Fantastical is hands down my favorite calendar app for both the Mac and iOS, and Fantastical 2 for iOS went a long way to bringing the app in line with iOS 7’s major aesthetic changes. Now, just three weeks after its lauch, Fantastical 2 has seen its first app update, and there are some cool new options in here.
I like seeing photos in my Twitter timeline, but I don’t like the painful process of looking at them. You have to tap, and then wait while the picture loads, and while you’re waiting you can’t scroll through and read other tweets as they’re usually blocked by the loading photo.
Photofon doesn’t fix this (the only app that ever did it properly was Loren Brichter’s original iPad Twitter app that kept loading pages in their own independent sheet), but it does turn the viewing of Twitter photos into something you’ll actually enjoy doing.
If you’re using the Chrome browser on your Mac, then you might like to take a look at Backtick, an extension which lets you fire off bookmarklets with a few keystrokes. Like Alfred, Launchbar or Quicksilver on the Mac, Backtick lets you hit a key combo and type in a couple of letters to trigger a command. Only instead of launching apps and so on, it launches bookmarklets.
One of the essential parts in my RSS-BitTorrent-iPad TV-watching setup is iFlicks, a Mac app from Jendrik Bertram that takes a video file, adds cover art and movie/show metadata and then converts the file into an iTunes or iPad-friendly format. It even adds in subtitles if you have them in the same folder as the video file.
Now v2.0 has launched its public beta stage, so you can try out the faster, better and more powerful-er next version.
Wow, the Evernote folks are on a real roll these days. Not only does the iOS app now not suck enough to use it every day, but the new Safari web clipper is good enough to make me use my Mac for browsing the web again. It’s like a combination of Skitch, Instapaper and, well, Evernote.
I said that the original Mattebox may be “the best iPhone camera app around, but then I went back to using the iPhone’s built-in camera for everything and doing the edits in post.
But Mattebox 2 has just launched, and it is certainly good enough to tempt me back. It keeps the same super-simple interface, and adds Lightroom filter export and exposure compensation.
Friday afternoon I checked out the Retina iPad mini at a local Apple reseller (spoiler: it’s awesome), and I tried it right after I’d hefted the iPad Air. And I noticed something I hadn’t heard about in any reviews: The colors are way brighter and, well, more colored on the iPad Air. The wallpaper looks more saturated, and the blue/green icons really jumped out at me on the bigger display.
The mini, by contrast, looked just like the old mini, only with higher resolution. And it turns out that my eyes were right. Anand Lal Shampi of Anandtech did the tests and found that the color gamut of the Air is wider than that of the Retina mini.
Why does Google call it “Google Now”? Wouldn’t “Google Occasionally” or “Google Never” be more accurate?
Google Now is clearly designed to be used “now,” or all the time, or at any time. The “now” suggests that when something of interest happens, you learn about it “now.”
Trouble is, Google doesn’t present the service in a way that makes it useful as a real-time notification system.
Apple is close to buying PrimeSense, the company that invented the 3D motion tracking technology used in the original Xbox Kinect. Whispers of the acquisition were first reported by an Israeli publication called Calcalist back in July, and the site is now reporting that Apple has a deal in place with PrimeSense to the tune of around $345 million.
While Apple’s mysterious ‘iTV’ product seems like an obvious reason for the acquisition, PrimeSense has also developed a smaller 3D sensor called Capri that’s more suited for mobile.
UPDATE: Cult of Mac has learned that the Apple 1 did sell after the auction closed. Read more here.
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Markets rise and markets fall – that’s true for stocks, real estate, tulips, etc. That’s also true with vintage computers – though even in a down market there’s still some money to be made.
At an auction in Germany held on Saturday November 16, a working Apple 1 – from the first batch of 50 units made – did not receive any bids. Nor did a restored Lisa 1, with dual Twiggy floppy disk drives. But a prototype Twiggy Mac, one of only two known working units, sold for €25,000 ($33,725), quite possibly the highest price ever paid for a vintage Macintosh.
