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Crystal Baller: The amazing iCar and other electrifying Apple rumors

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Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

We get slammed 24/7 with new Apple rumors. Some are accurate, most are not. To give you a clue about what’s really coming out of Cupertino in the future, we’re busting out our rumor debunker each week to blow up the nonsense.

This week the Apple Car rumors have revved into fourth gear as a tsunami of reports from various outlets have claimed that not only is the iCar project real, but Apple is trying to get it onto highways by the end of the decade. While everyone’s focusing on the iCar, don’t forget about Apple Watch though. The rumor mill spit out five juicy rumors this week covering everything from pricing to customization.

Take a look at this week’s electrifying Apple rumors see which one’s are destined to come true:

Keep your iOS devices charged on the go with our best portable battery backups[Deals]

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redesign_1745_TravelCardCharger-iPhone_MF2

Love your iOS device but hate the inconvenience of having to recharge it? Recharging your iPhone, iPad, or iPod means downtime that can ause you to miss opportunities.

Luckily, there are a host charging options available for your iOS device at Cult of Mac Deals that’ll minimize the inconvenience that recharging brings. Read on for some killer options at awesome prices and all of them with free shipping to addresses within the continental US.

Fortune: We love you more than ever, Apple

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Can you feel the love tonight? Photo: Jacob Adaya
Can you feel the love tonight? Photo: Jacob Adaya

Apple has once again been named Fortune’s “most admired” company. Having won for the past seven years in a row — and then proceeded to shatter its own records throughout 2014 — it’s no surprise that Cupertino would take the no. 1 spot, but it’s yet another reminder of Apple’s current sustained dominance.

Google, meanwhile, increased its position by one place, versus last year, to take the no. 2 spot, while Amazon fell back a couple of places to no. 4. Microsoft, IBM and Facebook all failed to make the top 10.

Cracked iPhone screen? iCracked repair tech will come to you

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The repair service iCracked will fix Apple and Samsung phones on the spot. Photo: iCracked
The repair service iCracked will fix Apple and Samsung phones on the spot. Photo: iCracked

AJ Forsythe couldn’t stop dropping his iPhone and cracking the screen. He also couldn’t afford to be Apple’s best repair customer.

Clumsy but industrious, Forsythe bought parts on Alibaba and found he could fix his own phone cheaply and quickly. Soon, he was running a repair service out of his dorm room at California Polytechnic State University, replacing cracked touchscreens for $75.

Five years later, Forsythe runs a network of 1,700 technicians in the United States with another 400 in 11 countries under the name iCracked.

Apple Maps Connect could reach more countries soon

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Photo: Apple
Apple is expanding its nifty business-minded mapping tool. Photo: Apple

Apple may be a tech giant with more spare cash than a dozen Scrooge McDucks, but it does spare a thought for the little guy every now and then.

Late last year, the company launched a new portal called Apple Maps Connect, designed to allow businesses to add or edit listings within Apple Maps. Initially available for U.S. businesses only, last month it expanded to the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore — and now it may be set to arrive in French and German-speaking countries, too.

BusyContacts is the replacement contacts app you’ve been waiting for

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BusyContacts is the best Contacts app replacement we've seen. Photo: BusyContacts
BusyContacts is the best Contacts app replacement we've seen. Photo: BusyContacts

Apple’s Contacts app is the worst. It’s slow, it has a hard time working with services like Google or Exchange, and it just plain doesn’t connect with Calendar. Even though it integrates into all our other apps, most of us would be super-happy to replace it.

BusyContacts, a new app from the folks behind BusyCalendar, is that replacement app, whether you’re an average consumer, a busy office manager or an entrepreneur looking to wrangle your contacts and busy schedule.

“Many people are frustrated with the shortcomings of the built-in OS X Calendar and Contacts,” said John Chaffee, president and co-founder of BusyCal, “which are very basic and don’t work well when syncing with non-iCloud services.”

