One of the more intriguing digital media platforms is Narr8, a Moscow-based startup that offers a platform with which to publish or enjoy multimedia creations crafted with a hodgepodge of animation, text, images and sound; think motion comics with added audio punch.

The app has been available for a while on the iPad, but has just now been given Universal App treatment, making it available on the iPhone too — though how the app’s experience translates onto the iPhone’s smaller screen is an interesting question.

Apple has released the sixth beta build of OS X Mavericks to developers this afternoon. The update comes a full two weeks after the release of the fifth beta, which brought iBooks to the Mac along with a new version of iPhoto.

Developers can download the new beta build by checking for software updates in the Mac App Store, or directly from the Mac Dev Center. OS X Mavericks is scheduled to release later this fall.

This is #BackToSchool week at Cult of Mac Deals. There will be several new deals launching each day. Check in here each day for new deals for #BackToSchool. There will be a ton of apps, gear, gadgets, games, and more to buy just in time for the start of school, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for deals that have school — and savings — in mind.

One of the things I do when I’m writing is play music in hte background. I just can’t work in silence.

Lately I’ve been using a cool online service called focus@will that plays a variety of types of music that can serve to enhance productivity and focus. But I don’t use my Mac’s internal speakers when I use the service. Instead, I use external speakers. That way I can get much better sound out of the experience — and Cult of Mac Deals has a deal on the Soundfreaq Sound Step Recharge that will help you have a great-sounding experience during work and play.

Twelve South, maker of several fine iOS device and Mac accessories, has released an updated version of the SurfacePad for the modern MacBook. The SurfacePad is one of Twelve South’s earliest products, and it has now been optimized for Apple’s 2013 laptops.

Google’s Chrome for iOS is a heck of a browser on iOS, and a great alternative to using Safari, except for the fact that it’s not quite as integrated into the experience as Safari is.

Because of that, if you use Chrome and want to clear out your browser data to keep others from checking out what you’ve been doing on the web, you won’t be able to do so in the official Settings app like you can with Safari data.

Here’s how to clear your cache files, browsing history, and any cookies from Chrome in iOS.

Yahoo released an update today for its recently redesigned Yahoo Sports app for iOS that includes the addition of MMA coverage along with improving some of the UI and bugs.

The app also comes with improved scoring summaries and an expanded view for football games, as well as WNBA info and improved external article rendering. The update is available now in the App Store for free.

Here are the release notes:

Originally released in 1997 by Electronic Arts (EA), Dungeon Keeper was a PC strategy game made by Bullfrog Productions under Peter Molyneux (Fable, Curiosity, Godus).

Dungeon Keeper tasks players with building and defending their own evil lair while protecting it from “heroes” who seem bent on stealing treasure and killing all the nice monsters. It’s a nice flip to the traditional theme of defending against monsters, and it has a huge following.

Kotaku today reports that the game is returning, but not to the PC. Instead, Dungeon Keeper is headed back tot he digital realm on mobile devices, on iOS and Android.

The problem with many armbands that I’ve used over the years is twofold. One, if the armband is too small, it only holds an iPhone without a case and nothing else. Too big and it’s unwieldy to use. Two, unless it’s cinched incredibly tight on a bicep, the weight of the phone tends to bounce while running, making the whole concept less than useful.

The Armpocket i30 armband is a fantastic little iPhone 5 holder that solves both of these problems, with a large enough pocket to hold an iPhone 5 and its case, as well as some extra items like a small amount of cash, a couple of keys, and an ID or credit card. The i30 is perfect for walking, running, hiking, and pretty much any physical activity that requires easy storage of and access to an iPhone 5, when pockets aren’t an option.

https://youtu.be/jRAwf_pLgjg

After releasing on Android this past July, Battle Dragons from Spacetime Games has been doing pretty well, but interested iOS gamers have been out of luck.

Today that changes, as the free-to-play build and battle game comes to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the App store. It does look quite a bit like Clash of Clans, another highly successful free-to-play game from Supercell, but Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Games, says that may just be an artifact of the trailer.

A new video on the iPhone 5C has been posted by Taiwan Apple Daily, showcasing the durability and scratch resistance of the Apple’s unreleased device, along with some measurements.

The video shows an iPhone 5C rear shell being placed into a plastic bag filled with coins and a car key. After a good shaking, the iPhone 5C part comes away unscratched. At one point they even bust out a key to scratch the surface directly, but leave behind no visible scars.

This is #BackToSchool week at Cult of Mac Deals. There will be several new deals launching each day. Check in here each day for new deals for #BackToSchool. There will be a ton of apps, gear, gadgets, games, and more to buy just in time for the start of school, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for deals that have school — and savings — in mind.

Macs are becoming more and more popular for students, and they’ve dropped in price at the same time. Sure, they’re not as inexpensive as many Windows machines, but the cost of a Mac now is a far cry from what it used be only a few years ago. So when students decide on picking up a Mac for their studies, they’re getting a quality piece of machinery that can do a lot of important things.

But the most important thing a student needs to do on their Mac isn’t the most obvious. That’s because that thing is backing up your Mac regularly — something that SOS Online Backup does.

Thieves in San Francisco are reportedly forming teams and developing new ways to steal your smartphone. The various schemes they’ve devised usually employ one person to create a distraction while another nabs your device and takes off with it. But a more recent trend uses a phony good Samaritan who will actually return your device in the hope of receiving a reward.

Gameloft has published a stunning new Asphalt 8: Airborne trailer today, ahead of tomorrow’s launch on iOS. As its name suggests, the latest Asphalt game is all about defying gravity and performing insane jumps that’ll give you the edge in each race — and there’s plenty of that to enjoy in the new clip.

Ten One Design, the creator of the world’s first capacitive touch stylus, has unveiled a new minimalistic stand for the iPad mini today called the Magnus Mini. It’s a smaller version of the Magnus stand for iPad, and it uses “a strong magnetic link” to securely hold your iPad mini in place — with no front lip to intrude on the front of your display.

I don’t know about you all, but I’ve been getting stuff into a new folder in the Finder the same way as I always have, just like I did way back in OS 7, OS 8, OS 9, and even ten years ago in OS X.

I make a new folder in the Finder using Shift-Command-N, or by selecting New Folder from the Finder menu, then Command- or Shift-click all the files I want to put into that folder, and drag them all over. I’ve heard you can even copy and paste files into a new folder the same way, but I’m kind of old school and don’t mess with that.

Today, though, I read about a totally different way to do this. Color me surprised (and a bit chagrined) to find out that there’s an easier way to put a bunch of items into a new folder in the Finder.

The iTunes Festival is an annual, month-long music festival and concert series that Apple has thrown since 2007 at the Roundhouse Art Centre in London. Earlier this year, Apple revealed the lineup for the 2013 Festival, but now Cupertino is starting to get the ball rolling on the festivities, updating the Apple TV with a new channel and updating the iTunes Festival iOS app accordingly.

Earlier this month, we reported that Vevo, the popular music platform, was in talks with Apple to make its own Apple TV channel a reality. The channel would allow Apple TV owners to access Vevo’s 24-7 music programming, and would be monetized by ads.

Unfortunately, there were no other details, and you know what they say, “A rumor’s not a rumor that doesn’t die.” So let’s kill off this rumor by making it a reality: the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the Vevo app could launch on the Apple TV as early as this week.

If you’re anything like me, you spent several months play Blizzard’s latest hack-and-slash action RPG, Diablo III, back in the latter part of 2011. During that period (again, if you’re anything like me), the skin on your back probably slowly grew into the fabric of your computer chair, your complexion became a shade best described as translucent, you bathed with a rag on a stick, and your eyes became the size of a lemur’s… all because you couldn’t tear yourself away from the game.

You might want to tie another rag to a stick now and save yourself the trouble later. Blizzard has just announced the first Diablo III expansion, Reaper of Souls.

Phlo is a handy little Universal iOS app which lets you search a bunch of different search engines simultaneously. Just tap in your search term and then hop between various sites using the popover sidebar list.

Just to put the following report in the proper perspective, let’s start out by saying that two months ago — just two days after Apple debuted iOS 7 at WWDC 2013 — we predicted that the iPhone 5S would be released on September 20th later this year, after debuting ten days earlier.

How did we come up with that date? It was easy. We looked at what Apple had done in previous iPhone launches, and then took a look at the calendar for 2013. No soothsaying, no mysterious sources. It was as simple as that.

So when Japan’s largest industry newspaper, Nikkei, starts reporting that Apple will release the iPhone 5S and 5C on (yup) September 20th, you have to ask yourselves. Do they actually know? Or are they just fudging it?

Protex’s new iPad case is a big improvement on the original – aesthetically, at least. The folks at Higher Ground (the company that makes the Protex) sent me the original and I couldn’t bring myself to review it as it looked like a rubber boot with a stripper’s underwear sewn to the back.

The new one keeps the rugged design, but swaps out the stretchy, satiny X on the back for a cross-shaped silicone grip.

Remember the Area Ware wooden iPhone dock concept that we saw back in May? No, neither do I, a problem not helped by the fact that Google insists on searching for “are aware” when I tap in “Area Ware”. Either way, that neat design has been, uh, redesigned and can now be almost bought: it’ll be shipping on November 1st.

I never thought I’d describe a camera and iPhone accessory as “creepy,” but here we are. The Keizus is a quadropod (four-legged tripod) which looks like somebody ripped the skeleton out of one of those cymbal-bashing monkeys beloved of 1970s and 1980s horror flicks. Shudder.

It was only a matter of time before somebody put a SIM card inside a camera. That camera is the Q, comes from Sweden and is – according to the pitch – “world’s first social camera.”

But is it too late?

I’m always surprised how much bigger and louder stereo speakers make music sound. It might be the fact that the 3-D space it creates fools our stupid brains into thinking that the music is surrounding us, but the difference is huge. Try it: take a device that’s hooked up to actual separate stereo speakers and flip between stereo and mono with your source.

And so I expect the Earshots Stereo Speakers to sound a lot bigger than their 34mm diameter would suggest.