Yahoo could relaunch its Messenger app tomorrow. Photo: Yahoo
Those of us old-school instant messaging warriors remember the day when Yahoo! Messenger was the king of the IM clients. The purple search giant is hoping that day may well be at hand again.
I remember when this was the weirdest thing I'd ever heard of. Photo: Philips
Apparently, it isn’t enough that our phones, appliances, TVs, thermostats and light bulbs are getting Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections so we can control them remotely and teach them our habits. No — some enterprising souls are looking at their stuff and just gasping at how dumb all of it is.
And so, things that we may never have thought of slapping the “smart” prefix on are getting all wired up and clever. Here are a few of the more interesting ones.
Gently move the iPad and watch the frightened Charles Dickens character pull the covers tighter. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
It is one thing to read about a madman. But what if you could feel like those were your hands around the victim’s throat, eyeballs bulging, his gasping breath brushing against your face?
Charles Dickens’ A Madman’s Manuscript feels all the more creepy when you experience the book in interactive form with the new iPhone and iPad app by iClassics.
If digital media is tearing us away from analog books, then the growing collection of illustrated works reimagined by iClassics ensures classic tails not only stay alive but get a new life with illustrations that move with the touch of your screen.
Magna International Inc. is making cars for BMW. Photo: BMW
We still don’t even know if Apple is really building an car (even though there are a lot of signs that it is), but whatever the iPhone-maker’s next play in the auto-market is, the company’s about to generate a lot of innovation and competition in the market, says Ford CEO Mark Fields.
Wireless charging has been on Apple fanboys’ wish list of iPhone features for a few years now, and while it’s unlikely that Apple will bring the technology to the iPhone 6s, Qualcomm just made a breakthrough in wireless charging that would be perfect for the iPhone’s metal body.
The OnePlus 2 has an all-new design and better specs. Photo: OnePlus
OnePlus this week announced its long-awaited OnePlus 2, and despite its sub-$400 price tag, it has all the features and specifications it needs to give the latest flagships some tough competition — including Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 810 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and a much-improved camera.
But OnePlus smartphones are all about beating the latest flagships. Does the OnePlus 2 have what it needs to do that? Find out below.
These name-your-own price educational bundles will turn you into a game dev. Image: Stone River eLearning
Sure, playing games is a blast, but making games is where the real fun (and, let’s face it, money) is at. Turn this popular pastime into a passion and a profession, or just a creative outlet, with this bundle of lessons from Stone River eLearning.
Whether you’re a skilled coder or a total n00b, with dozens of courses covering the game-design gamut you’ll be able to get into the game in no time, and all for whatever price you’re comfortable paying.
Moto X Style boasts one of the most impressive smartphone cameras to date. Photo: Motorola
When Motorola announced its new Moto X Style earlier today, the company said it had one of the top three smartphone cameras in the world, based on testing by the experts at DxOMark. Now those test results have been published, and it turns out Motorola was not lying.
Its new handset is actually ranked the second-best smartphone camera to date, second only to the Galaxy S6.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere is playing the iPhone card for all it's worth.
In great news for music lovers, T-Mobile is adding Apple Music to its “Music Freedom” program, meaning customers can now listen to Apple’s streaming music service without using up their monthly data allowance.
T-Mobile already offers Spotify, Pandora, Google Music and more than two dozen other streaming services on Music Freedom, and users were apparently clamoring for Apple Music to be added to the list.
Motorola's latest flagships are a lot cheaper than their rivals. Photo: Motorola
Motorola today announced two new additions to its flagship Moto X lineup in the Moto X Style and the Moto X Play. Both handsets deliver flagship specifications and high-end designs that are customizable through Moto Maker, and they cost a lot less than their rivals off-contract.
But how exactly do Motorola’s new devices stack up against those rivals? Find out in our handy comparison chart below.
Apple Music is playing all the right notes. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Some of the streaming numbers on Apple Music’s biggest tracks — particularly on newer hip-hop songs — are said to be rivalling the number of listens on Spotify, according to a new report.
Apple Music has only been around for a month, but music label insiders claim it has already surprised people by attracting more than 10 million subscribers.
Apple Pay is available in the U.K. from the following banks and credit card companies. Photo: Apple
Apple Pay rolled out in the U.K. this month, and today the service got a bit better, as Apple now supports HSBC and First Direct credit and debit cards in the country.
That brings the total supported U.K. banks and card providers to nine — including Natwest, Santander, Nationwide, RBS, Ulster Bank, HSBC, First Direct, MBNA, and American Express.
