Advertisements are a vital part of what makes the Internet tick. Even though a lot of them are annoying and intrusive and ugly as hell, they provide websites (like us) with the cash flow needed to give you all the infotainment you can eat for free.
Sometimes those ads are just freaking horrific, and solutions like AdBlock make the web a better, more visually appealing place. Now you can get the hardware equivalent of ad-blocking software in a super portable box called AdTrap.
The Ballistic Tough Jacket is the clearest case of overkill I have seen in a while. If you need protection at the cost of size, weight and style, then you should probably buy one now. Otherwise, read on. The case is actually pretty useful.
What is it with Thailand, Apple and Buddhist temples lately? First, an abbott of the Wat Phra Dhammakaya said that Steve Jobs was kickin’ it in the afterlife as a mid-level angel with his own celestial palace. Now, a temple in Thailand’s Chom Phra district has decided that Buddha carries around an iPad with him wherever he goes.
Fact: Kids love Lego.
Fact: Kids love cameras.
Fact: Kids love to choke on teeny, tiny sharp plastic bricks.
Fuuvi’s special edition Nanoblock camera satisfies all of these passions: It’s a tiny little kit made of even tinier little nano-Legos, and any child, even a stupid one, can use it to make all kinds of neat working digital cameras.
When you order an iPhone 5 from Apple’s website the current shipment timeline is 3-4 weeks. Foxconn’s chairman Terry Gou recently said that they’re having a hardtime keeping up with the demand because the iPhone 5 is the most complex gadget they’ve ever assembled.
It doesn’t sound like Apple is able to catch up with the demand for the iPhone 5 in a timely manner, but one analyst at BTIG Research says that supply of the iPhone 5 is “almost in balance.”
Anytime you think you’re scoring a super hot deal on Apple’s latest amazing device, you really should make sure everything’s 100% legit before forking over $200 to some shady dude at a gas station. That’s the lesson Jalonta Freeman learned when she found out the “$800 iPad” she purchased was really just a mirror.
Freeman was fueling her car at a gas station when a man pulled up beside her saying he had a bunch of gadgets he was selling for cheap. Thinking it would make a great Christmas present, Jalonta decided to purchase the man’s “brand new” iPad that he claimed was worth $800. He sold it to Freeman for $200 and quickly drove away.
Readers of a … certain age. Will remember. The way William … Shatner. Used to talk. On Star Trek. Few of you will have … wished to make poetry that sounds. Like. That. On your iPhones. But now … you. Can. My God, Bones. My God.
It seems to me that the least vulnerable part of your iPhone 5 is the rear panel: The glass windows at the top and the bottom are tucked away, and the rest is aluminum, which might scratch or dent but it will never shatter (unless you freeze it in nitrogen first).
But if you think covering the tough rear panel with a thick plywood coating is a good idea, then the SkateBack might be just what you’re looking for. It’s a candy-colored cover refashioned from old skateboard decks.
Apple’s new 4-inch iOS devices — namely the iPhone 5 and the fifth-generation iPod touch — appear to be suffering from a strange glitch that means they struggle to keep up with rapid touch inputs, particularly when scrolling at a 45-degree angle. The problem, which isn’t present on older iOS device like the iPhone 4S, is demonstrated in the two-minute clip below.
Judge Lucy Koh has agreed to re-examine the role of jury foreman Velvin Hogan, who found Samsung guilty of patent infringement and awarded Apple more than $1 billion in damages earlier this year. Samsung requested a retrial back in October after it became apparent that Hogan failed to disclose details of a lawsuit against Seagate that he was involved in 20 years ago.
Adobe has made available a new RC (release candidate) version of Lightroom, numbered v.4.3. On its own, this is clearly not worth an entire blog post, or even a tweet. But there’s one new feature that you Retina MacBook Pro owners might be interested in: HiDPI support.
Apple’s Find My iPhone service is often used to locate thieves who have stolen iOS devices, but it can also be a life saver. A 17-year-old was air lifted to hospital on Friday, November 2, following a car accident in Santa Barbara, California. But if it wasn’t for Find My iPhone, paramedics would have struggled to find him.
Have you ever purchased an iPad from Walmart, then got it home and found its box was battered, or worse, the device itself was smashed? It probably happens a lot in Pikeville, Kentucky, where employees at one Walmart store have fun with Apple’s latest tablet by throwing new units around the stock room.
And if that wasn’t stupid enough, they also recorded themselves doing it for a video that explains “why you don’t buy an iPad from Walmart.”
It is becoming clear that some case styles are better suited to the iPad Mini than others. And it seems that Pad&Quill’s bookbindery cases are clearly way more appropriate for the little mini than they ever were for the bigger iPad.
Not that the regular-sized cases aren’t great — they are. But the whole bundle always seemed a little big. Now, though, the match looks to be ideal.
