Cult of Mac

Apple is expected to refresh its MacBook Pro lineup this summer, and rumors have widely agreed upon a May-June announcement timeframe. The upcoming notebooks are expected to feature Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors and possibly sport higher-res, Retina-like displays.

Benchmarks have been revealed for what could very well be one of Apple’s upcoming MacBook Pro models.  The mysterious computer runs an unknown build of OS X Mountain Lion and features one of Intel’s high-end quad-core Ivy Bridge processors.

In what might be a move to clear out current inventory to make room for the upcoming line of Ivy Bridge Macs, Best Buy has slashed prices on all current generation Macs. Every single machine has been reduced in price, and while most discounts aren’t astounding, the extra $100-$200 saved on a new MacBook, iMac, Mac Mini, or Mac Pro, might be enough to entice customers who can’t wait another minute for a new Mac.

These type of discounts usually don’t happen without some involvement by Apple. It’s not uncommon for Apple to notify vendors of expected supply shortages before a transition to a new product line. Apple is expected to release new Macs this summer that utilize Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors, so buy with caution.  You can purchase the discounted Macs at your local Best Buy, or online.

Here’s a break down of the discounts you’ll find online:

Have you been looking for a way to unleash the powerful capabilities of your Mac? Well, MacKeeper is your lifetime solution. And we’ve got it available for you on Cult of Mac Deals for a very limited time.

MacKeeper is an award-winning all-in-one system utility that includes 16 powerful maintenance features that fully optimizes, protects, controls, and cleans your Mac.  There’s almost nothing it can’t do…and we’re stoked that we can deliver it to you here — but please note that the price of this offer will INCREASE $1 EVERY DAY until mid-sale so if it’s something you’ve been looking for then you should take advantage of it while you can.

Instacast, undoubtedly the best podcast manager for iOS, got a great update this week that deserves a place in our must-have apps roundup. We’ve also got an impressive voice translation tool that you just have to try, a social weather app that’s more reliable than the weatherman, plus major updates for Pocket and Google+.

Apple has made a change to how it markets the new third-generation iPad around the world following complaints from an Australian competition regulator. The ACCC took Apple to court in the land down under over the latest iPad’s “4G” branding. Apple marketed the tablet in Australia as being capable of 4G data speeds despite the fact that the new iPad cannot currently use a 4G network in the country.

Without any public statement or announcement Apple has quietly changed the new iPad’s “Wi-Fi + 4G” label to “WiFi + Cellular.”

Ashton Kutcher was spotted walking around Los Angeles this morning dressed head-to-toe in full Steve Jobs apparel. Apparently Kutcher was on his way to the set of his new indie Steve Jobs biopic –  Jobs: Get Inspired. From the late 90’s and onward Jobs was known to wear Levi 501 jeans, and a black turtleneck during public appearances. Jobs also mostly wore New Balance 991’s, but it looks like Kutcher is wearing Asics.

Have you ever thought about what it’s like to own the new iPad? Well, thanks to Cult of Mac Deals and Snapheal…now’s you chance!

What’s Snapheal? It is a Mac app that acts as an image editor — letting you easily remove unwanted objects, fix skin imperfections, erase text and perform complex image edits in a matter of clicks…and seconds.

But let’s get the really good part….how do you win the new iPad? Well, you just need to follow these three simple steps to enter to win:

Our source within Apple has seen their secret new HDTV, and my friends, you are in for a treat. In this episode of The CultCast, we’re going to tell you every juicy bit of info our source told us.

Plus, AT&T will soon be offering you family data plans, we’ll tell you what we know.

And three apps enter, but only one can rule them all — don’t miss our favorite apps of the week!

Subscribe to the CultCast now on iTunes, and read on for our show notes!

Apple founder Steve Jobs died more than seven months ago. All kinds of people are lining up to hijack his memory for their own purposes. It’s time to stop. If you’re wondering where is steve jobs buried?, you can read more about it here.

This has been a terrific week for gaming for those with an iOS device. Gameloft’s hugely impressive N.O.V.A. 3 leads our roundup having set an incredible standard of mobile FPS games, with stunning visuals and terrific gameplay. We’ve also got a wonderful sequel to Frontier Developments’ LostWinds, an original skateboarding game from Penny Skateboards, and lots more.

You see that giant table of smartphones and tablets? Those are all of the Android devices app development firm Animoca uses to test its apps. You see, when you have dozens of manufacturers cranking out phones, tablets and phablets running different versions of Android, you run into a development issue. How do you make sure your app will work on the majority of Android devices? For Animoca, you test your apps on 400 different Android devices.

That’s what Steve Jobs meant when he said that Android was “fragmented.”

Following the site’s report that Apple is planning a 7-inch iPad for an October release alongside the next iPhone, iMore today says that Apple hasn’t finalized the design of its sixth-gen smartphone (commonly referred to as the “iPhone 5”). All of the metal casing and 4-inch display rumors are still up in the air, but Apple has zeroed in on a smaller dock connector, according to iMore.

May is Mobile Management Month at Cult of Mac, where we will be profiling a different mobile management company every weekday. You can find all previous entries here  and read our Mobile Management manifesto here.

