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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.

Microsoft hails its Surface Book as ‘the ultimate laptop’

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microsoft-hails-it-surface-book-as-the-ultimate-laptop-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510CQpPhuBUsAArVOE-large-png
Microsoft's first ever laptop is... actually kind of awesome.
Photo: Microsoft
A welcome surprise. Photo: Microsoft
A welcome surprise. Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft had a surprise up its Windows-loving sleeve today in the form of a new Surface laptop called the Surface Book, the first laptop in history to be built by the company.

Hailed as the, “thinnest, most powerful PC ever created,” the distinctive-looking Surface Book weighs just 1.6 lbs, is 7.7 mm thick, and boasts a 13.5-inch detachable display with 267ppi.

Surface Pro 4 wants to kill iPad Pro and MacBook Air in one go

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surface-pro-4-wants-to-kill-the-ipad-pro-and-macbook-air-in-one-go-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510CQpJc9oVAAAB6Zy-large-png
Has Microsoft found itself a winner?
Photo: Microsoft
Photo: Microsoft
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s not taking the threat of the iPad Pro lying down. During today’s keynote event, the company called its brand new 12.3-inch Surface Pro 4 “the most productive device on the planet.”

“We have competitors. You may have noticed,” said Microsoft hardware guru Panos Panay as he introduced the tablet. “They’re chasing it, it’s pretty cool.”

The Surface Pro 4 doesn’t look bad, either.

With ‘go-go’ in the name, wireless chargers bring quick juice to your iPhone

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The PowerGo-Go magnetic charging starts with a bumper case that connects to a cable or charging cradle.
The PowerGo-Go magnetic charging starts with a bumper case that connects to a cable or charging cradle.
Photo: PowerGo-Go

The more your iPhone does, the more it draws from the battery – and that means more time spent hunting for an outlet to recharge.

Batteries will get better one day soon, but until then PowerGo-Go has a line of wireless solutions for the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 6s models to charge, as the name suggests, on the go-go.

The perfect starter kit for anyone wanting to get a taste of Raspberry Pi 2 [Deals]

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CompleteRaspberryPiStarterKit

Raspberry Pi is the super popular do-it-all DIY computer for the techno-curious tinkerer in all of us. Countless people have made video games, entertainment centers, security systems, automatic dog-feeders — if you can use a computer to do it, it’s been done with a Raspberry Pi. This starter kit is the perfect opportunity to get in on the fun, with the latest version of Pi hardware, a full array of accessories and peripherals, and instructions on all the tools, techniques and languages you’ll need to realize your Pi project. All that usually goes for more than $800, but right now you can get it for just $115 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Never-before-seen Steve Jobs video shows CEO’s softer side

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What was it really like to work for Steve Jobs?
What was it really like to work for Steve Jobs?
Photo: Jigsaw Productions

Steve Jobs had a reputation for being a bit of a tyrant in the workplace, but a new video released by Apple on the 4th anniversary of the Apple co-founder’s death gives fans a closer look at Steve’s softer side.

The never-before-seen video was sent to Apple employees yesterday and obtained by ABC. It shows the former CEO talking about everything from his management strategy (based on the Beatles) to why he wears ripped jeans.

Watch it below:

Microsoft’s new Lumia phones boast facial recognition, liquid cooling

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microsofts-new-lumia-phones-boast-facial-recognition-liquid-cooling-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201510Lumia-950-and-XL-png
Microsoft's new flagships have finally arrived. Photo: Microsoft
Microsoft’s new flagships have finally arrived. Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft hopes to tempt you away from Android and iOS with a pair of flagship smartphones that boast built-in facial recognition and liquid cooling.

The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL scan your eyes instead of your fingerprints for lightning-fast unlocking, and they’re the first smartphones on the market powered by Windows 10.

Scrap that bulky tripod for easy-to-use Pakpod

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The Pakpod quickly adjusts to any level with the turn of one knob.
The Pakpod quickly adjusts to any level with the turn of one knob.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Two things about me as a photographer: I hate tripods and I will never tell another photographer what they must carry with them. Both changed when the Pakpod arrived in the mail.

Weighing 15 ounces, the PakPod has legs that can quickly extend and lock in crazy asymmetrical positions with the turn of a single knob. Legs extend and lock with the push of a button or can be anchored to the ground or even the ocean floor with flip-out stakes at the feet.

Facebook devs port Doom to Apple Watch and Apple TV

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With watchOS 2, the Apple Watch can run Doom.
With watchOS 2, the Apple Watch can run Doom.
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

From a gamer’s point of view, if not a developer’s, the ultimate metric of a new device is its TTD, or Time To Doom. Ever since the source code to the classic first-person shooter was released over a decade ago, it has been used as the standard measurement of a new device’s capabilities.

Now, Doom has been ported to the new Apple TV and watchOS 2.

Boston and Sydney are the next two cities to get Apple Maps transit directions

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Find out when your Mac is looking at your location data.
Find out when your Mac is looking at your location data.
Photo: Apple

iOS 9 has continued to make Apple Maps better by introducing transit directions to the mix. Unfortunately, they’ve been relatively slow-to-roll out, with transit directions available in 11 cities. But yesterday, Apple quietly updated its site, indicating that transit directions for Boston, Massachusetts and Sydney, Australia are imminent.

Future iMac could project its own virtual keyboard

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minorityreport2
Typing on your next iMac could get a bit Minority Report, it seems.
Photo: 20th Century Fox

Future Apple devices could boast a smart projector accessory, according to a patent published today.

As one of 46 newly-published patents, the technology described would allow Apple to incorporate features such as a virtual projected keyboard into future iMacs.

Just like the iPhone’s UI, this could make it possible for Apple to feature a slightly different keyboard for each application.