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Tim Cook’s ‘proud to be gay’ essay is important, historic and brave

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Two tickets to the gun show. Photo: Andy Ihnatko/Flickr
When Tim Cook talks, people listen. And that's a good thing. Photo: Andy Ihnatko/Flickr

Gay rights are the civil rights issue of our time, whether in the marriage chapel, the emergency room or the workplace.

That’s why Apple CEO Tim Cook’s decision to proclaim he is “proud to be gay” in a powerful personal essay is an important and truly historic act.

Seth Rogen to play Woz in Jobs biopic

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Seth Rogen will be Woz. Photo: Sony

Seth Rogen just landed the role to play Christian Bale’s sidekick in Sony’s upcoming biopic on Steve Jobs.

Rogen will reportedly don the mantle of Steve Wozniak, according to Variety, in the film written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle.

Rapper shows why you shouldn’t post your password in a music video

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A strong password means nothing if you're shouting it out. Photo: College Humor
A strong password means nothing if you're shouting it out. Photo: College Humor

We’re all concerned about our privacy lately. Using a different strong password for all our banking and website activities is the best way to keep malicious hackers from getting all up into our grill.

Rapper MC Safesearch, though, needs to remember not to post his passwords in the music video he’s doing about privacy and security.

Check out how this socially-conscious musician gets totally hacked during his own music video.

CurrentC’s death grip on partners is starting to slip

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Apple Pay is going everywhere in 2015. Photo: Apple
Meijer doesn't care if you use Apple Pay or CurrentC, as long as you pay. Photo: Apple

The launch of Apple Pay was met with resistance by retailers hoping to kill the new payments solution, but after just one week of waging a war on Apple Pay, MCX is already starting to see its death grip on CurrentC supporters begin to weaken.

Meijer, a popular supermarket chain in the Midwest, says it has no plans to stop accepting Apple Pay at its 213 stores, even though its a member of the MCX consortium backed by Walmart, Target, BestBuy, Gap, and over 50 other stores that want to replace your wallet the unlaunched CurrentC service.

In an interview with Michigan Live, Meijer spokesman Frank Gugielmi confirmed that the company supports both Apple Pay and other solutions, despite reports that MCX members receive steep fines for accepting anything other than CurrentC.

New iOS 8 Cydia jailbreak likely to launch tomorrow

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Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

PanguTeam’s iOS 8 jailbreak happened much quicker than many people expected, but for most users it wasn’t worth installing since its lack of Cydia meant that most users wouldn’t have the ability to find and install software packages.

That looks set to change tomorrow, however, as the PanguTeam has announced that it plans to release an updated stable version of the Pangu8 jailbreak, bundled along with Cydia. tomorrow with Cydia included.

Internet comes out in support of Tim Cook for being ‘proud to be gay’

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Tim Cook. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook. Photo: Apple

Tim Cook squashed years of speculations and rumors this morning, only instead of doing it with an iPhone announcement, he made his first public declaration that’s he proud to be gay.

Cook never denied his sexuality, but the letter marks a huge moment for the LGBT community, equal rights, and society in general, as the world’s most powerful CEO committed to being an example and inspiration to those wanting to rise above adversity and bigotry.

The world’s reaction to Cook coming out like a boss has been overwhelmingly positive. Yes, the trolls and bigots have crawled out of their dark places to admonish Cook, but their voices have been refreshingly blasted out by accolades and congratulations from the world’s top CEO’s, celebrities, and activists applauding Tim’s courage.

Here’s how the world turned Tim’s coming out party into a celebration:

YouTube can now handle your awesome 60fps iPhone videos

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First, smooth video came to your iPhone. Now it's arrived on YouTube, too. Photo: Killian Bell

For anyone who shoots a lot of videos, having the option to shoot at 60fps is one of the most satisfying parts of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, making your footage as silky smooth as a Barry White pickup line.

If your aim was to put up those videos online, however, until now there’s an excellent chance you were wasting your time, since YouTube was only equipped to handle 30fps.

Fortunately that’s now changed, courtesy of a YouTube update that brings 1080p 60fps to your monitor — provided that you’re using an appropriate browser, which according to my tests includes Safari and Chrome.

Get the skills to be an expert web developer with OSTraining [Deals]

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No matter what kind of business you are in, it pays to have a well constructed website. Well constructed websites these days are designed using content management systems like WordPress and Drupal and consider important things like search engine optimization and web security.

