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Poll: Why is Apple building a huge stage for the September event?

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Our first question when we saw the pics of the huge stage Apple is hammering into place at the already cavernous Flint Center is: what are they going to show off there? Has Craig Federighi’s hair become too inflated for a proper roof?

Could be a concert (to show off some yet undreamt feature of the long-awaited iPhone 6?) or a fitness demo to get all of us off the couch with the power of the iWatch?

What do you think? Let us know in the comments what else Apple might cook up on that huge stage.

Apple builds massive side stage for iPhone 6 event

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Apple's constructing a secret side structure for its upcoming iPhone unveiling. Photo: MacRumors

Apple just made its September 9 iPhone/iWatch event official by sending out press invites that revealed pretty much nothing other than the date of the event. To add to the mystery of what could be an Apple double-feature, with both the iPhone 6 and the iWatch taking the stage, one MacRumors reader at Woz’s alma mater noticed that Apple is already building a massive side stage at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts.

iPhone 6 will finally make NFC payments a big deal

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The iPhone 6 is going to attempt to replace your wallet, according to a report from Wired, claiming Apple’s mobile payment system will debut as a major feature in the iPhone 6, and NFC is a key piece of the puzzle.

Apple’s mobile payments platform will take on Google Wallet, Square, and others this September by adding NFC and a secure element to store all your credit cards info on the iPhone 6, allowing users to make NFC payments with retailers with out having to fumble around with your cash or credit card.

Kobo’s waterproof e-reader is a big-screen beauty

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The new Kobo H2O might be the best e-reader, like, ever. Photo Kobo.
The new Kobo H2O might be the best e-reader, like, ever. Photo courtesy Kobo

If you live in the Southern hemisphere, I have some great news for you – there’s a new waterproof e-reader coming out, the Kobo Aura H2O, that will ship in October, just in time for your summer.

For everyone else, this upscale reading gadget looks like a great Christmas gift.

iPhone 6 leaks continue with new components and larger speaker

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Among other things, the new leaks appear to confirm the colors we can expect for the iPhone 6.

We’re 23 days and counting (most likely) from the iPhone 6 going on sale, and more and more components are surfacing to tease what we can all look forward to in our next generation handsets.

The latest leak comes from French Apple website NowhereElse.fr and depicts a selection of SIM trays, Home buttons, Apple logos, speakers, and vibrator motors.

How an iPhone app could diagnose jaundice in babies

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One day apps like this could be routinely used in hospitals as a way of eliminating certain diseases.
One day apps like this could be routinely used in hospitals as a way of eliminating certain diseases.

The drive toward mobile health has seen more and more research into the possible medical applications of smartphones. The latest comes from a team of researchers at the University of Washington, who have developed an app capable of diagnosing jaundice in infants simply by taking their picture.

Nightmare Cooperative’s roguelike gameplay will keep you up all night

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Screenshot: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac
Screenshot: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Roguelike games are a retro treat, hailing back to the earliest computers. They used various ASCII characters to denote dungeon walls and dangerous creatures in an attempt to recreate the experience of playing Dungeons & Dragons.

There are many good roguelikes out there these days on both Mac and iOS with varying amounts of verisimilitude regarding the original game. This type of game typically features a randomly-generated set of dungeon levels so that you never play the same level twice, the idea of perma-death, meaning that once your character dies, the game is over, and lots of treasure, loot, and monsters to contend with on a turn-by-turn basis.

Nightmare Cooperative, from Bad Hotel and Gentlemen! developer Lucky Frame, is a finely-polished rendition of the familiar formula with a few fun twists.

Check out the teaser video below to get a sense of how it looks and sounds.

Clickety keyboard without the clack is perfect for stealth missions

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Beautiful and functional. And no frikkin wires. Photo Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The Matias Secure Pro is beautiful and functional. And no frikkin' wires. Photos: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you like mechanical keyboards, but those inconsiderate jerks in your office or home can’t stand the clackety racket they make, then you might consider something that uses “tactile” keys instead, which look and work like clicky keys — only without the click.

And if you’re into wireless keyboards, but you don’t like the NSA van parked outside snooping the connection and recording your keystrokes, you might like something with an encrypted wireless connection.

Well, guess what? We have just the thing. The Matias Secure Pro, a tactile keyboard with 128-bit AES Encryption.

