Cult of Mac

The NFL season kicks off tonight with a game that pits the New York Giants – last season’s champions – against the Dallas Cowboys. For many teams, this season also marks the first use of iPads instead of the traditional paper playbooks. A handful of teams pioneered the iPad as a complete replacement for playbooks last year. Although the iPad was only used as a playbook replacement by a few teams last year, it was more broadly used as a training tool and a companion to traditional playbooks. This year many more teams are investing in the iPad as a digital playbook and a player training solution as well as a way for coaching staff to communicate more directly and effectively with players.

There’s certainly a cool factor that any technology and football fan will appreciate. There’s also a lot that many businesses can learn from the NFL teams about how the iPad can be secured, managed, and used in almost any professional context.

Man-bag. Murse. He-purse. Call it what you like, but you need one. Finally men in the U.S are following the European example and carrying their day-to-day gear in a bag instead of stuffing it all into a wallet, and then jamming that into a back pocket.

Cameras, iPads, iPhones, chargers, e-books and — yes — even wallets need a place to go, and what follows is our roundup of the best bags to put them in.

And who knows? Maybe one day your adult males will stop wearing baseball caps and shorts and start dressing like grown-ups instead?

Yes, I’m reviewing another iPhone wallet case. But this is the last one on my pile of things to review — at least for now. Built by NutKase, this particular model is manufactured from thick leather that comes in black or red, and it boasts three card slots and a “hidden” cash pocket.

If you buy the black version, you get an elasticated band that keeps the wallet closed while its not in use; while the red version features a more elegant leather button clasp.

Both models come with a unique selling point that I’m yet to find in another wallet case: a built-in magnetic stand that allows you to elevate your device for FaceTime calls, typing with an external keyboard, or watching movies — wherever you may be.

Adobe Photoshop Touch is probably the most delightfully usable and capable touchscreen photo editing software out there right now, but when it was originally released, it had a few big problems: it only supported images at an extremely limited resolution, it didn’t know how to look in iOS’s Photo Stream for pictures and, worst of all, it didn’t have Retina support on the third-generation iPad.

Rad news for Photoshop Touch fans, then. Version 1.3 fixes all of those complaints: it now slurps images out of Photostream, has full Retina support and can handle images up to 12 megapixels.

Yesterday, AntiSec leaked over 1million Apple UDIDs that they claim came from a FBI laptop they hacked. What was the FBI doing with all those UDIDs, and who gave them to them? Well the FBI says that they totally didn’t get hacked so it’s not their fault.

Apple has been quiet the entire time about the whole thing, until this morning when they released an official comment stating that they never gave the FBI anyone’s device IDs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kaVzt-_zajE

This is a heck of a video, in that it shows an iPhone 5 booting up next to an iPhone 4S. Even better, it seems real.

According to MIC Gadget, the iPhone 5 was “accidentally” discovered in Foxconn’s Jincheng factory, which basically means it was smuggled out and is stolen property. Whatever the provenance, though, it seems to be legit: the official first sighting of a working iPhone 5 in the wild.

What else do we know? Not much: the iPhone 5 boots up much more quickly than the iPhone 4S, but otherwise, it’s not capable of being activated at this point, so the iPhone 5 stalls at the activation screen.

More pictures of the new iPhone below:

I personally purchased MacJournal for $40 six months ago and was extremely pleased with the value. If I only knew I could have landed 10 additional applications for $10 more a little down the road…

The Mac Hype Bundle includes 6 apps that cost $40+ individually which is the first 6 reasons you should dive on this deal. If journaling isn’t your thing (and it should be if want to keep your brain dancing and those creative juices flowing) here is what else $50 bucks will get you:

When Apple switches over to a smaller 9-pin Dock Connecter for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini, all your existing cables, chargers and accessories won’t work without an adapter. According to a new report, you won’t just be able to pick up that adapter anywhere: only Apple will sell them, in packs of one or three.

Even though her husband was known for being a visionary in the world of technology, Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple co-founder and CEO, Steve Jobs, has always set out to make a difference in educational policy. Her next big assignment will be to serve a 5-year term on the Stanford University board of trustees.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could drop your iPhone or iPad on top of your speaker and have it charge as it pumps out the tunes? That’s the promise of TDK’s Wireless Charging Speaker, a product with a name about as self-evident as it gets.

The iPhone 5 is coming, which means iPhone 5 cases are coming, and unlike third-party accessory makers that need access to the specs of Apple’s still-secret rejiggered Dock Connector, case makers have had accurate access to the next iPhone’s dimensions and port layout for months.

No surprise, then, that the first third-party iPhone 5 cases and screen protectors are starting to show up in AT&T’s system. Unless you love Snoopy, though, the iLuv wallet case previewed above is probably the best of them.

Source: Boy Genius Report

We know the iPhone 5 is going to be huge for Apple. With its rumored 4-inch display, a new dock connector, LTE connectivity, and more, it will be the most significant iPhone upgrade since the device made its debut back in 2007. It’s going to be so big that one analyst believes Apple will sell a staggering 10 million new iPhones in the week after its launch.

Did you ever check to see which carrier offers the best coverage in your town? Or – worse – did you ever wonder which carrier’s pre-pay SIM you should buy when you go on vacation? It’s hell, right? Those maps are so deeply hidden in the carriers' sites that it’s almost like they didn’t want you to find them.

Enter OpenSignalMaps, which is not only an independent map showing you the 2G, 3G and 4G coverage in much of the world, but is also just about the sleekest and slickest map/info site we’ve ever seen. And it works just great on iOS devices.

Nuance has today announced Dragon Dictate for Mac 3, the latest version of its popular dictation software. In addition to being faster and more accurate than the previous Dragon Dictate 2.5, this release also boasts “more features than ever before,” including new Smart Format Rules, wideband Bluetooth support, new correction capabilities, and more.

Bark is a great way to pipe your Growl notifications into Mountain Lion’s Notification Center – at least until Growl offers official support. There are other ways to make Growl-capable apps work with the native Mountain Lion notifications, but Bark has a few unique tricks which make it better – and maybe easier – to use.

Do you remember what your first Windows PC looked like? Of course you don’t. But I bet you remember what your first Mac looked like sat atop your desk. That’s because Apple produces such incredible and iconic designs that we can’t help but remember them. But even Apple gets its inspiration from somewhere. And it’s quite clearly from Braun.

At this point, we know that, yet again, T-Mobile hasn’t managed to work itself out a deal when it comes to the iPhone 5 when it launches later this month. That means yet again, T-Mobile will be the odd carrier out: the only one of the major four without an iPhone.

T-Mobile’s at a competitive disadvantage, and they are doing everything they can to address that They’ve started telling their sales staff to start selling against the iPhone. And now they’re going to start marketing to individuals with unlocked iPhones jumping carriers, even going so far as to set up “bring your own iPhone” demonstration stations in store.

Remember Little Masters? Of course you do — it’s the hugely promising Pokemon clone we told you about back in July that’s coming to iOS. Well, after a lengthy wait for App Store approval, the game is finally coming to the App Store tomorrow, September 6.

The Retina MacBook Pro is now “in stock” on the Apple online store for the first time since its release at WWDC on June 11. The device, which was delayed by up to four weeks for some time after its launch, can now be delivered within five business days with free, standard shipping — or within 2-3 business days with $15 shipping.

Ah, fall. When the days grow shorter, the air gets crisper, and we finally get American football back after a purgatory of endless midseason baseball games and Olympics roundups about Bob Costas’s dimples. I’ve been obsessed with football — both college and the NFL — since I was a little kid, so this is unquestionably my favorite time of year. And there’s never been a better time to be a fan. Apps galore for iPhones and iPads have now made it possible to watch games on the go — and out of original broadcast market. A word of warning: several of these applications only work in the U.S. market and with a subscription to cable or satellite. So no fair complaining about that like the App Store critics do.

Apple is pretty much the most cryptic company on earth, so everything related to Apple is heavily scrutinized, including the media invites it sends out to select members of the press. An Apple invite is like a confirmation from above — months of speculation and wishful thinking is confirmed or shot down in a single moment.

Apple event invites are often read like magical tea leaves; hints are usually contained in the invite itself that foreshadow what to expect.

Today Apple sent out invites for its iPhone event next Wednesday, September 12th, 2012. We thought it would be as good a time as any to take a look back at Apple’s past iPhone and iPod invites from the last several years, starting with the original iPhone.

This is getting interesting. Hot on the heels of hacking group Antisec leaking 1M+ Apple IDs they said they downloaded from a hacked FBI laptop, the FBI itself is now saying they had nothing to dow with it.

Here’s the FBI’s statement, as given to All Things D:

The FBI is aware of published reports alleging that an FBI laptop was compromised and private data regarding Apple UDIDs was exposed. At this time there is no evidence indicating that an FBI laptop was compromised or that the FBI either sought or obtained this data.

Strange. If that data didn’t come from the FBI, then, who did it come from?

Source: All Things D

If you’d shown me the Hi-Call a few years ago I would have ridiculed it and moved on, probably forgetting that this stupid Bluetooth glove even existed. Now, though, in a world infected with “sanitation engineers” so in-demand that they have Bluetooth headsets wedged permanently into their ears, and idiots wander the streets holding their in-line mics up to their mouths as they speak, the Hi-Call from Hi-Fun doesn’t seem so dumb after all.

The Phiaton PS 210 BTNC ($129) earphones—yes, they named them all that—have all the same functionality as your white Apple earbuds; you can chat with ’em, listen to tunes with ’em, even control your iPhone with ’em. But unlike your white-wired buds, they do all that wirelessly via Bluetooth, and include some sparkly noise-canceling technology that deliver audio to your ears sans a world of ambient sounds.

It’s time to see what it’s like to live in the shoes cloven hooves of the egg stealing piggies responsible for making birds quite angry. Millions of adorable green swine have been mercilessly slaughtered for simply trying to feed their families. They’ve tried protecting themselves with hardhats, makeshift houses, and have even gone as far as to leave their gravity loving homes in favor of the cold darkness of space. No matter what they do or where they go, there always seems to be a giant slingshot waiting to blast an Angry Bird at their hide. That all ends this month, with the release of Bad Piggies for Android and iOS.