Thanks to iCloud and iOS 5, we no longer have to plug our iOS devices into our computers to back them up. With iCloud backups enabled, all of our precious data is sent to the cloud and is easily retrievable when we need it — providing we have a data connection.

But we only get so much cloud space, so we need to look after it. If you’ve got backups saved from old devices you’re not using anymore, it’s important to delete them so that your existing devices have plenty of storage for their own data. Here’s how to delete iCloud backups on your iOS device!

Over the course of the past year, Samsung has shamelessly stolen Apple’s design on everything from the iPod touch, the iPad 2 Smart Cover, iOS’s homescreen, and more. Heck, they’ve even poached the actresses who star in Apple’s current iPhone 4S commercial!

Having apparently run out of new Apple products to rip-off, Samsung has decided to examine Apple’s past portfolio of devices for new designs to flagrantly plagiarize. The latest? Meet the Galaxy Ace Plus, Samsung’s new entry-level Android phone that looks just like the three year old iPhone 3G design!

This is just beyond parody at this point. Next up? Samsung announces the Galaxy Tab 8.5 Noir, which shamelessly violates the design of the 1993 Apple Newton.

See that iPhone 4 above? If you click here, you can see it in its full, remarkable glory on the website of its creator, HTML5 and CSS3 maestro Vasily Zubach.

Why is it so remarkable? Because in its original incarnation, it was accomplished entirely in Javascript and CSS. That’s right: there’s not a single image file in the whole shebang.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion often seems to have two left feet when it comes to management. Now, after becoming a serial failure, the company is considering removing its biggest roadblock: RIM’s co-CEOs. But can it quiet a months-long investor revolt?

In the highly-competitive holiday sales period, Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet ‘at most’ cost Apple 1 million to 2 million iPad sales, one Wall Street observer said today. Despite the dent in sales, the tech giant is expected to turn in record iPad sales figures for this quarter.

Following a report that claims Nintendo is set to open up its own app store for its upcoming Wii U console, there are now suggestions that the Japanese gaming giant is “actively courting” iOS developers in a bit to lure them over to Wii U game development. One developer reports that the company even offered “assistance” with porting their title from iOS to be played on the console’s new controller, which features a 6.2-inch touchscreen.

Macs are distinctive among the computing fraternity in the melodious chime they make while booting. While PCs that do nothing more than beep might look on enviously, the fact is that the chime isn’t always welcome—boot your MacBook in a library, for example, and several annoyed faces will willingly hand out censure.

Here’s how to turn off the chime. These instructions are created for OS X Lion but should work with older versions of OS X.

How did HP get into such a mess with webOS? Essentially, the company shot itself in the foot as a parade of managers streamed through the corporate suites in a nightmare scenario reminding one of the worst days of Apple. Ousted HP CEO Leo Apotheker must take the blame, a former webOS head said.

Imagine having your iPhone stolen while you’re out with your friends one night, then discovering that the thief who stole it had the audacity to return it to an Apple retail store for replacement after you had it blocked. Thanks to Apple’s policies on theft, that’s exactly what happened to Scott Barkley from Toronto.

To prolong the life of Grand Theft Auto 3 on the PC all those years ago, gamers began introducing all sorts of things — such as new cars, weapons, and skins — to the game by modifying numerous files within its directory. If you were a “modder” then, then we have good news for you: the recently released GTA 3 games for iOS and Android are also susceptible to modding.

How can Apple ward off iPad challengers such as Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet? One way, according to experts, is to offer the popular iPad 2 device at a much lower price – perhaps $299. Such a move could “seriously” impact the Kindle Fire and others attempting to gain market share by providing a low-cost alternative to the iPad. Others are dropping prices for another reason — nobody wants their tablets.

Nikon fans, rejoice! Word on the street says the Nikon mothership is going to announce a new flagship professional-grade FX (full frame) DSLR camera, possibly two, at its Thailand headquarters during their January 6th “The Image You Are Waiting For” press event. And if the rumors are true, you can bet Nikon is going to be showing off their new baby on the floors of CES, and we’ll be there to cover it.

The biggest tech trade show in the U.S. is just a week away. And while Apple doesn’t officially take part in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), its influence will be everywhere.

Take Ultrabooks, for example — the PC industry’s answer to the hyper-successful MacBook Air. Attempting to catch up, Apple’s rivals will be showcasing 30 to 50 new models at CES.

