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Bring your headphone game into the 21st century [Deals]

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The Jarv Nmotion PRO Bluetooth Earbuds represent the peak of wireless headphones.
The Jarv Nmotion PRO Bluetooth Earbuds represent the peak of wireless headphones.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

We’re long past the bad old days when we had to actually plug in headphones into our mp3 players and phones. How primitive. A sign of just how far we’ve come can be found in the Jarv Nmotion Pro Bluetooth earbuds, representing the high functionality, lasting power, and just-plain-cool factor that represents a pinnacle in wireless headphone tech. And right now they’re anything but peak price — at more that half off, you can get your own set for $29.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

New photo app is like loading old film into your iPhone

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Base is not a photo filter app. The user must pick a style of film before shooting.
Base is not a photo filter app. The user must pick a style of film before shooting.
Photo: Stay Kids

We love our photo filter apps, especially the ones that deliver the look and quality of classic film stock. These filters will never replicate the rich tonality and texture of film, but given the cost and hassles of using it, the average person probably feels they’re not missing much.

Deepak Mantena believes we’re missing out. The creator of digital studio Stay Kids has developed an iOS photo app called Base that lets you pick from 14 different film styles before you start making pictures.

This app is everything OS X Finder wants to be

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Commander One is the app Finder wishes it could be.
Commander One is the app Finder wishes it could be.
Photo: Eltima

Maybe it’s just me, but Finder is one of the default Mac apps I find most annoying. Even though Apple introduced tabs to the default experience a few years ago, Finder still makes it harder than it should to move files from one folder on your computer to another.

Commander One, a Finder alternative for OS X 10.9 and above, makes Finder better for power users. It adds the ability to drag and drop files between two folders displayed in side-by-side panes, not windows or tabs. But there’s more to it than just that.

Half of Apple Music subscribers stopped listening, claims survey; Apple disputes

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Tired of Apple Music's playlists? Try something even more indie.
Apple Music needs to demonstrate that it's best in show.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

According to a survey published today, 48 percent of Apple Music listeners polled say they have given up listening to the streaming music — and the free trial isn’t even over yet.

Meanwhile, 61 percent claim they have disabled the auto-renewal option on their accounts so as not to be charged when the trial period ends in September.

All-week Apple Watch battery life could be possible due to MIT breakthrough

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Apple Watch battery
The Apple Watch battery could last a lot longer per charge thanks to a new lithium ion advancement.
Photo: iFixIt

Despite many theoretical improvement, lithium ion batteries remain a very slowly progressing technology. Moore’s Law keeps on helping our gadgets better at conserving batteries, but the batteries themselves aren’t keeping pace with Moore’s Law when it comes to increasing capacity.

But a new innovation by a team of forgetful researchers might change all that: they’ve figured out how to quadruple a li-ion battery’s lifespan.

One of Apple’s key iPhone design patents is no longer protected

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iPhone design
Did iPhones change the way Samsung handsets looked? Yes. Case closed. Oh wait, there are lawyers involved...
Photo: Apple/USPTO

One of Apple’s key iPhone patents has been given a non-final rejection in the still-dragging-on Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit.

The reason? According to a new report, it should never have been granted in the first place, due to an issue with prior art and apparent “obviousness.”

Google Hangouts’ slick update is all about the browser

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google-hangouts-slick-update-is-all-about-the-browser-2-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201508startPageLaunch-jpg
Yet another way to access Google Hangouts. Photo: Jordanna Chord/Google
Yet another way to access Google Hangouts. Photo: Jordanna Chord/Google

Google’s chat and video messaging service, Hangouts, got a whole new standalone web app on Monday afternoon.

“We are launching another way to use Hangouts today,” writes Google’s Jordanna Chord on Google Plus. “From our new site you’ll be able to take advantage of the best of Hangouts in the browser, along with an inspiring image to get you through the day.”

Now you’ll be able to keep in touch with all your Hangouts-using buddies in any web broswer, including Safari, without having to run Gmail or Google Plus (or the Chrome app).

Slack boss calls Siri ‘f—ing idiotic’

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Apple Watch notifications siri
Do you hear that, Apple Watch? Your primary interface is a fool!
Photo: Apple

We have a bit of a digital-assistant war brewing in the tech world. In addition to Apple’s Siri, we have Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortana and, eventually, Facebook’s MoneyPenny. Everybody’s out to provide users with the most helpful fake secretaries imaginable, and even productivity app Slack is getting in on the action.

But while touting upcoming improvements to the chat platform’s helper, Slackbot, Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield had some strong words about its rival in your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Steve Jobs’ old BMW can be yours for $15,000

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You can now own Steve Jobs' BMW.
You can now own Steve Jobs' BMW.
Photo: Julius Winegar

Steve Jobs was notorious for cruising around Silicon Valley in a Mercedes without a license plate during his last decade at Apple, but before El Jobso upgraded to the SL55 AMG, he and his wife Laurene owned a BMW 325i convertible.