You can never have enough tools in your designer toolbox, and Cult of Mac Deals has assembled another deal that will allow you to add even more high-quality design elements to yours.
With The Professionally-Designed Web Icon Set you’ll get thousands of icons and pictograms at a fraction of the regular price — just $49. That’s a savings of 85%!
This icon bundle includes Pictograms, Stock Icons and Mini Icons. All are modern in design and available in various PNG sizes. Here’s what you’ll get in this package (Note: Visit the Deals page to view samples of each of the sets included in this bundle):
(Note: You’ll need Adobe Photoshop CS5 or higher and Adobe Illustrator CS5 or higher to make use of these icons and pictograms.)
Whether you’re creating a website, application, or wireframe for a client or personal use, adding these professionally designed, high-quality, and royalty-free stock icons to your collection may just be the best thing you do all week. So pick up The Professionally-Designed Web Icon Set for only $49 from Cult of Mac Deals today!
The smartphone industry is dominated by two companies: Apple and Samsung. Absurdly, Canaccord Genuity recently reported that Apple and Samsung earn 109% of mobile industry profits.
(That impossible percentage results when the losses of competitors are factored in.)
Specifically, the research firm estimates that Apple earns 56% of industry profits and Samsung 53%. (Apple is actually further ahead of Samsung in profits than these numbers show, because some companies count tablet profits and others don’t.)
BlackBerry makes -4% of the profits (that’s negative four percent), Motorola -3%, and Nokia, LG and HTC each had -1%.
They’re weird numbers that don’t add up. But the point is that once again we learn that Apple and Samsung are making nearly all the money, some companies are making zero money and other companies are losing money.
But one of the dominant companies — Samsung — has a creepy approach to business, which is that they steal, cheat and lie apparently because the penalties of being unethical are far less than the rewards.
Affix your party hats, fine friends, and join us for a rip-roarin’ good time as we celebrate our 100th episode of The CultCast—recorded live! We’ll recall some of our favorite moments from episodes past, tell you how you to win a free signed copy of Leander Kahney’s new much-hyped Jony Ive book, plus, we talk the new iPad mini Retina; killer Black Friday iPad deals; and more rumors iPhone 6s with way bigger screens.
Have a few laughs and get caught up on each week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below adventure begin.
Thanks to Reflector for supporting this week’s episode. Looking for a great way to mirror your iPhone or iPad’s screen on any Mac or PC? You need Reflector.
We’ve dedicated this issue of the magazine to Sir Jony Ive, the Apple designer whose imagination brings us all the gadgets we love.
Inside, you’ll find an exclusive excerpt from publisher Leander Kahney’s brand-spanking-new book “Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products” along with the story of how Leander met Ive for the first time. (It turns out Jony is nice, especially to forgetful reporters.) The book excerpt takes you back to where it all began: in the UK where a young Jony started working with his father in the garage.
As we do every week, we also bring you the best in new apps, picks from what’s worth your while in books, music and movies in iTunes and our exclusive Apple genius column delves into getting hired and what to do if you happen to find love while getting your iPhone repaired.
Keep the feedback coming — we’re listening!
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is blocking the donation of 30-year-old documents to a museum, claiming they contain valuable trade secrets.
“It’s silly,” said Hartmut Esslinger, the design guru recruited to help Apple become a leader in design in the early 1980s.
Speaking at a Jony Ive book launch party on Thursday night, Esslinger explained that Apple has prevented him from donating some historical old documents to a museum.
Esslinger’s design firm, Frog Design, was hired by Steve Jobs to bring world-class design to Apple. Esslinger’s “Snow White” design language, characterized by elegant off-white plastic cases, influenced the entire computer industry for more than a decade.
Tiny Death Star may in fact destroy my free time if I keep playing it like I have over the last week. It’s a collaboration between Disney Mobile, Lucasarts, and Nimblebit–and the quality shines through as a result.
Built your Death Star, level by level, with residential, service, retail, and Imperial levels where you can interrogate those nasty Rebel scum. The game is packed with Star Wars references and a great sense of humor; the interaction between the Emperor and Darth Vader is particularly funny.