BusyContacts (and BusyCal) are powerful alternatives to these built-in apps, giving users greater control and flexibility along with better compatibility with Google and Exchange, while still playing nice with iCloud.

ICYMI: Top Features We Want To See In An Apple Car

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What will the Apple Car even look like? Cover design: Stephen Smith
What will the Apple Car even look like? Cover design: Stephen Smith

An Apple Car? Yep, you know it! Cupertino is all abuzz with latest evidence that the fruit-flavored computing company is taking a run at the highway with a possible new iCar, and we’ve got Lewis with the features we’d like to see there. Plus, Luke spends some time with the exhaustive New York Times post on Jony Ive, design genius, Alex dives deep into your new favorite iPhone game (Alto’s Adventure), David chats about one auteur’s thoughts on the film completely shot on an iPhone 5s, and Luke gets the inside scoop on one 25-year-old who’s made 600 iOS apps without even knowing how to code.

All this, plus a ton more (see below) in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, ready for download at your pleasure.

Apple may cough up $1.7 billion for display factory in Japan

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The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus are coming on September 18th, according to German carriers.
Apple is willing to fork out billions to its suppliers to ensure high quality iPhone displays. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple may be about to invest $1.7 billion in a new factory for Japan Display, primarily dedicated to building smartphone screens for Cupertino.

The proposed plant would be located in Ishikawa, Japan, and is set to start operations in 2016. While it will reportedly also produce panels for other companies, its main purpose (hence the Apple investment) would be to produce iPhone displays.

Your iPhone has been hacked by the NSA

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The NSA has just hacked 2 billion SIM cards around the globe, but Gemalto says it isn't that bad.  Photo: Wikicommons
The NSA has just hacked 2 billion SIM cards around the globe. Photo: Wikicommons

That iPhone in your hands? It’s been compromised by the National Security Agency through its SIM card, and government spies can access your phone through a backdoor installed on it without even needing a court order.

Sound scary? It is, and it’s the latest bombshell to be dropped by American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Unheard 1998 interview reveals Steve Jobs’ thoughts on Apple and higher ed

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Steve
Steve Jobs gives his commencement speech at Stanford in 2005. Photo: Stanford University
Photo: Stanford University

Right from the start, Apple has had one foot firmly in the education market. Today the conversation tends to be about getting iPads into schools around the world, but as far back as the 1980s Apple was cultivating relationships in the higher-education market — where it picked up some of its most loyal evangelists.

A newly published interview Steve Jobs gave to the Chronicle of Higher Education back in 1998 offers some pretty intriguing tidbits about Jobs’ approach to learning and his plans for Apple going into the new millennium.

If you’re interested in Jobs interviews (and what Apple fan isn’t?), this was recorded at an interesting time — shortly after Jobs returned to Apple, before it had released the iMac, aka the product that helped start turning the company around. It’s definitely worth a listen.

Want a shot at playing Steve Wozniak in the upcoming Steve Jobs movie?

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rogenandwoz
Seth Rogen (left), Steve Wozniak (right) and... you?
Photo: Seth Rogen/Steve Wozniak

 

Always dreamed of playing Apple’s lovable cofounder Steve Wozniak on-screen, but think you missed out on the chance when Hollywood comedian Seth Rogen was cast in the role for the upcoming Aaron Sorkin/Danny Boyle Steve Jobs biopic? Well, there may be time yet — provided you’re based in the Bay Area and are available for filming next Tuesday, February 24.

According to a casting call posted on the industry website projectcasting.com, Rogen is in need of a body double for anyone who bears a physical resemblance to the funny man actor. You could even pick up a cool $162 plus overtime for doing so.

The ad reads as follows:

Apple starts free repair program for glitchy MacBook Pros

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It's too late to take advantage of a free repair.
If you're MacBook looks like this, you may be in luck. Photo: Change.org
Photo: Change.org

Does your MacBook Pro freak out with distorted graphics or randomly restart? Then you’ll want to take advantage of Apple’s new repair program.

