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Break Bad (And Look Good) With The Heisenberg T-Shirt [Deals]

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Breaking Bad may be gone for good, but Heisenberg can live on forever with this exclusive Heisenberg t-shirt. And while Cult of Mac doesn’t exactly promote apparel all that often, the appeal of Breaking Bad (and this shirt’s price) were just too much to ignore.

You can get your very own Heisenberg t-shirt for just $16.99 – a savings of 43% – through this limited time offer.

The iPhone 5s Is Outselling The iPhone 5c Two To One [Report]

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While the iPhone 5s is still difficult to get hold of more than three weeks after its debut — particularly if you want a gold or silver model — you shouldn’t have any problem picking up an iPhone 5c at your local Apple store. That’s because the cheaper device isn’t selling anywhere near as much as its high-end sibling.

According to new research from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), the iPhone 5s is currently outselling the iPhone 5c more than two to one.

TVCatchup Loses Popular Channels Following Legal Dispute

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For telly addicts in the U.K., the free TVCatchup app for Android and iOS makes it easy for them to watch live TV channels while they’re on the go. But thanks to an ongoing legal dispute with a number of public service broadcasters, the app’s developers have been forced to pull popular feeds, including ITV and Channel 4.

Telltale Says The Wolf Among Us Delayed For Mac On Steam

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Mac version available soon

Oh, woe are we!

Telltale’s follow up to hit adventure game The Walking Dead has been delayed for Mac, due to “an unforeseen issue with the Mac version of Episode 1,” whatever that means. The Wolf Among Us is an episode-based adaptation of Vetigo’s Fable, a graphic novel set in the real world with mythical fairy tale creatures like Snow White, Jack Frost, Pinocchio, and–of course–the Big Bad Wolf.

The game publisher updated its original blog post announcement of the October 11 release to say that it “is working on an update right now and expect to have the Mac build live on Steam and the Telltale website within the next few days.”

Why You Might Want Your Face in Google’s Ads

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Everybody is outraged — OUTRAGED! — that Google will soon start using their names and faces in advertising.

The pundits are screaming bloody murder over the move, suggesting that Google is now as bad as Facebook. The more constructive critics are scrambling to give instructions for opting out.

But all this gnashing of teeth and ripping of hair over Google’s new social ad policy is misguided, in my opinion. I’ll tell you why Google’s new “shared endorsements” is probably a good thing, but also how it could turn out to suck.

But first, let me tell you what this is really all about and why “shared endorsements” is probably a good thing.

Why Apple Will Enter the Home Automation Market

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For years, home automation has been the exclusive province of the very rich or extremely technical.

Companies you’ve probably never heard of, such as AMX, Control4, Crestron, Elan, HomeLogic, Colorado vNet, Vantage and Zenpanion have provided the platforms and many of the fundamental products, while integrators took care of the installation and service for many people.

Or, very dedicated and technical DIY enthusiasts have cobbled together their own ingenious solutions.

Recently, the major phone carriers have gotten into the act, and rumors suggest Google, Apple, Microsoft and other consumer electronics companies are working on home automation.

The reason everybody’s jumping is that home automation is in the process of making a transition from “hardly anybody” to “pretty much everybody.” So everybody wants a piece of what will definitely be a massive new industry.

In five years, the majority of homes in the United States are likely to have significant home automation happening in their homes — voice-controlled thermostats, Bluetooth-unlocking door locks, lights on self-learning timers, automated pet feeders, doorbells that ring your phone rather than a bell in the house and much more.

The reason? Kickstarter, mostly.

New iPads, New Mac Pros, And More—It’s Our Oct. 22nd Predictions On Our Newest CultCast

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Who’s got a wad of 20s and a burning sensation in his pocket? This guy! But seriously friends… October 22nd, 2013. Go ahead and insert that date into your iOS 7s, because even though they haven’t confirmed it yet, that’s the day Apple will be unveiling two new iPads unto the world. But will we see new MacBooks, Mac Pros, and the other tasty tech we’ve been wishing for? Hit play on our newest CultCast, where we reveal our hopes, dreams, and expectations.

Whatcha waiting for? 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 and let baseline roll!

This Week in Cult Of Mac Magazine: Game On!

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This week Cult of Mac Magazine  gets serious about games with an issue dedicated to one of our favorite pastimes.

We’ve never bought into the idea that video games turn your brain to mush (sorry mom!) and this issue explores the games that are doing good — the growing market for empathy games that strive to make us all better people. (The retro-tastic cover is the handiwork of Craig Grannell, the designing force behind the magazine.)

We also look at games that are engaging enough to convince the non-gamers you know to take up the controller, what to play when you’re sick of the blockbusters and our Games Editor Rob LeFebvre tells you how to get your game on our radar for a review.

The latest issue is available in the App Store. Let the games begin!

 

Puzzle Dungeon – A Box-Pushing Hell Of Your Own Design [Review]

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When role-playing game heroes die, I suspect Puzzle Dungeon is what their hell looks like. Plodding music, 60 progressively tricky puzzles, and a bare-bones presentation, Puzzle Dungeon gives you a glimpse at the unpleasant side of the 16-bit afterlife.

Puzzle Dungeon by Robert Lane
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone
Price: $0.99

If you’re familiar with games like Chew Man Fu, The Adventures of Lolo, and all those generic block-pushing programs on old cell phones, you’ll immediately know how to play Puzzle Dungeon.

Instagram Removes Ability To Turn Off Video Autoplay Ahead Of Ad Push

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Instagram recently received a minor update with bug fixes, and you may not have noticed that a small setting is no longer present in the iPhone app. You used to be able to disable autoplay for videos, but now the only video options are for sound and preloading over Wi-Fi-only.

