Remember back in the early 2000s when Apple opening a brick-and-mortar store in prime real estate locations seemed as crazy a gamble as Apple deciding to create its own mobile phone? Very few people would admit so now — particularly Apple’s rivals like Samsung and Microsoft which have followed the Apple Store example with their own surprisingly similar retail outfits.

In an attempt to stop others from copying the slick, high fashion minimalism of its Apple Stores, Apple has secured a court ruling allowing it to register the layout of its retail stores in the European Union as a trade mark — extending the intellectual property status that it already carries in the U.S.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has reportedly started shipping its first batch of iPhone and iPad microprocessors to Apple, according to sources familiar with the matter.

By making microprocessors for Apple, TSMC is taking over a role previously carried out by Samsung. Some skeptics had previously suggested that TSMC — which is the world’s biggest contract chipmaker in terms of revenue — wouldn’t be able to deliver the complex chips to Apple’s satisfaction.

SAN FRANCISCO — Myles Weissleder has witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to startup demos.

The former VP of public affairs at Meetup.com presides over SF New Tech, a showcase for disruptive hopefuls that he’s run for more than eight years. Over 750 companies including SkyBox, Twilio, Prezi, Flipboard and Twitter have come to his networking mixer to demo before a live audience in a trendy SOMA club.

In San Francisco’s competitive startup environment, you can demo your game-changing idea (or Pet Rock app) every night of the week, but SF New Tech is one of the longest-running and largest showcases. Wannapreneurs face a few hundred audience members — many of them from influential companies like Apple or venture capital firms like CMEA capital — where the mingling is fueled by drinks and tacos.

During a recent demo night, Cult of Mac sat down with the indefatigable Weissleder, who is as at home on the stage with a mic as he is hobnobbing at the bar, to get his top tips on how not to bomb when you take the stage with your great idea, hoping to find cash and connect with influencers.

Apple released its full 2014 Environmental Responsibility report this afternoon with new climate change data and information on the company’s promise to reduce its carbon footprint.

The new report highlights some of the good decisions Apple made to reduce its environmental impact in 2013, by doing things like converting Apple Stores to renewable energy, building solar farms for data centers, as well as its controversial shuttle bus program.

Using the same models it used to calculate its 2013 numbers, Apple decided to recalculate its 2012 emission data and found that its carbon footprint shrank year-over-year for the first time since it began tracking numbers in 2009, but that wasn’t the only good news.

Here’s a quick rundown of the both the good and the bad:

If you think that the conceit behind Ubisoft’s hacker-themed video game Watch Dogs isn’t real enough, be sure to take a look at this website.

Watch_Dogs We Are Data takes real world, publicly-accessible location-based data and parses it into a display ripped directly from the video game of the same name. You can visit Berlin, Paris, or London, and zoom on down into the various regions of each city to see where mobile phones are, read tweets originating from specific spots, and see icons that represent CCTV feeds, traffic lights, and more.

If this doesn’t freak you out even just a little, then more power to you.

Apple Maps crashed and burned coming off the runway in iOS 6, but new additions in iOS 8 beta 3 show Apple’s had a change of heart, and is even making it easier for Apple Maps users to jump to Google Maps and other services thanks to some new UI tweaks.

Starting in iOS 8, users will be able to run a search for locations in Apple Maps and use either Apple’s own driving and walking directions, or switch directly to another app already installed on your device via a simplified menu. 

Ron Johnson was Apple’s first head of retail, and he is widely credited with the early success of what is now the most profitable retail brand on Earth.

In a recent interview at Stanford University, his alma mater, Johnson reflected on his career in retail at brands like Target, Apple and J.C. Penney. He gave some insight into the decisions behind what makes the Apple Store “experience,” including why every store has always had free Wi-Fi.

Johnson also talked about the “intimate” relationship he had with Steve Jobs and shared a pretty surprising opinion about the late CEO.

A brilliant computer programmer living in a future dystopian totalitarian state must prove the Zero Theorem, in which 100 percent equals 0, or all is nothing. He’s got a touch of social anxiety (“We do not like to be touched!”), a seriously bald head, and a variety of future-weird outfits that he wears in each scene. Sound like fun?

