In an interesting Wall Street Journal profile of Beats founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, the two music industry vets and current Apple employees describe their new $70m undergraduate academy at the University of Southern California as a training ground for future Apple and Beats employees.

“We wanted to build a school that we feel is what the entertainment industry needs right now,” Iovine is quoted as saying. “There’s a new kid in town, and he’s brought up on an iPad from one and a half years old. But the problem with some of the companies up north [in Silicon Valley] is that they really are culturally inept.”

“I’ve been shocked at the different species in Northern and Southern California—we don’t even speak the same language. The kid who’s going to have an advantage in the entertainment industry today is the kid who speaks both languages: technology and liberal arts. That’s what this school is about.”

From Klingon to GIF-based keyboards, we’re seeing some really interesting examples of new third-party keyboards with iOS 8.

Here’s a particularly exciting one, though: a keyboard which translates messages into other languages as you type. It does the opposite, too, which means that if you receive a text message in say, French, it can instantly translate it into English, or your choice of language. Neat, right?

Like many movie fans out there I couldn’t be more excited about the release of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, a spectacular-looking space epic from one of the greatest filmmakers working today. While I’m not going to get to see it until this weekend, its release gave me reason to revisit some of the best movie space epics in history — and dwell on a few of the worst, too.

Are you ready for a guide to both the best and worst the galaxy has to offer? Check out our picks after the hyper jump:

WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging platforms on the planet, finally offers one of the most basic messaging features — the ability to tell you when your messages have been read. The app will now display blue checks instead of green ones next to messages that recipients have seen.

A CNN political commentator has hit back at reports that he was using an iPad on air, instead of the Microsoft Surface he was supposed to be using.

The gaffe occurred during the coverage for the 2014 Mid-Term elections, when it was revealed that CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper and others were furiously, err, tapping away at iPads behind the sold wall of Surface Pro 3s that Microsoft had issued the network.

Tapper doesn’t deny that he was using an iPad, but argues that he was just using it for tweeting, while happily using his Microsoft tablet for everything else.

“I liked [the Surface] fine, I just wanted to keep the screen up with exit polls,” Tapper argued on Twitter, branding the online response “idiotic” and a “false meme.”

The public release of OS X Yosemite rolled out three weeks ago, and since then Apple has been gradually bringing all of its own services in line with the look and feel of its new operating system.

Having previously tweaked the iTunes Store and its iWork suite, Apple is now updating the Mac App Store, adding the thinner fonts, simple white backdrop and gray separators synonymous with Yosemite.

As of now, only some tabs feature the newer design, while not everyone is seeing the redesign. Some users have reported not seeing it at all, others are seeing it intermittently, and yet others permanently. You can launch the Mac App Store from Yosemite to see if you currently reflect the update.

AppleCare has started to rollout to enterprise, thanks to Cupertino’s new strategic partnership with IBM.

(Updated with Apple statement below.)

A new class of malware targeted at OS X and iOS is spreading like wildfire in China, according to new research by Palo Alto Networks. Dubbed WireLurker, the trojan hides itself in apps distributed through a third-party Chinese app store for OS X and side-loads itself onto iOS devices via USB.

What sets WireLurker apart from other malware is that it is capable of infecting non-jailbroken iOS devices, and it heralds “a new era in malware attacking Apple’s desktop and mobile platforms.”

Apple’s newest smartphone, the iPhone 6, is here.

You could get one for free by entering The Epic iPhone 6 Giveaway at Cult of Mac Deals.  But you had better hurry, because there is precious little time left to take advantage of this contest.

MXC has been in full damage control mode ever since its partners began blocking Apple Pay at stores, and while the consortium behind CurrentC claims there aren’t any fees for supporting Apple Pay, its partners should think twice before defecting.

In an interview with The Verge, MXC CEO Dekkers Davidson revealed what happens to stores that ignore the Apple Pay ban, stating merchants have to ultimately make the best decision for their businesses, but there are consequences for breaking ranks.

Chances are you protect your iPhone with a case. Probably your MacBook too. But what about your MagSafe power adapter?

It’s safe to say that the little white power brick that comes with Apple laptops isn’t the best design. In fact, it’s badly flawed — the cables are subject to fraying. It’s been a problem for a long time: Apple has settled lawsuits, posted long support documents and currently offers a free replacement program.

What to do? Leon Spencer, an inventor from Atlanta, Georgia, has the answer. Put your power adapter in a special protective case.

The thing about robots in science fiction, especially recently, is that they’re often portrayed as living in a clean, distant future.

The brilliance of Neill Blomkamp is his gritty, dirty, realistic portrayal of the future, and he’s bringing us a new robot to live there, named Chappie.