It’s a free-to-play app, it’s in the App Store right now, and it’s got 8-bit Princess Leia and Boba Fett. What more do you need? Go check it out now.
Source: App Store
Are you a designer? Do you want to become a designer? Have you ever thought about bringing out the creative in you? Now is a great opportunity for you to stack up on some high quality design resources so you can tackle any design wishes you may have with The Mega Design Bundle 2.0.
The Mega Design Bundle 2.0 contains more than 2.5 GB of smooth icons, flashy vector elements, intuitive Photoshop templates, and other essential designer assets for literally pennies on the dollar. And you can get it for only $49.99 during this limited time offer from Cult of Mac Deals.
Apple has seeded the first developer beta of OS X Mavericks 10.9.1. This will be the first incremental update to Mavericks when it ships to the public. Apple has released a fix for Gmail in the Mail app on Mavericks, but the OS remains at version 10.9.
It’s currently unclear when 10.9.1 will be available for everyone, and there are no known issues with this first beta.
Source: Apple
Since Apple won a $1 billion lawsuit against Samsung for patent infringement last summer, both companies have been fighting to determine how the ruling will actually unfold. In March of this year, the presiding judge for the case subtracted $450 million from what Samsung owed Apple due to the jury’s miscalculations for damages.
The Apple vs. Samsung retrial kicked off earlier this week in California court, and Apple requested an additional $380 in damages from Samsung on top of the $600 million already owed. Samsung believes it should only have to pay Apple $52 million for infringing on five patents related to the iPhone.
Today Phil Schiller, Apple’s head of marketing, took the stand in court to talk about the iPhone’s importance to Apple, calling it a “bet-the-company” product. He also got pretty snarky about Samsung copying Apple.
Schiller began his testimony by recounting the original iPhone’s launch and the product’s success to date. He expressed frustration that Samsung started making phones that looked just like the iPhone after Apple started seeing success in the smartphone market. Schiller said he was “quite shocked” when he first saw the Samsung Galaxy. “My first thought was, ‘They’ve copied the iPhone.'”
These first few years of the iPhone’s existence have been “an incredibly important time” for Apple, said Schiller. And Samsung’s infringement has made it “harder for us to get new customers and bring them into our ecosystem.” The iPhone is Apple’s biggest money-maker by far. “At this point, it’s fair to say that most everyone at Apple works on iPhone,” said Schiller from the stand. “It’s our biggest product.”
While being cross-examined by Samsung’s lawyers, Schiller gave off a little Jobsian snark with his responses:
Schiller on Samsung gaining while other android makers lost share. “One is copying. the other are not copying… as much.” #icourt
— Ina Fried (@inafried) November 15, 2013
Samsung atty shows Schiller a Samsung device and Schiller says – “I can’t tell from here. It looks like an iPad to me.” #icourt
— Shara Tibken (@sharatibken) November 15, 2013
The retrial is expected to close next week.
Via: CNET
Image: AP
The first time I met Jony Ive, he carried my backpack around all night.
Our paths crossed at an early-evening party at Macworld Expo in 2003. As a journeyman reporter hustling for Wired.com, I knew exactly who he was: Jonathan Paul Ive was on the cusp of becoming the world’s most famous designer.
I was surprised he was willing to chat with me.
We discovered a shared love of beer and a sense of culture shock, too, both of us being ex-pat Brits living in San Francisco. Together with Jony’s wife Heather, we reminisced about British pubs, the great newspapers and how much we missed British music (electronic house music in particular). After a few pints, though, I leapt up, realizing I was late for an appointment. I hurried off, leaving without my laptop bag.
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?
Well, if you stop interrogating me for a second, hypothetical App Store shopper, I can tell you about this thing we do here.
Every week, we highlight some of the most interesting new apps and collect them here for your consideration. This time, our picks include one that’ll help you mix paint, another that will help you keep tabs on your Twitter numbers, and something for the little monsters.