If you’ve seen any of Terry Gilliam’s similar work, like 12 Monkeys or Brazil (or even if you just dig Apple’s similarly themed 1984-esque commercial by Ridley Scott) you’re going to want to check this one out. The gloriously wacky and edgy trailer is below.

The developer preview of OS X Yosemite is already seeing rapid adoption numbers, and it isn’t even officially available yet.

According to new research, Yosemite accounted for 0.2% of OS X ad impressions in North America between the dates of June 2nd and July 2nd. That’s nearly four times the number of Macs running the developer preview of OS X Mavericks this time last year.

Why the big spike in usage? The answer is actually simple.

Vimeo launched a redesigned version of its Apple TV channel today that gives the popular video service a streamlined new interface.

Heavy Vimeo users should find it easier to get to their own collections and likes, while more causal users will benefit from a monthly “Staff Favorites” collection and additional content curation.

“We took our old menu, cut it down to the essentials, and put it at the top of the screen for easy access,” said Vimeo’s Brad Dougherty. “Discover awesome videos, keep up with your feed, tackle your Watch Later queue, and quickly get to your own videos, likes, and collections.”

The devil is in the details: Tim Cook said that Apple’s commitment to accessibility is so complete that the Cupertino company never looks at the return on investment but considers it “just and right.”

That’s a pretty different picture than the one venerable news org Reuters painted by giving a quick chop to his comments in a piece about blind app users seeking more accessibility from Apple.

Apple has long been criticized by shareholders for stuffing its leadership ranks with a bunch of old white dudes, but as Tim Cook touched down in Sun Valley Idaho for Allen & Co.’s annual media moguls conference, the Apple CEO said his company is about to be a lot more transparent about its diversity.

Following the path of Google and Facebook, who have publicly released information on the diversity of their workforces this year, Tim Cook pledged Apple will do the same, he’s just not sure how long it will take.

Apple’s Tim Cook and Eddy Cue were invited yet again this year to the illustrious business conference put on by Allen & Company in Sun Valley, Idaho. Today they were spotted walking around and talking to reporters.

The tech and media world’s elites gather in the resort town of Sun Valley annually to discuss potential partnerships and deals behind closed doors. Think of it like a social mixer on steroids for the world’s most powerful business moguls. Everyone from Rupert Murdoch to the CEOs of Comcast and AT&T attend.

While casually strolling through the mountain resort today, both Cook and Cue fielded questions from eager journalists looking to get a juicy quote or scoop.

The FTC came down hard on Apple earlier this year for its lack of parental controls for in-app purchases on iOS, so Apple did what anyone caught red handed would do — they ratted out the competition too.

A week after news of the FTC’s investigation broke, Apple’s SVP of legal, Bruce Sewell sent an email to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez and Commissioner Julie Brill, linking to a scathing Consumer Affairs report that claimed Google Play kids could spend money like drunken sailors.

Turning up to a meeting unprepared can be a big mistake, but who really enjoys meeting preparation? No one, that’s who. But iPhone app Lowdown can take care of the hard work for you, saving you valuable time and energy.

Using artificial intelligence, Lowdown tells you where your meeting is, how long it’ll take to get there, and who you’ll be meeting. It even finds and presents useful information on those individuals, including their professional profiles and connections, and recent correspondence you’ve shared with them.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you probably already know that the MacBook Air is quite possibly the best computing solution ever created. Its lightweight design allows the MacBook Air to be taken pretty much anywhere but the power within is anything but lightweight.

Now you have the opportunity to get a MacBook Air of your very own with the 11″ MacBook Air Giveaway at Cult of Mac Deals.

Tim Cook swears Apple TV isn’t just a hobby for the mothership anymore, but according to the latest estimates, it might be time for Apple unleashed some new non-hobby Apple TV features if it wants to catch up to Roku and Chromecast.

New data from Parks Associates reveals that while the Apple TV streaming box has been available for over seven years, Chromecast has already surged past Apple TV in 2013, making Google’s tiny stick the most popular streaming device in the U.S.  

A Beijing court has ruled against Apple, upholding the validity of a patent for a “type of instant messaging chat bot system” held by a Chinese company.

Zhizhen Internet Technology sued Apple back in 2012, claiming that virtual assistant Siri was infringing on the Chinese company’s patented idea for a so-called Xiaoi Bot. The Chinese bot was patented in 2004 — two years before the first Siri-related patent filing was made.

