John Sculley drew a 'Mac phone' concept for Steve Jobs back in the 80s. Photo: Web Summit/Flickr CC
Former Apple CEO John Sculley dropped some interesting new tidbits about Apple’s history in a recent interview. He said that all the way back in 1984, Jobs was dreaming up the idea of a “Mac phone.”
This “Mac phone” would be a desktop device that acted as a phone, but ran a version of the Mac’s software.
Samsung phones have been bogged-down with bloatware for as long as they’ve been around, but a Chinese consumer protection group is doing more than just complain about it — by suing Samsung and another Chinese vendor, Oppo, for loading their phones with literally dozens of pre-installed apps which are impossible to delete.
The consumer protection group wants to make it illegal for the smartphone industry to include bloatware on devices since it fills us phones’ internal memory and gives customers no choice in the matter.
Apple is turning to both long-time manufacturing partner Sharp and long-time “frenemy” Samsung to help build the displays for its eagerly-anticipated 12.9-inch giant-sized iPad Pro, according to a new report.
Sharp is said to have provided a small test batch of the enormous 264ppi, 2,732×2,048 displays in June, which met with Apple’s high production standards. However, Cupertino is also said to have given Samsung a back-up role building screen panels — suggesting that Apple is expecting big things with this next-gen device. Pun intended.
Finally, a boot camp where you’re encouraged to get your head in the clouds…er, the cloud. If you’re trying to establish any kind of cloud-based service, for yourself or a client, Amazon’s Web Services takes away the massive problem of actually having to build a server farm. That simplifies the work of setting up any service or application, and can help save (or make) you a lot more money, but only if you know how to use it. To help get your rear in gear, Udemy is offering the Amazon Web Services Engineer Bootcamp Bundle, a set of four critical courses. Clocking in at 24 hours’ worth of instruction on how to tap the potential of Amazon’s cloud, right now it’s 89% off the usual price — but like a vapor, this deal will disappear before long.
Leander Kaheny likes his Amazon Echo and wonders what if Apple created such a device. Photo: Cult of Mac
I’ve had the Amazon Echo sitting on my desk for the last couple of months and it’s an odd device – and I actually think it’s pretty great.
It’s a voice-controlled, speaker-cum-shopping tube that can go in your kitchen, living room or bedroom. You use it for simple queries like, “How’s the weather?” or “How is my commute? or “What is Barack Obama’s middle name?”
Listen to me interact with this device on this week’s edition of Kahney’s Korner.
Brad Mangin's portrait of a high school football player was selected for Apple's "Shot on iPhone 6" ad campaign. Photo: Brad Mangin/Apple
Cult of Mac’s Photo Famous series introduces you to the groundbreaking photographers featured in Apple’s “Shot on iPhone 6” ad campaign.
Brad Mangin’s friends gave him a good ribbing as “the last photographer on the planet” to carry a flip phone. They all had iPhones and couldn’t believe it took him so long to not only own one but discover the picture quality of the phone’s camera.
Laughter would turn to admiration in less than a year’s time. Mangin would go on to use his first iPhone to produce a robust baseball essay for Sports Illustrated and get a book deal with his iPhone pictures.
El Capitan coming to an iPad near you? Photo: Cult of Mac
Hidden in the dense verbiage of Apple’s latest trademark filing for OS X El Capitan is an intriguing detail not previously seen in similar filings for OS X Mavericks or Yosemite — revealing that Apple’s next-gen OS X could possibly be on its way to the iPad.
Seth Rogen plays Steve Wozniak in the forthcoming Jobs biopic. Photo: Universal
The Woz wasn’t exactly the world’s biggest fan of the Ashton Kutcher-starring 2013 movie Jobs, whose script he infamously dismissed as “crap.” But what did he make of the trailer for Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs, which landed earlier this week?
In an email correspondence, Wozniak gives something of a mixed view — essentially dinging the film for its accuracy, but arguing that its heart is in the right place.
iPhone 6s is on the way. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Apple will ship 50 million iPhone units in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a new report published today which claims that companies in the iPhone 6s supply chain have started delivering finished components to Foxconn and Pegatron for final assembly.
If accurate, this means that the iPhone 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus will hit combined shipments of 230-240 million units in 2015 — up from the 192 million units Apple shipped last year.
Hey Siri, what shenanigans are you pulling now? Photo: Apple
Siri has become an accessory to even more bullcrap from the Internet as pranksters have found another way to trick Apple’s digital assistant into contacting emergency services. And it’s only slightly less dumb than you think.
The prank claims that “something funny” will happen if you say “112” to your iPhone. North American users probably don’t know that 112 is the European equivalent to the 911 emergency number, and Siri will respond to the request by placing a call to your local switchboard.
Snohomish County, Washington’s Sheriff has taken to Twitter to put an end to the madness.
Golden Dreams will take your standard Apple Watch to new levels of class. Photo: Golden Dreams
If you like the look of the high-end Apple Watch Edition, but the $10,000+ price point makes your heart and wallet hurt, a Swiss company might have a nice alternative for you.
Golden Dreams of Geneva specializes in classing up iPhones, cases, and bags, and it’s turned its monocle-rimmed gaze to Apple’s new smartwatch. The company can take a standard version of the wearable and make it fancy at a fraction of the cost of its more precious sibling.
Humans react to innovative things like the Apple Watch fairly predictably. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
If you’re one of the people out there who haven’t taken the plunge on an Apple Watch, you’re not alone. While Apple’s latest wearable has gotten a ton of press and sold really well, a lot of the rank and file out there might think it’s a toy, or only for rich folks.
In fact, says journalist Morgan Housel over at Time, most people throughout history have pretty predictable responses to new things.
He has a list of reactions to new innovative inventions, each of which are reactions we’ve all heard (or had) when the Apple Watch (or the iPad, or the iPhone) was launched.
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, 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.
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.
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.
Plex, the popular media streaming service that makes it easy to access your entire video, music, and photo catalogs from pretty much anywhere, has been hacked.
A server breach this week allowed hackers to gain access to user data — including email addresses, private messages, and forum passwords — but Plex assures us our credit card details are safe.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Struggling to upload all of your cat snaps to Google Photos? You’re not the only one. A bug has been preventing some users from adding more images to their Photos library after reaching a certain number — but don’t worry; Google is not capping your unlimited storage allowance.
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.”
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.
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.