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Cult of Mac Magazine: The Vice Issue

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viceAmazon

This week  Cult of Mac Magazine looks at vice in the iTunes store.

Reporter Luke Dormehl talks to the devs who are making a living — if not a fortune — skirting the Apple censors, in a store that’s intended to be squeaky clean and suitable for minors.

He also looks into why, despite the Cupertino company’s rigid guidelines and “boob ban” of years past, there are plenty of questionable apps available to all. Sex, drugs and drinking games are the available in app form by the dozens, some of them rated suitable for ages 4+. This cat-and-mouse game to keep the store family-friendly yet appeal to developers with a gold-rush mentality has also given rise to a cottage industry of consultants who help app makers get into the store with more adult content than Apple intends to allow.

If you’ve got some of that content on your device and want to hide it, we take a look into Apple’s methods to put that stuff under a virtual mattress and apps that let you “vault” material you don’t want prying eyes to see.  We also look into some of the outrageous apps Apple has banned over the years after they slipped into the store as well as the risqué ones that are still available today.

As always, send your comments, feedback or any troubles you may have with the app to me via email or using the “send” button top right from our site.

Cult of Mac Magazine

 

Here’s What iOS 7 And iOS 7.1 Adoption Looked Like After 4.5 Days [Report]

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Mobile publishing and monetization platform Onswipe have created an infographic comparing iOS 7 adoption with that of the recently launched iOS 7.1.

Both iOS versions are tracked for the first 4.5 days of their respective releases. As the chart makes clear, while iOS 7 represented 45.90% of iOS traffic after that time, the incremental improvement iOS 7.1 showed a respectable 28.27% adoption rate for active devices.

“Jump! Chump!” Brings Addicting New Gameplay To App Store [Video Review]

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As the app store is refreshed every Thursday, incoming apps bring new games and ways to make life both easier and enjoyable. The app Jump! Chump! is a newcomer that brings fresh gameplay that is sure to have players playing and playing. Help Jump! and Chump! last for as long as possible by tapping their halves of the screen, and avoiding all blocks coming their way. Will Jump! Chump! become your new favorite game?

Take a look at Jump! Chump! and find out what you think.

This is a Cult Of Mac video review of the iOS application Jump! Chump! brought to you by Joshua Smith of “TechBytes W/Jsmith.”

‘HypeDrive’ Will Help You Plan Your Entertainment Future

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HypeDrive

Hey, did you know that the Veronica Mars movie is out now? I didn’t until I saw it listed on HypeDrive. I’m not interested in the Veronica Mars movie, but good looking out, HypeDrive.

It’s an app that lets you keep track of all the movies, TV shows, games, and other projects that interest you. You can add them to a list to stay up-to-date, but that requires a login. If you don’t feel like registering, you can also just look stuff up, but it won’t save. You’ll have to write it down or something. Like a caveman.

Source:Hypedrive – Free | Hypedrive LLC

Glorkian Warrior Is For The Marshmallow-Cereal-Swilling Youngster In Everyone [Review]

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Trials of Glork

I have fond memories of waking up Saturday morning, pouring myself a bowl of Marshmallow Mateys (because Count Chocula was out of season), and plunking down on the couch to watch my favorite cartoons. And then, when the cereal was gone and the show was over, I opened my laptop and cranked out that review of Demolition Crush that went up Monday.

Glorkian Warrior: Trials of Glork by Pixeljam
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: $2.99

I am not an adult, is what I’m getting at here.

Glorkian Warrior: The Trials of Glork is a collaboration between developer Pixeljam and comic-book artist James Kochalka. It feels like a mashup between classic arcade shooter Galaga and Adventure Time, which means that it hits all the right notes for people whose favorite breakfasts still end in bowls full of chocolate milk.

Get Your Life In Gear With The Mac Productivity Bundle 7.0 [Deals]

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It’s time to bring you another amazing bundle – one that’s stacked with 10 useful apps to give your daily grind a boost in efficiency and effectiveness.

