drive that, with an app, can give you cloud-like functions for storage and access from any device.
Photo: novathings

One click and your digital life gets stored in the Cloud. Where or what that is exactly is a mystery to most of us. Two startup companies are producing products aimed at the segment of the computing population that doesn’t want to save pictures, videos and documents to large cloud-based servers.

These products let you create your own cloud to store the personal stuff.

Apple showcases how far iMac has come since 1998

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Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 15.51.57
1998 vs. 2015. No surprises about the winner in this one.
Photo: Apple

To coincide with today’s brand new Retina iMacs release, Apple has launched a superb new mini-site comparing the latest Mac desktop with the 1998-era iMac G3.

The first major release under Steve Jobs upon his return to Apple, the original iMac was also the computer which introduced Jony Ive as a creative force at Apple, as well as the machine that announced that Apple was on the comeback trail.

Needless to say, Moore’s Law and an extra 17 years of innovation means that the current iMac is on a totally different plain to Jobs’ comeback computer.

Check out some of the astonishing stats below.

Apple introduces new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Trackpad 2

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Round of applause for Apple, please.
Photo: Apple

Alongside stunning new 21.5- and 27-inch Retina iMacs, Apple’s other big announcement of the day relates to the release of an all-new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, and Magic Trackpad 2.

These gorgeous new devices have been completely redesigned to feel more comfortable than ever, while also featuring fully rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, giving them around one month of charge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 to rip off the iPhone 6s’ 3D Touch

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The next Galaxy is going to be even better. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
The next Galaxy is going to be even better. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

The pressure-sensitive displays packed into Apple’s latest iPhones give them a unique advantage over their rivals, but not for long.

Samsung is already working to put a pressure-sensitive screen of its own into next year’s Galaxy S7, new reports claim.

Apple releases ‘stunning’ new 4K and 5K iMacs

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Apple's iMacs just got even sweeter.
Photo: Apple

Apple today revealed its refreshed line of iMacs, including a brand new 21.5-inch 4K Retina iMac and 27-inch 5K Retina model.

The smaller iMac now matches the pixel density of the larger 5K iMac, giving it 4.5 times the resolution of Full HD. The 27-inch iMac, meanwhile, boasts Retina 5K displays across the board, whereas previously they were available only for the $2,499 flagship iMac.

The 21.5-inch 4K iMac starts at $1,499, while the 27-inch version starts at $1,799.

Apple Watch is ‘phenomenal’ but not a threat, says TAG Heuer CEO

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TAG Heuer teases its new Android-powered smartwatch.
Photo: TAG Heuer
TAG Heuer teases its new Android-powered smartwatch.
TAG Heuer teases its new Android-powered smartwatch.

Swiss watchmakers have been tripping over themselves to dismiss the Apple Watch as a threat, but TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver has come out with what I think is one of the fairer assessments of Apple’s debut wearable device to date.

His take? That the Apple Watch is hella bad news if you’re a low-priced watchmaker, but probably okay if you’re making timepieces over the $2,000 mark.

Apple finally working to bring Touch ID to MacBooks

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Yep, that would work.
Yep, that would work.
Photo: USPTO/Apple

Apple may finally be ready to introduce its Touch ID fingerprint sensor to the MacBook — more than two years after it made its first appearance on the iPhone.

A new patent published today describes “Finger sensing apparatus using hybrid matching and associated methods,” and depicts an embedded Touch ID sensor on a future MacBook, although it also leaves to the door open for the same technology to be featured on an iMac keyboard.

Woz talked to Steve Jobs about returning to Apple in 2011

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Steve Wozniak. Photo:
Could Woz have made an Apple return? Not if he had anything to say about it.
Photo: HigherEdWeb/Flickr CC

Steve Jobs raised the possibility of Steve Wozniak returning to Apple in conversation that took place during Jobs’ final days in 2011, according to a new interview.

The insight comes from a Bloomberg interview with Woz talking about the new Steve Jobs movie, which opened on limited release last weekend.

Free at last! Apple finally ditches controversial antitrust monitor

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Apple can't ditch its ebook compliance monitor.
Apple has finally parted ways with Michael Bromwich.
Photo: Apple

Apple has finally ditched its controversial antitrust monitor Michael Bromwich after two years of what Apple acknowledges has been a “rocky relationship.”

Bromwich was first installed in Cupertino back in October 2013, after Apple was found to have illegally colluded with five book publishers to raise e-book prices in a way that was deemed to have hurt Apple’s competition.

Watch out, Slack and Google Docs: Pingpad might be the next big thing

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The desktop view of Pingpad.
The desktop view of Pingpad.
Photo: Pingpad

There are greats apps for groups to complete tasks and great apps for group communication. In Pingpad, the group has a single app that allows for both.

Pingpad is a stew of many different first generation apps for notes, lists, calendars and instant messaging. In one space, a group can work across platforms on documents, chat back and forth and post pertinent links all in real time. Think Google Docs meets Whatsapp.