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How one entrepreneur is turning his forgetfulness into a business

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Teddy Winthrop's iPhone wallet case was inspired by his forgetfulness. His dad advised him to get a personal organizer; he made a leather iPhone wallet case instead.
Teddy Winthrop's iPhone wallet case was inspired by his shaky memory.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — Teddy Winthrop is forgetful, a trait he inherited from his dad.

His father implored him to get a Day-Timer, an executive planner that was wildly popular in the ’80s. But the young entrepreneur dismissed the idea — his personal organizer was his iPhone. And that’s when it hit him: The world needed a Day-Timer for the iPhone.

So he started a company, Edward Field, selling beautifully made leather iPhone wallet cases. It’s going well so far, thanks partly to experience he gained working for his brother, the brains behind American Giant, manufacturer of the “world’s greatest hoodie.”

Here’s how to put your Instagram feed in Notification Center

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Feeday puts Instagram right in your Notification Center.
Feeday puts Instagram right in your Notification Center.
Photo:

If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of time in Instagram during the day. In fact, if you’re like me, you probably spend so much time in Instagram that you wish it was integrated right into iOS, just a swipe away from no matter where in the operating system you are.

Apple’s never going to get around to baking deep integration to the Facebook-owned Instagram into iOS, but here’s the next best thing: a new app that puts Instagram right in iOS 8’s Notification Center.

Amazon employee steals $12,500 of iPhones, iPads and other devices

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Amazon
Amazon Prime Crime doesn't pay.
Photo: Torley/Flickr CC

A 21-year-old Amazon employee in India has been arrested for allegedly stealing $12,500 worth of electronics — including numerous Apple devices — while working in the packing department of the company’s warehouse.

Pramod Bhamble placed orders himself, but instead of packing the correct products, he stuffed the container full of the equivalent weight of iPhones, iPads, cameras and high-end watches before mailing the order to his home.

Richard Howarth and Alan Dye get all the credit for Apple’s iconic brand

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The pair helping to lead Apple into the future.
The pair helping to lead Apple into the future.
Photo: Apple/Adweek

Adweek has released its Creative 100 list, honoring the people it views as the “current masters of the creative idea” across advertising, branded content, technology, products, and pop culture.

While it’s no surprise that Apple would make such a list, what is interesting is that none of the usual suspects appear. There’s no sign of Jony Ive, Angela Ahrendts, or even Tim Cook. Instead, the people Adweek claim are driving Apple’s creativity today are Richard Howarth and Alan Dye.

In case you don’t immediately know the names, this is the pair who now control Apple’s Industrial Design studio and UI departments, after Jony Ive was promoted to chief design officer to do more “blue sky thinking.” Here’s what Adweek has to say about Howarth and Dye:

New iPods plus Apple’s biggest blunders on The CultCast

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Pippin
Too expensive. Not enough games.
Photo: All About Apple

This week: we all love the popular products, but this episode we’ll remember some of Apple’s biggest blunders! Plus: why the new iPods might be the last iPods; Apple’s missing back to school promotion; and the perfect way to motivate your lazy workforce…

Our thanks to Casper for supporting this episode. If you’re waking up with numb limbs or back pain, Casper’s American-made mattresses can help, and with a price far lower than you’ll find in the stores. Learn more and save $50 off any order at Casper.com/cultcast.

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Show notes ahead and they’re quite good.

New iPods, fixing Apple’s fitness apps, and cringe-worthy iPhone cases

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New iPods are out, but should you get one?
New iPods are out, but should you get one?
Cover: Stephen Smith/Cult of Mac

The new iPods are here, but should you even bother getting one? We’ve got our opinion on the matter, plus one on what Apple should really do to fix its built-in fitness apps.

Plus, a bit about why the Apple Watch isn’t doomed after all, a profile of another fantastic iPhone photographer, and a gallery of some cringe-worthy iPhone cases that you’ve really got to see to believe.

All that, plus much, much more, in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine. Don’t forget to subscribe and download this week’s issue.

Apple Pay in the UK: Prepare to blow some minds, hold up lines

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Apple Pay
Apple Pay meets the U.K.
Photo: Apple

Apple Pay rolled out in the U.K. this week, letting a bunch more people start paying for snacks, clothes, and commutes with their late-model Apple gear. It’s all very neat and exciting, but our friends should get ready for some unexpected side effects of living in the high-tech future time.