Are Apple Watch expectations just too high? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
I dropped everything to make apps for the Apple Watch. I’ve owned the Watch from day one and I admit it is has its shortcomings, but oh my does it have potential.
The device convinced my co-founders and me to start Tap Get to work exclusively on Apple Watch apps — early, while the rest of the world is still making up its mind about smartwatches and other wearables.
Trading your iPhone in now could save you $130. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
The iPhone 6s is still a couple of months away from going on sale, but if you’re hoping to offset the cost of buying a new iPhone by selling your old handset, now’s the time to do it.
That’s because resale values drop by around 10 percent in September and October, according to gadget trade-in site NextWorth, which analyzed thousands of eBay sales. If you wait until November or December, meanwhile, be prepared to lose around 30 percent of current resale value.
No, Apple won't be releasing three different iPhone sizes this fall. Photo: ModMyI
Apple has scrapped plans to release a new iPhone with a 4-inch display, according to Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri.
Arcuri claims that Apple was previously considering an “iPhone 6-looking version of the iPhone 5c,” which would include the same internal components as the iPhone 6, but with the smaller form factor Apple ditched when it made the decision to go big with its smartphones.
Just in case there are still people out there asking what the Apple Watch does, Apple has debuted three new ads showing off some of the great apps you can use on its breakthrough wearable device.
Covering music, fitness and travel, the apps run the gamut from Shazam and Instagram to MLB At Bat, Yelp and Apple’s own Activity app. They follow on from another series of spots Apple recently released, showing off additional travel and fitness apps on the Watch.
Although Apple hasn’t yet publicly revealed Apple Watch sales, Tim Cook said during last week’s earnings call that the company is more than happy with the number of devices it’s sold so far. Users seem happy, too, with reported higher satisfaction rates than were enjoyed by either the first generation iPhone or iPad.
Entrepreneurial spirit isn’t much without the skills and know-how to move a project forward. From web and game development to the fundamentals of making money as a freelancer, this series of dramatically discounted lessons offers the wide and deep knowledge needed to take on any aspect of doing digital business.
The Aaron Sorkin-penned film Steve Jobs has been chosen as the centerpiece movie of the 53rd annual New York Film Festival and will be screened at the the event on Saturday, October 3rd.
Starring Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs, and Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, the film is based on Walter Isaacson’s bestselling biography. The movie won’t be released publicly until this fall, but NY Film Festival director Kent Jones’ review heaps praise on the film, calling it “dramatically concentrated, yet beautifully expansive; it’s extremely sharp; it’s wildly entertaining.”
Director Danny Boyle had the following to say about the honor:
Keith Richards' video for "Troubled" is an Apple Music exclusive. Photo: Apple
After exclusively debuting Drake’s Meek Mill diss track “Charged Up” last night on Beats 1, Apple Music scored another excellent exclusive today, only this time from Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.
Apple's shelling out billions to go green. Photo: Apple
Apple executives are joining top brass from 12 other major U.S. corporations at the White House today to announce a $140 billion pledge in new investments to decrease their carbon footprints.
The 13 companies which also includes Microsoft and Google, are joining the Obama Administration’s push to lead the effort against climate change ahead of the the United Nations climate-change summit in Paris later this year by launching the American Business Act on Climate Pledge.
Starting a Terminator-style AI arms race is a bad idea. Photo: Paramount Pictures
Autonomous weapons that have the power to track and kill targets with Terminator-like efficiency aren’t just a Hollywood fantasy anymore.
Steve Wozniak, Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and hundreds of AI and robotics researchers say the technology to build autonomous weapons that select and engage targets without human intervention is feasible within years, not decades. And we need to ban it now.
Get ready to say au revoir to that unwanted Google+ account you randomly get a friend requests on once a year.
Google announced today that in the coming months the company will allow you to create a YouTube Channel, or Gmail account, without creating a Google+ account. And for those of us who were forced onto Google+, there will be an option to finally remove your public profile.
Harsh terms, but probably not illegal. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple Music’s edge over streaming services like Spotify, Rdio and Pandora means that Apple gets to take a 30 percent cut of rivals’ App Store subscriptions — thereby forcing them to jack up their prices or lose money.
It’s the subject of a current FTC antitrust investigation, but according to Rutgers University law professor Michael Carrier, while it may be harsh, it’s probably not illegal.
Ready to build your own private robot army? Raspberry Pi is an inexpensive computer for coding and creating almost anything you can imagine, from home media centers to musical instruments, mechanical devices to gaming systems, and everything in between. This lesson bundle slices Raspberry Pi into five areas, from the very basics of coding and connecting computers to hardware all the way up to building a robot (really), and right now it’s just $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.