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Apple’s P2P payment patent has a focus on security

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touchid
Touch ID could be a big part of Apple's supposed personal payment plan.
Photo: Apple

In a few years, “Sorry, I don’t have any cash on me” may no longer be a good enough excuse to give that chronically money-strapped friend when they come around asking to borrow a few bucks.

That’s because a newly released Apple patent suggests that the iPhone maker may be getting into the person-to-person payment game in future versions of its hardware.

Kate Winslet says upcoming Steve Jobs biopic ‘like Hamlet’

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Kate Winslet, middle, praises the portrayal of Steve Jobs by Michael Fassbender (right).
Kate Winslet, middle, praised the portrayal of Steve Jobs by Michael Fassbender (right).
Photo: Universal Pictures

Actress and one of the stars in the upcoming biopic aptly named Steve Jobs Kate Winslet, dished about some details of the movie. It seems she’s pretty enthusiastic about it, proudly boasting about how the film was made. She also had kind things to say about co-star Michael Fassbender, who plays Steve Jobs in the movie.

Apple Music could put a serious hurt on your iPhone battery

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Apple Music
Please, please, please let my charge last all day.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

We’ve had a couple days to check out Apple Music, Apple’s song-streaming platform that launched Tuesday. It comes loaded with 30 million songs that you can listen to on demand with a quick search or a request to Siri.

But all that choice and tech power may come at a price, as some users are reporting that the new Music app is killing their iPhone’s battery life.

Cord-protecting Juiceboxx will save you a trip to the Apple Store

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Juiceboxx is a $20 accessory tha protects your Mac charger from fraying.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

My MacBook Air’s charging cord was basically destroyed after only about two years of owning it. I just kept putting black electrical tape around it but that only seemed to make it worse. I finally waved the white flag, went to the Apple Store and bought a new charger for a whopping $79. If you’ve been through this before, listen up, because Juiceboxx will help you out.

Juiceboxx is a plastic case that wraps around your MacBook’s power adapter and forces the cord to point straight forward at the base. That way when you need to wrap it up and go, the cord isn’t dealing with the stress of being bent and twisted. More importantly, your cord won’t fray as it tends to do, leaving you with more money in your pocket and one less trip to the Apple Store.

Jimmy Kimmel mocks Apple in ‘Just Give Us Your Money’ ad

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Apple has a bold new program, according to Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Photo: Jimmy Kimmel Live

Apple has no shortage of products and gadgets to show off lately. The company recently released the Apple Watch, its music streaming platform came out this week, and we’re closing in on the reveal of the next iPhone.

But late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has a line on another daring product from Apple, and he revealed it in a bit on his show on Tuesday. It involves customers just giving Apple money for no real reason.

You can check out the full gag in the video below.

This Blade is a sharp way to keep your MacBook locked down

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The Blade by Maclocks lets you secure your MacBook in place.
The Blade by Maclocks lets you secure your MacBook in place.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

For my car, I have an anti-theft device called the Club. It is a telescoping device that hooks on each side of the steering wheel and locks in place with a key. Can it be broken? Probably, but the idea is to present a time-consuming obstacle to the thief who relies on speed.

For my MacBook Pro, I have the Blade by Maclocks. The Blade sits inside a bracket that affixes to the bottom of my computer. The Blade folds out from the bracket, providing a slot in which I can attach a lock tethered to a cable.

It is most secure when you loop the cable through an anchored object, like a pole or, in the case of one coffee shop from which I like to work, a table support that is bolted to the floor.

Chevy’s 2016 lineup comes with air conditioning… for your phone

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As a Brit that can’t handle warm weather, the recent heatwave that swept across the U.K. almost killed me. I sat here with my skin sticking to my leather office chair, longing for cool air conditioning that would help me breathe freely again.

But at no point did I stop to consider my poor smartphone.

Smartphones get hot, too — especially when they’re charging — which is why Chevrolet though it would be a great idea to give them their very own air conditioning vent in its 2016 lineup.

Want Prince? You’re not getting it from Apple Music — just Tidal

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The Purple One at the Coachella Festival in 2008.
The Purple One at the Coachella Festival in 2008.
Photo: CC Wikipedia

If you were hoping to listen to Prince on Apple Music, thinking that the purple-clad passionate one’s music would be on the service like many other exclusives on Apple’s new streaming service, you’re out of luck.