The Mac Productivity Bundle 7.0 has something for everyone. With this exclusive promotion, Cult of Mac Deals has sourced 10 of the hottest apps on the market and negotiated the price down from $363 so that you can get the entire package for just $49.99!

Slow Down That Window Minimize Animation In Mavericks [OS X Tips]

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Animate Dock Minimize

So, here’s a weird one–have you ever wanted to watch a window animate itself really slowly as you minimize it to the Dock? No?

Well, let’s assume you did for some reason. How would you go about it?

In Mavericks, anyway, it’s a trivial thing, and it produces a fun effect: your window will minimize to the Dock super slowly, even slower than in the animated image above.

Apps That Make You Go…Hmmm

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Quick save for Snapchat.
Quick save for Snapchat.

Quick Save For Snap Chat

Apple has approved a number of apps that allow users to save, forward, email and otherwise capture that fleeting moment from Snapchat. This one, Quick Save, is approved for users over age 4, and the preview gives an idea of the kind of person whose photo you might hope to save for posterity.

69 Places – Sex Locations & Fantasies

69

This one is approved for ages 17+ — but look and feel is so ludicrous it could only appeal to people who have not yet hit the age of consent. Who is up for a fast food drive thru quickie?

iQuarters

iquarters

Of the gaggle of digital “quarters” drinking games, this one promises to make “corner  pubs and frat houses rejoice,” and got the green light from Apple for ages 4+.

Leafly

leafly

Think of Yelp, but for pot. This 17+ app provides the low-downon 500+ strains, sorted alphabetically and categorized by indica, sativa, and hybrid and the dispensaries near you.

Down Dating

Down
Apple banned Bang with Friends, but undeterred the company returned with an app called Down that includes the same anonymous pairing feature as before in a slightly more discreet package. You will find out just which of your Facebook pals are up for something more – though beware, in our tests it also suggested family members of the opposite sex.

Adult Frames

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Here’s another one that has “adult” in the title but is more likely to appeal to a much younger set – going by the cursive script and exclamation points.

Evil Apples: A Filthy Adult Card and Party Game

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A riff on Cards Against Humanity, this one promises filthy fun for ages 17+. One reviewer says it’s keeping them away from “homework” and another says it’s “great fun for the obscene mind” and that you can be “so dirty with complete strangers.”

 

Shut Up, Meg! Screenshots Tease New Family Guy Game For iOS [Gallery]

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With the success of The Simpsons: Tapped Out, it’s no surprise that Family Guy would also want to get in on the mobile action.

First announced back in December, Fox and TinyCo have now released the first screenshots of the upcoming free-to-play title, which looks set to land in the App Store around April.

The game will follow an original storyline from the show’s writing staff, but will also include plenty of fan service — referencing the series’ 212 episodes — to appeal to longtime viewers.

Veronica Mars Movie Arrives On iTunes The Same Day As It Does In Theaters

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While new movies and TV shows appear every day on iTunes, it’s rare that a movie debuts on iTunes and in movie theaters on the exact same day.

Veronica Mars does just that.

The revival of the cult classic TV show — which was cancelled after just two-and-a-half seasons — was funded via Kickstarter and is now available for viewing both in movie theaters, and (thanks to iTunes) the comfort of your own home.

Apple Dominates 80% Of The High-End Smartphone Market In China [Report]

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iPhone sales
The impact of coronavirus in China could hurt Apple in 2021.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple stuck to its guns when it came to expanding into China: refusing to compromise its brand equity by selling lower cost iPhones to compete with low-end smartphone manufacturers.

That decision seems to be paying off, since a new study in China by app and mobile advertising analytics firm Umeng shwes that Apple’s targeting of affluent users has already seen it capture more than 80% of the Chinese smartphone market, who spend upwards of $500 on their phones.

Apple Inexplicably Rejects WWII Wargame For Featuring German And Russian ‘Enemies’

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Apple is well known for its often inconsistent approach to app acceptance or rejection (more on than in this week’s upcoming Newsstand magazine), but this is a bit silly.

According to Apple, Hunted Cow developer Andrew Mullholland had his app Tank Battle: East Front 1942 rejected for App Store inclusion because it has German and Russian positioned as enemies in it.

FCC’s Approval Of AT&T’s Leap Buyout Will Bring iPhone 5 Family To Cricket

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Cricket's 7 million U.S. customers will be able to buy the iPhone next month.
Cricket's 7 million U.S. customers will be able to buy the iPhone next month.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved AT&T’s $1.3 billion purchase of Leap Wireless, as per a recent report.

As part of the deal — which works out at $15 per share — AT&T has confirmed that the Leap-owned, pre-paid carrier Cricket will offer iPhone 5 family devices.

Transporter Update Finally Turns It Into Personal Dropbox Alternative

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After some confusing starts, a software update makes the neat Transporter into a true alternative to cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive. Previously, the Transporter was a hard drive which could stay in sync with another Transporter kept anywhere, letting you have a safe and up-to-date offsite back up at all times.

Now, finally, the software has adde in features that turn this connected storage into a proper cloud service. A cloud service that’s hosted by you, and not by the NSA.

DeskPal, A Desk Tidy For This Century

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I just upgraded my desk to a 1.65-meter monster, a €40 workbench from the hardware store that I cut down to a 64cm height, and which can support up to 200 kilos. If you’re still not with the metric system (and why would you be? After all, it was only introduced like 215 years ago), that means it’s big enough for two people to work at it or stand on it.

But it still gets messy. What I need is a pal to tidy it for me. A DeskPal maybe?

eBay CEO’s Plea To Tim Cook: Icahn Do This Alone

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Carl Icahn is coo-coo for AAPL.
Investor activist Carl Icahn is at it again -- with eBay as the target this time.
Photo: Forbes

Activist investor Carl Icahn is at it again — and Apple might be lending moral support to his latest target.

Tim Cook was reportedly one of several tech leaders, along with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, who was consulted by eBay CEO John Donahoe for advice on how best to deal with Icahn.

Donahoe has been locked in conflict with Icahn regarding Icahn’s suggestion that eBay should spin PayPal off as its own company.

Google Drive Now Offers 1TB For Just $10

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Remember when Google launched Gmail with 1GB storage ten years ago? It was such a massive leap from the meager storage quotas of existing email services that everyone thought it was a joke. The April 1st launch date probably didn’t help either.

Now, with weeks still to go until April 1st, Google has done it again, this time offering 1TB of Google Drive storage for just $9.99 per month, or $1.99 for 100GB. The 15GB plan remains free.

Finally: Due App Updated For iOS 7

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Remember when the iPad first shipped and it didn’t have a clock app? Ah, happy days. Because who would want o use an iPad to set an alarm right? After all, it only comes to bed with you and sits on your nightstand until the morning when you wake up and grab it to read the news.

Back then, Due was the app of choice to add reliable alarms to the iPad, and since then it has turned into a full-on reminder app with timers for anything and everything. And now – finally – it has been updated to not look hideous on iOS 7.

Plex Adds Automatic Camera Roll Upload Feature

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Personal media organizer Plex has just received a major iOS update.

The biggest new feature offered by the update is the automatic upload of camera roll photos to your media server, provided that you have a Plex Pass subscription (available at $3.99 per month, $29.99 per year, or $74.99 for life).

Tim Cook Shouldn’t Be Fired, Says Steve Wozniak

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Gadget-loving Steve Wozniak sounds like he won't be queuing for the iWatch on its day of release.
Gadget-loving Steve Wozniak sounds like he won't be queuing for the iWatch on its day of release.

Steve Wozniak hasn’t been involved in Apple business for a long, long time. However, that wasn’t enough to stop him from participating in a recent, wide-ranging discussion at CeBIT 2014 in Hannover — on everything from Tim Cook’s performance as CEO, to whether or not Apple still has the cool factor.