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Get huge savings and always stay charged with these hot accessories [Deals]

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CoM_PowerCube

Cult of Mac Deals offers the best prices on products that empower you to be your best every day. Sometimes, though, we offer products just simply provide power.

Today, we put a spotlight on 5 such products that will make sure you have power to spare for all of your devices.  Check out the PowerCube, the 10 Ft. MFi-Certified iOS Lightning Cable, the Limefuel LP200X, the Afterburner iPhone 6 Battery Case, and an amazing bundle of 152 Duracell Batteries.

Instagram and Apple Watch: a match made in heaven

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The first wave of Apple Watch apps will probably be pretty limited in functionality, but even with the WatchKit restrictions Apple has in place, the design gurus at JBS Labs have created an Instagram for Apple Watch concept that we can’t wait get on our wrists.

The Hungary-based design firm pared down the Instagram UI to just the bare essentials. No, you can’t upload pictures or comment on your friends’ latte photos, but the simplified app does let you view and like pictures, as well as read comments and find new people to follow.

Check it out:

Steve Wozniak inches closer to becoming an official Aussie

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Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. Photo: Wired/Flickr
Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. Photo: Wired/Flickr

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak made his first big step toward becoming an official citizen of Australia this week when he was granted ‘permanent resident’ status for being a distinguished person

Woz is currently teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Technology in Sydney and says he plans to become full fledged citizen and buy a house in Sydney.

Holiday cheer as hipsters get hit in face with snowballs

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Wow, that looks cold. Photo: Exit 10
Wow, that looks cold. Photo: Exit 10

There’s nothing better than a snowball fight, unless its a snowball fight you can watch from the comfort of your couch and Macbook Pro.

Even better is a snowball (or two!) in the face of a bunch of adorable hipsters from Exit 10, a design studio in Baltimore that put together this ultra-slow-mo snowball massacre for you to enjoy.

Apple gets in the Tumblr game with 2014 best of iTunes

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Welcome to Tumblr Apple. Photo: Cult of Mac
Welcome to Tumblr Apple. Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple is ramping up its social media efforts today with the creation of the company’s first ever Tumblr page dedicated to the top iTunes picks for music, movies, TV shows and books in 2014.

With iTunes sales slumping for the second straight year, Apple is adding more ‘social’ to its marketing plan with a Tumblr page that allows viewers to like and share their favorite GIFS, pictures and videos that Apple created to promote its favorite artists of 2014.

Apple Putin up prices in its Russian online store

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Photo: Apple
Russia's latest woe: iPhones now cost more than ever. Photo: Apple

Apple has re-opened its online store in Russia after temporarily closing it last week following “extreme” fluctuations in the valuation of the country’s currency, the ruble.

But while that’s good news for people wanting to order Apple goods over the holidays, it’s not likely to go over well with the majority of customers — since prices have dramatically increased.

The cost of an iPhone 6, for instance, has risen 35 percent: with a 16GB iPhone 6 selling for 34,990 rubles before the shutdown, and 53,990 rubles now. That means a base level iPhone costs $980 in Russia.

The quickest and simplest way to make calls on your Mac

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DockPhone is the phone dialer Apple should have included with Yosemite. Photo: DockPhone

One of the best features launched with OS X Yosemite this year was the ability to make and receive phone calls from your Mac, provided it is paired with a compatible iPhone.

But while it’s usually great receiving phone calls with the feature, making outgoing calls yourself is not so straightforward: You must launch the FaceTime app, turn on your webcam and then maneuver through an interface that’s clearly more complex than it needs to be.

Thankfully, this is where DockPhone app comes to the rescue. If you use your Mac to makes calls with any regularity whatsoever, consider this an early Christmas present to yourself.

Give your Mac a voice-activated self-destruct sequence

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You can tell your Mac to self-destruct with this simple trick. Photo: Jacob Salmela
You can tell your Mac to self-destruct with this simple trick. Photo: Jacob Salmela

Worried that the cops might bust in your door any minute, or simply really paranoid? How cool would it be if you could initiate a self-destruction sequence for your Mac using only your voice, just like Captain Picard would use to destroy The Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation?

Well, awesomely, you can. And it’s pretty easy to do!

Pegatron insists it does all it can to keep workers happy

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Photo: Apple
A factory worker in China on the iPhone production line. Photo: Apple

Whatever your thoughts on last week’s BBC documentary about the poor worker conditions in factories producing the iPhone, there’s no doubt that it’s brought the topic back into widespread circulation.

