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Early phone’s bizarre mechanism had dialing pegged

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This primitive dial phone was built by Western Electric in 1902 for communities too small for a fulltime operator service. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
This primitive dial phone was built by Western Electric in 1902 for communities too small for a full-time operator service. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

This week’s ode to a technological marvel of the past would be a better read on an iPhone 6. How else to fully appreciate the design of the device in your hand than to read about when function and form first met on the telephone?

 Among the many items found in my aunt’s home when she died last year in a small town in Michigan’s upper peninsula were two telephones that are examples of the first dial phone.

If the once-common rotary dial phone seems strange today, behold the calling function on this 10-pound candlestick phone. On a circular base are 100 numbers. In communities too small to have a full-time operator, each home was assigned a number.

Walt Disney’s vision of the future forms backdrop of Tomorrowland movie

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Walt Disney was a champion of science and technology and used his theme parks to promote the future. Photo: Walt Disney Studios/YouTube
Walt Disney was a champion of science and technology who used his theme parks to promote the future. Photo: Walt Disney Studios/YouTube

There was more to Walt Disney than Mickey Mouse. He was an obsessive futurist who used his theme parks to stage ideas of what a world filled with cutting-edge technology and the fruits of scientific ambition might look like.

The upcoming movie Tomorrowland is not only a nod to Disney, it re-imagines his vision with the full 21st-century CGI treatment of a world with robots, flying cars and towers reaching into the clouds.

Watch Quest aims to be the first real game for Apple Watch

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The first real Apple Watch game is almost here. Photo: WayForward
The first real Apple Watch game is almost here. Photo: WayForward

There have been some Apple Watch games announced — mostly simple affairs, like Nimblebit’s upcoming Letterpad — but nothing truly epic.

WayForward Technologies, the veteran developer behind Ducktales Remasters, wants to change that. They’ve just announced that their latest adventure game, Watch Quest, will be available exclusively for the Apple Watch, starting next week.

No, Apple isn’t ditching retail store product launches

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Image courtesy of Pocket-lint
People queue for the iPhone. Photo: Pocket-lint

After Steve Jobs, the original Mac, and the iPhone, launch day queues have to be one of the most recognisably Apple phenomenons of them all: something which speaks not only to the crazy number of sales Apple makes, but also to the devotion of its fanbase.

Recently it looked as if Angela Ahrendts was trying to permanently change-up Apple culture — sending an email to Apple Store employees which proclaimed, “The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers.”

Fortunately, to paraphrase Mark Twain, it seems fears that Apple would do away with the excitement of launch day lines have been greatly exaggerated.

How to hack the new MacBook’s power chime onto the MacBook Air and Pro

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Original MagSafe connector
Here's how to hack the new MacBook's power chime onto the Air and Pro. Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Apple

You know how the iPhone and iPad plays a little chime when you plug it in? The new MacBook also does that. But sadly, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro remain completely silent when they connect to juice — which can make it hard to tell when you’ve accidentally knocked the MagSafe loose.

If you’ve got a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, though, it’s easy to hack in the new MacBook’s power-charging sound. Here’s how.

6 great comic book movies written by their original creators

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Is there anyone who doesn't like Sin City's Marv? Photo: Dimension Films
Is there anyone who doesn't like Sin City's Marv? Photo: Dimension Films

We’re living in a golden age for comic book movies, but even with that being the case, it can be kind of rare for a film to arrive in multiplexes, faithfully guided there by its original creator.

Having the original creator also show up as a writer or even director can work wonders, however, as this sextet of comic book cinematic gems prove.

Apple Watches won’t be available to buy in-store until June at earliest

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Mel Togusen, left, and her friend,  Chris Brown, look at different styles of Apple Watches. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Sure, you can look, but don't expect to be able to buy an Apple Watch in-store until June. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

If you missed out on placing a preorder for an Apple Watch because you thought you’d be able to wait until April 24 and then buy one from your local Apple Store, prepare to be disappointed.

That’s because — according to a new memo sent to Apple Store employees by retail chief Angela Ahrendts — no Apple Watches at all will be available to buy as walk-in purchases until June at the earliest: five weeks after Apple’s wearable devices begin shipping.

Apple considering how best to add Force Touch to iPhone 6s

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Apple Watch-style Force Touch is coming to both iPhone models this September.
Apple Watch's Force Touch tech could be coming to iPhone. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly testing two different designs for incorporating Apple Watch-style Force Touch technology into its next iPhone, according to a new report citing the Taiwanese supply chain.

With around five months until the next iPhone is unveiled, Apple is apparently experimenting with different placements for the Force Touch sensor — either locating it between the handset’s outermost protective screen cover and the in-cell touch panel, or else underneath the touch panel backlighting layer.

