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Ex-Apple exec’s $35 million mansion is smart home of our dreams

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If the house of the future looks like this, I can't wait to get there.
Photo: Suzanne Perkins

Former Apple exec Michael Barnick is selling his $35 million California mansion, and all we can say is … wow!

Not only is the home the epitome of iPod minimalist modernism, but it’s (perhaps unsurprisingly) pretty high-tech, too. Controllable entirely via iPhone or iPad, the list of automated features includes lighting, music, TV, air conditioning, window blinds, fireplaces and door locks — with Barnick himself designing the home-automation setup.

Check out some of the gorgeous pictures below.

Crazy Apple fans tried to sell their kidneys for iPhone 6s

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iPhone 6s gets the biggest iSight upgrade yet.
Taking out a kidney's as easy as popping out an iPhone camera lens. Or something.
Photo: Apple

How much do you want an iPhone 6s? Probably not as much as the two men in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province who reportedly attempted to sell their kidneys to buy Apple’s latest must-have handset.

The bizarre story claims that friends Wu and Huang decided to sell a kidney each to get the money for an iPhone (mistake No. 1), and found an illegal agent on the Internet (mistake No. 2) who would help them.

UE Boom 2 speaker brings more of everything (except for screws)

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The UE Boom 2 is pretty on the inside, too.
The UE Boom 2 is pretty on the inside, too.
Photo: Ultimate Ears

SAN FRANCISCO — Ultimate Ears could have borrowed the iPhone 6s tag line to market its new UE Boom 2 Bluetooth speakers.

Like Apple’s latest smartphones, which Cupertino hypes with the clever catchphrase “the only thing that’s changed is everything,” UE’s second-generation Bluetooth speaker is almost indistinguishable from its tubular predecessor — at least on the outside. But upgraded specs and a few pleasant surprises give the Boom 2 a welcome boost.

“There’s something magic about this design,” said Diego Gabathuler, head of brand and global marketing for Ultimate Ears, as he showed off the Boom 2 during a demo at the Cult of Mac offices. “It would have been a shame to take that magic away.”

Apple’s super-size iPad Pro could be hard to find early on

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ipad-pro
The iPad Pro is on its way. Just not in the quantities you might expect.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook told us the iPad Pro was the “biggest news in iPad since the original iPad,” but you wouldn’t necessarily know that based on initial availability of the plus-size tablet.

Apple is reportedly experiencing panel shortages for the device, making it likely that iPad Pro shipments will come in at less than 3 million for the last three months of 2015.

Burberry’s new channel brings a taste of luxury to Apple Music

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Burberry is now on Apple Music.
Burberry is now on Apple Music.
Photo: Apple Music

Fashion brand Burberry is coming to Apple Music with its own channel, and it plans on bringing a lot of luxury with it.

The company will curate its own channel on Apple Music starting Tuesday, offering listeners a taste of performances, songs and films that have come out of Burberry’s work with British artists.

Tim Cook gets mobbed during surprise NYC appearance

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Tim cook
Apple and Tim Cook have plenty to cheer about.
Photo: Apple

Tim Cook made a surprise appearance today at the Fifth Ave Apple Store in NYC ahead of his appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert tomorrow night.

During his visit, Cook mingled with the customers, took selfies, and photobombed Eddy Cue before getting swarmed by a mob of fans anxious to get a close-up with the Apple CEO. Buzzfeed created a Snapchat story of the CEO’s visit which wasn’t announced to fans or employees before he dropped in for some quality times with customers.

Here are a few highlights from Cook’s NYC debut:

New app tracks the movies you haven’t seen (yet)

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So many movies, so little time.
So many movies, so little time.
Photo: Sofa app

Have you ever found yourself staring at the Netflix or Amazon Prime Video screen on your TV, or drooling a bit while you page through the Redbox screens at a red kiosk near you?

It’s frustrating, especially when you’re always hearing about movies that you must see right now, but can’t seem to remember when you’re on the couch (or sofa, get it?) with a remote in hand.

The developers of Sofa have you covered, though, with a new app aimed at helping you find and track all those flicks you haven’t seen, but want to.