The change may not seem that significant at first, but when you consider that Instagram is about to introduce video ads, it makes more sense.

Instagram told Engadget that “it disabled the option due to “confusion” from users regarding what clips will play with sound,” but it just so happens that the decision is also a nice bonus for potential advertisers. Who wants to sell video ads to people when they could just disable them with a quick toggle?

Source: Engadget

AT&T Is Completely Doing Away With Traditional Data Plans For New Customers

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Unlimited data's about to get a bit more pricey.
Unlimited data's about to get a bit more pricey.
Photo: Apple

Today AT&T announced that it will be completely doing away with traditional data plans for new customers on October 25th. The carrier has been transitioning to its pooled, “Mobile Share” plan options since it introduced them last summer.

New and existing customers have still been able to choose from a Mobile Share plan or a traditional data package, but that luxury will be gone for new customers in two weeks.

Check Out This Awesome Model Of Apple’s Upcoming Spaceship Campus [Gallery]

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Apple’s new, multi-billion dollar campus has been in the works since Steve Jobs proposed the project to the city of Cupertino back in the summer of 2011. Construction on the 175-acre site, dubbed “Apple Campus 2.0,” is projected to begin by 2015-2016. The plan for the project will get the final vote of approval from the Cupertino City Council on October 15th.

We’ve seen mockups of what the UFO-like campus will look like already, but now Apple’s incredibly detailed model replica of the campus has been published online.

Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel Gets The Job Done (And Nothing Else) [Review]

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Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel

The adventure-game genre has two salient qualities: puzzles and story. I’ve played titles with great puzzles and crappy stories, and I’ve played ones with amazing stories and awful, boring puzzles. I’ve even played some in which both the puzzles and plots were great, and some where they were both bad. There may be some kind of permutation formula at work here, but that’s not important.

Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel by G5 Entertainment
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: Free ($6.99 to unlock full game)

Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel‘s story and puzzles are neither great nor terrible; it is completely average across the board. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing if you need an adventure fix, but it probably shouldn’t be your first choice especially since something like seven Monkey Island games are currently available in the App Store.

Regardless, Paranormal Hotel serves its purpose and does what it needs to.

Gruesome iPhone-Augmented Halloween Shirts Get Even More Disgusting (But Easier To Use)

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We posted all about NASA engineer Mark Roper’s gruesome, iPhone-augmented Halloween shirts last year. Since then, Mark has quit his job at NASA to focus on Halloween. The result is more designs and, even better, both an improved t-shirt and a horribly gruesome effect worthy of being designed by someone who worked on the Mars Curiosity rover.

RoboRoach Lets Kids Turn Real Cockroaches Into iPhone-Controlled Cyborgs

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Robots are pretty cool, but have you ever wanted to create your own iPhone controlled cyborg? Backyard Brains is banking that a lot of kids are interested in cyborg technology and neuroscience (ethical dilemmas be damned), so after three years of R&D they’ve come up with the RoboRoach – a small electronic surgery kit that lets you turn a real-life cockroach, into an iPhone-controlled cyborg for a few minutes.

The kit comes with a backpack that contains a battery and receiver you superglue to the cockroach after sanding down a patch of shell.  You have to jab a groundwire into the cockroaches thorax, and then after that you carefully trim the antenna so you can stick some small electrodes onto both of them and receive signals from your iPhone. Don’t worry, the iPhone app and the cockroaches come free with the $99 kit, so you don’t have to go hunting for some behind your supermarket’s dumpster.

For Something So Simple, The Rolio Dock Sure Manages To Do A Lot [Review]

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Rolio byBlue Lounge
Category: Docks
Works With:Lightning iOS Devices
Price: $10

If you’re looking for an ultra-simple dock, or just for a way to stop your iPhone skittering across your desk every time you snap it’s cable, then you might like the Rolio from Blue Lounge. Not only is it one of the most versatile iPhone and iPad charging accessories around, it’s also one of the most affordable.

iRig BlueBoard, The First Wireless Pedalboard For iOS And Mac

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If there’s one group of people who could seriously do with less wires — or in this case, cables — it’s guitarists. Walking around with two grand worth of Fender in your hands, trying avoiding a snake-pit of cables and simultaneously tapping out Van Halen’s Eruption probably takes some concentration (I wouldn’t know; I’ve never been on stage with anything but an air guitar, which was completely wireless).

IK Multimedia’s new four-pedal iRig BlueBoard pedalboard de-clutters the floor a little, as it’s the first completely wireless pedalboard for iOS and Macs. The board connects to its companion app on an accompanying iDevice (or to a Mac) through a Bluetooth connection.

This Is The Desk That Jony Ive Thinks Your Mac Should Be Sat On

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When you spend thousands of dollars on a new Mac, you don’t want to take it home and put it on anything — you want the desk beneath to look just as good. So, wouldn’t it be awesome if the Mac’s designer, Jony Ive, designed the perfect desk to accompany it.

Well, he has — but you won’t be able to purchase it. Like the special edition Ive-designed Project (RED) Leica unveiled earlier this week, the solid aluminum (RED) Desk is a one-off created by Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson for a charity auction. And it’s likely to fetch a fortune.

Foxconn Admits It Forced Student Interns To Work Illegal Shift Patterns

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Foxconn workers in Shenzhen will not report next week until further notice.
Photo: Foxconn

Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that assembles almost all of Apple’s most popular devices, has admitted that it has forced student interns to work illegal shift patterns.

Thousands of students from the Xi’an Institute of Technology were made to work overtime and night shifts at the plant in violation of company policies. And if they refused to do so, they were in danger of losing their degree certificate.