Unlike the majority of previous reports, this time the target wasn’t Foxconn, however, but instead the Taiwan-based firm Pegatron Technology, which has been taking an increasing amount of Apple orders as of late.

With negative press circulating about the company mistreating its workers, Pegatron today filed a statement with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, pledging to inspect all negative claims carried in the report and implement improvements to make sure these problems are solved.

12-inch Retina MacBook Air is coming in early 2015

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Photo: Apple
The 12-inch Retina MacBook Air is coming in early 2015. Photo: Apple

Apple’s new 12-inch Retina MacBook Air is expected to enter mass production in the first quarter of 2015, manufactured by Quanta Computer, according to a new report released today.

The new notebook is expected to boast Intel’s Broadwell processors, and a chassis redesign which will further reduce the device’s already-slimline thickness and weight.

Watch every superhero ever fight each other in epic Marvel vs. DC trailer!

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Every comics-loving kid has spent more than a few houra wondering who would win in a fight: Superman or Thor? Captain America or Batman? Spider-Man or the Flash? Wonder Woman or Captain Marvel?

In comics, we’ve seen those questions answered a few times, most recently in Marvel and DC’s Amalgam crossover of the mid-90’s. But when it comes to Marvel and DC’s cinematic universes, we’ve never seen a cross-property showdown.

This epic trailer, though, gives a pretty good idea of the movie that would emerge if Marvel and DC did decide to team-up for a summer blockbuster.

Festive ads shot on iPhone 6 Plus let you enjoy New York in slo-mo

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Ice-skating at Rockefeller Plaza is lovingly recorded on the iPhone 6 Plus. Photo: Truth NYC

With an estimated 71.5 million iPhones predicted to sell over the holidays, and more buzz surrounding Apple than ever, it’s no surprise that advertisers are keen to muscle in on the action.

In the case of digital marketing company Truth NYC, that means producing a holiday video campaign for luxury skincare brand Erno Laszlo using the iPhone 6 Plus.

Check out the two videos after the jump.

The best Android apps of 2014

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It’s been a great year to be an Android user. Not only have we seen the release of Google’s massive Material Design makeover and all kinds of wonderful new features inside Android 5.0 Lollipop, but we’ve also had oodles of awesome apps to enjoy.

In this roundup, we’ve selected the best Google Play releases from the past 12 months. We’ve got great launchers, amazing email apps, terrific Twitter clients and lots more. (Some are also available on iOS.)

Disney World will accept Apple Pay starting December 24

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Photo: Tom Bricker
The most magical place on Earth now accepts the most magical payment method. Photo: Tom Bricker

We know that Eddy Cue has used Apple Pay to buy Frozen toys before, and from December 24 he can take his Disney love to the next level, thanks to the news that the Walt Disney World Resort is set to begin accepting Apple Pay on Christmas Eve.

Initially, payments using the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will work in the majority of stores, quick service restaurants, bars and ticket sales booths. Locations which use portable payment terminals (such as table service restaurants) will be added later.

Backpack business: How two globetrotting designers do it

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UX designers Holly Kennedy and James Turner run their business from the road as they travel the world. Here, the couple stand in the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah during an American leg of their travels. Photo courtesy of Kennedy and Turner
Designers Holly Kennedy and James Turner run their business from the road, visiting places like Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. Photo courtesy Kennedy and Turner

The lengthy list of logistics involved in starting any business eventually lands on what to do about equipment and office space.

James Turner and Holly Kennedy run their user experience design consultancy out of a single backpack each as they trek from country to country like nomadic college students with a free summer.

Kennedy says you won’t find the couple “wearing bandannas or growing dreadlocks” but they are happy living life on their own terms — with an unconventional commute and ever-changing scenery. Cult of Mac caught up with the ex-Londoners, both 26, in northern Thailand, where they were working around spotty Wi-Fi and a client 13 time zones away.

Mall Santas, ‘rollover’ data, and our most-wanted gifts on The CultCast

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Photo: izismile.com
Photo: izismile.com
Photo: izismile.com

Merry CultCast, boys and girls! This week: Santa gets a little “grabby”; Apple wins a major lawsuit; our iPhones deserve “rollover” data plans; the incredibly low payouts artists get from Spotify; and the high-end gifts we really want but will never get on an all-new Get To Know Your Cultist.

