Microsoft’s $2.5 billion purchase of Minecraft maker Mojang might read like another “corporate behemoth swallows a beloved indie” story, but in reality this could be the best thing that ever happened to the game.

The inevitable snarky reactions on Twitter called out the deal as yet another reason to hate on Microsoft. While those might be valid points when it comes to some of Redmond’s more egregious enterprise software tactics, there’s simply no reason for worrying about the fate of Minecraft. When it comes to gaming acquisitions, Microsoft has shown itself to be anything but a harsh master.

Apple’s historic launch of U2’s new album Songs of Innocence to 500 million iTunes users hasn’t exactly been well-received. After less than 1 percent of iTunes users downloaded the freebie album on the first day, Apple shoved it down users’ throats by automatically downloading to devices withdisastrous results.

Now, after everyone’s had a weekend to cool off, Apple’s offering users an innovative solution in the form of a support site dedicated to teaching iTunes users how to pry U2’s spam album off their Mac or iPhone for good.

Here are the steps Apple recommends:

Pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus shattered Apple’s previous records and the 4 million customers ready to caress every square inch of the big and bigger screens will be happy to know that the first planes from China have already touched down in the U.S. with iPhone 6 cargo.

A China Southern Airlines Boeing 777 was spotted by China Daily as 93 tons of Apple iPhone 6s were being loaded onto the plane in Central China’s Henan province before it headed for Chicago, Illinois, and other American pilots have even posted pictures of their iPhone 6 payloads from inside the fuselage.

Apple Watch and its revolutionary UI were in the making for three years, and even though it was revealed less than a week ago, it only took Android Wear four days to copy it.

Android Wear users who don’t want to wait until early 2015 to try Apple’s UI can get a taste of neutered version of it via a copycat watchface called Pear from UhrArt that imitates the bubbly homescreen of Apple Watch.

It’s time for Mac App Madness, where we bring you great deals on popular Mac apps to increase your productivity and make your life easier.

Today we feature deals for DSP-Quattro 4, CleanMyMac 2, TuneUp, FlipPDF for Mac, and your last chance to pick up the immense time saver, TextExpander 4.

With Apple now accepting iOS 8 apps in the App Store, more third-party developers are starting to show off their use of Extensibility and Touch ID integration.

Day One, an app that won a coveted Apple Design Award at WWDC in June, is readying its iOS 8 update with a Notification Center widget, Share extension, and Touch ID support.

We don’t usually post infographics on Cult of Mac — far too many of them are just poorly designed info dumps, without any real focus or design chops — but we’re making an exception for this one showing the evolution of iOS over the last seven years.

Created by the folks at 7 Day Shop, this infographic doesn’t just examine the evolution of the iOS home screen (something we here at Cult of Mac have been known to chart from time to time), but the evolution of individual icons, and the addition of features to Apple’s mobile operating system.

It’s very thorough, and a great primer on how far we’ve come since 2007. Check it out in full after the jump.

The iPhone 6 is the first iPhone with a camera lens that protrudes slightly instead of being flush with the back of the device. It was a necessary design trade-off, allowing Jony Ive’s team of designers to cram the advanced optics into the iPhone 6 necessary to make it the best smartphone camera ever.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Apple usually likes clean lines in its product designs. And that protruding camera lens, when viewing the iPhone 6 in profile, turns an otherwise clean line into an unsightly bulge. Apple can’t stand that bulge, so the company is going to the unprecedented length of using clever lighting and photography to hide it in its marketing materials.

We’d heard that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were receiving record preorders, but what exactly does this mean in terms of numbers?

According to a new press release from Apple, the total number of pre-orders for the iPhone 6 family of devices is in excess of a whopping 4 million units — twice the number of pre-orders of the iPhone 5.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” Tim Cook is quoted as saying. “Pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus set a new record for Apple, and we can’t wait to get our best iPhones yet into the hands of customers starting this Friday.”

Apple is copying Samsung — and Samsung’s none too happy about it.

No, this isn’t some alternate universe timeline, but the narrative according to Samsung’s latest ad for the Galaxy Note 4.

TAG Heuer is not the only watchmaker taking notice of the Apple Watch.

