Cult of Mac

Emoji are versatile and cute, but if you want to get a little … direct with your significant other, you have to get pretty creative. SinkFoot wants to help with its small fleet of increasingly specific pictures that you can send via text or e-mail directly from the app. No nudity in here, but if you have a thing for cheerleaders, nurses, doctors, or members of SWAT, SinkFoot will help you communicate that.

Yep. SWAT. I guess that’s a thing.

Anyway, it has some other options, too. Although I’m not sure what this one means. I don’t really see what someone would do with an–Ooooooh. Alright, I get it.

Huh.

Source:SinkFoot – $0.99 | SinkFoot LLC

Sinkers has been out for a couple weeks now, but if you haven’t played it yet, you should.

It’s a minimalist puzzle game with two controls: You tap to remove all of the pieces of the same color that are touching, and you swipe up to “sink” the board and fill in the gaps from the pieces you’ve removed.

You have 20 moves to make as many points as you can. And that’s basically all you need to know, other than that this game is worth your time.

Remember when the coolest brag for a gadget was that it was “credit card size”? Those times are back. The Revi Charger is a credit card-size iPhone charger with a built-in backup battery, and could really be just the thing in an emergency.

Over the years, cherubic Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has demonstrated a love of all things two-wheeled, four-wheeled and winged.

After spotting his latest hot wheels — a super-spiffy Tesla X — we were inspired to take inventory of what he’s been docking in his garage (that other one) all these years. He’s something of a speed demon, really. Though you’ll be the judge whether he or Jony Ive has the winning wheels. 

Compared to the likes of the Roku, which boasts a 1,000+ channel library, the Apple TV doesn’t exactly have a lot of different media channels. The Apple TV boasts only has around 33 third-party channels. Much of the reason the channel selection is so limited is because, unlike Roku, the Apple TV is a closed ecosystem: only Apple can release a new channel for its streaming set-top box.

Things, however, are getting rapidly better, as the above chart shows.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, the hugely popular kart racing game that features Sonic and a number of other famous video game characters, is now available for free on Android and iOS.

SEGA hopes that making the title free will improve its multiplayer experience, and the company has new updates planned to introduce new characters, tracks, and modes that will keep new and old players coming back for more.

If you’ve ever wanted to slash and hack your way around a party full of your friends, now may be the time. Bonsai Slice is a new free-to-play multi-player iPad-only party game that has you using your iPad as a sword, slicing and dicing your way through a bunch of wacky objects. You’ll collect new swords, chase high scores and crazy combos, and compete with your friends in real time and online.

You can even play in single-player mode, but where’s the fun in that?

Check out the video below for a taste of the sword-swinging action.

Sell the house. Sell the car. Sell the kids. Take every penny you own and invest it in Apple stock, because the company is about to go gangbusters.

The big news from yesterday’s earth-shattering earnings call is that this is a company that is extremely confident about its financial future.

Apple has come under fire recently for not innovating. You’ve heard the whining: Apple’s lost its mojo. There have been some nice updates to existing products, but Apple’s done nothing lately to realign the universe. It’s been four long years since it’s last biggie — the original iPad. Where’s the latest product that reshapes the modern world?

To many observers, it looks like the company has been treading water in the two-and-a-half years since Steve Jobs’ death. Android is seating Apple’s lunch, and Apple’s got nowhere to go but down. Apple’s over.

But that narrative is nonsense. Wednesday’s earnings call — and the gobsmacking 7-to-1 stock split — clearly telegraphs that Apple’s executives have something huge up their sleeves. Maybe a couple of things. Maybe a lot of things.

If you’ve been paying close attention to the news and rumors, 2014 looks like it’s shaping up to be Apple’s biggest year in decades.

A new video uses an case out of China to show how a “speculative” iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch display would measure up against the iPhone 5s, Nexus 5, and Galaxy Note 3. But how reliable is a leaked case, anyway?

