Apple’s relationship with Google is often rocky at best. While the Cupertino company has previously utilized its services for its Mac and iOS devices, it has never really forgiven the search giant for developing Android, the biggest competitor to the iPhone. In fact, Apple’s recently been working to distance itself from Google, removing some of its services from iOS, including YouTube and of course Maps.

However, Google CEO Larry Page feels that it’s Apple’s users that suffer when it can’t work with competing companies, and says it would be “nice if everybody would get along better.”

Strong sales of the iPhone 5 have helped Apple grab more than a quarter of the global LTE device market last quarter, despite the handset’s short time on sale. The Cupertino company now commands 27% of the market share, while arch rival Samsung’s 40% share means it maintains the top spot for the seventh quarter in a row.

However, increasing competition from its rivals means Samsung’s share has quickly slipped by more than 10% from 50.9% in the previous quarter.

YouTube announced today that its Android app has been updated to match more directly with the recent updates to its web homepage. On the video host’s Google+ page, they noted that the YouTube app on an Android tabled has now included a Guide like the one recently introduced on YouTube proper. It allows you to access your favorite channels and discover new ones.

In addition, YouTube announced that the mobile website, available to iPad and other mobile users, will provide the same easy access to the Guide interface, letting you connect with your subscriptions and playlists as well as easier controls for sending video to your HDTV via AirPlay and other systems.

Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator CS6 versions are now Retina display ready, and available for download via Adobe Software Update. You can also grab the update file directly from the Adobe website.

Games Workshop announced today a Space Hulk game for Mac, iOS, and (yes) PC. It’s scheduled for release in 2013, and is based on the Warhammer 40,000 franchise board game of the same name. The current digital version is planned to be a 3D turn-based strategy game with both single player and co-op modes of play, not to mention cross-platform multiplayer across iOS, Mac, and PC.

Last year, Apple acheived spot number 15 on CareerBliss’s list of the top fifty happiest companies. This year, Apple came in at a near-bottom 42. What happened?

The list pulls info from anonymous job satisfaction reports that can be submitted to the CareerBliss site, not the most scientifically valid of methods. However, as TUAW notes, the average reported salary for Apple employees dropped from $59,559 per year to $57,269 per year this past year. Maybe that had something to do with it.

Twitter has unveiled Instagram-like photo filters for its official mobile apps on Android and iOS. It’s been rumored that Twitter would roll out this feature by the end of the year, and the time has come.

You can choose from 8 basic filters and crop/enhance your pics before sharing them in the Twitter app. This addition comes after Instagram recently shut off photo previews for links shared in Twitter.

Apple’s Maps struck again this morning when it was reported that multiple drivers were being guided into the wilderness when searching for the city of Mildura. The local police deemed the glitch in Maps a “potentially life-threatnening issue” because the Australian wilderness is not exactly a safe place to get lost in. The temperature gets really hot and there’s no water.

Since the fiasco started circulating in the media this morning, Apple has quietly fixed the inaccuracy in Maps and started pointing users in the correct direction.

Uber is a really great service, but the iPhone app has always sucked. It has been a real shame because Uber made me never want to take a taxi again. I’ve been wanting the app itself, which is arguably the crux of the whole experience, to be on par with the great driving experiences I’ve had in Uber cars.

Today Uber 2.0 went live in the App Store, and it just took everything to the next level. Not only does the app have a gorgeous new design, but you can finally get fare estimates before you book a ride. There’s also iPhone 5 support and plenty of other goodies.

A big Instagram update is now available for Android and iOS devices. The camera interface of the app has been improved with a quick preview of the last picture you took on your device. Now there’s an optional grid guide for taking pictures and a permanent grid to help you with aligning when you’re scaling and cropping. For iPhone 5 users, Instagram has included an “improved Camera Roll image selector for quick access to your last photograph.”

Today’s update also includes a number of speed enhancements, Foursquare buttons, several design tweaks, and a new filter called “Willow.”

Have you been having problems with the HDMI connection on your new Mac mini? You’re not alone. Apple has released a firmware update for all 2012 Mac mini owners that addresses a “HDMI video flicker issue.” The issue seemed to be originally related to an Intel driver, but it has been fixed now that Apple has issued an official firmware patch.

The update is available now in the Mac App Store.

Your Mac mini’s EFI firmware will update to version 1.7. The download is less than 5MB and is also available on Apple’s support site.

Source: Apple

Notification Center in iOS and OS X is great in concept but kind of crappy in practice. First off there’s the linen background that doesn’t really make sense when you’re pulling down a curtain for notifications in iOS. There’s also those tiny little X buttons that you have to tap twice to close notifications, and a couple other annoyances that fill up the Notification Center page.

Alex Saretzky decided that Notification Center needs to be spruced up by simply applying Apple UI concepts that have been used in other apps. His new concept for the Notification Center isn’t a complete revision, but more like fine tuning, and it’s something that Apple should implement with iOS 7.

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.

Today’s little morsel? It’s the Supertooth Disco 2.

This may be too basic of a tip for most of you, but there’s bound to be a few folks out there who haven’t heard this one. I ran into someone in real life (gasp!) the other day who hadn’t known that he could hold his iPhone in landscape mode, like a real point and shoot camera, and click the button now located in the upper right of the iPhone to take a photo.

It was like a light went on over his head as soon as he tried this. If you haven’t heard of this great way to take a snapshot, now’s the time to give it a try.

It’s been rumored that Microsoft Office for iPad will be unleashed on the world in early 2013. We haven’t seen any leaked screenshots, nor has Microsoft given an official release date, but it’s bound to come out sooner or later.

The latest signs that Office for iPad is coming soon come from Microsoft’s own support site where references to “Excel for iPad” have been found.

I suck at playing video games on my iPhone. Well, I suck at playing video games period, but I’m even worse on an iPhone because the lack of real buttons usually just gets me lost and confused. There are a lot of iPhone gaming cases on the market that add physical buttons to an iPhone, but most of them suck and add extra bulk to an iPhone or drain the battery.

The WynCASE is the first iPhone gaming case that actually looks pretty freaking awesome because it doesn’t add any accessories onto the screen, it doesn’t need batteries, and it’s so thin you might just decide to keep it on your iPhone even when you’re not playing a game.

Apple customers who purchased the new 27-inch iMacs as soon as they were available for pre-order should be getting their new desktops pretty soon. Apple has notified customers that the first orders of the 27-inch iMacs are now shipping.

According to numerous people on Twitter and other forums who have ordered the new iMacs, they’ve received noticies that their order status has been changed from “Preparing for Shipment” to “Shipped.”

Ever since Apple discontinued the Xserve, network administrators have had to come up with creative ways to build new OS X based servers. You can still purchase a Mac Mini with OS X Server on it, but one Mac Mini isn’t enough to support some hardcore server needs.

Steve was trying to put together a Macintosh processing based rack, but when he couldn’t find any XServes in the marketplace, he decided to come up with his own homemade solution – stuff 160 Mac minis into a custom made rack. The end result is brilliant.

Best Buy is currently offering $50 off all iPhone 5 models, reducing the 16GB handset’s starting price to $150. The discount comes less than three months after the handset made its big debut, but it won’t stick around forever; you have until January 5 to take advantage of it.

The retailer has also knocked $50 off the price of the iPhone 4S, which now starts at $50.

We liked Cobook first time round, when it appeared on OS X as a clever little contacts database hidden inside a tiny Menu Bar icon. Now it’s on iPhone, and just as clever as before.

I am forever adjusting my iPhone’s brightness settings, whether it’s to make the screen as dark as possible so that I can use it in bed without keeping my girlfriend awake, or to make it as bright as possible when I’m rummaging around in the attic for the Christmas decorations. The problem is, Apple doesn’t make it easy to alter brightness levels on the fly.

If you’ve got a jailbroken iOS device, however, you can take matters into your own hands. Install the new BrightVol tweak on your handset and you’ll be able to adjust your display’s brightness levels using your volume buttons. It couldn’t be quicker.

You’ve got just one more chance to get The iStack Mac Bundle 2.0. In this worthy sequel to the original bundle, we’ve got 10 killer apps (and a bonus e-course for the first 3000 buyers) lined up at a massive savings of 93% off the regular price you’d pay for them separately.

That’s right…you’ll get this Cult of Mac Deals offer for only $49!

Google is gearing up to offload Motorola’s set-top box business as it looks to concentrate its efforts on competing with Apple’s iPhone. The company has been trying to sell Motorola Home Business, which supplies set-top boxes to cable television providers, for around $2 billion, and it has reportedly received multiple offers already. Once it’s gone, Google will focus on high-end smartphones.

Those analysts are some crazy cats. When you’re having a drab day, you can always count on one of them to pull something spectacular out of the bag. Jefferies analyst Peter Misek has done exactly that today when he unveiled his predictions for Apple’s iPhone 5S.

The handset will arrive in June, Misek believes, just nine months after the iPhone 5 made its debut, and it’ll boast NFC connectivity and a “super HD” camera. It’ll also come in 6-8 colors, apparently.

I laughed at Misek’s predictions when I first read them, but could he be right?

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.

What do we have in store for you for Day 9 (admittedly, going up a day late)? FTL for Mac, about the closest experience to sitting down in the Captain’s Chair on the U.S.S. Enterprise you’re likely to find on any platform for less than $10.