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The iPad mini is slated for release on Friday, and reactions are mixed: some see it as the device that finally takes the iPad line to iPhone-like mainstream popularity, while others see it as a shrunken down iPad 2 that can’t really compete with the competition in either specs or price.

So which will it be? To help predict, it might help to go back to the first “mini” sized iDevice Apple released: the iPod mini. Before that, there was just the iPod, shipping 1.5 million in a year. In 2004? The iPod mini helped increase the number of iPods sold by five times as many.

I give great, fluid, professional-appearing speeches. Put me up in front of a crowd and I’ll crow on all day log, with nary a stammer nor a hesitation. The problem? I have nothing to say.

Other people actually have interesting information to convey, and yet they’re scared stiff of public speaking. Speeches app is here to help. It won’t boost your confidence, but it will help you to remember what you’re supposed to be talking about.

And just like that, the old Apple is dead, and a new Apple is born. I believe you’ll see massive changes to Apple products by next summer.

Apple had to re-create its products to correct a recent string of failures, including the catastrophic Maps debacle and the ongoing train wrecks that are Siri and skeuomorphic design.

Here’s why putting Jonathan Ive in charge of software design was an insanely great idea.

(Picture courtesy of Eyevine) 

Poor Siri. Her and Scott Forstall looked so happy together each time they hung out at the Apple keynotes, swapping jokes, answering questions and chatting. Now Scott’s kind of almost gone, but no one’s had the heart to break it to Siri that Mr. Forstall no longer plays a major role at Apple, and won’t be there to show off all her new designer threads at the iOS 7 keynote.

Each time you ask about Scotty, Siri tells you to just go look at Apple.com, like he totally works there and the info’s all there man. But yeah, it’s not.

Over the course of the last five years, there have been a lot of movies with the gimmick that they have been shot on the iPhone, but few have pulled it off as well as this incredibly scary little short film made by Clement Deneux for the 2011 Disposable Film Festival, a film festival dedicated to short films shot on smartphones and either pocketable cameras.

It’s called Les Ongles, or The Nails, and it would be a discredit to describe the plot in much detail, except to say it’s a found-footage-style short that takes place during a party in Paris in which one guest is compelled to quit a nasty habit. You’re going to want to watch this.

Even though the news that Apple fired Scott Forstall and John Browett was released on Monday, investors didn’t have an opportunity to react to the new changes in management thanks the the stock markets being closed due to hurricane Sandy.

The markets opened today for the first time all week and investors showed that they’re not feeling incredibly optimistic about Apple right now. Apple’s stock price dropped about 2.4% and was trading at $589.60 this morning, which is the lowest price the stock has seen since July.

Lookout is like Apple’s Find My iPhone app, only it adds a whole bunch of extra features. It’ll let you track your lost phone from any web browser, even when the battery has dies (kinda), and it also adds a slew of features that only the dumbest of people will need.

There are only a few hours left until the entire country goes jettisons itself into a deranged mess of Halloween parties. If you don’t have your costume ready by now then you might be panicing about coming up with something cool on the fly.

Don’t worry. We’ve got three great Apple-themed Halloween costume ideas that you can pull of in minutes before you head to your parties tonight. Check ’em out.

The Kindle Fire/Fire HD and Nexus 7 have given birth to a small, yet powerful, sub-category of affordable 7-inch tablets. One that has been slowly eating away at a market that has been dominated by the much larger Apple iPad. To battle this growing trend, Apple decided to break down — after vowing to never to make a 7-inch tablet — and create a smaller version of their highly successful iPad line. Apple’s iPad Mini may not be a 7-inch tablet (it’s 7.9-inches), but it’s clear Apple’s intentions are to disrupt the sales of those pesky 7-inch competitors out there who keep chipping away at their market share.

Earbuds and sunglasses, two things that sit up on your head and hang from your ears. If only there was some way to combine the two…

Oakley tried it some years ago with the Thump, which resulted in one of the most hideous product designs ever conceived — if H.R Giger had re-imagined between-toe fungus as an alien growth across your eyes and temples, it would have looked like the Thump.

Luckily, Sanpei Optics has come to the rescue with this gadget, which takes a normal-looking pair of shades and a normal-looking set of earbuds and simply sticks them together.

Realmac Software has today announced Clear for Mac, a desktop version of its wonderful to-do app. It’s coming on November 8 alongside a big update to the iPhone app, which will add iCloud syncing between both platforms, and more.

Do you take great pictures? Or maybe you know someone who does? How about getting some of those pictures printed on canvas to display like the art the are? And this doesn’t even have to cost an arm and a leg…only $49. Sounds like a great present—Turn Any Photo Into Art With CanvasPop (16“x20”): Create a Custom High-Quality Canvas Print And Get $30 for Your Next Purchase

Earlier this month, we learned Borderlands was finally going to make the leap to iOS in a new title called Borderlands Legends. We immediately thought it would be a first-person shooter — like the original console games — but we were wrong.

Instead, it’s a top-down action RPG that allows you to play randomized missions as your favorite Borderlands characters. It’s available to download now on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but according to the initial reviews, it may not be worth your hard-earned cash.

Google’s updated search app adds lightning-fast voice-controlled search, just like you get on Android. It’s simple, impressively fast and will run on just about any iDevice you might have, not just the latest hardware.

But it has a long way to go to compete with Siri.

If you preordered an iPad mini directly from Apple.com, you have probably noticed that you have yet to receive a shipping confirmation from Apple… and it’s getting close to the wire.

Considering the fact that Apple is guaranteeing a Friday, November 2nd delivery for initial preorders, and that Apple usually ships out new products directly from the factories in China, that might have you concerned.

There’s no reason to panic. Your iPad mini has, in all likelihood, already shipped, and is right now sitting in a delivery center in the United States, just waiting for Apple to give the okay to have it delivered to your door.

Here’s how to check on your iPad mini, even if Apple hasn’t sent you a shipping reference yet.

Nike has announced a duo of new colors for its Nike+ FuelBand, which are now available to purchase from Apple retail stores across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom from today. The new colors are “Black Ice” and “White Ice,” and like the other models, they’re priced at $149.95.

Every launch of a new Apple product, some lucky S.O.B. slips through Apple’s steadfast delivery net and gets their new gadget early.

This time, that S.O.B. is a customer in France who ordered his white iPad mini from French reseller Darty, and received his shipment today.

China Telecom has reportedly finalized its talks with Apple over the iPhone 5 ahead of the smartphone’s debut in China in December. The carrier told reporters that its support for the iPhone 5 is now a “foregone conclusion,” while sources claim it will get the device at the same time as, or possibly even before than, China Unicom.

In keeping with the “connect other controllers to play Mac games” theme this week, I thought it’d be fun to look at a Mac game that can use an iPhone as an external controller.

Chopper 2 is available as a Mac game for $4.99 in the Mac App Store. It has 36 missions across 12 unique location maps and uses a gorgeous 3D game engine to recreate the classic side scrolling joy of the original Chopper game.

Here’s the app store description:

Escort a convoy of vehicles across the desert, or defend a train from enemies emerging from underground mines. Use your laser sight to line up enemies emerging from stairwells in the city. Chase down lines of enemy tanks and choppers while avoiding heat seeking missiles, gunfire and bird strike. Help your allies defend against advancing armies, and rescue stranded civilians, all while trying to complete your mission as fast as possible for the highest score.

Now, if you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can use it to control the Mac version of Chopper 2 via WiFi.

During its iPad mini unveiling last week, Apple showed off an awesome video from the iPhone 5 launch day on September 22. The clip featured an uplifting soundtrack by The Rival, and lots of happy customers who had just picked up Apple’s latest smartphone.

If you didn’t see it during the keynote, you can now watch it online; Apple’s posted the video to the iPhone 5 page of its website, but you can see it below.

With Halloween almost upon us, what better way to celebrate than to scare yourself silly with some of the most terrifying games the App Store has to offer? We’ve put together a selection of the best horror titles that will have you watching your back this October 31, with some big hits like Walking Dead, Rage HD, Dead Space, and more.

In December, Apple will launch the iPhone 5 in December, the world’s largest mobile market. Before it can do that, however, the handset needs regulatory approval. Two devices have just been given the go-ahead by China’s State Radio Management, one of which is destined for China Unicom and China Mobile, which the other is headed to China Telecom.

How’s your Mac doing today? Sluggish even when all the apps are quit? Running out of space? It might finally be time for you to check out MacKeeper. Good thing we have it as our deal today—Keep Your Mac Safe With MacKeeper: Keep Your Mac Secure, Clean & Fast for the Rest of its Life.

iPad mini reviews are upon us. Apple’s embargo recently lifted and handpicked publications have exposed their early reviews for all to see. Apple has already sold out of initial pre-order stock, and the company’s smallest tablet will be available in limited supply at retail stores this weekend. The mini is expected to rock Apple’s bottom line this holiday season, and reviewers are gushing about how the bar has been set higher for the rest of the tablet market (again).

We’ve scoured the internet to find early reviews of the iPad mini, and they have been collected below for your viewing pleasure. Cult of Mac’s official review will be published soon.

The first iPad Mini and iPad 4 new iPad pre-orders are set to arrive in customers’ homes on November 2, but Apple has posted the official firmware for both the iPad Mini and its larger brethren early.