The artist currently known as Prince has pulled all of his music from streaming services, except for one: Jay Z’s Tidal, which reputedly has the best terms for mega artists like the Purple Rain lead.

Turns out that doves will cry after all, since they can’t listen to Prince on Apple Music or Spotify.

Home Sharing taken out of iOS 8.4, confounding users

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Home Sharing should come back to iOS 9, says Apple's Eddy Cue
Did Apple remove Home Sharing from iOS so you'd have to try Apple Music?
Screen: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

If you’ve upgraded your iPhone or iPad to iOS 8.4 in order to take advantage of the insanely great Apple Music, you won’t be able to use Home Sharing to play the iTunes music from your Mac via your iOS device any more.

Several fans took to the Apple discussion pages to note that Home Sharing is no longer accessible on their mobile devices, killing their media setups.

“Before today,” writes forum user ddrucker, “I could bring up the entire library on my iPhone/iPad and play it through my earphones.”

The juice you need: last chance to get 80% off the intelligent 3-port car charger [Deals]

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Like our mobile devices, cars have been getting faster and smarter, so it makes sense that the connection between the two should do the same. When charging on the go, it’s a safe bet that you’ll want to be at full power by the time you get where you’re going, without frying the battery in the process. The MPOW 3-Port Intelligent Car Charger has you covered, and for just a few more hours you can get it for a price that’ll keep your wallet charged too.

iPhone 6s likely to receive major camera upgrades both front and back

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Get ready for a major camera upgrade for the iPhone 6s.
Get ready for a major camera upgrade for the iPhone 6s.
Photo: Apple

Rumors that the iPhone 6s will receive a new 12-megapixel camera with 4K video recording got a boost today — thanks to a document allegedly leaked by a Foxconn employee.

The document also suggests that the iPhone 6s’ front-facing camera will receive a massive upgrade from the 1.2-megapixel sensor found in current iPhones thanks to a new 5-megapixel sensor.

The simple patent drawing was once a work of art

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A flying machine from the 1860s drawn with shading, colors and detail not seen in today's patent illustrations.
A flying machine from the 1860s drawn with shading, colors and detail not seen in today's patent illustrations.
Photo: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

The illustration that accompanies a patent application is a first glimpse inside the head of the inventor. Finally, an idea becomes a possibility, and even if an invention later proves to be impractical or an outright failure, the drawing serves as a tangible record of humanity’s quest to solve problems and move forward.
 
But the modern day patent sketches are stark chicken scratches compared to the intricately detailed, da Vinciesque artworks that once accompanied applications to the United States Patent & Trade Office, which first opened in 1790.

Apple Watch 2 will keep same resolution, screen size, get bigger battery

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Apple Watch 2 will focus on battery improvements instead of display.

If for whatever reason you’re unhappy with the image quality, screen size, and square display of the current Apple Watch display, don’t expect any of your quibbles to be fixed with next year’s Apple Watch 2.

According to a new report, the display of the next-gen Apple wearable will remain identical in size, shape and resolution to its predecessor — although the display will be marginally thinner to allow for a larger battery.

Keep your kids ‘safe’ and remove swear words from Apple Music

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Parental Advisory label
Apple Music streams music bleep-free unless you take some action.
Photo: Wikipedia

Apple Music is the latest way to stream a ridiculous number of tunes on demand. And with all that variety, you’re going to get some cursing in there. It’s just how a lot of musicians work.

But if you don’t want to hear all of those bleepables and swears, it’s a pretty quick fix to keep it from showing up in your stream. Here’s how to do it.

What we learned about the new Steve Jobs movie from the trailer

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"If you send me back the iPhone prototype, that'll be the end of it. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."
Photo: Universal Pictures

Universal dropped its first full-length Steve Jobs trailer yesterday, giving us a closer glimpse than we’ve yet had at the Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic, set to hit theaters this October.

Being the fans that we are, Cult of Mac scoured the 2:40 trailer to pull out the juiciest details. Read on for everything we learned.