For a limited time, you can learn how to design websites like a pro with OSTraining: Lifetime Training To Become An Expert Web Developer for 96% off the regular price, just $79, at Cult of Mac Deals.

Spider-Man Unlimited gets sexy new girl Spidey, villains, and more

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The best runner on iOS just got a little better: Photo: Gameloft

One of my favorite runners to be released in the last year is Gameloft’s Spider-Man Unlimited. Released last month, it would probably be the best runner I’ve ever played, if not for it’s onerous free-to-play mechanics which make leveling up or unlocking new Spider-Men a total grind if you don’t pay out money.

It’s a testament to how good the core gameplay is that even though the free-to-play mechanics are so bad, I keep coming back for more. And now I have even more reason to be addicted, because the first major update to Spider-Man Unlimited is here, bringing more Spider-Man, more villains, new environments, and a new gameplay ‘issue’ to the already content-packed runner.

5 terrifying films that turn horror tropes on their heads

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See? Even the vampires are yawning. Photo: Belladonna Productions
See? Even the vampires are yawning. Photo: Belladonna Productions

How many ghost movies have you seen? How about werewolf or zombie flicks? With filmmakers churning out copycats constantly, the horror formula can get a little stale.

We’re here to help. This is Cult of Mac’s fourth list of horror movies for your consideration (be sure to check out the classics, monsters, and anthologies from the past few days), and this time we’re tipping you off to movies that take those old standard tropes and put an interesting spin on them. But don’t worry — they’re not so different that they aren’t still horrifying.

iPhone 6 Plus’s bigger screen leads to higher app engagement

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Product image of iPhone 6 Plus, which set a new sales record for Apple by selling 10 million over its launch weekend.
Want to make money as a developer? You've come to the right place. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

If you’re an app-maker looking to rake in the money, you’re better off creating apps for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus than you are for smaller-screened phones, according to a new study.

Analysts at IHS claim that the larger screen size of the iPhone 6 family devices correlate with higher engagement in the form of increased minutes of app usage — in turn leading to more revenue through in-app purchases and advertising.

Apple replaces iPad destroyed by exploding NASA rocket

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The iPad in question, moments before being blown by an exploding rocket into a swamp. Photo: iOSecure
The iPad in question, moments before being blown by an exploding rocket into a swamp. Photo: iOSecure

NASA’s unmanned Antares rocket exploded at launch above Wallops Island, Virginia, yesterday on route to dropping off supplies at the International Space Station.

A lesser casualty of that explosion? One rocket watcher’s iPad, which was blown to smithereens by the explosion.

But don’t worry. Cupertino did the right thing: They replaced it.

The HP Sprout could have been built by Apple back in 2011

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Photo: Patently Apple
Photo: Patently Apple

By now you’ve probably seen the HP Sprout computer, an oddly-named, yet undeniably original desktop computer/tablet/projector combination that allows users to scan physical items and then manipulate them on screen using their fingers.

One day after the $1,899 system got the tech world talking, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has published a continuation patent application from Apple — originally granted in 2011 — describing a very similar-sounding 3D imaging and display system.

Beats Music trails Pandora and Spotify in revenue and downloads

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So long as the next episode doesn't include antitrust violations, that is. Photo: Beats Music
Photo: Beats Music

Beats Music may have Apple’s support behind it, but it’s still got a long way to go before it tops the crowded online marketplace.

According to new figures from app analytics firm App Annie, Beats is currently trailing industry leaders Pandora and Spotify. In September, both of those services racked up more downloads and earned more revenue than Beats, across both the App Store and Google Play.

Beats was the ninth most downloaded music app in September, with once again Pandora and Spotify taking the lead — but also the likes of Shazam, SoundCloud and even Apple’s own GarageBand receiving more downloads.

Q3 earnings show that Apple is just clobbering Samsung

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Photo: Martin Hajek
Photo: Martin Hajek

Samsung may ship more devices, but there’s no doubt that Apple is winning the war.

That’s the takeaway from Samsung’s latest earnings report, which stated that the Korean smartphone maker’s Q3 operating profits were just $3.8 billion, a 60 percent drop over last year.

And things are even worse in the mobile division, which dropped 73.9 percent year-over-year.

