Cult of Mac

As the makers of some of the most attractive (and high-end) smartphones around, Apple devices are ripe for theft. With that in mind, the good folks at Cupertino have just added a new iCloud tool which lets users work out whether the used iPhone they’re about to lay down their hard-earned money for has been locked by its real owner.

All you need to do it is to visit this link and enter the device’s IMEI or serial number, at which point you’ll be informed of the device’s Activation Lock feature — thereby saving you from buying a device that’s already been locked.

iOS 8’s new Family Sharing feature makes it easier than ever for your entire family to share purchases on iTunes, iBooks and the App Store.

Family Sharing is about more than just sneaking copies of apps off your siblings’ accounts, though: It can bring harmony to your entire digital life by sharing photos, creating a family calendar and even keeping track of each others’ locations.

With minimal effort, you can sync up to six accounts. Here’s how to maximize Family Sharing’s potential.

Apple’s marketing machine has tried to straighten out the Bendghazi controversy that invaded the web last week, but someone might want to alert their billboard company in Berlin that the iPhone 6’s bendiness isn’t supposed to be a selling point.

iPhone 6 ads have started going up on billboards across the globe, but the monstrous ad (shown above) in Germany was so huge, they couldn’t fit the bigger than big display on the structure without bending it just a little bit – right near its supposed weak spot.

Another Apple reseller in the Netherlands had some similar woes with its iPhone 6 ads. Check out their hilarious poster below:

A U.S. judge has ruled in Apple’s favor in litigation filed against the company by Canadian patent licensing company WiLan, reports Reuters, after the judge issued a public statement on the case Wednesday afternoon.

Apple was being sued for supposedly violating two LTE patents held by WiLan, but a summary judgement from Judge Dana Sabraw ruled that the patents were invalid and note infringed.

Working at Apple isn’t a cake walk. Any former or current employee will tell you that point blank.

On a recent episode of the Debug podcast, ex-Apple managers Don Melton and Nitin Ganatra discuss the ridiculous hours senior-level employees are required to keep. Emails from executives in the middle of the night are commonplace, even on the weekends.

Apple’s new design guru Marc Newson has barely been at Apple for nearly a month now, but that’s not going to stop him from also working on his own designs – like a fabulous new way to pour yourself a draft beer at home.

Marc unveiled his revolutionary new beer machine today in partnership with Heineken, but in an interview with Deezer, the famed designer also talked publicly for the first time about his new role at Apple, stating the position will only be part-time and he’ll still be based out of the U.K.

What Marc’s actually doing at Apple though is still a mystery. Apple’s PR handler wouldn’t let him comment on whether he had a hand in the Apple Watch’s design, and speculation on what he’s working on with Jony was quickly shot down. Whatever Apple does throw at him though, Marc said he can handle it, because “there isn’t really a big difference between designing a watch or a car or even a machine that pours beer.”

Check out the full interview transcript below:

Apple’s first major iOS 8 seeded to developers this week contained clues that Apple Pay is nearly ready for launch, and according to a report from Bank Innovation, we won’t have to wait much longer to replace our wallets with the new mobile payments solution.

The finishing touches are still being made to the security features in Apple Pay, but the report claims that the official release is tentatively scheduled for the third monday of October.

As thousands of protesters flood the streets of Hong Kong demanding a democratic election, the Chinese government is reportedly using sophisticated malware to spy on not only Android devices, but iOS devices as well.

But don’t worry about China peeking at your Snapchats. There has yet to be a widespread instance of iOS malware in the wild, and this particularly “advanced” trojan still requires a tremendous amount of complicit behavior on the victim’s part.

Tweetbot, one of the most popular third-party Twitter clients out there, has been updated with full support for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Today’s version 3.5 update also includes iOS 8-specific features like interactive notifications. Share Sheet integration now means you can send links to the app from anywhere in iOS 8.

Sure the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have an amazing camera with all sorts of improvements to make stunning use of in the pursuit of the perfect high-definition time-lapse or slow motion video.

But the video (below) is so stunning, so amazingly beautiful – there’s no way you’re going to be able to pull this off on your iPhone 6, no matter how amazing Apple’s latest gadget is.

Popcorn Time is finally out for iOS, giving iPad and iPhone users direct access to “The Netflix of Pirated Movies” service for the first time ever. There’s just one catch: it requires a jailbreak.

Over 50% of iPhone and iPad users have already upgraded to iOS 8 and a jailbreak isn’t coming out anyday soon, but if you want to stream movies to your iOS device you’re still in luck.  A competing service called MovieBox does pretty much the exact same thing as Popcorn Time, and you can get it on your iPhone 6 and 6 Plus 8 without needing to jailbreaking.