That convertible can be yours, now that its third owner is placing the unique bimmer up for sale.

Google robots can now chase you like a Terminator

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Google's robots are starting to look more an more like the Terminator.
Google's robots are starting to look more an more like the Terminator.
Photo: Boston Dynamics

Google-owned Boston Dynamics scared the bejesus out of us earlier this year with its hive-mind 160-pound robot dogs that can run on almost any terrain. Now the company is taking things to an all-new level with new video of its humanoid robot, which is the closest thing to a real-life Terminator we’ve ever seen.

Versatile messenger bag fits all your stuff and more

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Get all your stuff together in this lightweight, classy, functional messenger bag.
Get all your stuff together in this lightweight, classy, functional messenger bag.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Ever try to go from home to the gym to the office to the party in the same day? If you have, you’ll know that move requires a lot of carrying capacity, typically across several bags.

Now try to do all that as an eco-warrior on a bicycle. You’ll want one big, waterproof bag that can hold your work stuff, your gym clothes and maybe a rain coat in case it gets wet out there. Stylish and useful, the Vitesse from WaterField Designs is a lovely, waxed-canvas messenger bag that will fit all that stuff.

The Bling on this smart cycling helmet flashes for safety

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The Bling helmet by LIVALL features LED lights for turn signals and night riding along with Bluetooth speakers for safe phone calls and music listening.
The Bling helmet by LIVALL features LED lights for turn signals and night riding along with Bluetooth speakers for safe phone calls and music listening.
Photo: LIVALL

The cycling helmet is often referred to as a brain bucket. It has kept many a melon in one piece after falls and collisions and there’s no smarter wearable for your ride.

One helmet promises to offer more smarts. It’s called the Bling Helmet by LIVALL and it is aptly named because of how it flashes.

Wrangling all the Apple devices in your workplace just got a lot easier

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Jamf Now is a cloud-based solution for managing all the devices used for doing business
Jamf Now is a cloud-based solution for managing all the devices used for doing business
Photo: Jamf

If you’re running your business on Apple machines, it’s probably because you want to keep things clean and simple. But wrangling desktops, tablets, phones and the employees who use them isn’t as easy as syncing your calendar.

Emails, point-of-sale operations, apps, security settings — an enterprise of any size can quickly present a symphony of stresses that’s too much for any business owner to orchestrate.

Jimmy Iovine is still worried about the future of music

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Jimmy Iovine, Bono, Steve Jobs and The Edge
Jimmy Iovine, Bono, Steve Jobs and The Edge
Photo: Apple

With the purchase of Beats Electronics and the subsequent launch of Apple Music, Jimmy Iovine quickly became Apple’s best hope for saving the music industry. But in a new interview, the Beats co-founder says it’s just not cool to be into music anymore.

To help ignite the scene, Iovine and Dre created an Academy for Arts Technology and the Business of Innovation at USC, and while the music and tech mogul says the program has already become ultra-competitive to get into, it might not be enough to change young people’s minds from wanting to become the next Larry Page instead of the next Jimmy Page.

Diamond-encrusted iPhone 6s makes Apple Watch Edition look cheap

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Brikk iPhone 6s
When it comes out, Brikk will have an opulent iPhone 6s just for you.
Photo: Brikk

We don’t even know for sure what the unrevealed iPhone 6s is going to look like, but that isn’t stopping one company from opening up preorders for ridiculously expensive and extravagant custom versions of Apple’s upcoming handset.

Luxury design company Brikk will pre-sell you blinged-up versions of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, and if you have $206,000 or so lying around that you’d love to spend on a phone you haven’t even seen yet, they have a model for you.

Save 90% on The Complete iOS 9 Developer Course [Deals]

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The Complete iOS 9 Developer Course will get you caught up on iOS 9 well before it drops.
The Complete iOS 9 Developer Course will get you caught up on iOS 9 well before it drops.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

iOS 9 is coming, and from what we hear it’s going to be a game-changer. Luckily there’s still time to prepare for Apple’s newest era in mobile, and we’ve found a course that can get you totally caught up before it drops. It’s called The Complete iOS 9 Developer Course, and it’s just $99 at Cult of Mac Deals, a whopping 90 percent off the normal price.

Sprint thinks you should always carry the latest iPhone

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iPhone
Upgrade to the latest iPhone whenever you want.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’re less than one month away from the iPhone 6s being announced, and carriers are tripping over themselves and each other trying to offer the best terms for customer upgrades.

The latest carrier to throw its name in the ring is Sprint, which has just launched its new iPhone Forever plan, which lets users upgrade to the latest iPhone any time they want — without having to pay an upfront fee or experience a hike in rates.