Here you go:
Roman Ruins HD — Reference — $4.99 (special launch price; reg. $9.99)
If you’re a fan of ancient Rome — and who isn’t? — but can’t justify the expense to actually go and look at its old buildings, you might want to have a look at Roman Ruins HD. It’s a new iPad app that collects a wealth of high-definition pictures, virtual tours, and/or 3D overhead shots of over 350 sites. You can read all about the places, and some locations also use the app’s cool Google Street View integration to let you pretend you’re walking through them. But you’ll have to provide your own bored, screaming children, tired feet and sunburn for the full experience.
True Color — Entertainment — $1.99
True Color is one of those apps that definitely has a practical application but is also just fun to mess around with. Its purpose is to create “formulas” for different hues so that artists can properly mix paints to match and you can easily take samples from your photos. You can also just mess around with the four component colors — red, yellow, blue, and white — to get the tone right before you go wasting all your acrylic on experimenting.
But it’s also good for curiosity. The picture over there, for example, is the exact color of Jake from Adventure Time. Did you know he was 24 percent red? Because I didn’t.
Followers on Twitter — Social Networking — $0.99 (Pro version)
Alright, maybe it only does that for me, but what Followers on Twitter definitely does is give you a quick look at your follower numbers. In addition to what Twitter will tell you, it also lets you know when people take you off of their feeds, how many users aren’t following you back, and how many you’re snubbing. You can also easily delete multiple tweets at once, and I know a guy who could probably make good use of that feature after some unfortunate late-night drunken tirades.
Oh, you don’t know him. He lives in Canada.
Relaxia — Health & Fitness — Free ($3.99 unlock)
The App Store is full of things that play white noise or some ocean sounds to punch your ticket for the Sleepy Train to Snoozeville, but I haven’t seen one as good-looking and versatile as Relaxia. It has six noise “themes” with about eight sounds in each; you can play multiple files at once and adjust their volumes to make your own custom mix of sleep fuel, and you can set a timer so it’s not still playing in the morning.
Because it would really be awful if you woke up, thought it was raining and then it wasn’t.
Artpop — Music — Free
Are you a creative, psychic Lady Gaga fan with an interest in intergalactic travel? If not, does any of that at least sound like something you’d like to see? Hey, Artpop.
It’s a slick, shiny app that ties in with Gaga’s latest album, which is also called Artpop. It’s also a social-media platform, a music player, an art creation and sharing app, and a chatroom. You create your “Aura” (read: avatar), and then you can make projects using a combination of preloaded shapes and patterns and your own pictures and share them with all the other little monsters on the app.
Plus, it’ll tell you if Lady Gaga actually looks at your creation, so it’s kind of the ultimate super-fan experience.
Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 30 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again compiled a list of the best new movies, albums and books to come out this week.
Enjoy!
Man of Steel
Superhero movies are a dime a dozen now, but “Man of Steel” takes action fans back to where it all began: Superman. From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes “Man of Steel” starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, with the special visual direction of Zack Snyder. The film opens with the story of Superman’s homeworld, Krypton, and how it was destroyed. Safely evacuated to Earth as an infant, Superman is raised by Kevin Costner in Smallville while coming to grips with extraordinary powers that are not of this world. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.
Red 2
A very safe sequel bet with a cast of friendly, recognizable, and bankable stars, “RED 2” is a breezy romp of global espionage and superhero superspies where the wealth of violence is played for laughs and the sly grins stay firmly planted on the faces of everyone involved. As fans of 2010’s RED will fondly remember, the hero characters are from the AARP generation, which is also what drives the primary conceptual joke and defines the title acronym: Retired, Extremely Dangerous. In round two, former secret agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) is drawn out of retirement (again) by his former cohort Marvin (John Malkovich, acting Malkovich-crazy and loving it) to service a plot that involves a Cold War-era nuclear bomb hidden in Russia and the international effort to retrieve it.