Apple Watch preorders surpass 2 million amidst supply constraints

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A line of Apple customers, who had registered for appointments to try on the Apple Watch, wait for the doors to open at the downtown Chicago store. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
A line of potential customers wait to try on the Apple Watch. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

While Apple isn’t saying how many Watches it’s sold, estimates so far are that more than 1 million preorders have been placed.

Now the industry’s leading Apple analyst is weighing in with his own findings, including why preorder estimates have already been pushed back to June.

Get guided tours of Siri, Maps and more on the Apple Watch

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Mel Togusen, left, and her friend,  Chris Brown, look at different styles of Apple Watches. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac
Not wanting to stand in a store to try on the Apple Watch? Get a tour online. Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

After showing us how to use the Messages app, clock faces, and Digital Touch on the Apple Watch, more guided tours have been posted by Apple online.

In its latest round of video tours, Apple takes a look at how to take phone calls, use Siri, get directions, and play music with the Watch.

Battle between iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 comes to a boil

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With strong reviews and positive word of mouth behind both the iPhone 6 and the Samsung Galaxy S6, the battle between the two flagship devices is what the smartphone-watching world deserves.

But there’s one more question that precisely nobody’s been asking up until now: Which one would survive longer in a tub of boiling water?

Yep, as wacky stress tests go, you can forget about accusations of bending — this one takes the cake.

Next-gen drones vie for air supremacy

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DJI's Phantom 3 is available for pre-order and will soon be sharing airspace with another new drone, the Solo by 3D Robotics. Photo: DJI/YouTube
DJI's Phantom 3 is available for preorder and will soon be sharing airspace with another new drone, the Solo by 3D Robotics. Photo: DJI/YouTube

Comparing two impressive new quadcopters is like comparing a hawk to a falcon. Both birds are impressive.

That might make a tough choice for drone enthusiasts looking to upgrade, but for the rest of us, it’s easy: Just watch the awesome marketing videos and drool.

Shield your iPhone fitness data from other apps’ prying eyes

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Keep your activity data private. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Keep your activity data private. Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

With the advent of Apple’s motion coprocessor chip (the M8 in recent iOS devices), any apps that you download and grant permission to can use this data to enhance their offerings.

This lets apps like RunKeeper, Carrot Fitness and others both gather fitness data from your iPhone as well as send it to the Health app.

This could raise privacy concerns for some, so being able to decide which apps we allow to access our fitness-tracking data — or whether the iPhone tracks these activities at all — can be a helpful.

Here’s our recipe for getting finer-grained control over your fitness-tracking data.

How much is lunch with Tim Cook worth?

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Tim's ready for another stellar quarter.
Ready to chow down with Apple's head honcho? Photo: Bloomberg Businessweek
Photo: Bloomberg

Can you put a price tag on bending the ear of CEO of the most valuable company in the world? Apple thinks you can, and its making Tim Cook available for a brief sit down if you’re willing to cough up the cash for charity.

For the third consecutive year, bids are being taken for lunch with Cook to support the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights. The winner not only gets to meet for an exclusive one-on-one with Cook at Apple’s headquarters, but two VIP passes to an Apple keynote.

Checkmate! Cheating chess master caught using iPod touch

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The one time Apple probably would've been happy to see an Android device pop up in the news. Photo: Telegraph
The one time Apple probably would've been happy to see an Android device pop up in the news. Photo: Telegraph

A chess Grandmaster could be slapped with a 15-year ban after being caught using an iPod touch to cheat.

Georgian champion Gaioz Nigalidze’s strategy involved rushing to the toilet between moves to consult his iOS device, which was reportedly hidden in a cubicle, behind the toilet pan and covered with paper. On it he had stored a chess app which was set up to follow his moves.

Cheating? There’s an app for that.

Reemo smartwatch lets you wave your lights on

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In this demonstration video, a mother gestures to turn off the lights thanks to the Reemo smartwatch she is wearing. Photo: Reemo/YouTube
In this demonstration video, a mother gestures to turn off the lights thanks to the Reemo smartwatch she is wearing. Photo: Reemo/YouTube

This is the year computer power migrates to our wrists. We have the roll-out hype of the Apple Watch to thank for that. But one company wants that power to be flexed through a flick of the wrist.

Reemo is software and a wrist device you probably haven’t heard of. It doesn’t come in gold or send your heartbeat to a loved one.

It is built around the emerging technology of gesture control — users become maestros in their homes and offices. With a range of gestures and arm movements, users can control the volume on televisions and stereos, trigger door looks, drop the temperature of a room and power lighting up or down.