Cult of Mac

We had a lot of fun earlier today coming up with our “vision” for the next Mac operating system, OS X Lion-O.

It got us thinking. What do you think the perfect mascot for the next version of OS X would be?

So we’re having a Photoshop contest! Come up with a concept for the next version of OS X using a whole new mascot and we’ll give the top five winners a free copy of Photoshop Touch for the iPhone or iPad (your choice!).

And the grand prize winner? In addition to Photoshop Touch, the person who makes the best Photoshop will receive a copy of the real next version of OS X (when it comes out, that is!).

Here’s how to enter the contest!

During the historic 2007 iPhone keynote, Steve Jobs famously called a local Starbucks and made a prank order for 4,000 lattes… enough for everyone at the Moscone Center to enjoy. He then said, “Just kidding. Wrong number. Goodbye!”

Amusingly, that quick prank call to demonstrate the iPhone’s Maps and Phone apps is still resulting in prank calls six years later. And even more incredibly, the barista who originally took the call still works at that Starbucks!

Apple’s iCloud service hasn’t been perfect, but it’s performed fairly well since its debut in 2011.

Dropbox’s CEO on the otherhand thinks that Apple’s users really shouldn’t get too invested into the data-synching service, because it will probably hurt them in the long run.

You know those cool old waxed canvas bags which used to keep things dry before miners discovered nylon in a cave in Papua New Guinea¹? Now you can make your own! Well, technically you could always make your own. But now Photojojo has provided a guide for you. Spoiler: it’s dead easy.

Here’s an interesting number for you: just a month after release, the Evasi0n jailbreak has already cracked wide open an astonishing 14 million iOS devices. Considering there’s only 23 million iDevices running jailbreaks across all iOS versions, that means that the vast majority of jailbroken devices are running a flavor of iOS 6.1.

There are a lot of crazy rumors floating around out there about the iPhone 6. It might boast a huge screen, come in different colors, have a polycarbonate body, and maybe even a fingerprint sensor. If you believe even half of those rumors, then this might be Apple’s craziest iPhone yet.

Most of the rumors will probably be proven false, but what if Apple decided to go down a crazy path and actually rip off Samsung’s smartphones? Well, one concept artist decided to dream it up.

Some of you may not know that The Simpsons creator Matt Groening was hired by Apple to produce a number of brochures and posters back in the late ’80s. One of those brochures, entitled Who Needs A Computer Anyway?, has been making its way around the web since 2011. But some of Groening’s posters aren’t so familiar.

Networking in Hell, which is based around Groening’s Life in Hell characters, is one of them — along with Bongo’s Dream Dorm. Check them out below.

Do any of these sound familiar?

• The Strunch
• The Cocoon
• The Take It In
• The Trance
• The Smart Lean

Now, I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking the exact same dirty thoughts; but no: they’re not fun “adult poses” to enjoy with another human or similarly-sized biped. They are in fact some of the new postures that chair-maker Steelcase has noticed in hours of actually watching how we slump in our seats.

Famed investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet stopped by CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning, and the Berkshire Hathaway head had some interesting thoughts on what Apple should do with its cash: by back all of its stock from investors, just like Warren Buffett told Steve Jobs to do years ago.

Shipping times for the new 21.5- and 27-inch iMacs were this weekend reduced to just 1-3 business days for customers in the United States and Canada. Both machines have been in short supply since they went on sale back in November, and just one month ago, the shipping delay reached its peak when it slipped to 4-6 weeks in Europe.

Following Bloomberg’s report that the iWatch is a project Apple wants to deliver this year, the Verge has an interesting report saying that the iWatch project is being lead by Jony Ive himself, and that it will run a full version of iOS.

Evernote just released an update for its Mac app, and if you got it from the App Store you mightn’t notice anything new other than being forced to change your password because Evernote got hacked. But if you got the update from outside the MAS, then you can enjoy the fancy new clipper that sits in the menu bar.

Over the weekend, a fascinating little post over on the Panic weblog revealed that the Lightning AV adapter meant to send video out from a connected iPhone or iPad over HDMI had an interesting little secret to it: it’s not a converter so much as it is a tiny ARM-based computer with a tiny SoC and 2GB of RAM!

The guys at Panic had a theory that this meant that the Lightning AV Adapter booted a miniature version of iOS every time it was connected, and that it was using a bizarre, hardwired version of the AirPlay protocol to do its streaming. That’s not actually the case, but an anonymous Apple engineer has now given the backstory behind this fascinating little bit of engineering.