For example:

Radar Cast lets you Watch for bad weather

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radar-cast
Radar Cast can make you feel like a meteorologist on the five o'clock news.
Photo: George Tinari/Cult of Mac

If you’re like me, you spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to pick out the perfect weather app for your iPhone. Apple’s Weather app just doesn’t cut it and it’s very hard to find something that has a little bit of every detail without being cluttered or downright ugly. That happy medium for me is Carrot Weather but unfortunately it’s been crashing on the iOS 9 developer beta. In its place I’ve been testing Radar Cast, a slightly unusual weather app that attempts to deliver all the most crucial information to your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

App Store vs. Google Play: Is it time Apple stopped being a control freak?

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fnf_10241

You can’t choose between Android and iOS without taking Google Play and the App Store into account. They’re the largest mobile marketplaces on the planet, and they both have their strengths and weaknesses — especially when it comes to control.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2Apple has strict App Store guidelines, and every title is tested by a human before being approved. In comparison, Google is happy to let most things fly — so long as it’s not offensive or harmful — which gives us access to things like emulators and file downloaders that aren’t available on other platforms.

But is “open” really better, and could Apple benefit from loosening its grip on the App Store?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question.

ilumi is a smart bulb that just got a little smarter

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The second generation of ilumi smart bulbs has already won enough backing on Kickstarter to go into production.
The second generation of ilumi smart bulbs has already won enough backing on Kickstarter to go into production.
Photo: ilumi

It took a little while for investors to see the light, so to speak. Corey Egan and Swapril Bora developed a smartphone controlled LED light bulb, but needed two crowd-funding campaigns, prize money from winning new product contests they had socked away and a deal from Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban before the ilumi smart bulb could enter the market.

Tens of thousands of bulbs have sold in the year they’ve been in production. It won’t take quite so long for the second generation to begin lighting homes and commercial spaces.

With 20 days to go on Kickstarter, ilumi far exceeded its $50,000 goal with a newly designed bulb that includes new experiences – like turning it on and off the shake of your phone – and a new antenna that will pick up commands from 150 feet away.

Nice rear: iPhone 6s Plus housing leaks

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Here's the rear housing for the iPhone 6s with a few observable design tweaks.
Photo: Future Supplier

Ahead of a probable announcement in September, it looks like we can already get a sneak peak at the iPhone 6s Plus – or at least the back of it. The rear housing leaked and there are plenty of photos to gaze at and of course scrutinize for months to come. Some very small differences in the casing have already garnered some attention.

Customers will pay a premium for products they view as ‘innovative’

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
Apple leads on innovation and money. Are the two linked?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is a rarity in history: being not only the world’s most valuable company, but also one of its most innovative. A new study from research firm Lab42 takes a look at the link between these two topics, and draws some interesting conclusions which may help explain Apple’s current success.

In particular, the study notes how perception of innovation is hugely important to many consumers when it comes to choosing to pay a premium for electronics goods or services. Cha-ching!

Kahney’s Korner: The Apple II deserves its own festival

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There's a festival that celebrates the Apple II. Mind blown.
There's a festival that celebrates the Apple II. Mind blown.
Photo: Cult of Mac/YouTube

It’s festival season and there’s a festival for everything – even one for Apple II users.

It’s called KansasFest and it has been going since 1989. It’s one of the longest-running computer festivals out there and the amazing thing is the Apple II was discontinued in 1992.

The endurance of this machine is the subject of this week’s Kahney’s Korner.

Video tribute shows why Satoru Iwata was Nintendo’s Steve Jobs

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Satoru Iwata was Nintendo's not-so-secret weapon.
Photo: GameSpot

Last weekend, the gaming world lost one of its biggest innovators. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata was not only one of the most powerful names in gaming, but also among the best-loved.

In many ways, Iwata was Nintendo’s Steve Jobs. Brilliant and passionate, he took a beleaguered company with no clear idea of where it was going at the turn of the century, and helped transform it back into the powerhouse it had been 20 years earlier. Like Jobs, Iwata passed away as a result of cancer in his mid-fifties, after leading his company for just over a decade.

Check out the touching video below for a look back at Iwata’s legacy: