Why Google and Apple are the Athens and Sparta of Technology

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sparta

Google and Apple are the Athens and Sparta of the tech industry. It’s in the DNA of both companies to rule the tech world. They will battle each other for supremacy and, in the process, greatly diminish each other’s power and reach. United, they could accomplish anything. But they will not be united. They will become increasingly divided.

It’s a Greek tragedy unfolding before our very eyes.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Apple Finally Fixes How Annoying Notifications Across Multiple Devices Are In iOS 6

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Notification-Center

As a user with multiple iOS devices, I have hated iOS 5’s handling of notifications across multiple devices with my very bones. Get a notification and read it and clear it on your iPhone? It’ll still be waiting for you on your iPad and your iPod touch. Someone call the Department of Redundancy Department. It’s just irritating.

Luckily, with iOS 6, Apple seems to have figured it all out. Now, as long as it’s an iOS 6 stock app, if you read a notification on one device, it’ll be whisked off your other devices magically, presumably through iCloud. Which is an interesting point in and of itself: will Apple soon be oiffloading all of their Push Notifications to iCloud?

Via: Apple ‘N’ Apps

Brighten, Zoom and Balance Your Way To Better Photos With iPhoto For iPad [iOS Tips]

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Brightness

Photo editing is all about making changes to the visual image, using your own aesthetic preferences to make the picture just that much better than the original. With some simple tricks in iPhoto for iPad, you can make that good photo better, and that great photo sing.

iPhoto has three tools that you can use to do just that. Brighten, Zoom, and White Balance. While the features may be fairly intuitive, it never hurts to point them out, as not all of us are intuitive in the same way.

The Zenok Is A Leather iPhone Wallet Case With Real Character [Review]

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I have a thing for iPhone wallet cases. The ability to carry my iPhone and my credit cards in one unit and leave my wallet at home really pleases me, and I’m disappointed when I have to use a case without this functionality.

When I stumbled across the Zenok leather wallet case on Etsy, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. This unique iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S case is made using a silicone shell that is stitched inside a handmade, leather wallet, which boasts three card slots, and a pocket for your cash.

Each Zenok case is dyed by hand and purposely built to be different and unique, which is why I’m yet to see another iPhone case like it. As you’d expect, it also provides access to all of your iPhone’s buttons and ports, as well as its camera.

It might be pretty and unique, then, but is it worth its $60 price tag?

Moxy Earbuds By BodyGuardz [Last Chance!]

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moxy___case

Your music is important to you, so why use the crappy earbuds that came with your device? Oh sure, they are great as a backup pair to have in a drawer or your gear bag (in case you forget your good ones), but let’s face it, basic earbuds don’t do anyone’s music justice.

Today’s deal gives you the chance to get a great pair of earbuds for only $37! The BodyGuardz Moxy earbuds look great, sound great, and have touches like woven cloth cords that don’t tangle. What are you waiting for?

Please note: product can ONLY be shipped to the CONTINENTAL United States.

The Best Cameras [Best Of]

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We know that you Cult of Mac readers are also a bunch of photo nerds, so we thought that this week’s best-of list could be about cameras. You’re iPhone might be great (and even makes it into this list) but sometimes you need something more powerful, more rugged or just plain better. Here’s our list of the best cameras out these.

Growl 2.0 Coming With Notification Center Support For Mountain Lion

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growl

Before Apple created the Notification Center for OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, most of us depended on Growl as the most popular way to get app notifications. Growl has been the best way for developers to display notifications in their apps and was probably one inspiration behind Apple’s Notification Center.

Now that Apple is building notifications into Mountain Lion, many developers have feared the fantastic customizable powers of Growl notifications will become a dead relic. However, a recent post by the Growl team is laying those fears aside, announcing that Growl 2.0 will support Notification Center so that developers have even more options.

7 Awesome Features Apple Left Out Of iOS 6

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iOS 6 has some awesome new features, but here's 7 things it's still missing.
iOS 6 has some awesome new features, but here's 7 things it's still missing.

We’re super excited for iOS 6. Although it isn’t the complete iOS overhaul many users were hoping for, it does deliver a whole host of new features — like a new Maps app, user interface enhancements, improvements to stock apps, and Siri support on iPad — that we’re certainly looking forward to.

However, it’s hard to ignore the fact that iOS 6 still has some things missing. Things we’ve been waiting for for some time. Here are seven of them.

Jailbreaking Just Got A Little Harder: Apple Closes Two Year Old Exploit In iOS 6

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Back in August of last year, famed jailbreak hacker Comex — the mind responsible for the famed JailbreakMe exploit — hung up his old hacker hat and went to work at Apple as an intern.

Here’s a coincidence then. In iOS 6, the top secret, much guarded exploit used by developers to root their devices — first founded by Comex! — has suddenly been closed after being open for two years, as recent jailbreak superstar pod2g just made note on his Twitter account.

Foxconn’s 13 Commandments For Workers Are Surprisingly Boring

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commandments

When opening up his new MacBook Pro, an Apple customer recently found the laminated card pictured above that was probably lost in the packaging by some worker at the Foxconn factory. Obviously it’s in Chinese, which adds a bit of mystery to the card because most of us Americans can’t read it. Does the card contain Apple’s secret plans for world domination? Maybe it’s an invitation to a top secret party?

Giant Vamp Case Turns The iPhone Into A 1980s-Style Home Stereo

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Is this the biggest iPhone case ever seen?

I suppose that product meeting for the V-Moda Vamp went something like this:

Designer: Here it is! The Vamp case. It’s a metal case for the iPhone.

Boss: What the hell is wrong with you? That thing is huge. It’s an embarrassment to the good name of V-Moda. My god. With a box that size you could fit in literally anything. ANYTHING!

(Light bulb goes off over designer’s head)

Samsung Gets Distracted From Shamelessly Copying Apple, Shamelessly Copies Facebook Instead

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Samsung’s a company of shameless copycats. They’ve ripped off the iPhone. They’ve ripped off the Mac mini. They’ve ripped off  the iPhone 3G. They’ve ripped off the iPad Smart Cover. Heck, they’ve even ripped off Apple’s commercial actresses.

So it’s kind of nice to see Samsung ripping off someone else for a change. That all said, this is beyond parody: Samsung is now looking to create its own social network, and their top-super-secret codename for the endeavor? “SAMSUNG FACEBOOK.” You can’t make this stuff up.

Amazon Is Negotiating With Record Labels To Launch Its Own iTunes Match Competitor [Report]

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iTunes Match expands its reach across Europe.
Coming soon to Amazon?

Amazon is said to be in the final stages of negotiations with record labels over licensing deals that would allow the online retailer to launch a competitor to iTunes Match. It has reportedly reached agreements with Universal Music Group and EMI already, and is now close to wrapping up deals with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Bros. as well.

New MacBook Pro’s SSD Storage Can Be Upgraded At Home

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You'll be able to replace your new MacBook Pro's SSD, but it won't be cheap.
You'll be able to replace your new MacBook Pro's SSD, but it won't be cheap.

iFixit has described Apple’s new MacBook Pro as the “least repairable laptop” it has ever opened up, and subsequently gave the device a repair score of 1/10. However, just like the MacBook Air, you’ll be pleased to know that it is possible to upgrade the new MacBook Pro’s solid-state storage yourself.

iFixit Teardown Reveals New MacBook Pro Is ‘Least Repairable Laptop’ Yet

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This is the new MacBook Pro without its fancy aluminum casing.
This is the what the new MacBook Pro looks like once you get inside.

Before the vast majority of us have even had the pleasure of signing for our new MacBook Pro delivery, iFixit has torn the notebook apart to reveal its internals. Although this is undoubtedly Apple’s best portable yet — what with its stunning Retina display, super speedy solid-state storage, and Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processors — iFixit describes it as “the least repairable laptop” they’ve ever taken apart.

“Apple has packed all the things we have into one beautiful little package.” For consumers, this means incredible expensive repair bills, and little to no upgradeability at all.

New MacBook Pro Shipping Delay Slips Again, Now Dispatched In 3-4 Weeks

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Order a new MacBook Pro today and you'll be waiting until mid-July to receive it.
Order a new MacBook Pro today and you'll be waiting until mid-July to receive it.

Like all of Apple’s popular products, the MacBook Pro suffered a shipping delay soon after it went on sale on Monday. It first appeared in the Apple online store with a 5-7 day wait, but it didn’t take long before than turned into 7-10 days. On Tuesday the delay slipped again to 2-3 weeks. And this morning that situation has only gotten worse.

iOS 6 Finally Adds Retina Shutdown Spinner Graphic

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It's Retina, not that you can tell. Photo The Next Web
It's Retina, not that you can tell. Photo The Next Web

You know the shutdown spinner on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? If you own latest-generation hardware, it probably drives you crazy every single time you see it. Why? Because it is a lone holdout of non-Retina UI on Apple’s otherwise beautifully high-res OS. Now, in iOS6, this has – finally – been fixed.

Apple’s Incredible Attention To Detail In iOS 6 Means Slider Reflections Change As You Tilt Your Device

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Notice the slight difference in reflection on these sliders, which I got just by tilting my iPhone?
Notice the slight difference in reflection on these sliders, which I got just by tilting my iPhone?

Apple is renowned for its obsession with detail and making even the slightest things — such as internal components — just as beautiful as the devices that house them. That’s why, during his recent WWDC keynote, Tim Cook said Apple’s new MacBook Pro was more beautiful on the inside than rival machines are on the outside.

This attention to detail is evident in iOS 6, where the slider reflections change as you tilt your device.

Pris, An Ultra-Simple Camera App For iPhone

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Single Minded.

Pris is a ridiculously simple new camera app for the iPhone which nonetheless manages to give you all the features you actually need, only without getting in the way. Shoot with the iPhone in portrait orientation and it’ll snap square photos and videos, ready for Instagram. Flip the iPhone into landscape and Pris will shoot super widescreen video and stills in a Star Wars-like 2.25:1 aspect ratio. There’s more, but in principle that’s the entire app.

App To Help A Three Year Old Girl Talk Pulled From App Store

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maya

Imagine for a moment that your three year old daughter has a disability that stops her from using her voice to communicate. Then imagine that a combination of an iPad and a specialized app gave her the ability to talk to you, requesting things, express her needs, and even say, “Daddy, I love you.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d see that iPad and app as some sort of technological miracle.

Now, imagine that the app was pulled from the app store.

Apple’s First Ad For The New MacBook Pro: “Every Dimension” [Video]

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Introducing the radical new MacBook Pro. With breakthrough performance, stunning Retina display and an impossibly thin design, it’s innovation in every dimension.

Apple has aired its first ad for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. “Every Dimension” has hit the airwaves, and the 30-second spot has also been uploaded to Apple’s YouTube account.

The ad features the MacBook Pro performing ‘pro’ tasks like intense photo and video editing.

To compliment the new MacBook Pro, Apple has also uploaded a 5-minute video detailing OS X Mountain Lion’s new features.