Now compare those numbers to Apple.

Tim Cook: Yep, I’m gay

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Life is good for Tim Cook in 2015. Photo: Apple
Tim Cook has come out as gay. Photo: Apple

In a beautifully written personal essay, Apple CEO Tim Cook has just come out as gay, finally confirming rumors that have circulated since he took over as Steve Jobs’ replacement in 2011.

Microsoft’s new wearable is just the start of its health-tracking aims

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Reports about a Microsoft wearable device have been circulating for a while, and now the good folks from Redmond, WA have finally made it official: a Microsoft fitness band is here, and it works on both Android and iOS.

Like the Apple Watch and Galaxy Gear, the appropriately-named Microsoft Band tracks steps and heart rate, as well as showing you phone notifications in the form of text, email, and Twitter alerts.

“It’s the most advanced band we’ve seen in terms of technology on the wrist,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of Devices and Services told The Verge. “[I]t’s really designed to do two things: have people live healthier, and be more productive, by having a band that can serve on the opposite side of your watch, worn 24 hours a day, and get some of the most accurate data that you can possibly get.”

That’s not the end of Microsoft’s fitness-tracking ambitions, though.

Apple plans to drill for iPhone sales in Iran

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Photo: Quixotic54/Flickr CC
Lotf Allah Mosque, Iran. Photo: Quixotic54/Flickr CC

With China, India and Korea all representing growing markets, Apple’s expanding into more countries than ever here in 2014. One place you’d be forgiven for not expecting Tim Cook and co. to show up in, however, is Iran.

It seems that this assumption may be wrong, though, as according to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is in preliminary contact with U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, as well as Iranian distributors, about possibly entering the country should Western sanctions ease sufficiently.

Apple shares hit new all-time high for third day in a row

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Photo: Buster Hein
Photo: Buster Hein

Buoyed by expectation-defying earnings, Apple Pay, and an apparently insatiable demand for the iPhone 6, AAPL stock closed Wednesday at a new all-time split-adjusted high of $107.3.

Apple was trading at $92 at the time of the 7-to-1 split, which means that its current value is up by more than 10% since the division earlier this year. According to Google Finance, Apple ended the day with a market cap of $626 billion, and $629.67 billion as per Yahoo Finance.

iPhone 6 predicted to outsell Galaxy Note by a massive 10 to 1

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The iPhone 6 is obliterating Samsung’s Note 4 in sales, and could even outsell it 10x according to a Korean analyst.

In a note to clients, Shinhan Investment’s Kim Young-chan wrote that the iPhone “will outsell the Galaxy Note 4 by tenfold, with 80 million units shipped worldwide in the October-December period.” Young-chan adds that, “Other market watchers also are expressing doubts about the performance of Korean tech giants.”

Court filing reveals what went wrong with Apple’s sapphire supplier

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GT Advanced
Back entrance to GTAT's sapphire plant in Mesa, AZ. Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Apple has kept quiet on why its sapphire supplier suddenly went bankrupt, but after weeks of court wrangling, GT Advanced Technology’s COO has filed a revised declaration that reveals why Apple’s dream of sapphire iPhones went up in smoke in less than a year.

GTAT COO Daniel Squiller, says that the original plan was for Apple to buy 2,600 sapphire furnaces and other equipment that GTAT would then operate. However, after months of negotiations, the deal was changed so that GTAT would borrow up to $578 million from Apple to purchase furnace components and assemble furnaces that would be used to grow sapphire for Apple.

The company admits the deal came with huge risk for GTAT while shielding Apple, but because it had the potential to be revolutionary to GTAT’s business, they went ahead with it. Then everything went horrible wrong.

For app makers, Apple giveth widgets (and Apple taketh away)

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PCal widget
PCalc has fallen victim to Apple's proverbial axe. Screenshot: Alex Heath/ Cult of Mac

When you live in Apple’s world as a third-party developer, you are required to play by Apple’s rules. And sometimes those rules are subject to sudden change.

James Thomson, the developer behind the scientific calculator app PCalc, was notified today by Apple that his iOS 8 widget must be removed. The reason? A new stipulation that iOS widgets cannot perform calculations.

The reasoning behind Apple’s decision may never be known by Thomson or anyone outside the company, and that’s just the point. The App Store is Apple’s kingdom to rule, for better or worse.