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Codename Cygnus Is Big On Drama, Low On Gameplay [Review]

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Codename Cygnus

One of my favorite things ever is Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast based on H.G. Wells’ Martian-invasion novel, The War of the Worlds. If you’ve never heard it and have a free hour, here’s a link. Just come back when you’re done.

Codename Cygnus by Reactive Studios
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: Free

Codename Cygnus is an interactive radio drama from developer Reactive Studios. And if you liked the storytelling, acting, and music in Welles’ production, it’s for you. If you thought it was cheesy and overly dramatic, you should try Cygnus anyway. Here’s why.

What To Expect From Apple’s September 10 iPhone Event

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Apple Sept 10 invite

Apple’s first major product event of the year is set to take place on Tuesday, September 10th. There was WWDC in June, but this time around will be all about the iPhone, Apple’s crown jewel.

The event will be held in Apple’s Town Hall auditorium at its Cupertino headquarters, which is a venue that was last used for the debut of the iPhone 4S in 2011. The iPhone 5S is expected this year, and like the 4S was to the 4, the device will look nearly identical to the iPhone 5 and focus on internal improvements. For the first time in Apple’s history, the rumor mill is predicting the unveiling of not one, but two new iPhone models at once, with the second being the iPhone 5C.

Here’s everything to expect from Apple’s September 10th iPhone event:

Use Safari To Create Your Own Web-Based Dashboard Widgets [OS X Tips]

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Safari Widget

Poor Dashboard widgets. They seem so sad, sitting there, their vast potential wasted by a lack of any good ones.

Luckily, our friends over at OS X Daily have pointed out a pretty slick way to roll your own using Safari. Who knew?

Here’s how to make your own darn widgets in OS X with nothing more than a copy of Safari and any web page you want to keep track of.

Redesigned Google Logo Gets Updated With Flatter Look

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Yahoo may have received all of the attention lately for its boring new logo change, but it appears that Google might be changing the design of it’s logo as well.

Deep in the heart of the latest Chrome for Android beta, Ars Technica has managed to unearth what appears to be a new Google logo that ditches the beveling and shadows of yore for a flatter, modern look with some desaturated colors.

Google hasn’t commented on the new logo, and quickly removed it from the beta. However, it looks similar to the design direction Google has been taking lately, and you can still pull it from Google’s servers, so it’s possible we’ll see it used company-wide in the near future.

Here’s how it compares to the old logo:

Alleged Blue iPhone 5C Gets Powered-On In New Video

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blueiPhone5C

 

We’re nearly 24 hours away from Apple’s iPhone keynote, but a new video just hit the web that shows what Apple’s budget iPhone looks like when in operation. A video posted by C Technology shows an alleged blue iPhone 5C powered-on before going through a quick tour of iOS 7.

While the short video doesn’t show many details of the device, it does look consistent with some of the other leaks we’ve seen, and could indicate that the iPhone 5C will be ready to ship shortly after tomorrow’s keynote.

You can watch the full video below:

Sync All Your iOS, Windows, Android And Cloud Files For Free With mconnect [Sponsored Post]

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If you are one of those people who have an iPhone or iPod for your telephony and music needs while out the house but still stubbornly keep a Windows desktop comp at home, perhaps for historical reasons or work purposes, you will most likely be missing out on a pile of great and super-convenient auto-syncing / streaming compatibilities of all your files, pics, videos, and so on that are the joy of Mac fans who use all Apple products.

Now, Korean tech company ConversDigital launches a new updated version of mconnect player free, which allows users to access media services and digital content anywhere, with any device, and “make connected digital media ubiquitous.”

Run-n-Read, A Virtual Steadicam For Reading On Your iPad

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I can think of little more boring than grinding away on a gym treadmill the thump, thump thump of your heavy feet slamming out a soporific beat over the even more mind-numbing whirr of the machine. Running outside is dull enough; running inside must be insufferable.

Which is why Steve invented the iPad. For reading while you’re at the gym: how else can you explain its bright, easy-to-read screen or it wipe-clean glass front? The problem? Jiggle. That is, your head is moving, your iPad’s screen isn’t and the mis-match makes reading hard, which is the problem the Run-n-Read purports to solve.

Thanks, Facebook: Ads Are Coming To Instagram In 2014

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Quick, tell me what you thought when Facebook bought Instagram last year. Your first thought — more of a feeling, really — was probably an impending sense of doom, as if a planet with the face of a demon had just been announced to be hurtling towards Earth. But after that passed and you realized Facebook buying Instagram wasn’t going to be the end of the world, my guess is you mostly just shrugged and said, “I wonder how long it will take them to mess it all up with ads.”

Well, Facebook is taking it slow. In fact, seventeen months after they first purchased Instagram, they’re only now starting to talk about how they’re going to mess it all up with ads! Thanks for the restraint, Facebook.

Microsoft Brings Xbox Music To Android & iOS, Offers Free Streaming On The Web

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Microsoft has today launched Xbox Music on Android and iOS almost a year after the music streaming service made its debut alongside Windows 8. The apps allow subscribers to stream tens of millions of songs straight to their mobile devices, and create playlists that sync across your smartphone, tablet, PC, and Xbox 360.

Microsoft has also updated its Xbox Music web app to offer free, ad-supported streaming for all.