So far, we know that the iPhone 6 will be the thinnest, lightest iPhone yet. We know it will pack a new 64-bit A8 processor. We know it will come in at least two sizes: a 4.7-inch model, and a 5.5-inch model. But is that it?

According to a new report out of Japan, no. Not only will the iPhone 6 have a bigger display, thinner profile, blazing fast processor, and ultra-light weight, but it will be the first iPhone since the 2G to boast an all-aluminum rear shell… and will also have a curved display. And that’s not where the curves stopped: like Marilyn Monroe, the iPhone 6 will also have curves that fit nicely in the hand.

A lot of rumors are swirling that Apple plans on radically updating its MacBook Air line-up this year. Impressively, Apple is said to be readying a thinner, lighter, 12-inch MacBook Air with Retina Display for release later this year.

Now a new report suggests that Apple will be releasing new MacBook Airs as early as next week. Could this be the 12-inch Retina model everyone’s been anticipating? Sadly, no. We’re going to have to wait a few months yet for that.

Despite criticisms about its cheap plastic form factor and slow TouchWiz operating system, the Galaxy S5 has become Samsung’s fastest-selling smartphone to date. The device has been so successful that during its launch weekend earlier this month, it sold more units than the iPhone 5s.

I’m going to ask you to do something dirty, but it’ll be totally worth it. But before we get to that, let me tell you what this is about. Project Naptha is a browser extension that lets you copy and paste text from images. That’s right. Those times when some helpful web designer puts all the relevant info into a JPG need no longer drive you into an impotent rage.

The catch? It’s Google Chrome only for now.

Each week we pull the best Apple-related gadgets from the Cult of Mac and collect them here for your perusing pleasure.

A pair of manga artists have teamed up to create a new ongoing comic series, based on the early collaborations of Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

Although Apple’s early years have been fodder for comic books before, this one isn’t a business management case study — but more of a buddy comedy.

Personally we’re not sure that we see it. Abbott and Costello, Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi, Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin… and Jobs and Wozniak? It doesn’t exactly seem to scream comedy hijinks.

But maybe we’re missing something.

Apple turned what could have been a deathly boring financial ritual into an occasion for celebration Wednesday, posting record numbers and making headlines with some unexpected moves.

Here’s our take on everything you need to know from the latest quarterly earnings call.

Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 10 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again waded through the iTunes store to compile a list of the best new albums, books and movies to come out this week.

We’ve got a rap-tastic future you’ll either love or hate, a yummy comeback from Kelis, a dark indie movie you may have missed and a soul-searching memoir from Barbara Ehrenreich.

Enjoy!

Music

Future – Honest

You will either love or hate Hate HATE Future. His raw, emotive, and heavily Auto-Tuned rap vocals have caused a split among rap fans, but we love it, especially paired with a heavy hitter like Pusha T on “Move That Doe.” Honest surges with a new self-assurance of the artist coming into his own as Future has become more comfortable letting the grit of his rap show. Anchored by giants like Kanye West, Drake, Pharrell, Wiz Kalifa, and Pusha T, Future’s second LP is the rap album you can’t miss this week.

iTunes – $12.99

Neon Trees – Pop Psychology

Neon Trees are the pop-alt icons of the aughts. Their catchy electric tunes induce involuntary foot-taps, head bops, and before you know it you’re singing along whether you like it or not.  Pop Psychology is the inevitable progression from hits like “Everybody Talks” and “Animal,” but it also contains deeper conflicts as singer Tyler Glen opens up about coming out of the closet in an all-Mormon town.

iTunes – $7.99

Kelis – Food

When I think of Kelis, my mind naturally turns to milkshakes bringing boys to yards, but on Food Kelis sheds both her contemporary R&B sound as well as the futuristic electro-pop that made Acappella a hit, in favor feast of impeccable soul melodies served next to sweaty funk grooves. Food is different from anything else she’s made in her career and boy, is it delicious.

