We’re still waiting for iPhone 5 Lightning-compatible battery cases, but at least we’re finally getting some product teasers and (vague) launch dates. The latest comes from everybody’s favorite crapware vendor Brando, and costs a mere $35. And it even closes up like a book.

When I first got my iPhone 5, I was desperate for a dock. As time has passed, and as the iPhone has picked up a few scratches and dents, I find I don’t really care anymore whether the phone is docked or not when it charges.

And I expect I’ll soon be saying the same about my new iPad mini. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need a place to prop it, especially when watching movies. Which is why I’m pretty impressed by Swedish Peter’s Ikea hack, which turns the Ribba picture ledge into a tablet stand.

Alien Skin makes the human-like disguises that the lizard creatures in “V” used to pass themselves off as humans, and… Kidding! Alien Skin makes high-end Photoshop plugins and Mac photo-processing software. It also makes an iPhone app called Alt Photo, which distills the features of its desktop app Exposure into an iPhone-sized package.

And now it is free.

So you got a new Mac over the holidays. (Or your old Mac makes you wish that you did.)

Well today’s Cult of Mac Deals offer will keep that newly-minted Mac running like the day it was unboxed and get your old Mac running like new again. With this exclusive promotion you’ll get the CleanMyMac Double Pack which will keep two of your Macs clean and free of clutter – for life – and for only $25!

Over the last few years we’ve seen all manner of Apple and iPhone shaped deserts, but this one takes the cake (zing!). It’s the most detailed iPhone cake we’ve ever seen, and it probably owes a lot of its beauty to the magic of fondant. It’s a cake even Jony Ive would be proud of. And the Happy Birthday reminder on the screen adds a perfect flourish.

Source: Facebook

Thanks: Grahame

Brett Terpstra, the hardest working nerd on the internet, has come up with yet another super-useful single-serve utility. It’s called Clip Text File, and it grabs the contents of a plain text file and copies it to your clipboard, all without opening the file.

One of the wacky things you may notice if you’ve just gotten a new iPhone is the default double alert whenever you get a text message, whether iMessage or SMS. Why Apple has this as the default, I’m not sure, but it kept freaking me out before I figured out how to turn it off.

However, I’m willing to see that you might want the double alert, or more (shudder), and there’s a simple way to make that happen, as well.

Here’s how.

Even though Apple’s headquartered in Cupertino, they’ve got operations all across the globe, and we don’t mean just retail stores. There have been rumors that Apple is opening up an R&D center in Israel, but according to a new rumor, that’s not the only place they’re considering.

Tim Cook recently talked to the mayor of Beijing, Wang Ashun, about the possibility of Apple opening an R&D center in Beijing.

It’s winter. It’s probably cold where you live. Running outside to start your car is probably one of the most dreadful experiences you have every morning, and then you gotta sit in your cold car for a few minutes before the heat really kicks in. You’re shivering. Trying to drive faster. And it all just sucks.

You could buy one of those remote ignitions, but then you gotta carry around an extra block on your keychain, and its range isn’t so great. Will O’Brien came up with a better idea – starting your car with your iPhone by sending it an SMS. It’s brilliant, and anyone can replicate his hack.

Analog media are great and all – vinyl, film, paper – but they all suffer by living in a non-connected vacuum. Lomo’s new Kickstarter project aims to fix that, for film photos at least, by turning your iPhone into a 35mm film and slide scanner.

Finally, you can post photographs with genuine light-leaks straight to your Instagram.

Apple got sued by the Swiss Federal Railway Service in October over use of their clock-face,  and now another European railway has decided they want some money from Apple too.

Russian Railways has filed a trademark lawsuit against Apple for about $65,000 (2 million roubles). The reason behind the lawsuit isn’t really clear at this point, but it’s been speculated that Russian Railways is mad about people using their logo in the App Store without permission.

If you’re looking to take yourself to a whole new level in vector illustration, which gives you the ability to take your designs from a business card to a billboard in Times Square without visible pixelization, then today’s Cult of Mac Deals offer is right up your alley.

This video course contains 10 hours of Adobe Authorized training material and is useful for anyone using Illustrator CS4, CS5, or CS6. In fact, there’s almost an hour dedicated to the new features of CS6 alone. And you can get The Adobe Illustrator Creative Design Course for just $35 for a limited time.

Awhile back we showed you a great concept for a redesigned iOS Notes app. The concept was part of Cult of Mac reader and designer Adrian Maciburko’s iOS 7 “Crystal Interface” idea. Now Maciburko has shared a redesigned Game Center interface that does away with the skeuomorphism in iOS 6. No more woodgrain or felt textures.