CloudConvert, A Dropbox-Friendly Online Document Converter

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You know the drill: you get some crazy attachment in the mail, and you need to convert it to a format you can use. And – of course – you’re on your iPhone or iPad.

Maybe it’a a FLAC file you want in AAC, or a Microsoft DOC file that you’d prefer to see as a PDF. On the Mac you can convert these with little problem, but on iOS? Well, it’s now actually even easier than it was on the desktop. If you use CloudConvert anyway.

Corners, Probably The Most Minimal iPhone ‘Case’ Available

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corners

Remember the Radius? It was an iPhone case so minimal that it was almost invisible when viewed from anywhere but the back, and weighed in at just 4.4 grams, a weight too light to even register on the scale of ounces [1]

The Corners 4 somehow manages to be even more minimal than the Radius, ditching that heavy x-shaped brace on the back and just putting a little round puck on each corner of the iPhone.

Sony Announces PS Vita TV, A $95 Apple TV Competitor That Plays Games

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At an event in Japan today, Sony unveiled the new PS Vita TV, a tiny set-top box that will sell for around $95 and look to compete with devices like the Apple TV. Not only will it let you stream content from services like Hulu and Sony’s own Video Unlimited service, but if you connect a DualShock 3 controller, it will also allow you to play PSP and PS Vita games on your TV.

Animated GIF Shows New iOS 7-Ready App Store Icons

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If you’ve been running the iOS 7 beta, or have seen it up close, then you’ll be familiar with the ugly icon problem, in which some icons have janky edges thanks to a change of the corner radius in iOS 7. You can see the changes in this animated GIF from Czech site Letem Světem Applem (or something), which shows the design change as applied to the icons in the iTunes Store.

Urban Holster Holds iPhone, Cash, Promise Of Danger

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holster

 

Some of you poor folks live in a country where the police has been militarized to such an extent that it’ll shoot its citizens just for pointing a cellphone at them wrong. So just what would your public “servants” (paid by you via your taxes) make of the Urban Holster, a neat-looking belt-bag that looks like nothing more than a place to stow a pistol?

Microsoft Is About to Get Scroogled

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Microsoft has a weird business model, and a fragile one.

Their model is: Get people to need Microsoft software, then sell that software at high prices.

Contrast this with Apple’s model, which is: Get people want your consumer electronics so bad they’ll pay a lot for it, then sell the hardware, software, services and content at high prices.

And finally, Google’s model: Get people use the Internet more by making it awesome and free, and make money when people use the Internet.

All three companies make operating systems for phones, tablets and desktop computers.

But which models will succeed in the future and which will fail?

I think it’s clear that Google’s model is most likely to succeed and Microsoft’s most likely to fail. And Apple will do just fine.

Here’s what’s happening.

Newly Discovered Apple Patent Reveals How iPhone Fingerprint Scanner Will Work

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A new European patent reveals how a fingerprint Home Button in the iPhone will likely work.
A new European patent reveals how a fingerprint Home Button in the iPhone will likely work.

A newly discovered Apple patent reveals how the iPhone’s redesigned Home button will work as a fingerprint scanner.

It’s widely rumored the iPhone 5S will include a fingerprint scanner built into the Home button. But putting a fingerprint scanner into the Home button presents Apple with a problem. The Home button is used as the primary navigation device. Pressing the Home button quits apps and returns the user to the Home screen. If the fingerprint Home button is used as an authentication device, to conduct a secure online purchase say, the user needs to avoid accidentally pressing it. The last thing they want is to quit the browser and be returned to the Home screen.

The solution is a capacitive ring built around the Home button that detects the user’s finger without a button press.

Apple Won’t Announce New Apple TV Next Week, But Cool Features Are Still Coming

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Despite rumors that Apple will announce a new Apple TV at its September 10th iPhone event, no such hardware unveiling is planned, according to AllThingsD. But a big software upgrade will be announced, and it will reportedly add new AirPlay functionality that makes it easier to watch content you purchased from the iTunes Store on a friend’s Apple TV.

New iPhones Coming Sept. 10th—Don’t Miss Our Apple Event Predictions On The CultCast

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The time ’round on the Cult of Casts: it’s finally confirmed! New iPhones are coming September 10th… we’ll run through our expectations for the big day and offer a bold prediction of a big 5S spec bump. Then, Apple’s about to do something no tech company has ever done, and… seriously Samsung, a smart watch?

And stick around for our new segment, CultCast Second Hour, and catch our conversation with professional video editor and visual effects artist Mike Gaines as we talk the pros and cons Final Cut X; what software the editing pros use; the best cameras for indie projects; and all the Mac gear you need for a solid video product rig; plus so much more.

Have a few laughs and get caught up on all the finest Apple stories in the land. 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 the unadulterated audio enjoyment begin. Show notes up next.

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Stand Back! iOS Market Share Is About to Explode!

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Gold 5S and 5C

 

Everybody likes whining about Apple. The company doesn’t innovate anymore, critics say. Their new phones are boring, the same old wine in a line of colorful new bottles. The “S” releases are always just tweaks of yesterday’s iPhone, and are not fundamentally different. Android phones dominate global market share, and have caught up to and zoomed past Apple in every relevant way.

The naysayers can say nay all they want: Apple’s iOS market share numbers are about to explode like an iPhone 5 plugged in with a cheap Chinese charger.