Best Kept Secret
This documentary takes you into the lives of students at JFK High School in the middle of a run-down area in Newark, New Jersey. The public school is designed for all types of students with special education needs, ranging from those on the autism spectrum to those with multiple disabilities. Janet Mino has taught her class of young men with autism for four years. When they all graduate in the spring of 2012, they will leave the security of the public school system forever. “Best Kept Secret” follows Mino and her students over the year and a half before graduation. The clock is ticking to find them a place in the adult world – a job or rare placement in a recreational center – so they do not end up where their predecessors have, sitting at home, institutionalized, or on the streets.
Blood Orange
“Cupid Deluxe”
Singer, songwriter, and producer Dev Hynes’ follow-up to “Coastal Grooves” is a mix of hazy electronica, treading bass lines, and waves of stirring Prince-inspired vocals. From the stark mid-tempo rapping on “Clipped On” to the blog-buzzing harmonies of “Chamakay,” “Cupid Deluxe” is dimensional, hypnotizing, and amorphous. With contributors ranging from Chairlift’s Caroline Polachek to Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, “Cupid Deluxe” is a distinct and mesmerizing album that proves Hynes is as talented at a soundboard as at a microphone.
Lady Gaga
“ARTPOP”
Lady Gaga’s music is fueled by wild creativity and artful provocation. With her third studio album, “ARTPOP,” Gaga reunites with Born This Way co-producer Madeon. T.I. Too $hort & Twista work out alongside her with “Jewels N’ Drugs” and R. Kelly can “Do What U Want” in no uncertain terms.
Gaga explains in interviews that she’s seeking “the reverse of Warhol,” where she brings high art to pop music, where once Warhol brought a pop sensibility to high art. Lady can theorize all she wants, but she also knows that it don’t mean a thing it if ain’t got that swing and “ARTPOP” is loaded with hyperactive beats and hyper-caffeinated compositions like “G.U.Y.” (Girl Under You – yhatzee!), “Manicure” and “ArtPop” where even when she’s tributing Versace in “Donatella,” she kinda means herself, too. How much “art” is delivered is debatable, but she’s certainly not shy delivering her truth. Ten of the album’s 15 tracks come with an “explicit” tag. Now outrageousness is something we expect from Lady Gaga.
Jhene Aiko
“Sail Out”
“Sail Out” is the debut extended play (EP) by American recording artist Jhené Aiko, released through Def Jam Recordings. The trippy RB fueled EP features 7 haunting tracks with special appearance from some of the biggest names in hip-hop, such as Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Ab-Soul, and Vince Staples.
“The Essential Calvin And Hobbes”
by Bill Waterson
Bill Watterson hasn’t put out a new “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip in nearly 20 years, but every kids’ favorite troublemakers have made it to iBooks for the first time ever.
The strip follows the richly imaginative adventures of Calvin and his trusty tiger, Hobbes. Whether a poignant look at serious family issues or a round of time-travel (with the aid of a well-labeled cardboard box), “Calvin and Hobbes” will astound and delight you.
Beginning with the day Hobbes sprang into Calvin’s tuna fish trap, the first two Calvin and Hobbes collections, Calvin and Hobbes and Something Under The Bed Is Drooling, are brought together in this treasury. Including black-and-white dailies and color Sundays, “The Essential Calvin and Hobbes” also features an original full-color 16-page story that will transport you back to the very first time you fell in love with Calvin and his stuffed tiger.
“Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products”
by Leander Kahney
Did I include my boss’ new book in the weekly roundup just because he’s the dude writing my checks? Maybe. It never hurts to get on el jefe’s good side, but Leander’s book is also packed with some of the most insightful Apple revelations about Apple’s design processes since Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio. “Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products” is well worth a read for any Apple fan who wants to know all about the guy who crafted the iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacBook Air, and every other major Apple product you’ve fallen in love with over the past two years.
“Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him”
by David Henry & Joe Henry
Richard Pryor was arguably the single most influential performer of the second half of the twentieth century,and certainly he was the most successful black actor/comedian ever. Controversial and somewhat enigmatic in his lifetime, Pryor’s performances opened up a new world of possibilities, merging fantasy with angry reality in a way that wasn’t just new—it was unthinkable.
