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CloudMagic’s best features now cost $4.99 a month

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CloudMagic has long been my favorite third-party email client on Android and iOS, thanks mostly to its excellent cross-platform support that makes managing email on different devices incredibly simple. But thanks to its latest update, some of the terrific features we’ve been enjoying for free for over a year are now going to cost $4.99 a month.

Apple’s new Swift language experiences ‘meteoric’ growth

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Developers are loving Apple's new programming language. Photo: Cult of Mac
Developers are loving Apple's new programming language. Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple surprised developers with its new programming language, Swift, at WWDC 2014 but it hasn’t taken long for the developer community to get behind what will soon be the replacement for Objective-C.

In the latest programming language popularity rankings from RedMonk, Swift has shot up from the 68th ranked language in Q3 2014, to the 22nd most popular language going into 2015. To put that growth into perspective, Google released its new language Go in 2009, but it just barely cracked the top 20 in this quarter’s rankings.

Here’s the full rankings chart:

Next Samsung smartwatch may copy Apple’s digital crown

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Samsung has released six smartwatches in the past year, but now that Apple is coming out with its first timepiece in 2015, the South Korean smartphone already has plans to copy Apple’s Digital Crown with its own spin.

The first round Samsung smartwatch will hit the market in 2015, according to a report from SamMobile which also claims the company’s Moto 360-styled smartwatch will come with an Apple-like twist.

Why iOS 8 turned iBooks into a must-read

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Apple's eBook appeal is just getting started. Photo: Apple
Apple's eBook appeal is just getting started. Photo: Apple

It seems like there’s a revolt among a segment of diehard Apple fans every time a new app comes preloaded in iOS. No one likes bloatware, and Apple is usually good about keeping crap out of its software. The main problem is that iOS apps can’t be deleted and phone storage these days is precious.

Yet it turns out that choosing to include iBooks as a stock app in iOS 8 was the best thing Apple’s ever done for its ebooks service.

Father of the iPod tasked with saving Google Glass from extinction

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After failing to garner consumer interest for nearly two years, the fate of Google Glass is now in the hands of former Apple executive Tony Fadell. The Glass Explorer program is also being shut down on January 19th, which means it will be impossible to buy the $1,500 headset commercially.

Fadell, whose claim to fame at Apple was leading the development of the original iPod, joined Google last February when Nest was acquired for $3.2 billion. Now Google Glass is being moved out of the experimental Google X division and placed under Fadell’s leadership.

The development of Glass hasn’t been halted, but the move signals the trouble Google has had gaining momentum with the project.

Building iOS math game a family affair

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A scene from the math game CarQuiz, which asks drivers to answer math questions, swiping a finger to move to the lane with the correct answer. Photo: Smile More Studios
A scene from the math game CarQuiz, which asks drivers to answer math questions, swiping a finger to move to the lane with the correct answer. Photo: Smile More Studios

At 9, Mariah Martin already has a handle on future careers. “Veterinarian, professional figure skater, fashion model and teacher – not all at once.”

For now, she must settle for tech entrepreneur.

The Seattle fourth-grader and her father, Scott, understand learning math for many children is no joyride but they have developed an iOS game app they believe will put kids in the driver seat on a road to mastering the basics.

CarQuiz allows drivers to navigate a track with math equations along the way and a choice of three answers a little further down the road. Once the equation appears, the driver must quickly figure out the answer as three choices appear. With a finger swipe, the driver moves into the lane with the correct answer.

3 great services to help rid yourself of nerdy crap

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Steve Jobs action figure
If you actually have one of these unproduced Steve Jobs figurines, maybe don't sell it. Photo: in icons

Scott Dadich, editor-in-chief of Wired, recently dispatched a chilling memo to his worker bees about keeping their San Francisco hive clean. Among other things, Dadich bemoaned the “dorm room” look of the office.

“It’s an embarrassment,” he opined in his overwrought missive, which was leaked to The Awl. “Coffee stains on walls (and countertops and desks), overflowing compost bins, abandoned drafts of stories and layouts (full of highly confidential content), day-old, half-eaten food, and, yes, I’m going to say it, action figures. Please. WIRED is no longer a pirate ship [emphasis added].”

