Cult of Mac

In two days, Facebook will gather a bunch of people into a room and Mark Zuckerburg will tell them all about Facebook’s new smartphone. It’s made by HTC. It’s got a custom build of Android, and tons of Facebook integration. And it looks pretty boring.

Evleaks just posted a picture of what is probably Facebook’s smartphone. It’s called the HTC First, and it looks like millions of other Android handsets on the market. No details on the specs, but I’m sure Mark will give us an ear full on Thursday.

Source: Evleaks

A common method for finding apps in the iTunes App Store is to do a quick search in Google. Searching the App Store for “Tweetbot” can take a lot longer than Googling “Tweetbot App Store” in a browser.

Links to iTunes have always been near the top of the first page when you search for an app, but iTunes results have recently started appearing lower in Google’s search results with no explanation.

Music streaming services like Spotify and Rdio are great because you get to listen to as much music as you want, without having to pay for it. They’re especially great on roadtrips, and if you have a car with Ford’s SYNC AppLink platform you can now keep the tunes cranking on your drive without touching a thing.

Spotify just updated its app to include Ford SYNC AppLink support. To get Spotify in your Ford all you have to do now is log into your premium account on your iOS device and connect to SYNC AppLink. You can manage all your music and playlists with SYNC’s voice-controls so you won’t get distracted while thumbing through albums in search of that new JT album.

It’s probably true that you’ve learned some great iOS gestures with two or three fingers, like pinching in or out to zoom and the like. But did you know that you can use some multitasking features with just the addition of another finger or two?

Use the claw technique to activate the following swipes on your iPad and you’ll be one step closer to gestural iOS nirvana. Or is that nerd-vana. Either way, I suppose.

The only way to get an iPhone on T-Mobile the past few years was to go out and buy an unlocked iPhone and put a T-Mobile SIM card in it. Now that T-Mobile has become an official carrier, a lot of iPhone users that are already on the carrier want to be able to use LTE but can’t.

To make things better, T-Mobile says they’re going to rollout an update for all unlocked iPhones on the network starting April 5th. The update will flip the switch on features that aren’t currently available, like LTE and Visual Voicemail.

Just before the weekend, a new Read Later app launched. Yes, you rightly shout, there are a ton of these apps around already. Hell, even Safari can save pages off line for reading later. But the new app/service, called DotDotDot, shows what these services should be. It’s not polished (it’s an early beta), but it already shows up the competition.

Which brings me to “the competition.” I just ditched Instapaper, the grandaddy of read-later apps, for Pocket. Why? Read on.

My pre gym ritual, aside from beating my chest with my bare fists and grunting, always seems to include 2-3 minutes of loathsome headphone detangling. How those confounded white wires always weave themselves into a tangled ball, I do not know, but now there might be hope.

Kordl is a little clip that secures the pod and plug ends of your headphones together, thus, theoretically speaking, making annoying detangling sessions a thing of the past. Kordl’s founders, now trying to fund their product, go so far as to promise Kordl will make your headphones tangle proof.

Bold claim! So I decided to clip a preproduction Kordl to my Earpods and find out how well it really works.

We’ve heard rumors that Apple will unveil the iPhone 5S in June of this year, and it turns out that there might actually be some truth to the rumors.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Apple plans to begin production of the next iPhone in Q2 of 2013. The new iPhone will have the same shape and 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5S and will probably launch this summer.

Mozilla has released Firefox 20 for Mac users, and this major update brings several new features and improvements to the web browser. Two of the biggest features are “per-window” private browsing and a redesigned download manager.

You can now open a private browsing tab instead of having to open an entirely new window and close the current session. The new, Safari-like download manager is a little arrow that sits in the browser’s toolbar next to search. You can click it to see and interact with all current downloads.

Despite all its problems with the ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil, Apple is trying to get its devices in as many Brazilian hands as possible by slashing prices on the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S.

In case you hadn’t already heard, BlackBerry launched its new BlackBerry Z10 back in February, finally making its new BlackBerry 10 platform available to the public. The device has gotten off to a surprisingly good start for the Canadian company, with more than one million units sold during its first month of availability.

If you’re wondering what BB10 is like, and more importantly whether it’s a worthy contender to Android or iOS, then why not give it a try. You can now do so simply by visiting a URL in your browser — you don’t even have to leave the house.

In case you hadn’t already heard, BlackBerry launched its new BlackBerry Z10 back in February, finally making its new BlackBerry 10 platform available to the public. The device has gotten off to a surprisingly good start for the Canadian company, with more than one million units sold during its first three months of availability.

If you’re wondering what BB10 is like, and more importantly whether it’s a worthy contender to Android or iOS, then why not give it a try. You can now do so simply by visiting a URL in your browser — you don’t even have to leave the house.

There’s nothing worse than having to carry too much in your pockets. Keys, pocket change, a wallet, and now…your iPhone. That’s why Krome has developed the perfect case to consolidate your daily belongings. Not only does the Krome CargoCase sport a durable polycarbonate shell with an aircraft aluminum hinge to keep your iPhone in pristine condition, but it maintains all your valuables in one, safe location.

