With OS X Mountain Lion, AirPlay Mirroring is finally coming to the Mac, allowing some Macs to stream audio and video directly to their Apple TV.

‘Some’ is the operative word here. Much to the disappointment of the vast majority of Mac owners who will be installing Mountain Lion on their machines in a couple weeks time, AirPlay Mirroring will only work if you have an iMac, MacBook Air or Mac Mini from mid-2011, or a MacBook Pro from early 2011.

There’s been a lot of conspiracy theories floated about this requirement. Some have argued that it’s forced obsolescence on Apple’s part, trying to force older Mac owners to upgrade their machines. Others have suggested that the reason Apple requires a Mac from 2011 or later is because of special DRM technology in Intel’s chips that didn’t debut until last year.

The truth of the matter, however, is far less sensational. The reason you need a 2011 Mac to make use of AirPlay Mirroring in OS X Mountain Lion is because the graphics in older Macs just don’t cut the mustard.

The Smarter Stand is just the kind of gadget that we like here at Cult of Mac: cheap, simple and ingenious. And it seems that we’re not the only ones that appreciate these qualities: the stand blew through its $10,000 Kickstarter goal in just 24 hours, and is currently pushing $80,000 in pledges.

While it’s already been revealed that there are certain spec requirements for installing Apple’s upcoming OS X Mountain Lion, certain 64-bit Macs will also be unable to run the new operating system when it ships this month. Following the release of the Mountain Lion GM to developers, Apple has an official list of current Mac models that are compatible with Mountain Lion.

If your Mac doesn’t support the current OS X Lion already, don’t expect to hop on the Mountain Lion bandwagon later this month.

PayPal, Amazon, and Apple are leading the mobile payment market according to IDC. The research company released the results of a business strategy study that focused on new and emerging payment technologies. The 2012 study is eighth year that IDC has conducted the survey, but it is the first year where mobile payments were a major focus.

While many efforts are underway to develop new payment technologies, many of them based around NFC, most new technologies have yet to catch on with consumers.

Overall mobile payments, however, are catching on with consumers. IDC reports that the number of individuals making mobile payments has doubled since last year’s report and that one-third (33%) of consumers have made some form of mobile payment. The data also shows that the mobile payments market is being led established players and existing technologies.

Apple’s courtroom battles with rivals like Samsung and HTC have been well-documented over the years, and it seems that not a month goes by without news of yet another legal tiff. That’s not because Apple likes to fight its rivals in court, it’s because the company has a zero tolerance policy on copycats, and it’s happy to fight to protect its intellectual property.

So it’s hardly surprising to hear that the Cupertino company is at the center of around 60% of all major mobile patent suits.

The iPhone already has built-in image stabilization (which is why the frame zooms in annoyingly close whenever you shoot video), but who could argue with this tiny, cute steady-cam-a-like for smartphones? It works on a very simple principle, hanging a counterweight below the camera to stop things shaking. Despite this simplicity, though, the kit will cost you a surprising $180.

When you’re getting a little bored of looking at the same old home screen, the DreamBoard app for iOS can completely revamp your device with a whole new look. Couple that with a new tweak called Metroon and you have yourself an iPhone that runs Windows 8 (well… almost) — complete with a Metro user interface, live tiles, and even the “Charms” bar.

What if I told you there was a case that adds up to 16GB storage to your iPhone? And further, that this case costs just $50. You’d be pretty interested, right? Well, it’s kind of true. You can indeed buy a 16GB case, but sadly that memory can’t actually be used with the iPhone.

Today’s tip is a simple one, but I think valuable. As we continue to upsize everything these days, including fast food meals, automobiles, data plans, and computer monitors, it’s easy to forget the simple things.

I just recently upgraded my Mac Mini monitor from an old crappy 4:3 LCD to a newer, less crappy 6:9 LED display with a much higher resolution. Boy is it nice to have some screen real estate to play with. As with any monitor (or iPad!) resolution increase, the stuff on the screen gets relatively smaller looking, giving me more space for stuff like windows and icons and the like.

But what about the fonts? I can increase the font size of Finder lists, the icon and font size of icons on the Desktop, but I had forgotten that I could upsize the font in iTunes. Because, yeah, it’s kind of small for my every-day-a-little-older eyes.

Before every iOS app in the App Store began sending you push notifications — whether you want them or not — the best way to stay on top of your alerts was with Boxcar, a free app that delivers push notifications on behalf of a huge catalog of apps. In its App Store description, Boxcar boasts about delivering over 1 billion notifications since its debut in July 2009. But it seems the service may have finally ended.

Following earlier rumors that claimed Amazon is gearing up to launch a smartphone that will rival Apple’s iPhone, The Wall Street Journal has confirmed with sources that the retail giant is currently testing the device with its suppliers, and that it could enter production as early as the end of this year.

We’re nearly halfway through July, and while the vast majority of us are enjoying the summer weather (unless you live in the U.K. where it continues to rain), retailers are already preparing for Christmas. U.K. retailer Currys and PC World just published its of predictions for the top ten gifts this holiday, and at number four it lists an “Apple mystery device” with pricing to be confirmed.

Could this mystery device be the upcoming iPad mini?

Let me see how to put this. Stop reading now and just grab the iStack Mac Bundle. I know, I know that’s pretty blunt, but the fact is that for $50 you get:

Parallels 7 (alone worth the price), Clarify for Mac, PaintSupreme, TextSoap (another awesome tool), Disk Drill Pro (wait, this too!?!), Hands Off! (well, not until you grab this offer…), Elasty, iGlasses 3, and Snagit for Mac (another must-have tool).

Savings? How about over $900.

And for the “one more thing…” moment for the first little while you also get an iOS programing course thrown into the bundle.

A long time ago, before this site was born, we reviewed the Altec Lansing BackBeat 906 Bluetooth headphones, and liked ’em. Plantronics had their own identical version of the 906, as they had owned Plantronics since 2005 (the two companies parted ways about the time the 906 was released).

The Plantronics BackBeat Go ($100) is an evolution of the 906. Same principle — wireless (meaning there’s no wire conecting the player with the headset) music and calls in a compact form via the magic of Bluetooth — but in an even smaller and more svelte form factor. Should be even more fantstic, right? Let’s take a look.

“When the first email was sent in the 1970s, there was no big difference to email we know today. And that’s the problem.”

So begins this screed / manifesto written and posted by Tobias Van Schneider. Email, he says, has lived beyond its original purpose, and is being used by all of us in new and interesting ways. Web and social media technology continues to push beyond the original Berners-Lee concept of a world wide web of hyperlinked information, so why not do the same for email?

Let’s face it, there are no great email clients on the Mac. There are many that do a good job of one thing or another, but none that just scream, “perfect!” Mail becomes a bloated mess as soon as it starts to have to manage the huge volumes of electronic communication we ask it to these days. Sparrow is a decent start, but it, too, is bound by the trappings of email tradition and history. I’m with Van Schneider – it’s time for a change.

Apple recently pulled all of its products from the U.S. government-backed Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). This is a big deal because EPEAT is largely considered the de facto “green” standard for U.S. companies.

The reason Apple withdrew its 39 products was speculated to be because of the EPEAT’s requirements for device repairability—something Apple has definitely shied away from in recent years with products like the iPhone, iPad, and new MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Apple has now issued an official statement on its decision to part ways with EPEAT.

It seems like every couple weeks now, we get new rumors that the iPad is about to get all mini-me on us. But does anyone really want a smaller iPad? We’ll tell you what we think on our latest CultCast.

Then, Raves and Faves! The segment where we pitch our favorite tech and then vote on which is best — only one gadget may live!

Go on and subscribe to the CultCast here, or download Apple’s smart new Podcasts app and effortlessly stream The CultCast whenever you’d like.

Full show notes ahead!

Enterprise customers form the backbone of RIM. Many of them are now preparing contingency plans in case the BlackBerry maker goes out of business or is bought by another technology company. Many enterprises first began thinking about contingency plans in the wake of RIM’s large-scale outages last year.

What those contingency plans look like varies. Some companies are soliciting advice from leaders in the mobile management like MobileIron. Some are revisiting their agreements with RIM. Others have already begun migrations away from the BlackBerry.

Ever feel like online marketing is a strange, black box where it’s more magic than science? Feel like you need to step up your online marketing game—maybe the boss has just told you that you need to boost your company’s online marketing efforts—and you’re feeling a bit at a loss?

Frankly, me too sometimes. It’s hard to keep up with the changes to Google’s search algorithms, Facebook’s ads and page strategies, and what’s the most effective way to use a blog for marketing. The answer isn’t trying to muddle through on your own, the answer is to pick up the skills from an expert.

Today’s deal brings you that opportunity—Online Marketing Excellence.

When you think about the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, you probably think about all of their excellent particle smashing work, which recently culminated in the supposed discovery of the so-called ‘god’ particle, the Higgs Boson.

But twenty years ago this July, the researchers at CERN were responsible for another watershed moment, not in the history of physics, but in the history of the web: they put up the first ever image on the Internet. And they used a Macintosh to do it.

Taking an innovative approach to how we experience music on our iOS devices, a new jailbreak tweak called FoldMusic lets you create playlists from the iOS Music app and view them as standalone folders on your iOS Home screen.

I was skeptical of this idea originally, but after playing with the tweak, I can see the appeal. If you have an artist, playlist, or album you want quick access to, it doesn’t get much faster than this.

T-Mobile may finally get the iPhone next year, according to one analyst. Sanford C. Bernstein’s Craig Moffett predicts that T-Mobile could partner with Deutsche Telekom to sell the iPhone in 2013.

Google has released a major update to its Google+ iOS app that brings full support to the iPad’s Retina display. Borrowing from the Android version, Google+ on the iPad relies heavily on images and sports a very clean, minimal interface. The iPhone version of Google+ was updated weeks ago with a similarly clean UI, probably due to the fact that Google acquired Kevin Rose’s talent at the app development firm Milk.

In today’s update, the location-based Google+ Events feature has been integrated into the universal app. You can attach photos directly from your device’s Camera Roll and add them to your posts. You can also start and join hangouts in-app and stream them to your TV using AirPlay.

FileMaker has announced the availability of its FileMaker 12 Certification exam. As with other certifications for IT professionals, FileMaker’s certification illustrates to potential employers or consulting customers that you have the key skills to deliver a solid and complete solution using FileMaker Pro and related products like FileMaker Go for iPhone and iPad and FileMaker Server.

UPDATE: In an email from the developer after this posted, it was made clear that the FREE app is only able to manage one project. In order to utilize the full power of this project management app, you’ll need to purchase the “full” version for an in-app pice of $8.99 “currently.”

In response to our feature article about project management apps on iOS, developer i2e Consulting emailed me to ask if we’d write about its own project planning app, Project Management Pro. While I’m not reviewing the app, the quick look I had at it made me want to pass the tip along to you, especially as the app is free as of today.