Whether you work at Wired or not, you have no shortage of options if you’re suddenly in a panic to sell your old nerdy crap (or buy all-new nerdy crap — take that, Mr. Boss Man). While you might be tempted to go straight to Craigslist or eBay, those sites can be unpredictable or leave you vulnerable to murder. Here are three alternatives if you want to ditch your excess junk and prefer to keep your guts where they are.

How to rid your Mac of adware in a flash

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As OS X becomes increasingly popular, it’s only natural that it becomes a bigger target for hackers, scammers and advertisers. We’re seeing a rise in complaints about adware programs built for OS X, which can take over your computer and prevent you from doing things like open up your browser. But don’t worry — it can be really easy to get rid of.

In today’s video, I’ll show you how to remove all traces of adware from your Mac in less than two minutes using an excellent tool called AdwareMedic.

The smart detective who inspired today’s smartwatch

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A child calls a buddy on his Dick Tracy Two-Way Wrist Radio in this 1960s commercial.
A child calls a buddy on his Dick Tracy Two-Way Wrist Radio in this 1960s commercial.

I have no plans to buy a smartwatch at the moment, but when I do, I already know the first command to give it.

I’m going to make my jaw as square as possible, activate the phone for my first call (probably to my wife), and say: “Calling all cars! Calling all cars!”

With Android Wear already here and Apple Watch on the way, we must salute detective Dick Tracy and his his two-way wrist radio.

Comic strip creator Chester Gould first strapped a wrist radio on Dick Tracy in 1946. He upgraded it to a wrist television in the 1960s. Tracy never complained about dropped calls or bandwidth problems.

8 tasty snacks Brits and Yanks should try

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When it comes to savoury snack, Monster Munch is the best money can buy: a chunky baked corn snack in the shape of an animal paw. Originally launched in the UK in 1977, Monster Munch has had a changing roster of flavors and manufacturers over the years, but the ultra-popular pickled onion flavor has always remained.These snacks aren’t for the faint of heart. When we tell you the flavor is pickled onion, we’re not kidding! If the only puffed corn snacks you’re used to taste of cheese, your tastebuds are in for a heck of a wakeup call.Flamin’ Hot flavor run a close second.Photo: Walkers

When it comes to savoury snack, Monster Munch is the best money can buy: a chunky baked corn snack in the shape of an animal paw. Originally launched in the UK in 1977, Monster Munch has had a changing roster of flavors and manufacturers over the years, but the ultra-popular pickled onion flavor has always remained.

These snacks aren’t for the faint of heart. When we tell you the flavor is pickled onion, we’re not kidding! If the only puffed corn snacks you’re used to taste of cheese, your tastebuds are in for a heck of a wakeup call.

Flamin’ Hot flavor run a close second.

Photo: Walkers


How Apple could hide a gaming joystick in future iPhones

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Coming soon to your iPhone Home button? Photo: Duncan C/Flickr CC
Coming soon to your iPhone Home button? Photo: Duncan C/Flickr CC

I’ve written on numerous occasions before about how we’re currently living through a golden age of iOS games, and apparently Apple agrees with me.

According to a new patent application published today, Apple may be investigating the possibility of building in a miniature joystick inside the Home button of future iOS devices.

Read on to find out how it could work.

Blind Redditor pays $1,000 to have Siri read the news

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I can't wait to get my hands (and ears) on Sireader. Photo:
I can't wait to get my hands (and ears) on Sireader. Photo: Philip Tennen

Want to see something neat to start off your day? How about a Siri RSS reader?

RSS readers, as most readers will be aware, are great at aggregating news headlines from a variety of different websites that get updated throughout the day. While they’re useful tools, they’re less than ideal for blind or partially sighted users, however.

With that in mind, one blind Redditor recently announced that they were posting a $1,000 bounty for any developer who could create a jailbreak tweak capable of not only keeping track of RSS feeds, but also getting Siri to read them out loud.

Apple could finally give the iPhone more RAM this year

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Apple is hoping for big things from its next-gen iPhone.
The iPhone 6s could boast twice the RAM of its predecessor. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

Although high-end smartphones can boast anything up to 4GB RAM these days, the iPhone has been stuck on 1GB ever since the iPhone 5. This hasn’t really been much of a problem, because iOS is so efficient that developers have been able to continue making apps and games superior to most things on Android, while sticking within the 1GB limit.