So, your Mac has a name, and it identifies itself as such when other computers connect to it via Apple file sharing, the command line (like when using Terminal), or via Bonjour or AirDrop. Typically, you can set this name in the Sharing Preferences panel in the System Preferences app. If you put your name into the setup wizard when you set up a new Mac, the networking name will default to “Firstname Lastname’s MacintoshModel.” So, on my Macbook Air, it said, “Rob’s Macbook Air.”
However, you can set these three networking names to display differently, so that your IT support staff sees one name when she logs in via SSH protocols, your boss sees a different name when they connect to your hard drive to grab that important file, and your coffee shop buddy will see an entirely different name when sending you a funny picture via AirDrop.
Oh man. I’m trying so hard not to buy an iPad Mini, and this new Skech case isn;t helping any. It’s a variation on one of my favorite iPad cases ever, and now it has been made tinier and cuter.
It’s called the SkechBook, and it looks good enough to make me buy a new iPad.
On our newest CultCast, we reunite with Chis Foresman of Ars Technica, and with no new Apple hardware to wax on and on about, we were forced to come up with real, actual show content!
But we work well under pressure, so this week we cover some of our favorite and most useful productivity apps; tell you if you can ever expect to see Google’s answer to Apple Maps released to the App Store; and did you know Samsung’s about to change their logo to a pear with a bite taken out of it? Kidding! But rumor is they’re about to rebrand in a major, more “Apple-like” way…
All that and our thoughts on Microsoft SmartGlass, the app that let’s you control your Xbox with your iPhone! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App. And please note, if episode 42 isn’t yet showing up for you, subscribing will fix that problem right quick.
Apple has released a software update that’s recommended for all MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros released in June 2012 — including the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. In addition to graphics performance and reliability enhancements, the update promises to improve compatibility with some USB devices.
The iPhone is fast becoming one of the most – if not the most – used cameras on the planet. But serious photographers know that nothing really beats a DSLR in terms of quality – and any serious hobbyist knows that as well. So if you’re looking to get some superior shooting, then learning how to use a DSLR camera is a must. And for those who already have a DSLR camera, I’m betting that you’r probably not using it to its full potential.
You’re not alone…I’m in the same boat. That’s why this latest Cult of Mac Deals offer is so huge. You’ll get two online courses that will help you achieve DSLR mastery and take your digital photography skills to new heights – and all for just $39!
A coalition of higher education IT folks petitioned Apple last August to make Bonjour, AirPlay, and AirPrint work better on large campus networks. The petition currently has 750 signatures, which may have helped Apple take notice.
This week, the Cupertino-based tech company responded to the petition by proposing a new industry standard that will fix issues with its “zero-configuration” networking technology–Bonjour–to let it scale better and be more secure across larger networks. At an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) meeting in Atlanta, Apple and other vendors, including IBM, claimed support for the creation of a new working group to improve the current networking protocols, of which Bonjour is one.
After being bombarded with requests, Pinterest is finally going to allow users to create private boards. Pinterest is calling them “Secret Boards” and rolling them out in hopes that users will use them to create their holiday shopping lists. I’d call that wishful thinking, since we all know what those “Secret Boards” are really going to be used for.
The developers at Pangalore have released a new game for iOS and Facebook that combines an action RPG with a city building sim. The hybrid game is free to download and play on iOS, and it connects with the Facebook game of the same name.
It’s good looking, plays well, and scratches that free-to-play city building/simulation itch we all seem to have these days. You can build your own fantasy medieval kindgom, cultivate crops, craft items and engage in quests. You can play via your web browser on your Mac via Facebook, and then on your iPad 2 or newer, including the iPad mini, iPhone 4 or newer, or iPod touch 4th Generation device. It’ll be coming to Android soon, as well.
You only have to use Facebook if you want to be able to play on the web; there are Game Center and single player options as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3fd3ZLEYUvI
If you’re an iDevice power-user and need a classically robust bag to haul all your junk, take note: Timbuk2 has just released the Power Series, two alternate versions of their best-selling Commute Laptop Messenger and Q Laptop Backpack, equipped with Joey batteries and special a pass-through for the charging cable.
Following its change in policy regarding FaceTime over cellular, AT&T has announced a new holiday promotion for tablets, including the iPad. Beginning this Friday, November 9th, AT&T will discount any tablet by $100 with the purchase of a two-year Mobile Share or tiered data plan.
Any tablet purchased at an AT&T retail location or through the carrier’s online store will receive the discount if a two-year plan is also purchased.
Chances are you’ve heard of a game that’s like Words with Friends mixed with Scrabble and SpellTower. It has been taking Game Center by storm, and it’s called Letterpress.
Developed by Tweetie’s Loren Brichter, Letterpress is good, simple fun. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be tricky. Unless you’re a wordsmith and decent strategist, it can be difficult to efficiently use all of the letters on the game’s board to your advantage.
Here’s how to master (and yes, even cheat at) Letterpress: