Homescreen, Screeny and other awesome new apps you need to check out
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Thanks to a money-hungry decision to split the final season, a la Breaking Bad, the last episodes of Mad Men won’t air until next year. On the plus side, that means this is the perfect time to play catch-up before the world goes Don Draper crazy one last time.
If for some incredible reason you’ve never seen Mad Men before (and how I envy you if that’s the case), the show follows the lives of a few Madison Avenue ad men and women during the 1950s and '60s. We’ve now reached the point of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and things are set for a grand finale.
Photo: HBO
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Read on for great deals on The 10 Ft. MFi-Certified iOS Lightning Cable, TRNDlabs Knitted Touchscreen Gloves, The NES30 Bluetooth Controller, and The Bluetooth Shower Speaker. There’s tons more just like these at Cult of Mac Deals now.
Enough reports have accumulated for us to say with fair certainty that there will be a larger iPad ‘Pro’ in the first half of next year, although nothing super concrete has been agreed upon regarding specs.
Now Japanese magazine Mac Fan has published what it claims are schematics for the “iPad Air Plus,” but here’s to hoping Apple doesn’t actually give its rumored 12.2-inch tablet that name.
Since installing OS X Yosemite, I’ve had a problem: Every time I try to save anything in Chrome, the Save Sheet interface is so long it runs off the screen, making it impossible for me to click “OK” or “Cancel.” I assumed it was something I had done, but nope, it’s a particularly annoying Yosemite bug. Here’s how to fix it.
It’s ludicrous but true: How headphones look can be nearly as important as how they sound. Luckily for anybody who slides a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P7s over their ears, these high-end headphones do double duty. They will bamboozle your ears as well as your eyes.
With a stylish design and sturdy construction of gleaming metal and luxurious sheepskin leather, these aren’t a pair of big, cartoon-like plastic puffballs for your head. The P7s whisper quiet refinement rather than screaming “look at me.” If Beats Electronics’ brightly colored models are like those candy-colored iMac G3s from the ’90s, the P7s are like this year’s stunning iMac with Retina 5K display.
But really, looks are only skin deep. When it comes to music at its most intimate — when the sounds are piped straight from the source and directly penetrate your ear canals — it’s the quality of the audio that matters most.
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Steve Jobs was a visionary, a futurist and a business genius … but he was also an inventor with more than 458 patents to his name. What better way to spend this holiday weekend than getting yourself up to speed with the inventions of one of the most prolific patenters of the 20th century?
Star Wars looks like it’s in good hands. The first teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams’ upcoming The Force Awakens has been released, and it’s sure to make your jaw drop.
What’s that random guy dressed as a stormtrooper doing in the desert? Who is that mysterious woman on the flying contraption? And WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT WEIRD RED LIGHTSABER OMG?!?
Here at Cult of Mac, we’re big fans of GBA4iOS, an app by developer Ryan Testut that allows you to play Gameboy and Gameboy Advance titles on your iPhone or iPad. But pretty soon, it’s possible that GBA4iOS won’t be the only way to play emulated Gameboy games on your iOS device: Nintendo looks like it might be moving into the iOS emulation scene too.
The availability of cheap smartphones and tablets might mean that Android has a larger market share than iOS, but iOS users certainly spend more.
Analyzing sales trends from Thanksgiving, IBM notes that iPhones and iPads were responsible for far more payment activity online, with average orders worth $118.57 compared to $95.57 for Android.
But that’s not where iOS’s sales triumph ends. iOS also generated more site traffic at 36 percent versus 16 percent for Android. Even more impressive, iOS devices accounted for 25 percent of all sales — next to a minuscule 7 percent for Android.
Chances are, the first time you try your hand at Vainglory you’ll get ganked almost immediately by a crystal-toting Glaive.
If you’d rather avoid that ignominious end, you’ll want to read our guide to all things Vainglory. It’s loaded with tips and tricks on how to kick ass in this excellent iOS game, an Apple favorite that showcases the awesome fun possible in the multiplayer online battle arena genre.
You’ll find basic and advanced gameplay tips, plus a special top 10 list for every hero in the game, right from the developers themselves.
Pretty soon you’ll be the one pwning your enemies with nonchalant ease, just like Scarf Guy.
The first vehicles to support Apple’s CarPlay infotainment system are just starting to appear on the market, but a clever hack from developer Adam Bell means you may be able to get your hands on it sooner than most — and without the need for a compatible in-car infotainment system.
Despite not quite being ready for primetime just yet, Bell’s nifty jailbreak means that users will be able run Apple’s CarPlay software on iPhones and iPads, as seen in the above picture.