This may be about to change, however, according to a new report circulating in the Taiwanese media, which suggests that Apple plans to boost up its iPhone to 2GB of LPDDR4 memory for its forthcoming iPhone 6s, which will likely arrive this September.

Last chance to save 58% on Limefuel: the 20,000mAH dual-USB battery backup [Deals]

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Limefuel was one of our favorite gadgets from 2014 and sadly today is the last day to get this innovative, battery saving product. We have all had that feeling of seeing our battery drop into the red zone without a plug in site. Cult of Mac is offering you a lifesaver, Limefuel can fully recharge your iPhone 6 more than 10 times! Never run out of battery life again, get your Limefuel before it’s gone.

Samsung wants to buy BlackBerry for $7.5 billion

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BlackBerry’s employees were caught using iPhones on Twitter recently, but the company could be trading in their CrackBerry keyboards for a Samsung Galaxy S6.

Samsung has recently approached BlackBerry with an offer to buy the company for $7.5 billion. The BlackBerry brand has been in decline ever since 2007 when the iPhone ushered in a new age of smartphones, but Samsung is reportedly interested in gaining access to the company’s patent portfolio.

Why the world’s top Apple analyst is wrong about Macs ditching Intel

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Are Apple and Intel ready to break up? Photo: Apple
Are Apple and Intel ready to break up? Photo: Apple

The tech blogosphere has been buzzing this morning with news that Apple might be ditching Intel after ‘the world’s most accurate Apple analyst’ issued a report predicting iMacs and MacBooks will shun Intel processors for Apple’s own ARM-based solution within the next 1 – 2 years.

The ramifications of Intel getting ditched by the only personal computer line that’s still gaining marketshare would be huge. Intel’s stock has been trading down 1.53% since the news broke this morning, but before you ditch your Intel stock and start dreaming of a fanless ARM-powered MacBook Air, there are two things you need to know that show Kuo is probably wrong.

3-D printed Shelby Cobra ready to lay down the rubber

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A blast from the past got a blast from a 3-D printer. This replica Shelby Cobra is on display this week at the Detroit Auto Show. Photo: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
A blast from the past got a blast from a 3-D printer. This replica Shelby Cobra is on display this week at the Detroit Auto Show. Photo: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The curvy roadster with the V-8 engine is the stuff of legend and the muse of copy cats.

The Shelby Cobra turned racing on its head in the 1960s and though so few were ever produced, it became one of the most copied cars in history. Replicas continue to flood the market and a simple search on Ebay will turn up a variety of pricey replica kits.

But there’s one that might have earned a nod of approval from Carroll Shelby had he lived to see it.

For the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Shelby Cobra, a working 3-D printed replica is currently on display at the Detroit Auto Show.

Oppo beats Apple to a sapphire smartphone

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Apple failed to get its sapphire glass ready for its latest smartphones, but Chinese manufacturer Oppo did not. Its new RC1, a midrange handset with a 5-inch display, has a sapphire back panel that allows the device to be incredibly thin but still surprisingly sturdy.

Robot Chicken and Power Glove: a match made in animation heaven

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Anything else is child's play. Photo: Dillon Markey
Anything else is child's play. Photo: Dillon Markey

Dillon Markey animates one of the hottest Adult Swim programs on television, Robot Chicken. Better yet, he uses an old Nintendo Power Glove to do it.

The Emmy-winning show consists of short sequences of stop-motion animation using action figures of pop culture characters, like Bill Gates or Shigeru Miyamoto, the famed Nintendo game designer. Funny enough, Markey used his modified Power Glove the first time on that specific scene in Robot Chicken.

Check it out in the video below.

Can’t decide on a wearable? Here’s how you can sample 5 for a week

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With so many wearables to choose from these days, how do you decide which one is right for you? Are you better off investing in a cross-platform device like the Pebble, or do you want the color display and other benefits that Android Wear brings?

The best way to decide is by trying these devices out before you buy them. Not for five minutes in a store, but for as long as you like as you go about your day. Lumoid’s rent-to-own program lets you do just that; you can sample five wearables for a full 7 days before deciding which one you want to buy, and if you don’t like any of them, you can just send them all back.