Yelp plays a huge role in Apple’s new Maps app for iOS 6 and Siri. Each search location in Maps brings up Yelp reviews, photos and check-ins. Siri searches and sorts restaurants based on reviews from Yelp users. Needless to say, Apple has made Yelp a big part of their iOS strategy, but in 2010 when Apple was developing Siri they almost lost the service to Google, who wanted to buy the company.

Steve Jobs knew that if Google bought Yelp it would have some serious consequences for their plans with Siri and iOS, so he did what any powerful CEO would do – called Yelp’s CEO, Jeremy Stoppelman, and told him not to sellout to Google, and it worked.

Do you hate Apple’s increasing tendency towards skeuomorphic designs? In other words, do you hate how Apple keeps on slathering their beautifully designed apps with a revolting faux wood or leather finish?

You’re not the only one, but luckily, it’s not hard to remove.

Apple and the EPEAT have had quite the back and forth over the past week or so. It was discovered that Apple had suddenly withdrew all of its products from the EPEAT’s environmental registry, and Apple’s Bob Mansfield later explained the company’s decision to abandon the EPEAT’s outdated standards. Due to the initial concern and outcry, Apple did something it hardly ever does: backpedaled. Now Apple’s products are certified by the EPEAT again.

Despite the fact that all of Apple’s other MacBooks boast the EPEAT’s highest gold ranking, it was assumed that the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display wouldn’t qualify. After all, Apple’s new creation is the “least repairable” MacBook ever made. And yet, according to Apple’s website, the new MacBook Pro earns a stellar gold ranking as well.

Way back over 15 years ago when I was a newbie web developer, I finally dipped my toes into the waters of Photoshop so I could make cool buttons, headers, and backgrounds for my sites. Now all that time later—and granted I don’t use Photoshop as much as I used to—I still don’t think I had even begun to scratch the surface of what Photoshop has to offer.

Now comes Photoshop CS6 and, well, if I want to use Photoshop now I have some serious catching up to do. This is one of the most important things to just “get” about Photoshop—it is so powerful, so amazing, that in order to get the most out of it you have to spend some time learning it. Simple as that. You have to put in the time to learn or you will always be missing out on something. Good thing we have a video course on Photoshop for you to check out today—Adobe Photoshop CS6 Video Course – Cult of Mac Deals

Did you know that people on the internet still make unboxing videos? I didn’t. I thought that fad came to a halt back in 2009, but apparently I was wrong. YouTube was hit with a tidal wave of new unboxing videos as people finally got their hands on Google’s new iPad competitor, the Nexus 7. Not only is it not as good as the iPad, but it’s a super huge pain in the ass open. Just check out the video and chuckle as poor Android fans have to result to using collar stays and butcher knives to get at their precious new tablet.

Source: YouTube

Thanks: Vincent

Apple has released its third version of the iOS 6 beta to registered developers in the iOS Dev Center. iOS 6 beta 2 was seeded to developers three weeks ago after Apple unveiled the original iOS 6 beta at WWDC.

Beta 3 is available as an over-the-air update for developers running iOS 6 already. Apple is expected to release iOS 6 to the public this fall alongside the new iPhone.

We already know that Chinese manufacturers are hard at work producing all kinds of cases for Apple’s new iPhone, a device which isn’t expected to make its public debut for at least another three months. And despite plenty of competition, it seems some of them are more than happy to hand over the specifications they’re using for their products.

According to the drawing you see above, some manufacturers are expecting the sixth-generation iPhone to measure just 7.9mm thin, 58.6mm wide, and 123.8mm tall. That’s 1.4mm thinner and 8.6mm taller than the iPhone 4S.

You might want to hold off on the sexting via Skype for a bit, as Skype has acknowledge a “rare” bug, which according to complaints on Skype support, appears to send messages to unintended contacts. The Skype team has already responded and plans on pushing out a fix soon.

“We are aware that in rare circumstances IM’s between two contacts could be sent to an unintended third contact. We are rolling out a fix for this issue in the next few days and will notify our users to download an updated version of Skype.”

When it comes to talking about iOS devices in healthcare, most of think of doctors carrying iPads the way that they used to carry lengthy paper charts or clipboards. We think about doctors looking at X-rays and other diagnostic tests on an iPad, perhaps even using the iPad to illustrate a broken bone, illness, or surgical procedure.

Doctors, however, aren’t the only healthcare professionals to be embracing mobile technology. A new study shows that the vast majority of nurses have also embraced mobile devices, particularly the iPhone and other smartphones. It also highlights that differing needs of healthcare professionals when it comes to mobile technology.

Apple is working to block the Russian servers that are allowing users to circumvent iOS in-app purchases and obtain content for free. The Cupertino company reportedly began blocking certain IP addresses over the weekend, and had one server taken down. But despite its efforts, the service continues to work.

You’d think after recent events that RIM executives might have learned not to make public comments that fall somewhere between the categories of misleading and delusional. After all, as the New York Times recently reported, RIM’s new CEO could face litigation for misrepresenting the state of the company to its shareholders. Apparently even that lesson and the fact that half of CIOs and IT managers plan to migrate away from RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) over the next year isn’t enough to prevent RIM from sticking its foot in its mouth.

The latest drama surrounds a report that developers are quickly losing interest and/or confidence in developing apps for the current BlackBerry OS or its BlackBerry 10 successor. Alec Saunders, RIM’s vice president of developer relations – who’s rarely tactful when giving his opinion – took to RIM’s developer blog on Friday to defend the company.

A few days ago we reported on Sprint’s 4G LTE network going live in and around Kansas, and today, Sprint has made an official announcement welcoming 15 cities into their new LTE Now Network. If you own a Sprint 4G LTE enable phone and live in any of the following cities listed below, you should start experiencing increased speeds.

Having been spoiled by Retina displays since the iPhone 4 was launched back in 2010, it’s slightly disappointing when Apple releases a new product that doesn’t have one these days. But there won’t be any disappointment with the upcoming Apple HDTV, according to one expert.

DisplayMate CEO Dr. Ray Soneira firmly believes that the Cupertino company’s much-anticipated set will feature a Retina display, just like all “premium” Apple products in the future. Not just because it’s incredible technology, but also because Apple wants to be consistent.

Doing any design work? Creating an office newsletter, classroom report, or client brochure? Chances are you’ll be needing some fonts. The Mac may have ushered in the era of desktop publishing many moons ago, but we’re still at the mercy of our own (or our clients’) good taste or lack thereof.

If you’re trying to decide between different fonts for a particular project, you might want to print out a font sampler, which contains all the different fonts you are looking at in a nice, easily shared format. Font Book, the app that handles fonts on your Mac, can do this for you easily, at least in Mac OS X 10.7.3. Here’s how to make that happen.

I hate camping. I don’t see the appeal in sleeping in a cold, damp tent, with no access to a shower or electricity. Once your iOS devices run out of battery, what is there to do?

Well, with the BioLite, they won’t run out of battery, because you can charge them by burning almost anything you can get your hands on, including twigs, sticks, leaves, pine cones, or your best friend’s favorite book.

Add this to your maybe calendar – 9 to 5 Mac is reporting that both US and overseas Apple Stores have a scheduled “overnight” on July 24th, leading the news site to speculate on the release of OS X 10.8, Mountain Lion, for the following day.

Following numerous sources like iMore, Digitimes, Macotakara, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times now reports that Apple is planning to launch a 7.85-inch iPad this year. In a ploy “to lure customers who want different sizes of tablets into the iPad product family,” the smaller device will cost “significantly less” than the current iPad Apple starts at $499.

Kicking off this week’s must-have apps roundup is an incredible word processor called UX Write, which makes working with large, complex documents on the go a breeze. You’ll also find Simpsons Comics, the latest app from comiXology that brings Bongo’s Simpsons library to iOS; a wonderful app from NASA that allows you to get up close and personal with the spacecraft used to explore our solar system, and more.

The Dictionary.com site defines an “aristocracy” in part as “a class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges.”

Scanning the news recently, I got to wondering: Is Apple creating a new aristocracy?

Kicking off this week’s must-have games roundup is a massive update to Tiny Wings — one of my favorite iOS games — which adds a brand new game mode with 15 levels, Retina visuals, and more. You’ll also find Amazing Alex, the latest game from Angry Birds creator Rovio; a wonderful multiplayer RPG; a retro Neo-Geo shooter, and more.

Found is a lightning-fast search tool for your Mac that can also search across your cloud services like Google Docs, DropBox and Google Drive. It makes searching for files ridiculously easy with it’s gorgeous interface. This entire week we’ve given readers a chance to try out the new free app and win a MacBook Pro with Retina display at the same time. If you haven’t taken Found for a spin yet you should hurry up and get on the ball. Today is the last day of the giveaway, so if you’re dreaming of a new MacBook Pro with Retina display entering your life, hurry up and enter and you just might be our lucky winner.

Here’s How To Enter:

Let’s keep this simple. We all would love a new Retina MacBook Pro. So, how’d you like to win one?

It’s very simple. Go to the Retina MacBook Pro Giveaway page and enter your email address. Then once the iStack Mac Bundle is done (you’ve checked it out, right?) a winner will be picked.

This morning a story started circulating about a Russian hacker who had hijacked Apple’s in-app purchasing system in iOS. Alexey Borodin had figured out how to intercept in-app purchases within App Store apps to get free access to content. The most disturbing part of the “hack” was that it is actually fairly simple to replicate on any (non-jailbroken) iOS device.

Apple has now responded with an official statement saying that it is looking into the issue.

Apple’s reach in the consumer market is certainly great, but it turns out that they are just as influential when it comes to the retail world. This is pretty clear initially, when looking at how companies like Microsoft and Samsung blatantly rip off Apple’s retail store design.

Looking a little deeper, though, Apple also has a great amount of influence on salesmen themselves. Many companies are adopting Apple’s retail strategies due to the amazing success of the Apple Store.

Studies released earlier this year strongly indicated that the iPad is one of the most effective online advertising vehicles out there. iPad users are more likely to respond to ads than users of most other devices and more likely to  purchase or research a product after seeing an ad on their device.

A new study confirms this trend and raises the possibility that the iPad may be subtly reshaping the online advertising industry.