Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — A parking app that reliably helps find open spots in this congested city was coded on a turn-of-the-century tugboat in Sausalito.

The Terrapin served David LaBua as a coding den for VoicePark, a free app that uses sensors to monitor parking spots. It’s the only one we’ve tested to date that guided us to viable public spots on the busy streets of San Francisco.

“Parking is probably San Francisco’s biggest stressor, and writing about it has been very therapeutic for me,” says LaBua, who holds a master of science in psychology. “I had no intention of getting into the app game, but there was a real need for it.”

Popular torrent sharing network The Pirate Bay is finally easier to access on your smartphone thanks to a new mobile site. It’s almost identical to the desktop version and offers all the same features, but it is optimized for smaller displays.

Tim Cook told investors he’s happy with Apple’s trade-in program and other used iPhone sales, and it turns out so is eBay.

In the last 12 months nearly $2 billion worth of Apple devices, ranging from iPhones, iPads, and old Macs, have been sold on eBay’s store, according to data obtained by Computer World, and just like Apple’s own sales, the iPhone brought in most of a money on eBay too.

If you’ve been wary of joining the digital comics revolution because of digital rights management (DRM) concerns, Comixology, a comics portal and mobile app, is creating a solution.

Announced Thursday at the company’s San Diego Comic-Con panel, the new DRM-free backup service will let you keep a local copy of your purchased digital comics from the likes of Image Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Zenescope Entertainment, MonkeyBrain Comics, Thrillbent, and Top Shelf Productions. You’ll be able to save a local copy in PDF or CBZ (a comic-book archiving format) right on your iPad.

“For those out there who have not joined the comic reading community because of DRM – you have no excuse now,” said ComiXology’s John D. Roberts in a statement. “We’re excited about the launch of DRM-free backups today and look forward to announcing more innovative features as we move ahead with our mission of making everyone on the face of the planet a comic book fan!”

Alongside the fall release of OS X Yosemite, iTunes will be getting its own new look and feel. In today’s video, we show you exactly what to expect in the upcoming iTunes 12.

Check out the video above to see the sleek new design of the latest iTunes beta and some of its new features in action.

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Late night show host and habitual Apple-prankster, Jimmy Kimmel, toasted Apple’s successful earnings report last night with a hilarious iWatch prank that shows just how deliciously potent the Apple Kool-Aid really is.

After tossing in a few jabs at the iPhone 6’s bloating screen size, Kimmel took to the streets to see if Apple fans love for the brand would magically turn a cheap calculator watch into the Apple iTime smartwatch.

If you thought people wouldn’t be fooled by a $20 Casio watch with an Apple sticker on the back, especially after Kimmel has already pulled this prank like 37 times, you’re wrong.

The Angry Birds are, ahem, transforming yet again in this new trailer from Rovio and Hasbro, released to coincide with San Diego Comic Con this week.

You’ve got the red bird cosplaying as a voice-less Optimus Prime, running his way through an island-style world, smashing through crates, and then finally facing a giant, laughing pig-bot Deceptihog. It doesn’t get much better than this. Check out the video below.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite is gorgeous. It’s the biggest visual overhaul to come to OS X since Aqua, which has caused a rush of Apple fanboys – including our own Leander Kahney –  to jump the gun and install the buttery smooth interface on every Mac in sight.

Playing around with Apple’s newest software is a true tech delight, but it can also come with some horrific consequences if you install it as your main OS, as most apps still aren’t optimized for the update. However, unlike iOS 8 there’s a safe way to install it without ruining your Mac until the final version is ready.

Here’s how to install the Yosemite beta in the most responsible way possible:

Nearly two months after Apple announced it would release a public beta of OS X Yosemite, participants are finally getting their download notifications, allowing non-developers to access the new Mac operating system for the first time ever.

The initial public beta is the exact same build that’s currently being tested by registered developers, but Apple is giving 1 million people access to OS X Yosemite on a first-to-sign-up basis.

Instagram has accidentally leaked that it’s planning to launch a thunder strike against Snapchat with a new “one tap photo messaging” app of its own called Bolt.

A banner announcing the new messaging app was accidentally posted for some users on Android to see last night, but was taken down about 15 minutes after it appeared. The Free link button on the banner directed users to the Google Play Store, but the page was not available.

Rumors that Apple might bring fun faces to the iWatch thanks to a partnership with Swatch have already been shot down, after the Swiss watchmaker denied a report claiming it and other watchmakers were helping Apple create a diverse lineup of smartwatches.