JAMF specializes in Apple management technologies. The company Casper Suite is a full featured Mac client management solution as well as an iOS device management product. Being devoted specifically to Apple technologies, JAMF is able to include features not found in other products at this time including the ability to integrate with Apple’s enterprise sales and warranty system known as GSX, the ability to distribute ebooks to iOS devices, and deployment workflows that integrate with Apple Configurator.

While Casper Suite is an excellent option for organizations that are predominantly or completely Apple-based, organizations with a mix of desktop and mobile platforms may find the product somewhat limiting. In addition to Casper Suite for Mac and iOS management, JAMF also offers Mac enterprise deployment and asset management tools. Finally, it’s worth noting that JAMF offers significant licensing discounts for education institutions implementing Casper Suite. 

Have you ever wanted to know the definition of a word without having to perform a Google search or open an app? If you have an iPhone 4S you can use Siri to look up definitions, but older iOS devices are have immediate way to show a definition.

Apple has a built-in dictionary in iOS that’s easy to forget about, but luckily a jailbreak tweak called SpotDict makes it simple to lookup words on the iPhone. SpotDict uses Apple’s dictionary to let you quickly define words from the Spotlight window in iOS.

It’s lunch time on the West Coast. I’m starving. Like, I could eat a zebra-porcupine hybrid right now, that’s how hungry I am. Things are only getting worse after I ran into this trove of beautiful iPhone app icon concepts that make my iPhone and iPad good enough to eat. The steak icon looks so tender. So succulent. I’m going to go grab a burrito before I start trying to eat my iPad like that poor little Taiwanese girl, but you should definitely check out these gorgeous app icons.

Earlier today we showed you that Apple was working on bringing the iOS Notes and Reminders apps to iCloud.com, and Apple has since removed the evidence from beta.icloud.com. After others have dug around to see what Apple is up to with its iCloud beta URL, an interesting find shows a new iCloud developer icon.

It looks like Apple is working on new iCloud developer tools or at the very least some sort of web portal for devs to access beta iCloud features. Will we see new iCloud features at WWDC this summer?

Droplr, the popular web and app service for sharing files and links online, has launched its Droplr Pro plan. In case you didn’t know, Droplr is an incredibly slick way of sharing and storing media in the cloud. The iPhone and Mac apps can also be used to share files with shortened links, much like CloudApp.

Droplr Pro offers a completely ad-free experience, views/downloads statistics, increased storage, private drops, customized drop views, and custom domain configuration for short URLs. The service costs $3 per month or $30 per year.

Most companies grappling with the BYOD trend think in terms of allowing personal iPhones, iPad, and Android devices. Virtualization heavyweight VMWare looked at the situation quite a bit differently. Instead of allowing personal devices, VMWare’s CIO Mark Egan decided to require employees to use their personal smartphones in the office.

The move, unorthodox to say the least, seemed to Egan the best option when he found himself sandwiched between the rock of corporate-owned smartphone expenses and the hard place of users clamoring for the choices of BYOD. 

Finding apps is hard work. Seriously, folks, there are over 500,000 of them out there, each with their own iTunes page, ratings, and version history. It’s confusing, disheartening at times, and just plain difficult. There are several discovery apps out there, including the recently purchased Chomp and AppShopper. Today’s tip is about the discovery app that won the Best App Ever Award for Best App Bargain, the app that voters thought was worth way more than they paid for it.

As a rule, I don’t like thick folio-style iPad cases, and especially not ones that zip closed. So when I spied the Spigen Zipack in a consignment of cases that arrived some weeks ago, I put it on the bottom of the “to review” pile and ignored it.

However, it turns out that the Zipack’s combination of weird features, featherlight weight and decent amount of protection is a winning one. As there will likely be many folio-haters like me out there who would pass over this case on principal, I thought I’d give it a chance to be seen.

The official Etch A Sketch iPad case might be the coolest thing, like, ever, but does it actually turn your iPad into a working Etch-A-Sketch? No, it doesn’t. But the Etcher does, which somehow makes it even cooler.

The general reaction to Google’s release of its new Google+ app has been very positive. Lots of people have been saying how good it looks and how nice it is to use.

Yes, it is pretty. Pretty enough to give Google+ the usage boost it seeks? Now that’s a very different question.

Looks like applications that were once getting rejected due to their use of the Dropbox API are once again being approved in Apple’s iTunes App Store. What apparently was at issue was Apple’s rules regarding “out of app” purchases that bypassed Apple’s app store as well as it’s 30 percent cut of the fees.

The iPad currently dominates the business tablet market so thoroughly that you can pretty much call it the entire market. A big point of debate in many business and IT circles is how long Apple will be able maintain such a position. One research firm reframed that debate by simplifying the question.

Which operating system do you think will become the preferred business tablet option over the next 12 months?

50% of respondents said that they expect the iPad to maintain its lead in business environments.

There are a few ways to make in iPad easier to hold, and it seems that these methods are getting weirder and weirder. The most obvious answer, employed by almost everyone, is to put the tablet into a case. It’s convenient, protective and — most importantly — it doesn’t change the basic shape of the iPad within.

Another way would be to stick a handle on the thing, making it hard to put into a bag, not to mention making the user — you, in other words — look stupid. And you don’t like to look stupid, do you?

A great example of this second school of thought is Octa’s Tablet Tail, a ridiculous concoction which puts a plastic whale tail on the back of the iPad. Seriously.