His childhood in Peoria, Illinois, was spent just trying to survive. Yet the culture into which Richard Pryor was born—his mother was a prostitute; his grandmother ran the whorehouse—helped him evolve into one of the most innovative and outspoken performers ever, a man who attracted admiration and anger in equal parts. Both a brilliant comedian and a very astute judge of what he could get away with, Pryor was always pushing the envelope, combining anger and pathos, outrage and humor, into an art form, laying the groundwork for the generations of comedians who followed, including such outstanding performers as Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, and Louis C.K.
Now, in this groundbreaking and revelatory work, Joe and David Henry bring him to life both as a man and as an artist, providing an in-depth appreciation of his talent and his lasting influence, as well as an insightful examination of the world he lived in and the influences that shaped both his persona and his art.
This is Cult of Mac’s exclusive column written by an actual Apple retail store genius who answers all your questions about what it’s like to work at an Apple Store. Our genius must remain anonymous, but other than “Who are you, anyway?” ask anything you want about what goes on behind that slick store facade.
This week our Genius dishes on what it’s like to go through the hiring process at Apple, along with details on the best ways to score a gig working behind the Genius Bar and how to ask out that hot genius you’re crushing on.
If you’ve got a question you want an inside scoop on, send us your questions and the answers will be published first in Cult of Mac’s Magazine on Newsstand. Send your questions to newsATcultofmac.com with “genius” in the subject line.
What’s the best way to get hired at the Apple Store?
Apple looks for talented individuals who are passionate about helping people enrich their lives through their products and services. They want happy, friendly people who can start up a conversation with anyone. If you’re interested, spiff up your resume and apply for the retail store at apple.com. If you know anyone at the Apple Store you are applying at, ask them to submit a employee referral. If at first you do not succeed, try again. Stores receive a huge amount of applications so it may take a couple tries to get an invite to an open house for an hiring event.
The hiring events usually have a large group of people. While Apple looks people who know their product, they first look for someone who is nice, whether talking to a fellow applicant, a manager, or a disgruntled customer. Participate enthusiastically in all steps of the interview process even if it seems a little cheesy. Make sure to show a passion about providing the best experience in and out of the store for Apple’s customers.
If you get a second interview it will most likely be in a group setting again although smaller. Make sure not to get too boastful of your achievements. If you must brag, mention the successes of your team as a whole. Team players are a must. Show interest in other people’s responses and make it a group activity. Those who are willing to learn and work as a team to provide the best customer experience will make the cut.
How did you deal with the ridiculous and humiliating interview process? Did the lobotomy hurt?
I really needed a job at the time. I talked with someone who had already been through the interview process that gave me a heads up of what to expect. I knew they’d be looking for someone with an attitude that followed the company’s values. I went along with it all and said what I thought they wanted to hear. I even clapped when everyone else clapped.
I had several group interviews and they were pretty tough. You weren’t just on the spot with an interviewer but also with the other applicants listening to your responses. I was glad to be done with it all once I got the job offer. As for the lobotomy, it may have made the core training a little less torturous.
Can you date customers? Any tips on how to ask a Genius out?
Dating customers is against Apple policy. The policy protects both the employee as well as the customer. I have seen customers who come in consistently to get “help” from the same employee multiple times who are definitely interested but this only makes the employee less likely to actually pursue something.
If you are love struck by your technician at the Genius Bar, I suggest the straightforward approach. Ask for a card and give them your number maybe or ask them if you can have their number. Don’t be surprised if they say they can’t contact you, but tell them to call you outside of work. Don’t let a little Apple policy keep you from your love connection, but don’t make them completely say no by coming on to someone while they are at work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onb6Gqtf41Y
I’m a little on the fence about whether Toymail is a genius idea or an error that’ll have your kids talking to mailboxes.
When I opened up the package containing the SlipStopper, there was a little card inside from my contact Mark. It read “Try sticking your iPad mini on a window, great party trick :)”
I don’t go to may parties these days, but I tried it at home and in the office and there reaction was the same both times: amazement — quickly followed by fear.