Thanks to Audible for supporting this episode. Audible, the home of over 150,000 audio books from practically every genre in existence. Grab our Leander Kahney’s book, Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products, for free with a 30-day Audible trial.

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Catch the full show notes ahead.

Facebook Messenger gets the slickest read receipts in town

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Facebook wants to have the slickest read receipts in town. Photo: Facebook
Facebook wants to have the slickest read receipts in town. Photo: Facebook

Read receipts. They’re the first thing I turn off when I get a new messaging app or iOS device. But Facebook is doubling down on read receipts in the new Facebook Messenger, which has new, blisteringly fast notifications showing you exactly what’s going on with your message after you send it.

Apple forces Nintype to drop one of the iOS keyboard’s signature features

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Apple has asked this great iOS keyboard to pull one of its signature features. Photo: Nintype
Apple has asked this great iOS keyboard to pull one of its signature features. Photo: Nintype

With iOS 8, Apple has been showing a lot more indecision about what kind of app extensions, keyboards, and widgets are and aren’t allowed under the developer guidelines. This has caused even popular apps like PCalc and Drafts to have to scale back features, because they have inadvertently stepped over some invisible line in Apple’s mind about what a third-party app should be allowed to do.

Now, there’s another fatality of Apple’s weird App Store waffling. Jormy, the developer behind the popular (and absolutely insane) iOS 8 keyboard Nintype, has been informed by Apple that he needs to remove one of his app’s most useful functions in a future update.

Duet Display, Djay Pro and other awesome apps of the week

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Developed by former Apple engineers, Duet Display is the first iPad app that lets you use the tablet as a secondary display for your Mac via a Lightning cable. Other apps have tried streaming over WiFi to turn the iPad into an extended display, but then you usually have to deal with bad lag and poor frame rate.

Because you connect the iPad via a 30-pin or Lightning cable, Duet Display claims to be capable of powering a Retina display at 60 frames per second with zero lag.

Its developers claim that the app works with all iOS devices on iOS 6 and up along with all Macs capable of running OS X 10.9. I wasn’t able to test it because my Mac is running the 10.10.2 Yosemite beta, which is currently super buggy.

Duet Display sounds like a great tool for making use of an old iPad you may have lying around the house. Support for older iOS 5.1.1 devices is being worked on for a future update in the App Store.

Available on: iPad

Price: $9.99 (requires free Mac installer)

Download: App Store


Awesome Apps

Control your computer with Dragon Dictate for Mac 4 and save 50% [Deals]

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“A keyboard? How quaint,” said C. Montgomery Scott, the USS Enterprise’s Chief Engineer, when it was suggested he use a keyboard instead of voicing commands to a computer. How quaint indeed.

Now, with Dragon Dictate for Mac 4, you can give your own quaint keyboard a well deserved rest. Get this revolutionary software for your Mac for just $99.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Kate Winslet eyed for female lead in Steve Jobs film

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Kate Winslet to play Steve Jobs daughter? Photo: The Gaurdian
Kate Winslet to play Steve Jobs daughter? Photo: The Guardian

Universal Pictures is eyeing Kate Winslet to play the lead female role in Aaron Sorkin’s movie on Steve Jobs, reports Variety.

It’s still unknown what character the Titanic star might play, but after a couple of other Oscar-nominated actresses have dropped out of the project, Winslet’s addition could be the extra jolt needed for the movie that’s expected to feature Jobs’ daughter Lisa as the heroine.

Stash all your secret files in KYMS’ encrypted calculator app

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KYMS

Photo:

This post is brought to you by IdeaSolutions, creator of KYMS.

What better way to keep your media safe than to encrypt your files and hide them behind an iOS app that appears to be nothing more than a stylish calculator? KYMS (Keep Your Media Safe) encrypts all your multimedia files, photos, documents, passwords and much more, then stashes them inside a military-grade vault that’s hiding in plain sight.

Parody trailer rips into The Desolation of Smaug’s soft underbelly

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Oh, you. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures
Oh, you. Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

As we watch the hordes of moviegoers heading out to see the final film in The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies, we can’t help but rejoice a little that this endless epic journey is about to end.

In this parody trailer for the previous installment, The Desolation of Smaug, you can “Rejoin Middle Earth’s other, shorter, less interesting fellowship as they continue their slow journey to Scrooge McDuck’s vault,” as the gravelly-voiced narration actor says in the hilarious trailer.

Check it out below.