Woz thinks wearables like the iWatch could be ‘a hard sell’

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Gadget-loving Steve Wozniak sounds like he won't be queuing for the iWatch on its day of release.
Gadget-loving Steve Wozniak sounds like he won't be queuing for the iWatch on its day of release.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has called the wearables product category — of which Apple’s eagerly-anticipated iWatch will be one — “a hard sell.”

In an email exchange with CNet on Wednesday, the routinely outspoken Woz (who recently turned 64) noted that smart watches are “go-betweens for your smartphone, but are an extra piece and need special advantages that the smartphone doesn’t have, in my opinion. If they are just a Bluetooth go-between then it could wind up in the category of Bluetooth headsets: Fun to wear and show off for a day.”

8 Nintendo games we’d pay a premium to see on iOS

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Okay, so this month saw the announcement that the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online is coming to iPad, but the Pokémon game players really want to see on iOS is the classic series of RPGs that made the Game Boy a must-have console.While the first-generation  games were all well and good (and by “well and good” I mean that I personally pumped hours into each one) it was with the follow-up trifecta of Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal where the series really took off. For the first time, day and night cycles were incorporated in a meaningful way, with certain Pokémon discoverable only at specific times.There was also a Friendship/Happiness system, which meant that Pokémon became increasingly devoted to specific trainers. Throw this game into the App Store, and we’ll be clued to our iPhones pretty much non-stop.(Picture: Nintendo/Samit Sarkar)

Okay, so this month saw the announcement that the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online is coming to iPad, but the Pokémon game players really want to see on iOS is the classic series of RPGs that made the Game Boy a must-have console.

While the first-generation games were all well and good (and by “well and good” I mean that I personally pumped hours into each one) it was with the follow-up trifecta of Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal where the series really took off. For the first time, day and night cycles were incorporated in a meaningful way, with certain Pokémon discoverable only at specific times.

There was also a Friendship/Happiness system, which meant that Pokémon became increasingly devoted to specific trainers. Throw this game into the App Store, and we’ll be clued to our iPhones pretty much non-stop.

(Picture: Nintendo/Samit Sarkar)


Microsoft wants to lock down its app store, iOS-style

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Microsoft wants to apply some Apple-style stringency to clean up its App Store.

While it certainly has its fair share of clones and discoverability issues, Apple’s mega profitable App Store is still the toast of the App Store world.

With that in mind, Microsoft is using it as its (unofficial) model for rethinking its own Windows app store which, to put it bluntly, is downright broken.

6 new tech-themed TV pilot ideas Fox should buy from us

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Photo: CC by Faruk Ateş/Flickr
Give this up? Never! Photo: Faruk Ateş/Flickr CC

20th Century Fox just committed to producing a television pilot called All Together Now about six twentysomethings who promise to unplug from their mobile devices and engage with each other as long as they can possibly stand it.

Seems like all the networks are jumping on the high-tech bandwagon, with heavy dramas like AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, lowbrow reality shows like Bravo’s Online Dating Rituals of the American Male and now this sitcom.

We can’t help but think turning off your mobile is a pretty thin excuse for a television series. Here are six other tech-themed pilot ideas the TV studio moguls might want to try.

Smile’s custom TextExpander keyboard for iOS 8 will save you time typing

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Of all the apps that will benefit from custom keyboards in iOS 8, TextExpander by Smile Software is one of the more obvious. In case you’re unfamiliar, TextExpander allows you to create snippets of text and media that can be inserted anywhere with a quick keyboard shortcut.

“We’ve been hard at work since Apple announced the new and exciting extensions and custom keyboards available in iOS 8,” said Smilie in a preview of their new keyboard layout. “TextExpander touch 3, coming on the heels of iOS 8 this fall, includes a TextExpander keyboard which can expand snippets in any app on the iPhone or iPad, including built-in apps such as Mail and Safari.”

How to make impressive time-lapse videos with Hyperlapse

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Hyperlapse, the new time-lapse video app from Instagram, is taking the Web by storm. In today’s video, Cult of Mac goes hands-on with the free app to show you exactly how to use it to make incredible videos.