Bloomberg recently revealed that Apple has a team of 100 people working on its new iWatch, and according to its latest report, the Cupertino company is hoping to launch the device this year. The smart wristwatch, which could make calls, provide maps, and offer a pedometer, is expected to become more profitable than Apple’s much-anticipated television set.

Ever since OS X 10.7 Lion, the Finder has a new sidebar section, called All My Files. It’s a list of, predictably, all the files on your Mac and it can be customized to show them in any style you like, sorting by Name, Date Created, Kind, Date Modified, and more. The trouble is, though, that all new Finder windows open to this All My Files section by default. Some folks might not like this, though, and wish for the long-ago days of, say, Snow Leopard, when Finder windows opened to the Desktop or some such.

Luckily, to make this happen takes just a quick trip into the Finder preferences to sort out. Thanks, Apple!

Lockdown Pro, a popular tweak that allows you to password-protect the apps and folders you have installed on your jailbroken iOS device, is now available on the iPad. The new tweak recently hit Cydia, alongside an update to the iPhone version, which now allows you to hide apps and adds a number of other new features.

Wacom is readying a pressure-sensitive tablet of its own. The source of this “rumor”? Wacom itself, via its Facebook page. And being from Wacom, it’ll have a pressure-sensitive pen, plus multi touch and some more mystery features.

Got a new Mac? Trying to get the most out of it – or perhaps the one you’ve had for a few months? There are countless tools out there than can help – but rarely can so many of them be found in a bundle such as this: The Mac Essentials Bundle.

Cult of Mac Deals has assembled 9 apps that can take your productivity on your Mac to the next level…and we’re offering it at a fraction of the regular price. You can get The Mac Essentials Bundle for only $49.99 for a limited time – that’s 84% off the price you’d pay for all of these apps separately!

Apple has demonstrated muted contempt for podcasting, with its passive-aggressive stewardship of the content and its apathy about the low quality of its own Podcasts app. 

I believe podcasting is the future of all audio and video media — the future of radio and television — and I’ll tell you why below.

So if Apple doesn’t want to own the future of TV and radio, maybe Google should take over the leadership role from Apple?

Who’s ready for Droidcasting?

It’s ba-ack!

Today’s Cult of Mac Deals offer is going to give you a chance once again to get your hands on the Micro Drone – and it won’t cost you a whole lot, either. This deal is just $49!

Apple treats podcasting like an unwanted stepchild. 

I think this is a huge missed opportunity for Apple — and for audio and video content creators.

Here’s what Apple is doing wrong, and how they could do it right. 

We’ve got a great offer for you at Cult of Mac Deals today – not only because it is jam-packed with hundreds of high-quality vector files, PSD files, icons and more. It’s because this bundle – dubbed The Premium Designer Freebie Bundle is available at no cost whatsoever!

Have any of your Instagram photos ever gotten over 20,000 likes? Yeah, mine either… But Cory Staudacher’s images do all the time. WithHearts is his name on that popular social service, and by posting one beautifully captured image each day, every day — all taken with only an iPhone — he’s become one of Instagram’s most popular users, now with just a hair under 206,000 followers.

Want to learn how he does it? Join us on this week’s CultCast as WithHearts reveals the photo apps he loves, workflows he lives by, and editing tricks he uses to create some of the most captivating iPhone photographs on the internet. He even surprises us with a few tools we never once considered using.

Subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes to download our newest episode, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Show notes coming up next.

Have you ever tried to do any serious videography with an iPad? I don’t recommend it casually, but the iPad can be a great HD video tool, combining high resolution video capture abilities with a large screen for monitoring. Connecting it to a tripod, however, can be a trial.

SerialKickers aim to solve this problem with a new product for iPad, the ArchMount, an ultra-portable mounting system that will let you attach your iPad to a camera tripod for use in video, tele-prompter, or music applications.

IK Multimedia is a powerhouse of music peripherals and apps for the mobile musician, with a range of products including the iKlip mic stand mounting series for iPad and iPhone, the iRig Mic and iRig Pre, and a host of guitar, voice, and recording apps for iOS.

Recently, the company released iLectric Piano, an electric follow up of sorts to its iGrand acoustic piano app of a few months back. iLectric provides 19 different electric pianos, sampled from the instruments themselves, and placed in a fun, easy to use, useful iPad app that’s just brimming with the funky, groovy sounds of electric piano the likes of the Wurlitzer 200A and the Hohner D6 Clavinet.