If you live in one of these states, Apple may owe you some money

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iBooks
If you've used Apple's iBooks store, you might have a check due to you.
Photo: Apple

This week, Apple lost its appeal on the antitrust case that the federal government and several state attorneys general filed on it concerning price fixing on ebooks. And now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for the company to pay up.

The green states in the map below were listed as plaintiffs on the class-action lawsuit, which means that if you live in one of them and have bought anything from iBooks, you may be entitled to a cut of the settlement.

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ wasn’t worth all that Spotify drama

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Photographers assigned to Taylor Swift concerts will be greeted by a friendlier photo contract.
Taylor Swift's '1989' album is finally available for streaming, so I was all ears.
Photo: GabboT/Flickr CC

No one has shut up about this album since it came out in October 2014. Taylor Swift’s “1989” sold over a million copies in the first week alone and continues to sell well even today, largely due to the fact that it was previously nowhere to be found on streaming services. That is until Apple Music launched and Swift suddenly had a change of heart.

Still, since everyone I know buzzed about this album and the media certainly buzzed about it given the Spotify melodrama, I had to give it a listen. I didn’t want to buy it because I truly didn’t care that much, but I cared enough to listen if I was already paying for a streaming subscription. Now that I’m officially an Apple Music member, I got to stream “1989” in its entirety while I was cooking my lunch.

You won’t find these Apple Music albums on Spotify

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Yes, we know. That one.

Taylor Swift fans aren’t the only ones with reasons to celebrate Apple Music.

Apple’s new streaming service boasts over 30 million songs. That’s according to the company, anyway; we definitely haven’t counted them. And even though it’s only a day old, it’s looking like it could have a chance to cut into the business of rival streamers like Spotify. And part of how it’s doing that is by landing content for its library that the other people don’t have.

Here are five albums Apple Music can brag about. Other than 1989, we mean. Because everyone knows 1989 is on there.

Create and share Apple Music playlists with your buddies

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Like mix tapes for modern lovers.
Like mix tapes for modern lovers.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

One of the cool things you can do with a streaming service like Apple Music, Spotify, or Rdio, is making and sharing playlists. It’s a way to seriously curate your own musical taste, and then show off by sending along to others.

It’s not super tricky, but the downside of such a new user interface like the one in the just released Apple Music is that things may not be where you think they should be.

With that in mind, let’s jump right in and make a new playlist. Then let’s learn how to share it with our Apple Music buddies.

iCloud Music Library adds DRM without buying you dinner first

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iCloud Music Library is almost identical to iTunes Match with one glaring issue.
Photo: Apple

Well iCloud Music Library is pissing people off already. The new service almost identical to iTunes Match has a DRM problem. Turned on, iCloud Music Library is taking the music you rightfully own and place in your iTunes library and automatically adding DRM protection to it. In essence, it’s placing a lock on music that’s already yours.

Apple Watch now compatible with select Hyundai cars

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Hyundai Apple Watch
Now Hyundai owners can start their cars while sitting in their cars but using an Apple Watch.
Photo: Hyundai

Hyundai has good news for Apple Watch owners who also drive late-model Sonatas: You can now use your wearable to control parts of your car.

The auto manufacturer has rolled out an update to its Blue Link app, which already creates an interface with an iPhone, to expand the connected-car functionality to Apple’s new smartwatch.

Carry the big glass in comfort with MindShift Gear’s FirstLight backpacks

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The FirstLight series by MindShift Gear helps photographers transport long, heavy telephoto lenses.
The FirstLight series by MindShift Gear helps photographers transport long, heavy telephoto lenses.
Photo: MindShift Gear

The elements and rugged terrain are hard enough for any nature photographer. Add heavy equipment around the neck, shoulders and back and a challenging shoot becomes a grueling journey.

The designers at MindShift Gear, photographers and outdoor adventurers themselves, have three new backpacks designed to carry “Big Glass” lenses with relative comfort.

Apple Music will be super cheap in some countries

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Tim Cook talks Apple Music at WWDC 2015.
Tim Cook talks Apple Music at WWDC 2015.
Photo: Apple

Apple Music, the new song-streaming platform that started rolling out yesterday, is currently free for everyone while the company shows off how cool its new product is. After the three-month trial period that we’re all enjoying, however, using the full set of features will cost you.

But for people in developing countries, the burn won’t be nearly as bad.