Here’s how to install it:

Vogue’s new profile of Apple’s head of design is a great read, especially because of the details it includes about Jony Ive’s work and personal life. For instance, Ive is in love with the “k-chit” noise the Apple Watch band makes it when it clasps.

The interview took place in a white room on Apple’s campus, which is fitting considering that Ive is always shrouded in white during his product design videos. Touching on the company’s secretive design studio, Vogue notes, “Ive’s wife, Heather Pegg, has never been—he doesn’t even tell her what he’s working on—and his twin sons, like all but a few Apple employees, are not allowed in either.”

Apple has added a new page to iTunes today in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month (also known as October) that allows iTunes customers to donate to City of Hope to support medical research for cancer and other diseases.

If you’ve always wanted a camera equipped quadcopter but balked at their typically high prices, then you’ll want to keep reading.

For a limited time at Cult of Mac Deals you can get The Extreme Micro Drone 2.0, a fully functional, high tech, camera equipped quadcopter drone, for an unbeatable price of $74.99. That’s half off the regular price for this model!

Popcorn Time, the service that allows users to stream movie torrents, today makes its debut on iOS. It’s available only to jailbroken devices — there’s no way Apple would have approved it for the App Store — and it can be obtained through Cydia via a dedicated Popcorn Time repository.

It’s hard enough to sing and play guitar at the same time, let alone manage a floor full of guitar effects pedals. Add to that trying to create vocal effects like most listeners expect and you’ve got a solo musician’s worst nightmare.

The folks at TC-Helicon have come up with a couple of pretty nifty floor-style pedal boxes that have you covered though: You can dial in a fantastic guitar sound for either acoustic or electric guitar, fill a room with amazing vocal effects and backing harmonies, and even loop musical phrases to create a song with multiple parts on the fly. Dubbed Play Acoustic and Play Electric, these simple stomp boxes contain some serious technology in an easy-to-use platform.

Here’s how it plays out.

Apple has begun contacting developers to tell them that it’s time to submit their apps for OS X Yosemite ahead of its public release later this fall. The email encourages the use of new Yosemite functions like app extensions — as well as Swift, Apple’s “innovative” new programming language.

2014 will be the year the iPad turns golden, according to a new report from Bloomberg.

After introducing gold as a color option in the iPhone lineup with the 5s last year, the second-gen iPad Air will reportedly also be offered in gold.

iOS 8 and Yosemite work together unlike any other operating systems Apple’s ever created, but after removing one of Continuity’s most promising new features – the ability to send and receive SMS texts from Messages on a Mac – Apple has restored the feature to OS X Yosemite slightly ahead of schedule.

Apple removed the feature from the Yosemite beta earlier this month, stating it would be available again in October, but it looks like today’s Yosemite GM has restored SMS Continuity to iMessages

Here’s how to enables it from an iPhone running iOS 8.1 beta 1:

New bicycling game Zwift cruises along at the crossroads where video game nerds, bike fanatics and the land of the long winter come together. Launched in beta today, Zwift lets you compete with friends in a massively multiplayer cycling game designed to turn indoor rides into something more exciting.

The basic premise is this: You pick your avatar, pick your whip, pick your kit, pick your route and then pedal with/against your friends, no matter where they are in the country. You watch the action on the virtual terrain on a computer (most any reasonably modern desktop or notebook will do).

Apple Pay’s launch in the U.S. next month is being supported by some of the biggest players in the payments industry in the country except PayPal, but according to a report from Banking Innovation, Apple actually wanted PayPal to be the “preferred payment process” for Apple Pay.

Talks between PayPal and Apple began at the early stages of Apple Pay’s development, but after PayPal decided to partner with Samsung on the Galaxy S5, Apple execs got so mad they nuked the talks altogether.

Apple is still trying to work out the last few details of its first wearable, but with an early 2015 launch just months away, plans to manufacture and assemble the Apple Watch are being finalized. But AppleDaily reports production isn’t scheduled to ramp into high gear until January 2015.

To manufacture its first wearable, Apple has turned to its old partner Quanta Computer to churn out the first units, and they’re already hiring an army of assemblers for the hyped release.

Apple announced today that its financial earnings call with investors for Q4 2013 will be held on Monday, October 20th at 2PM PT.

AAPL shares have been holding steady around $100 after breaking the century barrier last month, but the price could start ticking upward after announced record breaking iPhone 6 launch week sales with over 10 million units sold.

 Apple is busy putting the finishing touches on its next operating system, but Microsoft gave the world an early look at the next version of Windows today that is set to run on everything from smartphones to PCs.

Microsoft says its next version of Windows will be the most comprehensive platform ever, and while the company is retreating from the disaster that was Windows 8, it’s bringing back some classic features and stealing a few things from the Mac too. If you’re considering making the jump between operating systems, here’s a guide on how to switch Mac to Windows with all the essential steps.

Here’s everything Mac users need to know about Windows 10: