Cult of Mac

This isn’t strictly Mac related, but it’s an interesting discussion on what makes a multi-touch operating system like OS X work, and what makes a similar multi-touch operating system like Windows 8 a complete failure. It’s also an incredibly insightful and concise argument about how Windows 8 fails as a desktop operating system in the four key areas in which an operating system must succeed: control, context, conveyance and continuity.

Brian Bokyo makes a series of excellent arguments on Windows 8’s failure over the course of roughly 23 minutes, but perhaps the video is best summed up in this paraphrased line taken from it: “Use Windows 8 and all of a sudden, a goblin will magically appear, fart in your face and disappear. Moreover, you know it’s going to continue to unpredictably happen again and again… and you’ll never have any idea why.”

Source: YouTube

I wish it wasn’t two days after Christmas, because the Chisel 5 is the iPhone 5 dock I want. Designed by iSkelter, it’s just a slab of beautiful bambo, carved out to perfectly ensconce the iPhone 5 and prop it up in landscape or portrait mode with the Lightning cable snaking through. $39. What’s not to like?

Source: iSkelter

Although New York has traditionally been viewed as crime-ridden since the seediest days of the 1970s, the crime rate has actually been sinking for the last twenty years. No longer, however, and it looks like the desirability of Apple products are indirectly to blame.

For a couple of glorious years, Apple’s iPod nano came in a form factor that could be worn as a watch. Then this year, as Apple is wont to do with the permanently schizo iPod nano line, Apple switched to another design entirely, leaving fans who want a bonafide iWatch in the lurch. But perhaps there is method in Apple’s madness, as a new rumor suggests that Cupertino has phased out the watch-like nano to build their own Bluetooth Smart Watch for 2013.

Back from the holidays, Apple has just filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC today in preparation for its annual shareholder meeting in 2013. It’s filled with a lot of insight into the inner workings of our favorite company, and while the biggest news is probably Tim Cook’s remuneration for 2012, there are also other interesting tidbits, including Apple’s resistance to the idea of the appointment of a Board Committe on Human Rights, and the fact that Scott Forstall’s departure lead to a pay raise for the rest of Apple’s executive team.

When Tim Cook said that Apple would start manufacturing part of its Mac lineup stateside in 2013, many speculated that the Mac Pro would be the most likely candidate. We postulated that the upcoming Mac Pro would make the perfect choice because it is easier to build and doesn’t sell as well as the other Macs. Apple would be able to test a desktop production line in the U.S. with a niche Mac that won’t create huge consumer demand.

According to a new rumor, it will not be the Mac Pro, but instead the Mac mini that gets manufactured in the U.S. next year.

I swear my Contacts are a mess. It’s all because of the time I was doing outside sales (this was like 8 years ago now) and I imported the entire prospect database into my address book. Granted I’ve used some of these addresses since, but, wow, do I have some serious cruft in there. Not only do I have addresses that I don’t need, I have lots of outdated addresses that are as good as useless.

Geez I wish there was something that would scan and update my address book for me. Update everything. Automatically add important contacts. Merge accounts and cards. Oh right! There is! And we have WriteThatName 3-month Premium subscription free for you!

Mobile app analytics firm Distimo annually publishes a review of the past year’s growth and trends in the app space. For 2012, Distimo compared Apple’s App Store vs. Google Play on Android handsets. While both marketplaces are considered winners in their own right, the App Store is still where the real money comes from.

Google Play has technically been growing faster than the App Store in recent months, but the daily revenues generated in the App Store are still far greater than anything Google has been able to muster.

Open the Apple Maps app in iOS 6, tap the bottom right page curl, and enable Satellite view. All of a sudden whatever you’re looking at will be filled in with realistic details like grass, pavement, and buildings. The Google Maps for iPhone app is capable of displaying satellite imagery as well, but Google has also baked a hidden topography mode into the app.

Thanks to jailbreak tweak developer Ryan Petrich, there’s a new package in Cydia that unlocks the Google Maps for iPhone Topography mode.

Didn’t get those speakers you were looking for under the tree this year?

Well, Cult of Mac Deals may just have you covered. Thanks to our friends over at TuneUp and Audioengine we’re going to select 4 lucky winners to take home a sweet set of Audioengine home speakers that you can connect to any of your iDevices, computers, or televisions to bring premium sound to any room in your home. This is one giveaway that sounds too good to miss out on!

Sefirah is an epic story based on a fantasy world with a thousand years of history. Demons have invaded the ancient Yggdrasil empire, and only Aron and Benjamin can form an army of mercenary rebels to defeat the darkness. This role-playing game for iPhone / iPod touch is an engaging portal to a legendary struggle….

As we near the end of 2012, Cult of Mac has taken a look back at some of the best iOS apps that have hit the App Store over the last 12 months. There have been some terrific releases this year, and we could have named a hundred that are well worth your hard-earned cash. But we’ve managed to whittle our list down to just ten titles that have really stood out for us this year. Check out our best apps roundup below.

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Last week, we told you about how Apple’s ridiculous Lightning rules forced a Kickstarter project to shut down after raising $140,000. The POP Station was intended to provide charging for multiple kinds of connectors, including Lightning and the older 30-pin. For users who own newer Apple devices and legacy 30-pin devices, the POP solved the problem of constantly switching out cables.

After raising the money, the makers of POP were informed that Apple’s new licensing rules wouldn’t allow Lightning and 30-pin connectors to be packaged together. There was such an outcry from backers and the online media that Apple has since reversed its stance.

One of the last design projects Steve Jobs ever worked on was his super-yacht Venus, which he co-designed with famed designer Phillipe Starck. Unfortunately, though Venus was completed, it looked a little dicey for a while that it would actually hit the high seas, as a dispute between Starck and Jobs’s estate over payment lead to Venus being impounded. Now, that dispute is apparently at an end.

It used to be that the fancy computerized billboards that blare on constantly in New York City’s Time Square were a frequent victim to the fabled Blue Screen of Death pretty regularly, but that was years ago.

These days? They apparently all run on a Mac, as snapped by Instagram user and MTV Geek contributor Alexander Zalben.

Source: Instagram

The tablet wars in a nuthsell: of the tens of thousands of people who opened a tablet on Christmas morning, 7 times as many people got iPads than Kindles, 18 times as many people got iPads than a Google Nexus and 50 times as many people got an iPad as a Surface. Looks like Santa’s an Apple fan.

Source: Reddit

In the Western world, Santa Claus and Christmas rule the holiday season, but in Japan and other parts of Asia, it’s all about Fukubukuro or Lucky Bags, the annual New Year’s tradition where merchants distribute grab bags full of mystery contents at a huge discount to crazed shoppers.

This year, like every other year, Apple is taking part in the Lucky Bag phenomenon, allowing shoppers to spend about $400 for an Apple-certified Lucky Bag.

Usually, these bags have lower ticket items in them, like iPod touches and t-shirts, but every once in a while, some lucky S.O.B. gets a MacBook Air or a top-of-the-line iPad. There’s only a limited number of them, so you need to line up hours ahead of time. Anyone wish Apple did Lucky Bags over here?

Source: Apple

It’s the day after Christmas, and tell me honestly: did any of you get anything nearly as cool as this 2002 “Luxor Jr.” iMac, rejuvenated by the brother of reddit user craigiest to be a working office lamps?

Source: Reddit

Last week we told you about Auxo, an innovative concept for the iPhone app switcher that was brought to life in the form of a jailbreak tweak. Auxo takes the bland iOS multitasking bar to the next level with live app previews, gestures, settings toggles, and more. iPhone jailbreakers on iOS 6 can now install Auxo in Cydia for $1.99.

Unlike Apple’s stock app switcher, Auxo shows you live previews of apps you have running. You can use swipe gestures to close apps or kill all running apps at once. Auxo also comes with an enhanced music player that gives you basic controls and even the ability to view album artwork. Swipe to the far left and there are toggles for various settings, like Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode. If you hate having to go into the Settings app to constantly toggle Wi-Fi or change your screen brightness, then Auxo is a breath of fresh air.

Believe it or not, Christmas is almost here, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.

Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.

Today, we’re looking at last-minute stocking stuffers. To be honest, if you still haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, you should really be out hitting the malls today. But seeing as you’re here reading this instead, here are a few ideas.

It’s that time of year again. A time where we are getting busier and busier by the hour. A time where there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day. And a time where stellar deals come along all across the web.

But very few of these deals pack a ton of apps that not only offer a little something for everyone, but they all offer the ability to save significant pockets of time for everyone as well. That’s what The Mac Productivity Bundle 3.0 does, and while the regular price of all 9 apps would be $1150 if sold separately, Cult of Mac Deals has it for just $50!

Our favorite iPad magician, iSimon, is back at it again with some awesome iPad magic. To help you get ready for Christmas tomorrow, iSimon has some magic tricks to help you out. iSimon even has a magic app that will give you a White Christmas no matter where you live. Checkout all his tricks in the video above.

Source: YouTube

Via: Gizmodo

One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.

This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.

Hiding behind door number 24 is a little game that will help you extract revenge upon all your family members and friends. It’s Hero Academy.

I have resolutely been refusing to buy an iPad mini, but this new case from Lion Case might tip me over the edge. It’s a mini version of one of my favorite cases of the year, the New York Hong Kong Folio.

Sharing your holiday photos is always a pain, and e-mail is usually the “answer.” Mom wants the pictures in her Facebook, your smart sister wants them in her Dropbox, and her stupid hippie boyfriend wants them on paper, because bits are like, so ephemeral, man.

IBeam.it is a service that promises to make this easy, by letting you share photos from any service you like, and letting the recipient pick where they receive them. Sadly. it looks like a no-go.