It follows hot on the heels of Pangu’s recent iOS 8 jailbreak, which Apple has subsequently (and most likely temporarily) patched.
You’ve had the turkey with all the fixings. You went back for seconds and, perhaps, even thirds. Then you had dessert. At Thanksgiving, the food is all so good, you can’t help but to indulge a little bit.
Now that the thanks have been given and the table cleared, it’s time to start thinking about working off those excess calories you just put on. Cult of Mac Deals has just the products to get you moving and get yourself in shape.
Google has launched a new online tool that allows users to see all the devices that have logged into their account in the last 28 days. If you have suspicions that someone may be logging into your Google account without your permission, you can log in and quickly identify any unauthorized access from computers and mobile devices.
One of the neatest and most innovative features of Apple’s new iPads is the unique Apple SIM feature, which allows users to easily switch between different carriers and plans using iOS.
A newly uncovered patent application dates elements of Apple’s concept back to 2009, before Apple even debuted the iPad. Called “Provisioning an Embedded Subscriber Identity Module,” the invention describes a method of obtaining and personalizing an embedded eSIM card, which can be provisioned over-the-air, rather than the pre-provisioned nature of physical SIM cards.
And in true Apple style it was all about one thing: simplicity.
Cult of Mac Deals is proud to present ThanksGiveaway and Freebie Madness.
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On otherwise flawless devices that strip away any unnecessary components, the ugly small print on the back of an iPhone or iPad — including the serial number, FCC logo, CE logo and model number — has always stood out.
Well, thankfully Jony Ive and the rest of his design-obsessed team can finally do away with it for good, thanks to the E-label Act law signed in by President Obama on Wednesday. The bill, which unsurprisingly was heavily supported by those in the tech industry, means that gadget makers can now add software-based labels as opposed to having to print the identifying information onto their hardware.
Samsung will snap up the majority of the next generation iPhone A9 chip orders, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will manufacture the chips for the next iPad devices, according to a new report coming out of China.
This differs from the current iPhone 6 devices, where TSMC is reportedly responsible for producing the A8 chips thanks to a deal inked in 2013.
Although it was previously reported that the two companies were locked in a tussle to pick up the Apple orders, Samsung apparently beat out TSMC by quoting Apple lower prices for the 14nm FinFET process production. Samsung has upped its game to secure Apple orders following its posted dismal Q3 earnings, which were down a whopping 60 percent in operating profit from the same period in 2013.
iOS 8 adoption figures continue to creep upwards. According to the latest figures released by Apple, 60 percent of active devices are now running the latest version of the company’s mobile operating system. By comparison, 35 percent of users are running iOS 7, while 5 percent are using earlier versions.
Apple last measured iOS 8 usage through the App Store two weeks earlier, on November 10. At that time, 56 percent of users had upgraded to iOS 8. While there’s still a long way before iOS 8 adoption catches up with where iOS 7 numbers were after the same period last year, the gap is starting to narrow.
In between dessert and the traditional food coma on the couch, Thanksgiving offers everyone a great opportunity to take stock of the past year’s accomplishments.
When it comes to looking back at the previous year, sure you can stew over your failures and missed opportunities, but that’s for losers. And coming off one of Apple’s most successful years in history, Tim Cook is no loser.
So what’s Apple’s CEO going to be thinking about when he sits back in a carbohydrate-induced daze? Here are our best guesses.
We’re a bit early this week, but wanted to make sure you got all the Cult of Mac goodness in one fine compilation in time for your four-day weekend. Dig in and enjoy a whole slew of gift guides, including those for the women in your life, that special college student, and outdoor adventurers. Plus? Pro tips on surviving that modern ordeal of American culture: Thanksgiving. All that and some of the week’s biggest Apple-related news are ready for you right now. Just download and enjoy!
Dig into Cult of Mac Magazine November 28 Edition, Free on iTunes
The more iPhone 6 ads I see with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake, the more I’m enjoying them as a comedy duo. In Apple’s latest ad for its next generation iPhone handsets, called “Voice Text,” the focus is on the new ability to send and receive audio messages, as introduced with iOS 8’s iMessage service.
For anyone who finds plain text messages somewhat lacking, the ad shows off how voice messages can add a much-neeeded element of sarcasm, let you drop some soulful lyrics, or mean that you don’t have to spell complex words like “smörgåsbord” and “arachnophobia.”
Here in Northern California we’re still awaiting our first real snow dump of the year.
And while we have our fingers crossed and have been diligently doing our plyometric exercises, we’re still left with plenty of time to build up a big old lust for some new 2014 ski schwag.
Cult of Mac has put together a gift guide for that special fresh-powder chaser on your list. Or, you know, for yourself.
Here’s to a knee-deep powder year for all of us.