After deeming that a “small percentage of MacBook Pro systems may exhibit distorted video, no video, or unexpected system restarts,” Apple will start fixing parts for free on select MacBook Pro models.

Secret Apple Watch boutique is under construction at Paris’ fanciest store

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Photo: Kaysgeog/Flickr CC
The Galeries Lafayette is getting a special visitor. Photo: Kaysgeog/Flickr CC

Apple Watch isn’t just a techie gadget. It’s a fashion item.

To drill that point into everyone’s heads during launch, it looks like Apple is setting up a special booth at one of the fanciest high-end department stores in Paris: Galeries Lafayette Haussmann.

Construction on a special booth at Galeries Lafayette began a few weeks ago, according to Mac4Ever. There’s no official word that the structure is for the Apple Watch, but the timing, location and large white walls all point to Apple.

Take a look at the site:

Apple is staffing up employees for Israeli R&D center

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Photo: Andy/Flickr CC
Photo: Andy/Flickr CC

Tim Cook is heading out to Israel in a few days to inaugurate what will be Apple’s biggest overseas R&D center in Herzliya, but before the place gets Cook’s official visit, Apple is already looking to expand its staff.

Apple announced that its hiring 49 more positions for the Herzliya headquarters as wells as posts at its Haifa office. The 12,500 square-meter Herzliya offices are scheduled to open this week includes a gourmet restaurant, a fish pond and green surroundings.

Some of the new job posts include the following:

Arizona wants Apple so bad it might hand out yet another tax break

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GT Advanced
From sapphire to data. And with a tax break or two thrown in for good measure. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Thanks primarily to the memories of its botched sapphire production efforts, Apple’s not had the best of luck so far with Mesa, Arizona — although politicians in the state are desperate to keep it there.

Under a new Senate Bill put forward this week, Apple could receive between one and two decades’ worth of tax breaks for its planned Mesa data center. The tax breaks, introduced by State senator Jeff Dial, would relate to Apple primarily because of its plans to power the facility with 100 percent renewable energy.

Why buy a MacBook Pro when you could win one instead? [Deals]

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MacBook
New MacBook and iMacs are coming this week.
Photo: Apple

In the market for a new MacBook Pro? We urge you not to buy one. Why buy when you can win one instead?

Cult of Mac Deals is offering the chance for one lucky person to win a shiny new MacBook Pro with the aptly named MacBook Pro Giveaway! Drop whatever you are doing and enter now, because this contest won’t be open forever.

Radio Shack may die, but its ’80s-era portable PC lives on

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The Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 came out in 1983 and was a popular tool with writers.
The Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 came out in 1983 and was a popular tool with writers.

Some journalists remember the day the future arrived: We felt like James Bond on special assignment when our editors, playing the part of provision master Q, handed us the portable device that would allow a story to be written in the field and transmitted back to the office.

So when Radio Shack said earlier this month it would file for bankruptcy, more than a few of us flashed back to the TRS-80 Model 100, one of the first notebook-style computers.

Released in 1983, it set portable computing in motion. The TRS-80’s liquid-crystal display showed eight lines of text. The computer came in 8K and 24K versions and weighed just over 3 pounds. A later version, the Model 200, boasted a flip-up screen that showed even more text, but the original model was by far Radio Shack’s most popular, with more than 6 million sold.

OneNote update shows why iPad would benefit from a stylus

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Photo: Microsoft
Pen meets paper. Kind of. Photo: Microsoft

Anyone wanting to see what productivity tools would look like on an iPad with stylus need look no further than Microsoft’s updated OneNote iOS app.

Having just updated its OneNote app for Mac, the iPad app adds OCR scanning of text within images, alongside the neat ability to add handwritten notes — either using your finger or, better still, a third-party stylus. While this feature has previously been available for the Windows and Android versions of the OneNote app, this is the first time iPad users can get in on the fun.