We also explain why Hyperlapse beats out iOS 8’s built-in time-lapse feature, and we’ll show you some of the best videos made with Instagram’s new app so far.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Instagram explains the cool tech behind new Hyperlapse app

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Yesterday Instagram released Hyperlapse, its new app for making time lapse videos. The obvious benefit of time lapsing footage is that you can cram more into a 15-second clip, but the videos also end up looking really cool.

Hyperlapse takes the time lapse concept to the next level by encouraging you to move around while you shoot. That ends up opening the doors for all kinds of creative shots. You’d normally have to pay thousands of dollars for video gear to make the HD footage Hyperlapse can, but now anyone can do it with an iPhone for free.

The engineers at Instagram have shared what went into making the app. Here are a few takeaways:

Apple loses second attempt to ban sales of Samsung phones

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Samsung is after more of Apple's iPhone business.
Samsung is after more of Apple's iPhone business.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Judge Lucy Koh has denied Apple’s second attempt at banning certain Samsung phones. After Apple won its second major patent infringement case against Samsung earlier this year, it requested that a permanent injunction be placed on nine Samsung devices in the U.S.

Just like when Apple was denied a sales ban after its 2011 landmark victory against Samsung, Koh has not granted the second request. This time around, the ruling signals that Apple and Samsung’s court disputes are indeed settling down.

Dad mows down video games and we can’t stop watching

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Screenshot: Rob LeFebvre, via YouTube
Screenshot: Cult of Mac

We’ve all heard it: “Turn that TV off or I’m gonna take it and toss it out the g*dd*mn window.” Chances are, if you’re a parent, you’ve even said such a thing (I know I have).

That’s why after repeated watchings we just had to share this viral video from YouTuber McJuggerNuggets about a crazy family with a dad that resorts to mowing down his layabout son’s video game collection to intimidate the kid into getting a job.

Check out this NSFW video (F-bombs galore) below and you’ll be as hooked on the uncomfortable family drama as we are.

Rare Superman comic fetches record $3.2 million

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Courtesy DC Comics Wiki
Courtesy DC Comics Wiki

Earlier this week, a copy of the holy grail of comic book collecting, Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, sold on eBay for a record shattering sum of $3.2 million.

This pristine copy of Superman’s first appearance in comic books sold for a whopping $1,046,852 more than the previous record-holder, a less pristine copy of Action Comics‘ first issue, which sold for $2.1 million back in 2011. There are only an estimated 50 copies of the hotly collectible title left in the world.

iWatch will debut alongside iPhone 6 on September 9th

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iPhone 6 and iWatch. Perfect companions.  iPhoto: Martin Hajek
iPhone 6 and iWatch. Perfect companions. iPhoto: Martin Hajek

Apple will unveil its first foray into wearables at a special event in September, reports Recode’s John Paczkowski who previously reported that Apple had an October event scheduled for the iWatch, but the plans have changed.

Rumors of production delays have hounded the iWatch over the last few months, suggesting Apple might not even reveal the device until early 2015, but according to Recode’s report, the iWatch will actually debut alongside the two new iPhone 6 models during an event on September 9th.

The 12 best Hyperlapse videos on Instagram so far

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Instagram’s decision to release Hyperlapse as a standalone app yesterday was a bit of surprise to users, but not adding the feature directly into Instagram certainly hasn’t seemed to hurt its rising popularity.

Hyperlapse was only released 24 hours ago on iOS, but grammers have been eager to take it for a spin, and have tagged over 32,000 Instagram posts with #hyperlapse. Most of the videos are rubbish time lapses of what it’s like to drive in a car, but Instagram made sure Hyperlapse got into the hands of some of its top photogs before the public release, and the results were are pretty breathtaking, whether it be cruising Yosemite on a longboard, or just watching an army of ants march by with its cargo.

We’ve gathered up 12 of the best Hyperlapse videos to hit Instagram so far from both pros and amateurs alike. Check out the videos below to see what’s sure to be the next big trend on Instagram:

Solve low battery issues with the Limefuel Lite USB Battery Pack [Deals]

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You trust your mobile device to keep you in touch with your business associates, friends, and family. It also stores your vital data and apps so you can access them whenever and where ever you need them. Your mobile device sure does a lot, which is why the battery seems to drain at the most inopportune times.

Well, those days are over with the Limefuel Lite USB Battery Pack, only $34.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.