Facebook has drawn criticism for its mandated use of real names on its social network, but to satisfy demands of anonymity – and take on Snapchat – the New York Times reports that the company plans to release a stand-alone app that lets you chat without using your real name.

In the ultra-competitive world of mobile payments, Square Cash continues to set itself apart as the quickest and easiest way to send and receive money.

Now money transfers are easier than ever. Thanks to a new feature called Nearby Payments, you can use the app to send and receive cash over Bluetooth.

Apple has seeded the second beta of 8.1 to developers today, ahead of its rumored public release later this month. A new beta build of Xcode 6.1 has also been released on the iOS Dev Center, along with Apple TV software beta 2 that includes support for Family Sharing and can be used to test AirPlay and HomeKit in iOS apps.

Apple’s release notes  for iOS 8.1 beta 2 don’t mention the addition of new feature – though Apple Pay was discover in the last build –  but it does list a number of bug fixes.

We’ll let you know what type of new goodies we find once we get it install on our devices. The new beta can be download from the iOS Developer Center or via the direct download links below.

Here are the direct download links:

Three out of four drivers in America believe that using hands-free technology like Siri is a safer way to cruise the highway than fiddling with buttons and knobs, but a surprising study from AAA found that using Siri on the road is actually dangerously distracting.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety tested the distraction levels of a number of hands-free solutions from auto-manufacturers that allow drivers to compose messages, change the radio, and navigate complex menus with voice commands, and found that trying to chat with Siri while driving is more distracting that composing a text.

Most of us take videos from time to time. You know, the kind of videos that are repeatedly taken from boring, ground based, vantage points. Wouldn’t it be great if you could have the freedom to take high definition videos from any angle or elevation?

Meet the DJI Phantom FC40 drone. Using its on-board Smart Camera, you can record just about any event from one stunning perspective after another. Now, the DJI Phantom FC40 can be yours for the very low price of $499 at Cult of Mac Deals. As an added bonus, use the promo code PHANTOM35 to get an additional $35 off!

Popcorn Time makes it ridiculously easy to “freely” stream almost any movie you want to your iOS device, but unless you have a jailbroken iOS device, actually getting it on the iPhone 6 is impossible, unless you know of a little loophole that allows you to install the banned app.

Adventurous iPhone owners can finally get Popcorn Time by utilizing the same time-hack loophole that allowed others to install Nintendo game emulators and other apps, no jailbreaking required. Popcorn Time isn’t strictly legal, but that’s not stopping thousands from pirating the app onto their iPhones and iPads by simply rolling back the clock on their device.

Here’s how to get ‘the Netflix of torrents’ on your iPhone right now:

A neat trick that allows old console emulators and other unapproved apps to be installed on iOS devices without jailbreaking is set to be wiped out with iOS 8.1. Apple has finally taken action against the “date trick” many users have long been taking advantage of, and it’s going to make playing your favorite SNES and Game Boy games much harder.

It’s official: kids love the iPad more than they do Oreo cookies. According to the “2014 Young Love” study — an annual survey carried out by leading youth and family research firm Smarty Pants — the iPad beat out 255 other brands (including Disney, Nickelodeon, Toys”R”Us, McDonald’s and YouTube) to be named the #1 brand among children aged 6-12.

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of U.S. households, with a total of 256 consumer brands evaluated as part of a three-month study of 6,661 children and their parents. Scores were based on a composite scale of 0-1,000 based on brand awareness, love, and popularity.

The top ten brands can be seen below:

AT&T has a confirmed that it suffered a data breach back in August, carried out by one of its own employees.

The now-former employee accessed personal information relating to an unspecified number of users (thought to be in the region of 1,600), such as their Social Security and driver’s licence info, along with customer metadata — including time, duration and destination of phone calls.

Call it pent up demand for a larger-screen iPhone if you want, but the phablet-sized iPhone 6 Plus is proving a whole lot more popular than even Apple thought it would.

That’s according to a new report, citing sources from the upstream supply chain, which claims that Cupertino is adjusting its supply ratio for the 6 Plus and 4.7-inch iPhone 6 to account for the unexpectedly massive number of people ordering the 5.5-inch model.

The sources note that iPhone 6 shipments are set to be 3-4 million units lower than originally anticipated, with the production orders instead being directed toward producing more units of the iPhone 6 Plus.

Things are looking far from rosy in Samsung-land. According to a Re/code report on Tuesday, the company’s third-quarter earnings are set to fall below market expectations — thanks to falling TV prices, decreased display shipments, and more competition than ever in the smartphone sector.

Although Samsung smartphones actually increased in number in terms of shipments, the operating margin was lower as the result of higher marketing costs, less demand for high-end phones, and a lower average selling price for handsets.

Having the ability to switch from iOS to OS X on your iPad when you need to get real work done sounds like an awesome idea, but Apple’s full desktop operating system isn’t designed to be used with a touchscreen. That’s why a new rumor that claims the upcoming 12-inch iPad will run both platforms is just downright crazy.

Apple loves to tout how quickly people update to its newest software, but with iOS 8, many are choosing to hold back. The company’s own numbers show that only 1% of the iOS user base has upgraded to iOS 8 in the last two weeks.