A report from Venture beat on Wednesday claimed Swatch, Timex and possibly others, were secretly helping Apple make a whole set of iWatches for all tastes geek to chic, but it appears that Apple is definitely making the iWatch all on its own.

More than ever before, we are dependent on the Internet for our business and social efforts.  With that in mind, knowing how to code these days is pretty important. If you don’t know how to code you leave control of your web presence in someone else’s hands or, worse, your website just won’t measure up to that of your competition.

Take control of your web presence with The Beginner Web Dev Hacker Bundle at 86% off, just $69, from Cult of Mac Deals.

If you’ve never really understood why Apple decided to make the iPhone’s signal bars circular in iOS 7 (I haven’t, either), then you’ll be pleased to know that you’ll soon have the ability to change it, thanks to an upcoming tweak for jailbroken iPhones called Meter.

I was pretty pumped about UpWord Notes when it came out back in February, and it’s still the first place I go when I need to jot something down. Meanwhile, my iPhone’s onboard Notes app just languishes in a folder marked “Trash” because I can’t delete it.

Developer Lau Brothers is dropping Version 2.0 of UpWord Notes on us today, and it includes several new features that make the app even more fun and useful.

Oyster, the all-you-can-read e-book subscription service that finally made its debut on Android earlier this month, is now even more accessible. From today, Oyster users can enjoy titles in a web browser on almost any device — including your Mac or PC.

BlueAnt’s Pump wireless headphones caught my eye at Mobile World Congress. Sports gear that also looks cool? Count me in!

I’ve been giving theses waterproof Bluetooth headphones a workout since they arrived last week, and I love them. That’s not to say they’re perfect – they’re not. But they have a job to do, and they get on and do it.

Merek Davis is not a coder. The developer never even made an app before 2013. Yet on his first iOS at-bat, he hit an App Store grand slam with Mextures, his photo-editing app that quickly became one of the top photo apps of the year.

Mextures is like Photoshop for your iPhone, only easier to use. The app’s editing tools and formulas let you tweak and re-tweak pics, adding light leaks, textures and color gradients that can turn even your crappiest pics into something majestic.

It’s a bona fide hit, with some of the most-followed names on Instagram using Davis’ creation. But it almost never happened.

BlackBerry users have been warned that calling the emergency services will not charge their phone battery after some were fooled by bogus information that was circulated online. British Police have reminded users that unnecessary calls waste resources and could put lives in danger.

We’ve been waiting all year for Apple to finally reveal its long-rumored wearable creation, but if the big iWatch event ever does happen this year, we might be getting a lot more smartwatches than expected.

Swatch and other watch makers will supposedly team up with Apple to bring a variety of stylish iWatches to consumers, according to a rumor from VentureBeat, that claims Cupertino wants to partner with companies in the watch business to expand the smart watches’ appeal.

Apple’s big plan for mobile payments could debut as early as the iPhone 6 this fall, according to a new report from The Information. While the company has been in talks with major players in the payments industry for a while, its efforts haven’t made it into the light of day yet.

The mobile “wallet” would allow the user to pay in the real world using just their iPhone, and Apple already has the security feature in place to make it all work seamlessly.

When surfing the web or using one of your favorite applications, chances are your iPhone is burning through mobile data. Unless you have unlimited data on your wireless plan, this can quickly become a costly habit. Luckily, it’s easy to control your data on iOS no matter who your carrier is.

In today’s video, we show you how to manage data on your device so you can avoid a hefty bill.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Eddy Cue thinks 2014 will be the best product pipeline Apple’s had in 25 years, and according to the company’s latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cupertino is certainly pouring enough money into R&D to back him up.

Apple increased spending in research and development 36 percent year-over-year in Q3, with an extra $425 million being funneled into R&D in the last quarter alone.

The most important camera upgrade on the iPhone 6 won’t be on in the back, it’ll be the front-facing selfie-cam, and Sony says it’s ready to spend $345 million to make sure it has enough image sensors for future iPhones, iPads, and other tablets and smartphones.

Sony, Apple’s image sensor supplier for the iPhone and iPad, announced today that it is increasing its production capabilities of image sensors for smartphones and tablets by completing work on a factory it purchased from Renesas Electronics in northwestern Japan.

More than ever before, our connected world is a mobile one. What good is having a strong web presence if it isn’t optimized for use with mobile devices? That’s where having your own app comes into play. It allows your audience to connect with you in a personalized way.

Now, you too can build breath taking apps with two awesome offers. For a limited time, you can pre-order The Complete iOS 8 Course With Swift for $79 and The 8 For 8 Design Bundle for $24.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

The Complete iOS 8 + Swift Developers Course (Pre-Order)