Cindy Livingston, CEO of Guess Watches, has written an open letter to Tim Cook about the Apple Watch. And like TAG Heuer, it appears that Livingston is more interested in the excitement and creativity that Apple brings to the watch world than scared and defensive, saying that Guess is looking forward to the “new challenge to remain relevant” that the Apple Watch presents them.

Particularly on the back of the recent iCloud account hacking scandal, smartphone security is something a lot of people are paying more attention to.

With that in mind, a London-based designer recently launched an intriguing Kickstarter campaign, to create a clothing label aimed at raising awareness about high-tech security.

The clothes are all cleverly constructed around a removable waterproof stealth pocket, made from police-grade shielding fabrics, designed to securely block all Cell, WiFi, GPS and RFID signals to ~100 dB.

Now that Apple has entered the watch game, even the horological old guard is starting to take notice. Just a few days after Apple unveiled the Apple Watch, Swiss luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer has announced that it’s planning on making a smartwatch too … although they say they don’t just want to copy the Apple Watch.

Not even Apple’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus support super-sharp 4K video recording out of the box, but they do have the necessary hardware to support it. Vizzywig 4K, a new iOS app that was just approved by Apple, brings this functionality to the iPhone 5s — but it costs a whopping $999.99.

It’s rare that we get to see inside the mind of Apple CEO Tim Cook. It’s even rarer when what he says appears to be largely unscripted and candid.

The PBS show Charlie Rose aired part one of its interview with Cook over the weekend, and the hour-long talk is probably the most revealing conversation Cook has ever had with the press. Here’s what we learned from the interview:

Tools like hands-free kits and Siri might mean that you don’t have to have your face constantly buried in your iPhone, but for most people the reality is that using a smartphone suggests your focus is not entirely on the real world around you.

Tackling this problem head-on is a place called Foreigner Street in Chongqing city, China, which has installed a special walking lane for smartphone users — just as might be the case with a cycle lane elsewhere.

Another week of deals on super cool products designed to make your life easier and more fun at rock bottom prices has come to an end.

Don’t let these deals pass you by. Act on them now, save yourself some cash, and start living easier.

It’s been a huge week for Apple news, with the special event this past Tuesday along with a few stories you may have missed. Watch Cult of Mac’s news roundup to see the latest on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Apple Watch, U2’s latest album and another new product market Apple might be entering.

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

Get your free seven-day trial of Lynda.com right here!

The next generation of console gaming is here and the best of the bunch is the new Playstation 4. It can learn what types of games you like, lets you compare stats with friends, and post to social media sites like Facebook. With popular titles such as Battlefield 4 in its constantly expanding library, the Playstation 4 is definately the console of choice.

Now you can have a new Playstation 4 of your very own with a copy of Battlefield 4 with The PlayStation 4 Battlefield Bundle Giveaway from Cult of Mac Deals. Enter soon, though, because this contest has to end soon.

Apple put mobile wallet payment platforms like Google Wallet, Square and PayPal on notice this week with the reveal of Pay, but before Cupertino decided to launch its answer to the wallet, sources tell TechCrunch the company was eyeing an acquisition of Square.

Square’s simplistic payments platform seems like it would have been the perfect fit for Apple and would have added “Next Steve Jobs Nominee” Jack Dorsey to its loaded executive ranks, but after Apple executives failed to put enough cash on the table, Square walked away from negotiations.

When Apple Pay was unveiled Tuesday, Eddy Cue was quick to mention that 83% of US card issuers are already on board. 220,000 stores will also support the mobile payment initiative at launch, including big chains like McDonalds, Walgreens, Staples, and of course, Disney.

But that doesn’t mean Apple Pay’s adoption will be smooth sailing going forward. There are still plenty of merchants that haven’t signed on, and some of the biggest names, including Walmart and Best Buy, don’t plan on supporting Apple Pay any time soon.

Apple fans will never revel in the glory of another Stevenote. But an essay that imagines how Steve Jobs would have introduced the Apple Watch just might be the next best thing.

Lesson No. 1: He wouldn’t have called it the “Apple Watch.”

Apple goes to some pretty crazy lengths to ensure secrecy for its various projects, and it expects a similar commitment from its partners.

According to a New York Times article, prior to releasing Apple Pay, the key players (which included Apple and banks such as JP Morgan Chase) referred to each other by code-names after rumors of Apple’s interest in mobile payments surfaced in early 2013.