Mike Judge’s great HBO comedy Silicon Valley has featured some fantastic references to Apple in the past — including a tongue-in-cheek dismissal of Steve Jobs as someone who “didn’t even code” and two not-so-obvious Apple logos that pop up during the show’s opening.

The most recent episode, entitled “Homicide,” contained one more namecheck of everyone’s favorite Cupertino company, but it’s unlikely to be a reference that got Tim Cook guffawing in front of his TV at home — since it skewered one of the most notorious Apple products of all time.

Apple has put its name to a letter which will be sent today, appealing to the White House to protect individual privacy rights in the face of suggestions that law enforcement should be able to access encrypted smartphone data via a backdoor.

“Strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy’s security,” argues the letter, which is signed by more than 140 tech companies, technologists, and civil society groups.

There have been plenty of rumors about the refreshed Apple TV set to arrive at WWDC, but two of the biggest concern the fact that it will feature a revolutionary gesture-based user interface and a new focus on gaming.

Possibly tying into that is a newly-published patent from Apple, which describes a pattern projector which would use laser beams to map the 3D space between the device and a user — thereby allowing a person to carry out motions as a way of interacting with specific apps.

And, yes, that includes games.

The Apple-watching world lost its shiz yesterday when Obama made his first tweet from his brand-new presidential Twitter account using an iPhone. But don’t get too excited, because the White House has revealed that the phone in question isn’t Obama’s regular handset after all.

Which prompts the question, “Who did it belong to?” Maybe Apple should commission JFK director Oliver Stone to shoot an advert/paranoid conspiracy thriller on the subject of the Obama iPhone.

Tech-wizard scientists have discovered a crack in the Safari web browser’s armor that will let evildoers trick it into showing false information in its address bar.

The exploit could lead to users giving up sensitive information when they think they’re just trying to buy some pants or something.

The Apple Watch has a bunch of faces to show you the current time, but here’s a simple tip if you want to combine the classic look of an analog face with the speed-to-read convenience of digital.

As it turns out, not only is Apple not pursuing an entry into the UltraHD TV market, but it stopped development on the project last year.

That’s not to say that it won’t ever grace your living room (even more than it already is), but maybe don’t chuck out your old TV just yet.

The iPhone is a distracting gadget. There’s texting, Facebook and a dozen-odd games I keep on the thing. I’m constantly being notified that there is something new to look at, a new Instagram post, a new Twitter reply, a new email.

Sometimes I just want to get away from it all, but I keep my iPhone with me all the time because, essentially, it makes sure I’m able to make a phone call in an emergency.

Now there’s a new Kickstarter project that aims to let you leave your iPhone at home but still remain connected with the one essential function: phone calls. The Light Phone is “a credit card-sized cell phone designed to be used as little as possible. The Light Phone is your phone away from phone.”

That sounds pretty neat, actually. Too bad I hate making phone calls.

Ever since the release of the iPhone 4s Apple has launched its annual smartphone updates in September, but according to supply chain sources, the production of iPhone 6s components is going so well, Apple might be able to launch the device sooner than expected.

If you’ve spent any time with an Apple Watch, you might have noticed that it notifies you quite a bit. There’s the ubiquitous Stand Up commands, notifications from Messages, Calendar and the like, and then all the third-party apps that send you taps all day long.

If you chose to have your Apple Watch mirror your iPhone’s Do Not Disturb schedule, at least it will stop bugging you during those hours, but what if you just need to stop the notifications right now on your Apple Watch?

Here’s how to do just that.

A first-class flight in a Soyuz space capsule is rocky, reliable and rather snug. An astronaut sits in a semi-fetal position, works the controls with a stick and feels a pretty heavy G load, especially on reentry.

So imagine if a fire breaks out on the Soyuz spacecraft. There’s no extinguisher, no exit and no help to call.

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen narrated a video showing he and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov going through a simulated fire on a capsule to train for an upcoming flight to the International Space Station.

This post is brought to you by Bulwark Products, maker of MeezyCube.