iTunes –$9.99

Books

Struck By Genius
by Jason Padgett

At 31 years-old, Jason Padgett was a dude who cared more about his biceps than his career. Ironically, a savage mugging forever altered the way his brain works, giving him unique gifts like the ability to see water in crystalline patterns or fractal patterns emerging from the movement of tree branches. His unique case of acquired savant syndrome makes Struck by Genius a fascinating read as Padgett recounts how he overcame huge setbacks and embraced his new mind.

iTunes – $12.99

The Remedy
by Thomas Goetz

In 1875, tuberculosis was the deadliest disease in the world, causing over a third of all deaths. The Remedy presents the riveting history of the world’s most lethal disease, but also taps into the life of Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his link to the birth of medical science by exploring his history of debunking a lauded TB cure.

iTunes – $13.99

Living with a Wild God
by Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the most important thinkers of our time. Not only is she an educated scientist,but she’s also an author, journalist, activist, and advocate for social justice. In Living With A Wild God, Ehrenreich recounts her quest to find truth about the universe and everything else, presenting a book that can be enjoyed by the religious and atheists alike.

iTunes – $12.99

Movies

Small Time

I only watched Small Time because as a Breaking Bad fan, I’m hoping that Dean Norris (Hank) can make it in comedies as well. He doesn’t get as much screen time as I hoped for in this comedy about a high school graduate who shuns college to work at his dad’s used car lot, but the moments he does get in provide the perfect amount of relief in this heartwarming comedy.

iTunes – $12.99

Omar

Turning political issues into effective personal stories is incredibly difficult – possibly more so when the backdrop is set in Palestine – but that’s exactly what filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad does in Omar, a 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. The film’s titular character is a amiable baker who conspires to gun down an Israeli solider with two friends. Omar is subsequently captured, tortured, imprisoned, and then forced to make a horrible bargain for his freedom.

iTunes – $4.99

Favor

Favor is a riveting indie-gem about Kip Desmond, an affluent guy with a beautiful wife. Kip’s lifestyle isn’t that interesting, but when the waitress he’s been sleeping with on the side is accidentally killed all hell breaks loose and Kip finds himself committing horrible act, the kind he never suspected himself capable of, with his buddy Marvin.

iTunes – $12.99

The app store is notoriously known for having tons of endless runner games. While some developers are sticking to the running genre, others have taken to jumping. The new app Jumping Jaxx is an endless jumper where players must swipe platforms on the screen to keep the character from falling into a giant wave. Dodge piranhas, catch powerful boosts and collect as many flowers as possible to reach a new high-score and purchase upgrades. How high do you think you can help Jumping Jaxx reach?

Take a look at the video to see what you think.

Tim Cook will put his iPhone on speaker this afternoon to tell the world how much money Apple has made selling us insanely great gadgets, and we’ll be liveblogging the call.

During the quarterly earnings report, which starts at 2 p.m. Pacific, Cook and company will share details about Apple’s Q2 financial performance with investors and the rest of the faithful.

Some analysts predict a yawn-inducing “business as usual” earnings report, but you never know – Cook might have to sing some fancy arpeggios if the numbers don’t jibe with predictions made last year, when he crowed about exciting products in the Apple pipeline.

Whether Tim’s talk leads to boos or a standing ovation, Cult of Mac will brave the recital of all the mind-numbing money-speak to help you tune in to the true meaning behind it all. Keep this page open as we post all the interesting bits.

Not everyone has a fancy computer backpack or messenger bag. Some folks just have non-techie backpacks, bags, or luggage, and they’re perfectly fine with that.

However, most of those folks would benefit from a sleeve or two to cover and protect their precious technology. And, if you’re going to go that route, you might as well go all the way and get something that’s special.

The Mujjo Low-Key Macbook Sleeve is angling for just that “all the way” look and feel.

Amazon has inked a deal with HBO to bring popular shows like True Blood and The Wire to Prime Instant Video subscribers without an HBO subscription. The deal will also see an HBO GO app brought to the new Amazon Fire TV, but it’ll be exclusive to customers in the U.S.

Browsing the App Store can be a bit overwhelming. Which apps are new? Which ones are good? Are the paid ones worth paying for, or do they have a free, lite version that will work well enough?