I have no idea what it’s like to try to use an iPhone when you have super long fingernails, but I have seen a bunch of women try to stab away at their screens like they’re Freddy Krueger. Your fingernail is not a stylus, but it could become one very soon.

Tech Tips is making a new product that will turn your fingernails into a conductive stylus, so you can stop looking so weird when you’re trying to send a text message.

Although Apple has already combined blockchain and retail for some time now to maintain a smooth flow of their entire process and also keep track of everything, they must now overhaul its supply chain in a bid to make its iPhone cheaper and meet the demand of low-cost smartphones in emerging markets, according to former CEO John Sculley. The Cupertino company has enjoyed plenty of success with the device in the United States and Europe, but Sculley feels that going forward, Apple will need to depend on growth in emerging markets, where the handset’s premium price tag just won’t work.

A lot of companies have tried to imitate Apple’s trackpads because they kind of just melt into the rest of computer. They’re one of the most underrated features of the MacBook, but it’s going to be harder for companies to completely ripoff the feature now that Apple has a patent on it.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has cut its iPhone 5 component orders by as much as half following “weaker-than-expected” demand for device. The news sent Apple’s stock price plummeting, but according to some analysts, there’s nothing to worry about. iPhone 5 demand is doing just fine, according to Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu, and the component cuts are in no way related to poor demand.

Apple’s AppleCare Protection Plan has come under fire once again in Europe after Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats, a Belgian consumer watchdog, filed a complaint against the way in which the Cupertino company markets the product in Europe.

Customers within the European Union are entitled to a free two-year warranty with any consumer electronics purchase, but Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats claims that Apple’s warranty marketing doesn’t properly explain these rights to Belgian shoppers.

Apple’s Back to School promotion has begun in Australia and New Zealand ahead of the new school year. Like previous years, the promotion offers a free gift card with new Macs and iOS devices purchased for education, and it’s open to students, parents, and teachers. This year’s deal includes the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, the iMac and the Mac Pro, and the iPad with Retina display.

Poster, arguably the best WordPress blogging app for iOS, has received a major new update today, which adds a ton of new features and improvements. In addition to support for custom post types, version 2.0 brings the ability to edit a post’s excerpt and insert images anywhere you like, and the option to remove a post’s featured image. Check out the update notes below for the full list of changes and improvements.

If you use Bluetooth as much as I do, you’ll know that there are times when it works flawlessly and times when it does not. Many of the issues around sound quality of a Bluetooth speaker or the performance of a Bluetooth keyboard have to do with the strength of the signal going between your Mac and the Bluetooth gadget.

Here’s a simple way to check the signal strength of each device you’re using.

This post is brought to you by Gazelle.

Have you recently gotten a new iPhone, iPad or MacBook? Before you get a new one or if you already have it, make sure you sell your used phone or gadget to Gazelle for cash! Don’t bury last year’s gadget in a drawer — find out what it’s worth on Gazelle.com.

Gazelle takes the risk and effort out of selling electronic gadgets online with benefits such as free shipping and packaging and comprehensive identity and data removal. To date, Gazelle has accepted more than one million trade-ins, helping consumers upgrade to the latest technology and earn quick cash.

Facebook is set to hold a press event later today, and it appears the whole thing’s going to be a massive kick in the teeth for Google. Not only is the social network expected to unveil its own smartphone, possibly powered by its own platform, but it’s also expected to hit Google where it really hurts — in search. Rumor has it the company will unveil its own search engine, which will rollout to users “very soon.”

As an Apple guy with a whole lot of photography gear, I’m usually forced to slug my computing devices in one bag and DSLR and accoutrements in another while traveling. I hate doing that.

Think Tank’s new rolling camera bag, the Airport Navigator ($249), with two wheels, a telescoping handle, and space for a DSLR, lenses, and an iPad and Macbook Pro, seemed to be the perfect portable home for all my devices to live. But how well would it perform on the road? I decided to pack it full, take it to Vegas, and cart it around with me on the over-crowded floors one of the world’s biggest technology shows, CES 2013, and find out.

It’s pretty rare to find quality sounding earbuds that look as good as they sound. But you’ll find just that in our latest Cult of Mac Deals offer. That’s because you can get a pair of brown BodyGuardz Moxy earbuds with a mic by for just $35 — but your time to get this deal is almost up!