Creepy Jobs and Gates portraits contain double the nightmare fuel

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Steve Jobs before and after, with maybe a little judgement about water sales.
Steve Jobs before and after, with maybe a little judgement about water sales.
Photo: Fulvio Obregon

“Me and My Other Me” is a series of illustrated portraits of celebrities. The roster of folks drawn up include tech giants like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as well as music mega-stars like Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson.

What makes them creepy–aside from the highly detailed cartoonish art style, that is–is that they’re portraits of both younger and older versions of the subjects.

Just take a look at a few of these disturbing pieces of art below and you’ll see what I mean.

Apple Music showcases 4 new artists to ‘discover’

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Apple Music is awesome -- but can it replace the iTunes Store?
If you're looking for new stuff to listen to on Apple Music, the company has some suggestions.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Music has done a pretty decent job of suggesting content to users over its first couple of months. Between its auto-generated playlists based on your preference bubbles and curation straight from famous acts and DJs, you should have little trouble finding something you might not mind sticking in your earholes. And a new batch of ads for the streaming service has even more suggestions.

You can check out what Apple Music wants you to discover in the videos below.

Save your ears from Apple Music’s endless loops

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Even Belle & Sebastian can get old with too much repetition.
Even Belle & Sebastian can get old with too much repetition.
Screen: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Sometime in the last few weeks, I’ve had a big problem with Apple Music.

Whenever I’d start an album or playlist, I’d only hear the first song I chose, over and over and over.

I’d hit the Up Next list button and see the same song, endlessly repeated.

The fix is an easy one, but man did it frustrate me for weeks. Here’s how you can make sure you’re not stuck on repeat.

Here’s why you may not get your iPhone 6s Plus on day one

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The iPhone 6s Plus might be hard to find on launch day.
The iPhone 6s Plus might be hard to find on launch day.
Photo: Apple

Shipping dates for the iPhone 6s Plus have already slipped to 3 – 4 weeks on Apple’s website, and it appears that the low supply may be due to production problems with its bigger than big display.

In a new note to investors, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that one of Apple’s suppliers of the backlight display module is experiencing issues creating the new 3D Touch display, which could make the new iPhone hard to find in stores on launch day.

PowerClip will make your keychain feel inadequate

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Charging your iPhone and data storage are two of the many functions of the PowerClip.
Charging your iPhone and data storage are two of the many functions of the PowerClip.
Photo: Mirai

It seems a bit risky for your tech startup to make its first product a keychain. But London-based Mirai has one you’ll get a charge out of – literally.

The PowerClip is a key fob that serves first and foremost as a charger for your iPhone or Android smartphone. But it also has other functions, including an activity tracker, flashlight, key- and phone-finder and serves as a data storage device.

Save over 50% on the award-winning Scrivener 2 [Deals]

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Scrivener declutters the digital writing process, presenting all research and notes on one screen.
Scrivener declutters the digital writing process, presenting all research and notes on one screen.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

We were told that computers would make word processing way more efficient and less time-consuming. By now we all know the truth — writing on a computer is like fighting through an obstacle course of distractions, scattered notes and half-read articles. Scrivener is a word processor and project management app that streamlines and organizes research and writing on your computer, an invaluable resource that you can get for $19.50 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Ultra-tough Catalyst case is the ultimate iPad Pro-tection

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Catalyst will have an iPad Pro case available in early 2016 that promises to be spill- and drop-proof like its cases for iPhone.
Catalyst will have an iPad Pro case available in early 2016 that promises to be spill- and drop-proof like its cases for iPhone.
Rendering: Catalyst

Accessories company Catalyst likes to assume the extreme in everybody. Its marketing wants us to fret not about getting our iPhone or Apple Watch wet or dirty. Catalyst projects the confidence that it has your investment protected.

So, less than a week after Apple announced a new iPad Pro, Catalyst is touting the specs of a military-tough iPad Pro case that will be available after the first of the year.

