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Fiat CEO says Apple’s planning an ‘intervention’ for the car

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We'd like to buy this directly from Apple, OK?
iCar Concept art: Josh Baré/DeviantArt CC
Photo: Josh Baré/DeviantArt CC

The CEO of Fiat Chrysler made a recent trip to Silicon Valley that included a ride in Google’s self-driving car as well as a meeting with Tim Cook to talk about Apple’s automotive ambitions.

Sergio Marchionne, Fiat’s chief executive, spoke Saturday at the opening of a Maserati dealership near Toronto, Canada, and said he had recently met with both Apple and Tesla to talk about the future of cars — and found out more about what Apple’s planning.

This toilet demo shows how astronauts boldly go in space

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Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took time out from her work aboard the International Space Station to explain how astronauts go to the bathroom in zero gravity. Photo: ESA/YouTube
Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took time out from her work aboard the International Space Station to explain how astronauts go to the bathroom in zero gravity. Photo: ESA/YouTube

We have a reinvigorated interest in the mysteries of space. Astronaut Scott Kelly is just beginning a record-breaking stint in zero gravity, a space probe is about to fly by Pluto and manned missions to an asteroid and Mars are in the pipeline.

There is also the ongoing science on how to go to the bathroom in space, where things tend to float.

Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti explained that mystery over the weekend, when she took time from her work on the International Space Station to give a video tour of the bathroom (see below) and delicately describe going Numbers 1 and 2 in zero gravity.

I ain’t saying he’s a gold-digger, but Kanye already has an Apple Watch Edition

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Kanye
What would Yeezus wear? Photo: Justjared
Photo: Justjared

Given his unabashed love for “Jony Ives” (sic) and his status as the “next Steve Jobs,” it was only ever going to be a limited amount of time before Kanye West got his hands on a gold Apple Watch.

What may be slightly more of a surprise is that he didn’t just get the regular 18-karat Apple Watch Edition Apple has handed out to seemingly every celebrity who knocks on its doors, but rather the all-gold custom band unavailable to customers, which only Beyonce and Karl Lagerfeld have been spotted wearing so far.

Netflix CEO’s vision for the future of TV sounds just like Apple’s

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Netflix's CEO knows his stuff.
Netflix's CEO knows his stuff.

Netflix is killing it right now, so I’d be inclined to believe founder and CEO Reed Hastings when he chips in with his thoughts on the future of TV.

And, wouldn’t you know it, when he gave a speech about that very subject last week in Berlin, what he described as television’s future sounded a whole lot like what Apple is reported to be unveiling this year.

Never mind the Apple Car, Woz is backing Cadillac

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tesla

Photo: Steve

Steve Wozniak thinks the future is all about self-driving cars, but don’t expect him to be putting his money on the rumored Apple Car.

That’s because the Apple co-founder has signed a deal with Cadillac which will see him not only appear in marketing for the firm, but also offering his thoughts in a technical consulting role.

“I will be meeting with Cadillac, offering tech ideas on what belongs [in future vehicles] and what doesn’t,” Woz told a group of more than 200 people attending a recent presentation hosted by BBVA Compass Bank.

Read the first ever article written about Apple

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Wozniak: Steve Jobs was driven by a desire to be important
Woz and Jobs in their early days at Apple.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s not exactly hurting for press coverage these days. There was a time, though, when the company was desperate for any bit of publicity it could drum up. That time was February 1977, when The Apple Computer Company spoke to Kilobaud magazine for a multi-page feature article.

I don’t know whether my favorite bit of the resulting article is the crowing about 10 Apple computers selling in three weeks (the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold 10 million in their opening weekend) or Steve Jobs not yet mastering the art of selling by admitting the machine “is not for everybody,” but it makes for fun reading nonetheless.

A few awesome apps you might have missed last week

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Awesome-apps-you-might-have-missed

The App Store is a busy place, and it’s easy to miss an awesome new release, an update that makes an old app worthy of re-downloading, or a hidden gem you didn’t even know you even wanted.

That’s why we’ve done the work for you and collected the most awesome new apps for iOS and the Mac from the past week. We’ve got brand new Mac and iOS apps along with some killer updates this go around.


Awesome Apps

Unicorns, horror and bikes: 8 Instagram accounts to follow right now

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adam-jones
A detail of Adam Jones' art for new Red Hare album. Photo: Adam Jones/Instagram

Instagram has become riddled with so many photos of kitty cats, inspirational sayings and kitty cats spouting inspirational sayings that it has become nearly impossible to find fun and interesting feeds to follow without spending hours staring at your iPhone. So we did it for you.

This is not so much a “best of” list as a starting point that should open your mind to what else is out there in the great big Insta-world.