Every week, we highlight some of the most interesting new apps and collect them here for your consideration. This time, our picks include a timer inside of another timer, something to keep track of where you’ve been, and some fancy new fonts for your iWork.

Here you go:

It’s nice having some record of the places you’ve visited, but FourSquare is a little granular for my liking.

Traveler’s Badges keeps it simple and broad. You just let it detect your location, and it generates a unique badge for your current city that you can collect and add to your collection. It even logs the date and time you were there, in case anyone asks.

If you want to get all global with it, you can even display all of your badges on a map. It’s not the most practical app, but it is pretty cute (and free). And it’ll kill like five seconds of a layover. Every bit helps.

Traveler’s Badges – Free | Yangfan Qi

If you’re doing interval training or something else that requires you to time one thing and then another thing, like, right away, you might be interested in Practice Time. It’s a new app that lets you set up two countdowns and then run them consecutively. You can also tell it how many cycles to go through once you start.

It’s handy for timing exercise and then rest or if you want to be really persnickety about those instructions that tell you to leave soup in the microwave for a minute after it’s done cooking. And if you also timed the cooking concurrently with the microwave.

Nevermind; just use it for intervals.

Practice Time – Free | Mal Function

Sometimes, you’re just typing an e-mail or note on your iPhone, and you realize that you have no idea how to spell the next word you want to use. It could be genuine ignorance, it could be a brain fart, but the person on the other end isn’t going to care why; they’ll just notice the mistake.

Spell Checker wants to help you out. It accesses your onboard dictionary to keep you from looking dumb. And because it uses the built-in resources, it even works offline.

You know, in case you’re writing an e-mail in a cave that you would want to send after you left the cave. It could happen.

Spell Checker – Free | Paradigm Agnostic

Your iPhone and iPad already have some fonts on board, but what if you want to make something that looks like it was stenciled or written in cursive? Or maybe you just like knowing that you have like 800 typefaces to choose from, just in case? Install New Fonts has you covered with enough options to keep you out of trouble for a while.

It’s free to download, but most of it is locked behind a $2.99 in-app purchase. But everything’s licensed for commercial use, so think of it as an investment.

Install New Fonts – Free | Denis Tokarev

Every once in a while, I find an app that shows me just how much I need it. This time, it’s Keep Calm and Breathe On, which offers you seven guided breathing exercises (based on cycles per minute). The goal is to relax you and “calm your heart activity,” and when I tried it out for this write-up, I realized that I’m apparently really bad at breathing.

It has two sounds to accompany your oxygenation: Wind and River. I preferred the wind. It just made more sense because if I’m in a river, breathing might be a problem. And that’s less than calming.

Keep Calm & Breathe On – $0.99 | Commit GmbH

Every once in a while, I find an app that shows me just how much I need it. This time, it’s Keep Calm and Breathe On, which offers you seven guided breathing exercises (based on cycles per minute). The goal is to relax you and “calm your heart activity,” and when I tried it out for this write-up, I realized that I’m apparently really bad at breathing.

It has two sounds to accompany your oxygenation: Wind and River. I preferred the wind. It just made more sense because if I’m in a river, breathing might be a problem. And that’s less than calming.

Source:Keep Calm & Breathe On – $0.99 | Commit GmbH

There’s nothing inherently wrong with Burds, and yet I’ve never been so confused about why I continued to play a game.

It’s a little heavy on in-app purchases, but I can ignore those with only a touch of annoyance. And while Burds is shallow, fairly mindless, and dumb, it doesn’t take that long to play.

So I’m a little conflicted.

The iPod might be a dying business, but “dying” businesses for Apple are still businesses the competition would kill to have.

Apple’s iPod business, for example, is still worth $5 billion. Here’s an interesting metric to show how big the iPod still is in comparison to other companies, though. New mobile ad traffic data from Opera Mediaworks suggests that just a single iPod — the iPod touch — accounts for more web traffic than BlackBerry and Windows Phone combined.