HopStop shuts down after Apple sucks the life out of it

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iphone-transit
With Transit coming in iOS 9, HopStop doesn't need to exist anymore.
Photo: Apple

It looks like HopStop is doing the walk of shame back from Apple’s apartment. The city transit mapping service is shutting down as of this October. Apple acquired HopStop in 2013 and seems to have used up just about all of the data it wants for its own Maps app, so the folks in Cupertino have apparently moved on.

Jony Ive soundboard ‘personally offended’ Apple’s design guru

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Ever want to control Jony Ive? Now you can.
This joke didn't go over well at Cupertino.
Photo: Jony Jive

With his soothing British accent, love of flowery design terms, and immediately recognizable pronunciation of “aluminium,” few people in tech are as widely parodied as Jony Ive.

Impressions of Ive have become a tech industry trope in their own right, but last week an Ive-centric joke debuted online, which Apple’s design guru apparently found so offensive that he had Apple’s legal team contact the creators to take it down.

Belgium’s first Apple Store celebrates local comic art

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Apple asked Belgian's comic art community to help announce a new store in Brussels.
Apple asked Belgian's comic art community to help announce a new store in Brussels.
Photo: Apple/YouTube

Comic books are considered an important part of Belgian culture. So it seemed only fitting that one of the biggest icons in pop culture, Apple, would team up with comic artists for the opening of the first-ever Apple store in Brussels.

Apple released a two-minute video over the weekend on its YouTube channel to show off the artists behind the marketing to announce the store’s opening, set for Saturday.

iPhone 6s pre-orders on course to beat last year’s record

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iphone-6s-3d-touch
Get ready for more shattered records.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly on track to beat 2014’s record-smashing 10 million+ iPhone 6 and 6 Plus pre-orders, according to a statement released by the company.

“Customer response to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus has been extremely positive and preorders this weekend were very strong around the world,” a spokesperson for Apple says. “We are on pace to beat last year’s 10 million unit first-weekend record when the new iPhones go on sale September 25.”

TSMC may have already nailed down Apple’s A10 chip orders

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chips
Round one. Fight.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The iPhone 6s isn’t even out yet, but already reports are claiming that Apple has awarded its A10 processor orders for the next eagerly-anticipated iPhone upgrade, the iPhone 7.

The winning company if you believe said rumors? None other than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — the manufacturer said to be making half of Apple’s A9 chips for the iPhone 6s.

Do we believe it? Count me in the “skeptical” pile.

Here’s how much iPhone 6s will cost around the world

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Feel sorry for the Apple fans of France.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Just because you can buy the same model of iPhone 6s all over the world doesn’t mean that you’ll be paying the same for it.

When international prices are converted into U.S. dollars, some markets pay up to 30 percent more for the basic 16GB iPhone 6s than customers in the United States.

The country being hit the hardest? France, due to the domestic weakening of the Euro over the past twelve months. Sacré bleu, indeed!

It’s not too late to pre-order your iPhone 6s for launch day

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how-iphone-6s-stacks-up-against-android-rivals-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201509Screen-Shot-2015-09-09-at-203842-png
Order your iPhone 6s now and you won't have to wait weeks for delivery.
Photo: Apple

If you haven’t already pre-ordered your new iPhone 6s, you’ve still got a great chance of getting one on launch day — unless you want a Rose Gold model.

The new color option has become the first to sell out completely in many markets, but the Silver, Gold, and Space Gray are still widely available for delivery and personal pickup on Friday, September 25.

Why the iPad Pro is Apple’s vision for the future of personal computing

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Best Buy is preparing for shoppers wanting iPads.
Best Buy is preparing for shoppers wanting iPads.
Photo: Apple

This is a guest post by Fraser Speirs, a teacher, systems administrator and consultant specializing in the application of modern mobile technology in schools. It originally appeared on his personal website.

“The iPad is the clearest expression of our vision of the future of personal computing.” — Tim Cook

The above statement by Apple’s CEO is — by far — the most important thing that happened for iPad at Apple’s event last Wednesday. We have been through more than three years of the iPad playing a distant second to the iPhone and, to some extent, even the Mac at Apple events. It’s been three long years of “Here’s the new thinner, faster iPad. We can’t wait to see what you do with it. Bye!”