Apple’s plans for a magical new TV remote, this week on The CultCast

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Save us Apple, you're our only hope.
Save us Apple, you're our only hope.
Photo:

This week: For years Apple has reportedly been working their magic on the worst device in every home—the remote control. And now, with a rumored new Apple TV on the the horizon, we’ll tell you why an Apple-hewn controller could be its flagship feature. Plus: how to create your own Apple Watch band; how to share your digital heartbeat with other lonely Apple Watch wearers; and we vote on our favorite new gadgets on an all-new Faves ’N Raves.

Our thanks to lynda.com for sponsoring this episode! Learn virtually any application at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at lynda.com.

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Full show notes ahead!

Designing for Android: an iOS developer’s perspective

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Photo: Diarmuid Miklós/Flickr
A one-size-fits-all hybrid design for Android and iOS apps is not the best of both worlds. Photo: Diarmuid Miklós/Flickr

As an iOS developer, I’m frequently asked, “When are you going to do an Android version?” Like it is just a matter of time.

But the truth is, we’ll probably never support Android. While there are sound business rationales for this, my motives are rooted in design philosophy.

ICYMI: Essential Apple Watch tips

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A ton of tips for your wrist! Photo: Stephen Smith
A ton of tips for your wrist! Photo: Stephen Smith

This week, we focus on four non-obvious yet essential tips and tricks for using that fancy new Apple Watch on your wrist. Rob plays a new Apple Watch game, calling Lifeline the best game he’s played on his wrist, while Leander takes a speedy trip around the block on Stromer’s amazing electric bike. Luke digs into an Apple patent for a magical new Apple TV remote, and Buster checks in on how the Apple Watch will likely prevent heart attacks in the future.

All that and much, much more in the weekly installment of Cult of Mac Magazine!

Make Apple Watch calendar work for your wrist

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You've got options. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
You've got options. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

The default calendar view on Apple Watch is a list of the upcoming events for the current day. If you tap on the Today link in the upper left of the screen, you can see the whole month at a glance, which lets you tap on any day to see that day’s list of events.

But what if you want it to look less like a list and more like a calendar on your iPhone or Mac?

Luckily, there’s a simple way to do just that.

Memories photo scanner brings your old photos into digital world

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Memories Photo Scanner makes it easy to digitize your pictures. Photo: Idea Solutions
Memories Photo Scanner makes it easy to digitize your pictures. Photo: IdeaSolutions

This post is brought to you by IdeaSolutions, creator of Memories Photo Scanner.

Do you have a bunch of old photographs — you know, photos printed on paper — stored away in photo albums or yellowing in cupboards? Pictures you wish to see again and share instantly, the way you do with digital photos through apps and social media?

Photo-scanning app Memories makes bringing old photos into the digital world incredibly easy. Using the app on your iPhone, you can scan up to 15 photos per minute. And the results are awesome.

Apple plans to use free music samples to bring in subscribers

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Apple has big ambitions for its new music streaming service.
Beats redesign could be unveiled at WWDC. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

The days of free music streaming could be over if Apple gets its way, and its ready to make the transition smoother with Soundcloud-like free samples to go with its new streaming service.

Negotiations between Apple and music labels are still on-going for the new service that could launch as soon as WWDC, but according to a new report, Apple plans to offer listeners several ways to still play some music without paying for it.

How Apple Watch could predict heart attacks in the future

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The Apple Watch turns a wearer's heartbeat into something very vivid and visual.
Your Apple Watch could one day warn you of an upcoming heart attack. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

The Apple Watch heart rate monitor is far better than everyone thought, and that could theoretically lead to big medical breakthroughs — like the ability to can apple watch detect heart attack before they happen.

Developer Brad Larson dug into raw Apple Watch HealthKit heart rate data after a run and compared it to data from a heart rate monitor he had been wearing. The Apple Watch doesn’t have Food and Drug Administration approval as a medical device, but Larson discovered the wearable is nearly as accurate as an electrocardiogram.

Forget Apple Watch, this Android Wear device runs Mac OS

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Released in 1987, the Macintosh II was a significant breakthrough for Apple, being the first Mac to boast color graphics. Now close to 30 years later, an enterprising fanboy has figured out how to squeeze a fully-functional version of Apple’s System 6 O.S. onto an Android Wear smartwatch.

And despite being completely impractical, it’s pretty darn cool!

Nintendo promises five top-notch smartphone games by 2017

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Nintendo will deliver its first smartphone game by the end of this year, and there will be four more to come by 2017, president Satoru Iwata has confirmed.

While they may not sound like a whole lot, Nintendo insists it will demonstrate its commitment to smartphones and tablets by delivering quality games that are supported long after their release dates.