I just switched from a giant, 27-inch iMac back to a little ol’ MacBook, and while my desk looks a lot bigger, my shoulders and neck hate me for it. What I might need, then, is the new HiRise for MacBooks from the fine folks at Twelve South. All it really does is raise the notebook up off the desk so you don’t get a crick in your neck from looking downwards all day long, but it does it with such style that it might just be worth the $70 asking price.

Especially if your whole reason for ditching a bigger computer is to make your office look cooler.

So, we take a lot of screenshots here at Cult of Mac. Especially here in the Tips section, it seems like I’m always hitting Command-Shift-3 for a full screen picture or Command-Shift-4 for a selection of the windows I can drag across to select the image area.

Turns out that there’s a modifier for Command-Shift-4 that lets you take a screenshot of an individual window, or even one of those sheet things, a window that drops down from another window and is attached to it, as in the screenshot above.

Apple’s statement regarding its battle against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the United Kingdom has begun to appear in British newspapers today. You’ll have to search carefully if you want to find it, however. Like the statement the company made on its website earlier this month, this one appears without any Apple branding, and with a dull Arial font that attempts to disappear into the background.

This week at Apple, two important executives just got picked off the tree, and on our newest CultCast, we’ll tell you what the departure of long time exec Scott Forstall and the just-hired John Browett means for iOS, OS X, Apple Stores, and all the great Apple products you adore. Plus, Jony Ive’s about to get even more design control over all the Macs you love to own, but the question is, is that a good thing?

Then, get out your lightsabers and prepare the X-Wings, we’re diving deep into the Disney acquisition of LucasFilm and what that means for everyone’s favorite space movies.

If this doesn’t end in another Spaceballs movie, we’re gonna be upset.

Subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App. And please note, if episode 40 isn’t yet showing up for you, subscribing will fix that problem right quick.

Read on for the show notes!

Apple’s iPad mini goes on sale today, and a lot of you who are reading this are likely going to pick one up, or will be waiting in for yours to be delivered. One person who probably won’t be buying the device, however, is chat show host Jimmy Kimmel, who calls it “a bigger but not gigantic iPod you cannot talk on.”

Evernote 5 beta, which was teased last week, has been launched to great success. In fact, it has been so popular that Evernote has had to shut down the option for Mac App Store customers to use it. Why?

This is due to large numbers of users re-syncing their entire accounts as part of the transition from a Mac App Store download to a direct downloaded version of Evernote

We’ve mentioned Apparent’s Doxie Go portable document scanner a few times in the past. The flexible, battery-powered scanner is a trusty tool for any mobile professional; anything fed into its maw can be turned into 300 dpi images on a Mac, iPad, the cloud — or Doxie can simply keep the scanned images for later download.

The new Doxie One, unveiled today, comes without the $200 Doxie Go’s rechargeable lithium battery — but at $150, it’s also considerably cheaper.

I have a plan for trouble. When it rears its ugly head again, I’m grabbing my all-hell-has-broken-loose list, dumping the items on the list into my trusty backpack and hauling ass. I figure there’s still the zombie apocalypse and the Mayan whatsit (which may well be the same thing) to worry about, so I might as well be prepared.

I’ve populated the list with things I would need in a disaster scenario: things like a sleeping bag, first-aid kit and rum. Of course, my iPad is also on the list. Oh, I’ll be taking my phone for sure — but the iPad’s large screen will be invaluable in any disaster situation as a navigation tool, for work (yes, even in a zombie apocalypse, blogs must be updated) or just keeping up with current news; mine’s a wifi+cellular, so I suppose wifi-only versions would be somewhat less useful in that last role.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “A disaster zone, Eli, is no place for an iPad.”  That’s true only if you don’t have the right gear to accompany it. The following list will show you how to turn your iPad from a liability into an asset when things go very wrong.

With the holidays coming, maybe there’s no such thing as “too many photobook makers.” At least, that’s probably what Mixbook is banking on with their new Mosaic app, which lets you quickly create a hard-cover photobook for $20.

This one’s a little different though: Not only can you create and order your photobook with your iPhone, but the books are created with an unusual effect where photo thumbnails peek through windows in the book’s cover. Definitely  attention-grabbing.

If your Facebook app is crashing after the iOS 6.0.1 update, you’re not alone: it’s crashing for loads of other users too.

The problem, however, isn’t necessarily iOS 6.0.1. Some Twitter users are reporting that the app is crashing on them, even without upgrading to iOS 6.0.1. Deleting the app and reinstalling it or rebooting your device doesn’t seem to fix the issue.

In short, the problem seems to be something on Facebook’s end that can be fixed without issuing an app update. Just be patient, and in the meantime, log-in to Facebook using Mobile Safari.

The iStabilizer is a combination monopod and camera/phone tripod adapter. It’s light, it’s sturdy, it’s mostly aluminum, and it’s pretty much ideal for occasional use. And it has one fantastic function which will probably get you arrested.

Now, this is fun. You may have heard that Apple ditched Google maps and navigation data to create their very own new Maps app using Tom Tom data. While some of the pros and cons of such a move are beyond this little iOS tip today, a little hidden feature of the new Maps App is not.

So, if you have an iOS device that will support it, try this fun little trick out, and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Starting November 2nd, Apple fans will finally be able to buy themselves an iPad mini, Apple’s diminutive new 7.9-inch tablet with an A5 chip, a 1024 x 768 display, a 5MP camera and that comes in the usual flavors of between 16 and 64 gigabytes and in white or black.

So which iPad mini is right for you?

We’ll make it easy for you. Across the board, for almost everyone, the cheapest iPad mini — the $329 Wi-Fi only model in black — is the one most worth considering. There are some exceptions worth considering though. Here’s why.

In addition to pushing iOS 6.0.1 to users earlier today, Apple has just pushed the first beta of iOS 6.1 for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 2, third- and fourth-gen iPads, and fourth- and fifth-gen iPod touch to registered developers. Curiously, however, it does not yet seem to be available for the iPad mini.

Source: developer.apple.com

How often do you want to know what sounds look like? I’m guessing not very often, unless you’re a musician. But if you do want to know what sounds look like, and you want to know it in the most stylish and good-looking way possible on iOS, you can’t go far wrong with an app called Soundbeam. It’s just beautiful.

Apple just released iOS 6.0.1 to squash some bugs that have been running around on all iOS devices. But if you have an iPhone 5 the OTA update process is a lot different than usual because one of the bugs iOS 6.0.1 fixes is the inability for iPhone 5s to install over the air updates.

To get the update, you’ll have to download an app called iOS Updater, which isn’t difficult to get but we’ve got a quick guide to help you update your iPhone 5 just in case things get a little confusing.

Paper is an iPad app which proves that you don’t need to add bells and whistles to your software if it’s well designed. Unless your app is a bell and whistle simulator, I guess.

But Paper, which won fans with its ultra-simple interface and amazingly natural brush-and-paint engine, really was a little too stripped down. The new v1.2.1 fixes that, adding custom color palettes and a very sweet new color mixer, plus support for a pressure-sensitive stylus.

Apple has just released iOS 6.0.1 for all compatible devices (including the new fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini). Right now, you can get it using the direct download links below, or OTA using Software Update on your iOS device (if you have an iPhone 5, you will have to update your Software Update first by going to General > Software Update, which will install a new Software Update app to your homescreen).

The change log isn’t online yet, but will eventually be here. Improvements include numerous bug fixes, including an issue that prevents the iPhone 5 from updating itself over-the-air, a bug where horizontal lines are shown on the keyboard, sporadic issues with camera flashes, improvements with Wi-Fi reliability for iPhone 5 and 2012 iPod touch, and more.

The changelog and direct download links can be found below:

Although Hurricane Sandy passed through the Northeastern United States on Monday, the aftermath is still being felt three days later. Not only is New York City still flooded and thousands still without power and electricity in many states, but FedEx and UPS are still experiencing disruptions to their delivery services.

What does this mean? If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., or West VirginiaJersey, there’s a chance your iPad mini preorder won’t get delivered to you tomorrow. And if you live in New York or New Jersey? It’s pretty much a certainty you won’t get it.

The iPad 3 took forever to charge when it first came out, thanks to the gigantic battery that powers the new Retina display. Now that Apple has updated to the iPad 4, they’ve also come out with a new 12W power adapter that gives us the power we need.

After running some tests on the new 12W power adapter next to the old 10W power adapter, Insanely Great Mac found that the new 12W power adapter will charge an iPad 3 or iPad 4 as much as 30-45 minutes faster.

It doesn’t sound like much, but every second counts when you’re slaughtering your foes on Letterpress. You can pick the new adapter up from the Apple Store for 19 bucks.

Source: Insanely Great Mac

Quick test: see if you can guess what the following product does, just by decoding its cryptic name. Ready?

Belkin NetCam Wi-Fi with Night Vision

Apple is going to sell a holy-crap-ton of iPad minis at Apple Stores everywhere tomorrow, except in New York City. After getting ravaged by hurricane Sandy, NYC is still trying to recover from the damage the storm has inflicted on them, and many people won’t be able to make it to the Apple Store for the launch.

The damage from hurricane Sandy will probably mean that the iPad mini launch at the 5th Avenue Apple Store will be much more subdued than past launches. 

So you didn’t pre-order your iPad mini, huh? It’s ok. Even though online orders aren’t shipping for 2 – 3 weeks now you can still get an iPad mini tomorrow if you gear up and go brave the launch line

Yes, it’s a huge time investment, and no one really wants to sit outside an Apple Store for a couple of hours before the break of dawn, but we’re here to help you make the most of your iPad mini launch line waiting experience. In fact, this could even be a lot of fun. Just follow this guide and you’ll be in and out of the store and cradling your iPad mini in no time.

Along with this week’s surprising news that Scott Forstall is leaving Apple, Tim Cook also announced that Bob Mansfield is planning to stay with Apple for two more years. Just last June, Mansfield had decided that he was going to retire, but now he’s quickly decided he’s not ready to leave just yet, and will stay on to run a new Technologies unit.

Why the sudden change of heart? According to a new report, Mansfield and Scott Forstall haven’t gotten along too well, and when news surfaced that Forstall was on the way out, Mansfield decided Apple would be a lovely place to work at again.

The iPhone 5 is the best camera Apple has ever made (OK, maybe the second-best), so why not dress it like one of the best film cameras ever made?

That’s just what PetaPixel’s Leica skin will do, turning your long, thin iPhone into a long, thin fake rangefinder.