And Cult of Mac Deals has some special pricing on the Krome CargoCase for the iPhone 5. – only $29!

Randolph Divisions makes the HearPod, a digital hearing aid. The company has owned the “HearPod” trademark since 2007, and it recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Apple in Hawaii District Court. Apparently “HearPod” and “EarPods” sound too much alike.

Apple also owns a trademark for its EarPods, but it doesn’t own the earpods.com or earpod.com domain names—Randolph Divisions happens to own the latter.

With the kind of cash Apple has in the bank, Randolph Divisions will likely be paid off to settle this lawsuit.

Source: The Next Web

I love my Wacom Bamboo Stylus; it’s by far the best stylus I’ve owned for the iPad. And although I wouldn’t exactly call it big, I wouldn’t want to carry it around in my pocket all day. Fortunately, Wacom has a new, smaller and super cute version of the Bamboo for that.

Called the Bamboo Stylus mini and measuring just 1.85 inches, it’s the perfect portable stylus for those on the go.

There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that jailbreak hackers have exploits saved up for another jailbreak release in the future. The bad news is that we will not be seeing a new jailbreak any time soon — at least until after iOS 7 comes out.

In China, the state-run press has been attacking Apple non-stop for the past couple of weeks over warranty policies that showed the company’s “unparalleled arrogance.” Apple Stores were fixing broken iPhone returns instead of replacing the devices entirely like they do in the United States. There was also an issue with Apple’s 90-day warranty on replaced parts not matching China’s mandatory one-year warranty policy.

Things got so heated that Apple CEO Tim Cook had to issue a public letter to Chinese customers apologizing “for any concerns or misunderstandings.” Apple’s scrutinized warranty and return policies have also been changed to address the concerns.

After the apology, China is starting to warm back up to Apple.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will reportedly land a deal for Apple’s future “A7” processors when the Cupertino company’s current contract with Samsung expires in 2014.

Samsung has been responsible for Apple’s mobile chips since the introduction of the A4 back in 2010, but Apple has seemingly been looking to take its business elsewhere since the pair became embroiled in a series of lengthy legal battles.

We’ve been excited for iSteve, Funny or Die’s upcoming Steve Jobs movie, since it was announced on March 18, and with just under two weeks to go until its release, we’ve got its first teaser trailer. Check it out below.

One of the big things I do here in OS X tips is take screenshots. A quick Command-Shift-3 will get me a picture of my entire screen, while a Command-Shift-4 will get me a crosshair which I can use to click and drag around any area of my screen to get a more specific area of my Mac’s screen to demonstrate a point.

Sometimes, though, I miss. When I don’t get the right area of the screen, I typically hit the Escape key and then Command-Shift-4 to try again. If however, I need to just move the selection area around to another part of the screen, I always assumed I was out of luck.

Not true, and it’s super easy to do.

Apple has been dealt yet another blow by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office after receiving confirmation that its famous “rubber banding” patent, which plays a key role in the company’s fight against Samsung, is invalid. The “final” decision comes after the USPTO tentatively rejected all claims in the ‘381 patent back in October 2012.

Picfari is a smart little iPhone app which tells you where all the best photos are to be taken – wherever you are. Say you’re on vacation in, I don’t know… Barcelona, Spain. Fire up the app and it’ll not only let you browse photo hotspots, it’ll also pull in great sample shots from places like Flickr, and even give you some tips on getting the best shots.

Good news for those of you who were unfortunate enough to have dropped $130 on the Wahoo RFLKT (ROFL!) Bluetooth 4 iPhone HUD for your bike. One of the best iPhone cycling apps – Cyclemeter – has just been updated to support your fragile dongle. There’s bad news, too: You’ll have to drop another $3 on an in-app purchase to enable the new feature. Insult, meet injury.

Just Mobile, the folks behind many handy aluminum Mac and iOS accessories (like the pencil-impersonating AluPen stylus, and the AluRack laptop mount) has just busted out three new gadgets. There’s the AluCup – a plastic and aluminum desk-tidy in the shape of a cup; the HeadStand, which is a headphone holder/hanger for your desk, and the AluFrame, a fancy aluminum bumper for the iPhone 5.

If you’re looking to do more with their photos – things like image manipulation and other advanced techniques – it’s not uncommon to hear one word uttered as a recommendation: Photoshop. But Photoshop is expensive – and can be a real pain to wrap your head around. This Cult of Mac Deals offer may just offer that alternative you’ve been looking for.

PhotoDirector 4 is a comprehensive, powerful, and intuitive solution to create professional looking photos. From the moment your photos are imported, you are empowered with new and unique features that bring out depth and sharpness in your masterpieces. Portraits become flawless, scenery transforms to your desire. No matter what kind of photographer you are, or what kind of photos you take, PhotoDirector will give you the tools for professional perfection. And in this deal, we’re offering it to you for just $49.