Tuesday’s Beijing court ruling paves the way for Zhizhen to continue its case against Apple for intellectual property infringement. Apple’s defense? That it never heard of Zhizhen’s technology prior to creating Siri.

Having been delayed from 2013 to 2014 in order to let its developers “fully achieve” their vision for the game, the eagerly awaited Modern Combat 5: Blackout finally has a release date — and it’s later this month. The Gameloft FPS will be arriving on Android and iOS devices on Thursday, July 24th, priced at $6.99 with (mercifully) no in-app purchases.

The game is set to take players on yet another adventure across the world, beginning in Venice, Italy, before protagonist Phoenix is set on a special operation to secure the transport of WMDs from a well-armed terrorist group. Unsurprisingly, not everything will go to plan, and from here you jump from set piece to spectacular set piece, including helicopter and speedboat-based moments.

As you can see from the exclusive “making of” feature I wrote a few months back, I’m a massive fan of Monument Valley, the surrealistic M.C. Escher-inspired iOS puzzle game that rocked the App Store earlier this year.

A recent winner of Apple’s Design Awards at WWDC, Monument Valley is a triumph of isometric design, in which you guide a white-clad princess through a series of impossible structures in a game Apple describes as “akin to a walk through a museum or listening to a music album.”

While the game was already a bargain at $3.99, it’s just been the recipient of a slashed pricetag — meaning that you can now pick it up for the bargain price of $1.99.

Don’t underestimate the power of having Apple on your side!

Not long after Foxconn announced record earnings thanks to its work on the iPhone, fellow Apple manufacturer Pegatron Corp is predicted to see consolidated revenues of $33.3 billion for 2014, mainly due to shipments of Apple’s next generation iPhone and iPad models.

UPDATE: Reuters didn’t use Tim Cook’s complete remarks, we’ve posted them here.

Apple should do more to improve accessibility for its apps, says an advocacy group, supported by members of the National Federation of the Blind.

“It’s time for Apple to step up or we will take the next step,” NFB of California board member Michael Hingson told Reuters. The advocacy group successfully sued Apple regarding iTunes back in 2008, with Apple paying out $250,000 and giving the service an accessibility-minded makeover as part of the settlement. While it may not reach the level of a repeat lawsuit, Hingson says that this could be “the only resort” to force Apple’s hand.

Matthew Watkins has brought iPad finger paintings into the real world in more formats than any other artist we know.

His digital artwork has made the leap into the tangible on carpets, cars, plexiglass and the more usual prints, videos, books and live installations at fashion shows and art events. Watkins, who lives in Southern Italy — by way of Manchester, England, and a childhood spent in Toronto — uses his personal peregrinations as a source of inspiration for his ongoing series on imaginary cities, which hovers between utopia and dystopia.

“I’m drawn to urban decay and architectural artifacts,” Watkins says of the works that were on display in a recent exhibit at Verona’s Palazzo Gran Guardia. “I’ve drawn buildings and cities since I was a child. As a teenager I would draw my own imaginary worlds. I still do.”

Design questions aside, the true mystery about Apple’s long-rumored iWatch lies in exactly what types of health-related sensors the wearable might include. A recent report claims the iWatch will sport an astonishing 10 different sensors, including one for sweat.

While pedometers, accelerometers, thermometers and every other o-meter Jony Ive can get his hands on might all make sense for a smartwatch, we’re wondering what Apple could do with a sweat sensor? Other than verify that, yes, your sweat glands are pouring out more fluid per minute than Niagara Falls during your jog?

It turns out that adding sweat sensors would do more than differentiate the iWatch from smartwatches by LG, Motorola and Samsung right out of the gate. It could make the iWatch the most “personal” device you’ve ever shackled yourself to, with surprising applications that go far beyond fitness and health.

If you’re flying into or out of the United Kingdom, you’d better make sure your Android or iOS handset is fully charged. With the U.S. government recently announcing that all airline passengers with personal electronics devices will now be required to turn them on to prove that they work, the U.K.’s Department for Transport has announced that the same rules will now apply in the United Kingdom.

The new ruling follows reports that terrorists may be able to use phones and electronic devices as a conveyor of explosives that can get around current security checks.