Chappie, motion captured by Blomkamp favorite Sharlto Copley, is a gifted young robot, an artistic and emotional prodigy. In the trailer below, you can see how much of the real world Blomkamp sets around Chappie: He-Man on the television, a wristwatch on the main propellerhead kid that befriends the robot, and a variety of militaristic types trying to blow up the special kid.

Check it out.

Google Maps for Android is the latest Google app to get a Material Design makeover for Android 5.0 Lollipop, following the improvements to Calendar on Monday. It’s not just more colorful than it was before, however; you’ll also find new services built–in, including Uber and Open Table.

Microsoft proudly announced last month that it would be paying CNN to use its Surface tablets for the historic Mid-Term 2014 coverage, but when it came time to actually use Microsoft’s tablet last night, CNN political commentators discovered an incredible new Surface feature: it doubles as an iPad kickstand.

CNN’s talking heads tried to hide their iPad Airs and minis behind a barricade of Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablets, but it didn’t take long for some observant viewers to notice their preferred tablets are made by Apple.

Check out this guy working on his iPad mini behind the scenes:

It’s been a great year for Apple in China, and to top it off the China Brand Research Center just released its China Brand Power Index for the year — placing Apple in the no 1 position over long-time rival Samsung.

While Samsung Electronics took home brand value prizes in both the TV and monitor categories, Apple roundly beat it in the all-important mobile category, which Samsung has occupied for the previous two years.

With today’s tech devices becoming obsolete so quickly, it’s easy to think older models are forgotten by their creators the moment a follow-up rolls off the factory floor.

While this may be true in some instances, it’s apparently not the case for Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. In a recent email exchange with a vintage computer expert, Woz revealed that almost 40 years after the Apple II shipped he still agonizes about ways it could have been improved.

If you’re searching for further evidence that music streaming is overtaking downloads, look no further than a new report claiming that over the last quarter European revenue from Spotify streams were 13% higher than revenues from iTunes downloads.

The report comes from Kobalt, a company that helps collect music royalties on behalf of thousands of big-name artist. Currently it only collects earnings from Spotify streams in Europe — which means it’s unknown if similar figures are true in the U.S.

This time last year, iTunes’ earnings were 32% higher than that of Spotify in Europe, although streaming revenues have tripled over the past two years.

Although Apple has given us our first peek at the Apple Watch, so far we don’t know much about it, including when it will be released or how much its many versions will cost.

A new report, however, provides some possible answers to these questions. According to a French website, the Apple Watch will start at around $500 for the steel model. And gold? Gold will be even more expensive.

The Nest Learning Thermostat is getting a whole lot smarter thanks to a new firmware update.

The biggest new feature in the update is an added Auto-Schedule mode, which learns new schedules and adapts more quickly to change — potentially saving you up to 6% on your heating and cooling bills.

I love interactive Notification Center widgets. Widgets that let me use Notification Center like a quick entry form for my best used apps. Stuff like PCalc’s calculator widget that gives functionality to users that Apple seems conflicted about.

That’s why I love Neato. It’s a quick jot notepad for Notification Center that lets you speedily enter notes no matter where you are in iOS 8.

Your Mac is an awesome machine. What’s even more awesome? Getting Mac apps that you absolutely have to have at huge discounts.

It’s Mac App Madness at Cult of Mac Deals. There’s giant savings to be had on The MacX DVD Video Converter Pro Pack, Time Doctor Lifetime, and NetSpot Pro.

Today AT&T announced a Next 24 plan that allows you to pay for your phone in small payments over the course of 30 months, with the option to upgrade after two years.

The new 24-month plan joins Next’s current 12 and 18-month upgrade options, which AT&T has been promoting heavily to get subscribers off traditional two-year contracts.

The hot potato game of who will play Steve Jobs in Sony’s biopic continues. Christian Bale was attached to the role until yesterday, and before that Leonardo DiCaprio’s name was in the mix.

Now it’s being reported that Michael Fassbender is considering filling the Apple co-founder’s shoes. Sony is “moving quickly” to find a replacement for Bale, and Fassbender has entered “early talks,” reports Variety.

CVS and Rite Aid kicked off the Apple Pay War last week by disabling Apple’s mobile wallet solution from working at stores, even though it was supported at launch, but a team of class action lawyers are helping fanboys fight back by hitting the companies with an antitrust investigation.

Schubert, Jonckheer & Kolbe announced that it is launching an investigation into the conduct of  CVS and Rite Aid, and if they violated federal antitrust laws by colluding with one another and other MCX members to boycott competing payment systems at the same time.