There’s also the iLounge pavilion, a section devoted to Apple-related products, which has grown huge this year. The iLounge has balooned from 4,000 square feet in 2008 to 85,000. We think there’ll be plenty to report on, so we’re blowing out CES 2012 in a big way. We’re sending six reporters to Las Vegas, bringing you all the news here on Cult of Mac.com and our sister blog, Cult of Android.com.

We expect a ton of new peripherals, apps and add-ons. There’s plenty more going on, from new smart TVs to smartphone-friendly cars. Here’s what to expect from the show:

Like its Black Friday shopping event held for those in the U.S. and other Western territories back in November, Apple is set to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a shopping event on January 6 for customers in China/Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The company promises the one-day sale will provide “amazing iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone.”

iOS devices receive a lot of criticism for their static app icons, which, although often pretty, are a little boring to look at. Other than the Newsstand icon, which changes depending on which publications you have installed within, iOS icons do nothing.

If you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone, however, you can make them a little more exciting. Motion is a nifty tweak available from within Cydia, which will animate the app icons on your home screen with all sorts of fancy effects.

Apple is planning a media event in New York this month, according to AllThingsD. While we shouldn’t expect to see the iPad 3 or a new Apple TV, AllThingsD’s usually-reliable sources have indicated the event will be “important,” but not “large-scale.”

Apple’s iCloud exec, Eddy Cue, is expected to show at the event in late Janurary. The last time Cue took the stage in New York was to help launch the iPad-only magazine by News Corp called The Daily.

This is it, people — this is the year your New Year’s resolution to get fit really takes hold. This year, you’re going to stick it, and we’re going to show you how.

Do you just like using the well-designed Apple keyboard with your work PC? If so, you know that there are inevitably some drawbacks to using Apple’s own QWERTYUIOP bar with Windows, mainly in the fact that many keys — such a print screen, volume control, eject and more — don’t work outside of OS X.

As is often the case, if you want to use your Apple keyboard as Steve intended within the Windows environment, there’s an app for that. It’s called Apple Keyboard Helper, and it’s a free download. Here’s what it does.

Apple has not been known to look kindly upon toys made in the likeness of the company’s iconic, recently deceased founder, Steve Jobs.

Any guesses, then, as to how long it’ll take for them to pile on DiD Corp for this eerily accurate action figure of Steve? The 30 centimeter statue is available now for preorder at just $99.99 and will supposedly ship out in February, but if Apple hasn’t sent a strongly worded letter (and, failing that, some pipe-wielding muscle) to DiD Corp by then, preventing the sale of the device, well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.

More images below.

Here’s another “Act Now Before Apple’s Lawyers C&D!” deal for you: over at Sears, they are selling the iHdd 2 Slim External Hard Drive Enclosure for just $53.90. It’s self-powered, USB 2.0 compatible and has an attractive, IP and trademark-violating Apple logo glowing on the top! If you want one, better get moving before Apple’s lawyers come back from New Year’s break.

[via Macgasm]

Samsung has shamelessly ripped-off Apple‘s products every step of the way, but this has got to be a new — well, not low, but something. Not content to just rip-off Apple’s product designs, Samsung is now stealing the very actresses from Apple’s own commercials!

A bizarre official app from Apple called GameStore popped up in the App Store on New Year’s Eve, apparently by accident. The 99 cent app, which functionally does nothing, appears to be some sort of test app or prototype for a Newsstand-like games service that has yet to get off the ground.

PostSecret has been around since the earliest days of the Internet. The online collaborative art project allows people to anonymously submit secrets on postcards to share online. Multiple PostSecret books have been made from the submission, but while the site has flourished on the web, it appears it was too hot for the App Store, as PostSecret founder Frank Warren has said they will be pulling the PostScret app because of problems with online bullying.

Right now, if you want to get an iPhone with unlimited data, your only option is to sign up with Sprint… but given how slow Sprint’s 3G speeds are, unlimited data isn’t really saying much. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get unlimited data on a faster network? Say, Verizon’s?

Well, thanks to a little bit of CSR hacking, you can add unlimited data to any Verizon iPhone plan. Better act soon, though. The VZW is likely to shut down this exploit as soon as their engineers get back from holidays.

Ask MacRx took a hiatus for a few weeks in December but we’re back for 2012 and here to help try and answer more of your Mac and iDevice questions. Today we hear from a reader who has more user accounts than desired after restoring from a Time Machine backup:

I recently replaced the drive in my Macbook, upgrading to a larger capacity drive. For the first time I used Time Machine to restore my applications, settings and data files. I was surprised to find that I had to name the restoration differently than the account named on the destination drive. I followed the on-screen prompts and successfully transferred the data from my old drive to the new one.