Buying any Apple product — whether a phone, tablet or laptop — is an investment in quality. We pay a premium for the sake of a device that’s designed and built to last, perform and look good while doing so.

Unless, of course, you’re talking about the power supply that comes with any MacBook. Somehow, Cupertino’s hardware wizards haven’t been able to move us beyond an unwieldy, tentacled plastic brick whose white plastic quickly gets scuffed up and filthy.

I’m not much of a video gamer, but Doom holds a special place in my heart. It’s the first game I can remember playing on a Mac, and while the next game in the sequel has been in the works forever (see: 2008), we finally got our first look at the gristly game today.

Publisher Bethesda will show off more of Doom at E3 next month, but for now the company released a super short teaser that has everything you could wish for: shotguns, and demons with monster guns.
Check it out below:

Samsung’s latest flagship phablet could come early this year as the South Korean company looks to counter the threat of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus due in September. A new report claims the Galaxy Note 5 will go on sale in July, three months earlier than expected.

The biggest Apple TV update ever could make an appearance next month at WWDC, according to a new report that claims the new set-top box will feature innovative new software features to go with the hardware upgrade.

  President Barack Obama is finally ready to enter the age of social media. After sitting behind the Resolute desk for six years, the president finally opened his own Twitter account today, but rather than using his hacker-proof BlackBerry to send his first message, POTUS turned to an Apple product.

Here’s his first tweet, sent from an iPhone:

Apple has received some bittersweet news in its ongoing litigation with Samsung as an appeals court has ruled that, yes, the iPhone’s design was copied, but that the overall look of a phone can’t be protected by law.

And here we were thinking there’s such a thing as a design patent!

Learn iOS 8 programming in 31 days with this course taught by a former Apple employee, now $39 at Cult of Mac Deals.

In an open letter to Tim Cook, billionaire investor Carl Icahn says Apple’s stock is still incredibly undervalued, and that now is the time for a much larger stock buyback.

Icahn’s firm believes that Apple shares are really worth $240 today, despite trading around $130.26 this morning, an increase over his previous estimate of $216. According to his letter, Icahn believes Apple is poised to dominate two new markets – television and the automobile.

A Super Bowl ring is the most coveted of football’s rewards, a talisman with the sparkle to match the magic of a championship season.

An Indianapolis Colts fan wants to give the New England Patriots the ring he thinks they deserve. Sitting on top of his 3-D-printed blue ring is a ball-inflation needle, the kind the NFL now believes was used in the infamous Deflategate game where the Patriots “cheated” their way to the Super Bowl.

Tim Cook welcomed students into the working world this weekend by giving the commencement address at George Washington University’s graduation ceremony.

Cook — who received an honorary doctorate as part of the ceremony — spoke about Apple’s status as a force for good in the world: something which has been a theme during his tenure as the company’s CEO. More importantly, he got in a great dig at the expense of Apple’s iPhone competitors.

Check out the video below.

Tidal CEO and former Samsung sellout Jay Z may have wiped himself off the list of celebrities set to receive a complimentary Apple Watch, thanks to a vicious freestyle rap aimed at Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of Coherent Navigation, a GPS company with expertise in mapping and self-driving vehicles.

Founded in 2008, Coherent Navigation is one of the leading companies behind what is known as High Integrity GPS or — appropriately enough for Apple — iGPS. Unlike regular GPS, which is accurate only within meters, iGPS’ high level of accuracy means it can provide geographic positioning data within centimeters.

A brand new 15-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch non-Retina iMac are rumored to be coming this Wednesday, according to the French Apple website MacGeneration which has a strong track record for breaking Apple stories.

If you live in Dubai and happen to be an Apple fan, you’re in luck — because the world’s largest brick-and-mortar Apple Store is set to open its doors close to you in just a few months.

Apple’s first ever store in the Middle East is set to be located at the Mall of the Emirates, where work is currently underway on the 50,000-square-foot retail outlet. Expect its grand unveiling in August this year.