Only 47% of users are on iOS 8 vs. 46% the week of September 21st. Adoption rates usually slow down as time wears on, but these unusually low numbers indicate that many are choosing to not upgrade to iOS 8. Unfortunately, Apple has given a few reasons why that’s the case.

1Password has been hovering near the top of the App Store’s charts since it went freemium alongside the launch of iOS 8. Developed by Canadian company AgileBits, the popular password manager has been on the forefront of app development for Apple’s latest OS since WWDC in June.

After releasing an iOS 8-compatible version with iCloud Drive sync, Touch ID integration, and an adaptive layout, 1Password 5.1 is out today with more refinements.

When Tim Cook unveiled the gorgeously curved edges of the iPhone 6, I thought apps that use the iPhone 5/5s’ flat edges to create hands-free 360° panoramic photos and video, would quickly sink into the App Store abyss, but the minds at Cycloramic have created a brilliant work around, and all you need is your iPhone 6 charger.

Cycloramic for iPhone 6 was released on the App Store over weekend and brings with it the power to turn your iPhone charger into a panorama machine by simply laying it facedown on a smooth surface, and delicately wedging your iPhone 6 between its power prongs. Using the iPhone 6’s vibration motor the new Cycloramic app can rotate 360 degrees to capture videos and photos, completely hands-free.

Check it out in action:

As a prototype iPhone 6 on eBay shoots above $100,000, the seller is just dying to hear from Apple.

Although the company might cancel the auction, as it has done with several secret prototypes in the past, the seller is such an Apple fan that he’s more excited about hearing from Cupertino than collecting $100,000.

“I don’t think the bids are real at this point,” the seller told Cult of Mac. “I’m excited about Apple getting in touch because I have loved their company for so long and this is just such an amazing opportunity.”

The seller’s name is Alex. He’s 24, lives in Los Angeles, and works in sales and marketing. He unintentionally purchased the prototype iPhone for his mother.

The iPhone 6 received rave reviews when Apple unveiled it at the Flint Center last month, but not many people have been eager to talk about it’s shortcomings, until now.

In today’s Cult of Mac video we breakdown the biggest disappointments iPhone 6 users have griped about since the device went on sale two weeks ago. What should Apple improve to make the phone better? Find out what the next generation iPhone still needs and more in this informative video.

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

GoPro has become the camera-of-choice for adventurers to document their wild and crazy stunts, and now all the action-packed drama captured by your GoPro can be broadcast live, so all your buddies can watch along as you soar over mountains in your wingsuit.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were unleashed on the world just two weeks ago, but Apple is already getting prepared to announce a handful of new products, including an updated iPad Air that will be the thinnest tablet Apple’s ever created.

As next week’s iPad Air event looms on the horizon, the Michael Report claims to have received pictures and illustrations of the new iPads, and have released a full report of the upcoming changes that may include an A8 processor with 2GB of RAM, thinner body, and some small design tweaks.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been out for over two weeks now, and while only a few popular apps have updated to natively support the new screen resolutions, Google is updating Gmail for iOS to support the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus starting today.

The free update to the popular email app gets rid of the annoying fuzzy text iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users reported during the first two weeks. Now that the graphics have been updated the app puts the full Retina HD display to use, though it doesn’t appear that any new UI elements were added.

No new features were added either, but the app supports landscape mode when managing, reading and composing email. You can grab it for free from the App Store.

Source: iTunes

Android Wear’s complete customization features give it an advantage Apple Watch can’t match once it launches next year. Everything on Android Wear and you could even make it look just like Apple Watch’s UI if you want, or if you’re a nostalgic 16-year old with too much time on your hands, you can hack Windows 95 onto the 1.63-inch display of the Samsung Gear Live.

Corbin Davenport posted a video of this smartwatch running the 20-year old operating system. His hack utilizes aDosBox, which emulates an x86 processor and DOS-like operating system so you can do silly stuff like install Microsoft’s oldest operating system, or old apps like Doom (which Corbin’s also done).

Watch the full video below:

Nintendo is probably never going to release its treasure trove of retro titles onto iOS any year soon, but if you want to experience the thrill of stumping tutrtles dead in Super Mario World on your gigantic iPhone 6 Plus display, there’s a simple hack that can make it happen.

SiOS – a new Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulator created by Lucas Mendes Meng – can be installed on any iOS 8.0.2 device and lower thanks to a little hack via iDeviceHypethat gives your iPhone access to SNES games like Super Mario Kart, Donkey Kong Quest, Yoshiland, and hundred of other ROMS. And you don’t even need a jailbreak.

Here’s how to play SNES games on your iPhone 6 right now:

The iPad revolutionized the way we read books, surf the web, and use apps. As great as the iPad is, it can also be difficult to multitask with one, not to mention the hand and neck strain from holding your iPad for long periods of time. But now, the revolution can continue thanks to the iRest.

The iRest comfortably props up your iPad on a table, on your lap, or anywhere else you see fit, freeing your hands to do other things and saving your hands and neck from unnecessary strain. For a limited time, you can get the iRest at the discounted price of just $35.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.