Great news for notification junkies: you can throw out all the third-party hacks which let you pipe your Growl alerts into Mountain Lion's Notification Center. Now Growl itself has been updated to V2.0 and had native integration with OS X's notifications. Better yet, it adds support for forwarding alerts to iOS services Prowl and Boxcar.

Holy high-fantasy MMORPG gameplay, Batman, but the strangest thing happened today. NCSoft, developer of Guild Wars, announced that the Mac beta for Guild Wars 2, still a hot Windows gaming title, has been released. They created it along with TransGaming, using the Cider Portability Engine, which may explain why it happened so fast.

Typically, Mac gamers have to wait months, even years, to have their favorite Windows-based games ported over to their favorite Mac-based operating system. Guild Wars 2 came out at the end of August, just a couple of weeks ago. To have it on the Mac, even in beta form, is something of a big deal.

AT&T sent out a press release today announcing that they’ve flipped the switch on their super fast LTE networks in five new cities: Detroit, Honolulu, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Portland. Cult of Android has another three cities to add to that list, including Birmingham, Memphis, and Sacramento. I will add Anchorage, AK.

With the latest iOS 6 update, all your iPhone using buddies around the world are going to start syncing their Contacts to their Facebook account, hoping to automate what can be a fairly tedious process. Unfortunately, if you haven’t set your Facebook account settings to get your real email address into the sync information, your friends are going to just get a useless @facebook.com email address attached to your contact on their iPhone, and no one wants that.

Fortunately, there’s a way to fix this problem, and make sure Facebook’s secret switch to their own branded email addresses in your Facebook contact information doesn’t go any farther than it already has.

Surely by now you’ve had enough time to download and install iOS 6 on your iPhone or iPad and play around a bit. It’s crammed with a crazy amount of new features, like Passbook, Maps, Flyover, VIP inboxes, new App Store, iCloud tabs, Call reminders, Panorama, Facebook Integration, Shared Photo Streams and like 200 other features I can’t even remember.

Of all the new goodies baked into iOS 6, what is your favorite? What’s surprised you so far? We want to hear all about what you think, so head over to the forums and let’s talk.

Click here to talk about your favorite new iOS 6 features in the Cult of Mac Forums

We’ve been getting a bunch of tips saying that WiFi connectivity in iOS 6 is not working. Many of you have been tweeting us about the issue, and “WiFi” is currently a trending topic on Twitter. There’s also a lively Apple Support forum discussion on the topic.

Yes, there appears to be a problem in iOS 6 with the way Safari handles URL redirection on Apple’s end, but the good news is that the problem is being fixed. In fact, many are saying that Apple has already fixed it.

This was a server-side glitch that couldn’t be fixed apart from Apple’s intervention. According to developer Steve Streza, it’s Apple’s “captive network detection page 404ing” in iOS 6 that was the issue. If WiFi in iOS 6 still isn’t working for you, try toggling WiFi off and back on. Select your network, tap the little blue arrow, scroll down, and tap “Renew Lease.” You should be good to go.

Apple unleashed iOS 6 on the world today, and as with any new iOS release, the update temporarily kills jailbreaking. A public jailbreak for iOS 6 will be released eventually, but it will likely take months. Until then, the latest jailbreak-friendly version of iOS is 5.1.1.

If you’re jailbroken on iOS 5.1.1, should you bother with updating to iOS 6 before the new jailbreak comes out? Here’s why you should, and here’s why you shouldn’t.

Following the public release of iOS 6 and OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 earlier today, Apple has pushed a host of notable updates for many of its additional iOS apps in the App Store. Apps like Podcasts got iCloud sync and iOS 6 support, while smaller updates have been seeded to bring simple iOS 6 compatibility. Other popular apps from the iLife and iWork iOS suites received updates today too.

Here’s a list of all the iOS app updates Apple released today:

Forbes released their list of the richest people in the world today, and among the newcomers making the list is Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.

Powell inherited Steve Jobs’ massive fortune, which Forbes estimates to be $11 billion, making her the wealthiest woman in Silicon Valley, and 28th richest person in the world.

In the slew of software updates Apple released today, one EFI update has been pushed out for the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display. EFI 1.0 is recommended for all MacBook Pro with Retina owners, and you can download it now alongside OS X 10.8.2. Here’s what it fixes, according to Apple:

This update is recommended to MacBook Pro with Retina display (mid 2012) models. This update resolves an issue which can cause the system to hang during heavy processor loads, and resolves an issue where NetBoot does not function properly when using an Ethernet adapter.

If you’ve been noticing any inconsistencies or random CPU hangups on the new MacBook Pro, then this update should do the trick. Grab EFI 1.0 now in the Mac App Store.

The worst thing about having a MacBook Pro with Retina display is having to constantly use apps that don’t support retina display. It’s like looking at a computer screen covered in vaseline. Most apps have already added retina display support, while others have been slower.

Microsoft Office has been in that “slower” category, which has forced users to use some trickery to get Office to display properly on a retina display. Thankfully, users won’t have to jump through hoops any longer as Microsoft just announced that Office for Mac 2011 now supports Retina display for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Like any good father, I love my Lensbabys. Screwed onto the front of my camera they distort the world just enough to make looking at it more interesting, and therefore make me take better photos. But for some, these lenses — which let the photographer move a "sweet-spot" of sharp focus around an otherwise blurred frame — are expensive novelties.

Well, they might still be novelties, but the new Lensbaby Spark are anything but expensive.

Along with iOS 6, and a Mountain Lion update, Apple has just pushed out an update for their new Podcast app for iOS. The update allows users to keep subscription up to date between iOS devices using iCloud. iOS 6 support has also been added to the app, along with a few other improvements.

Here are the full details for what’s new in Podcasts version 1.1:

Apple didn’t make huge improvements to the camera of the iPhone 5, but they did add a sapphire crystal lens, and a few tweaks to make it shoot better in low-light conditions. Now that early reviews have been released we have a better idea of how much better the new camera is over its predecessor.

iOS 6 comes with a host of new and improved features for us all to play with. We’ll be messing about in there over the next several weeks, helping you find the hidden tips, tricks, and features of iOS 6. Today, however, we’d like to show you the ten killer tricks we’ve found in iOS 6 to date.

Some of these tips may seem simple, while others may not be applicable to your own personal situation. Regardless, we hope that we can show you the coolest tips and tricks for your new iOS device, whether it’s a new iPhone 5, a new iPad, or anything that comae out before; iOS 6 will support the iPhone 3GS and up, the iPad and up, and the iPod touch third generation and up, so have at it!

There goes Samsung. Trying to win over iPhone users by releasing a new commercial that calls them a bunch of dumb hipster sheep. Again. Samsung isn’t going to win any fans by releasing these commercials every year, but to be honest, I actually enjoy them.

I mean, I don’t think the Samsung Galaxy S3 is better than the iPhone 5, or that people who wait in line for the new iPhone are stupid. But you totally hear Apple fans say ridiculous things like, “this phone is going to be like a precious jewel,” or “they should have a priority line for people who have waited five times.”

There’s no point in taking your smartphone preference too seriously, and even though Samsung’s newest commercial is almost offensive, it’s also kind of funny.

CloudMagic 2.0 is a huge update to a (previously) marginally useful search app. Now, with many extra services added along with a native iPad app, CloudMagic is pretty essential if you use any cloud services whatsoever. It lets you search in your Evernote, Dropbox, Gmail and other accounts, instantly

A kickstarter project wants to make an app-and-case product that magically transforms your $849 unlocked 64GB iPhone 5 into a fricken bike light.

I jest. It’s actually a great idea. The “Monocle” will be (contributions willing) a tough nylon carrying case with a hole in it where the iPhone’s flash goes. You lash this thing to your belt, use the app to set its flash rate (which is calculated by the app based on battery life and estimated ride duration), and off you go. The iPhone will flash red, making you more visible to cars so you don’t die.

Go here to donate.

Today, three months after its first preview at WWDC, iOS 6 has been released to the public and is now available to download via iTunes. We’ve already presented you with a comprehensive guide to everything that’s new — big and small — but which of those features really stands out?

So that you can jump into iOS 6 and quickly start using its killer new features, we’ve compiled a list of our top ten for you to check out. These may not necessarily be the biggest features Apple has introduced, but we’re confident that once you start using them, you’ll agree that they’re the best.

Along with iOS 6’s release, Apple has just pushed out OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2, adding Facebook integration to Mountain Lion as well as reportedly finally solving the battery issues people have been experiencing since OS X 10.8.0.

You can download it now through Software Update; the change list should be found here in good time, though the link is not functioning as of writing.

Main changes look to include:

• Facebook integration with Contacts, Photos, Sharing and Notification Center
• Power Nap support for late 2010 MacBook Air
• iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac
• Passbook support for Safari and Mail
• Shared Reminders lists
• FaceTime now receives calls sent to your phone number.
• Dictation now supports new languages.

Here’s the complete change list:

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch still hasn’t received notification that iOS 6 is available to download, you can always download it directly and install it.

Here are all the download links for iOS 6:

We’ve all been itching to get our hands on iOS 6 since it got its first unveiling at WWDC back in June, and today, three months after that announcement, the software finally gets its public debut. Apple’s packed a ton of new features into this update, including some major new features like Map and Passbook, plus some enhancements to existing apps and features, such as new Siri capabilities and a VIP inbox in Mail.

Apple’s been promoting some of these features on its website, but there are tons you may not have heard about. With that said, here’s your comprehensive guide to everything that’s new in iOS 6.

Apple has finally released iOS 6 to the public, more than three months after the software was first previewed at WWDC. It brings more than 200 new features to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, including Apple’s brand new Maps and Passbook apps, Facebook integration, FaceTime over cellular, enhancements to Siri, Mail, and Phone, and lots, lots more.

Hasselblad is planning to take a Sony NEX-7, replace its tiny, well designed body with a hideous blob of precious metal and rare wood, and sell it for around $6,500.

Yes, Hasselblad is trying to become the Vertu of cameras, a company that confuses “luxury” materials with actual quality. And it’s all the more sad, as Hasselblad made the cameras that went to the moon.

While Apple still hasn’t released a full-fledged television, rumors have been circulating that they might be working on a cable set-top box for cable providers as well. The big question has been whether or not cable providers would allow Apple to come in and take control of the TV experience.

According to Time Warner Cable’s COO, they’d be more than happy to let Apple come in and have control of the TV interface if it makes the customers’ experience better.