We’re all about calm abiding here at Cult of Mac (you guys read the comments, right?) So we were pleased to try out the portable version of emWave2, a computer-assisted meditation program for Mac.

The emWave2 ($229) is useful for all of those anxiety-inducing situations people face when not in front of their computers. A bit bigger than the iPod Mini, it comes with an ear sensor that plugs into a USB key and a software program that monitors your heart rhythms and breathing, plus a CD training guide.

Several Apple stores in the U.K. are clearing their show floors in case of a fourth night of rioting.

Stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Kent have been emptied, while police have taken up a heavy presence on Regent Street, a popular shopping street and location of Apple’s biggest flagship store in the U.K.

Following the news that Apple has more cash on hand than the US government, it’s just been announced that Apple has surpassed ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

Apple’s reign didn’t last that long, as Business Insider is reporting that Exxon is now back on top.

In the land where you can see Russia from your front porch, Apple will open its first retail store. That’s right, Alaskans will soon have access to all of the retail goodness that Apple has to offer. A new location is set to open in the 5th Avenue Mall in Anchorage this Saturday.

Separately, Apple is also set to unveil four more stores this Saturday, including another US store and three international stores in Canada, Australia and Italy.

Want another reason why the newspaper industry is going down the tubes? How about this: the owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times wants to create an Android-powered tablet for its subscribers. The device, reportedly to be manufactured by Samsung, is expected to miss a mid-August deadline.

Boxee has launched its official, free iPad app, allowing users to watch streaming content on the tablet device and transfer playback from the iPad to the Boxee Box.

Additionally, the new Boxee Media Manager allows you to stream video to the iPad from a Mac or PC. Alongside the new apps, Boxee has brought AirPlay support and Lion compatibility to its set-top box.

Sometimes, you can’t get a break. That could be the thinking at Android handset maker HTC, which now faces another trade complaint by Apple. Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission announced it launched an investigation into whether five Apple patents were violated.

It looks like Apple may have won round two in the global fight against Samsung in the tablet turf wars.

German news agency DPA just reported that Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction against Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Tony Bongiovi (yes, if the name sounds oddly familiar, it’s because you’re probably thinking of his cousin, Jon Bon Jovi) should know a thing or two about sound, hopefully; he’s had a hand in producing albums from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, and of course, his famous cousin.

Father Paolo Padrini is the Italian priest who developed iBrevary, an app that puts morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayers on the iPhone.  It was the first iPhone application sanctioned by the Holy Roman Church, Padrini also works with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Cult of Mac talked to him about what’s next app-wise and what place religious apps have in iTunes.

Apple already has around 20 stores in Canada, the latest will open Aug. 13 in Waterloo, Ontario hometown of beleaguered BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. As RIM’s fortunes decline and Apple’s ascends, the store becomes a metaphor for the long-running battle between the smartphone foes.

Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City is a beautiful piece of architecture, with its shining glass exterior and 20,000 square feet of underground retail space. The giant Apple logo suspended midair in glass is an unmistakable landmark for daily commuters and tourists alike.

Apple started renovating its Fifth Avenue store last summer. The $6.6 million project focuses on upgrading the plaza and iconic glass cube that stands on top of the retail space.

First, Apple kicked Nokia out of New York, then European operations were curtailed, now comes word Apple will likely attack the cell phone pioneer in China, the hottest market for smartphone makers. A “drastic realignment” in that Asian giant’s mobile marketplace is expected later this year.

Students lobbied to have a ban removed so they can use their iPads on the way to and from school.

The Manatee County School district in Florida had obliged kids to take the journey to and from school unplugged from iPods, iPads and the like.

It’s all how you look at things. If Apple were measured only by its notebook computers, the tech giant would be in last place, behind HP and others. However, throw the iPad into the mix and the Cupertino, Calif. company jumps to the head of the class with 20 percent of the market and ahead of PC goliath HP. But no matter how you cut it, Apple is thriving while the PC languishes in a ‘stagnant’ ecosystem, a report claims.

On Monday Apple released a new utility called the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant. The new utility is designed to help Mac users running Mac OS X Lion get up and running again if they encounter problems with their boot drive.

Although this is a step in the right direction it still doesn’t resolve the concerns people have about having the entire Mac OS X Lion operating system on media that you can reinstall it from.

Like the basketball hopeful unable to play in the NBA, rival tablet makers may find it easier to compete against U.S.-based Apple in Europe. The tech giant’s massive supply chain makes Europe’s 52 Apple stores a slightly easier target than America, where the iPad maker has 238 stores, analysts said Tuesday.

Mac OS X Lion now offers a new icon view called All My Files in Finder and you can use new gestures on your trackpad to navigate through all of the files on your Mac. You’ll be able to quickly find the wayward image, PDF, or other file fast.

Apple’s decision to not include a USB Stick containing a copy of Mac OS X Lion for system recoveries with the new Mid-2011 MacBook Air might be causing the company a bit of a public relations issue this week. A fair number of MacBook Air users are venting their frustrations over the matter on Apple’s Support Community forums.

Imagine playing from your iPhone against anyone with an Android phone. That epic battle between Mac and PC types will be a more common option if an Austin startup is successful.

Anyone who has ever looked after a kid has probably had one of those moments where you turn around and the the spritely tyke has disappeared.

A new app from the Federal Bureau of Investigation hopes to lessen those moments of panic.

We all love lists, so here’s an interesting one to ponder. Men’s Health magazine has just ranked 100 U.S. cities by iPad usage, combining data from online ad impressions, the number of Apple and Best Buy stores per capita, and the percentage of households that own tablets or notebooks. And the winner’s are:

1 Plano, TX A+
2 San Jose, CA A
3 San Francisco, CA A
4 Boise, ID A-
5 Austin, TX A-
6 Oakland, CA B+
7 San Diego, CA B+
8 Durham, NC B+
9 Chesapeake, VA B+
10 Colorado Springs, CO B+

There’s not much to say about this right now, but Bloomberg apparently has this hypothetical iPhone 5 bills of material breakdown floating around their servers.

It hasn’t been tied to an article yet, but it is pretty interesting. I wonder how far off they’ll end up being.

There’s two main ways of charging your iPhone or iPod: you either plug it into your computer or you plug it into your wall. Either way, though, you’ll need a USB cable to get juice to your device.

That’s why the BlueLounge MiniDock is so brilliant. Just plug it into your standard Apple charger’s USB port and it’ll allow you to dock your iPhone or iPod so it sits leaning up against the wall, silently suckling from the mains.

My only gripe? It doesn’t appear that the iPad is supported. Maybe for revision 2. In the mean time, one of BlueLounge’s beauties will cost you just $20.

Made from Rhodium plated brass and hand assembled, these dashing Home Button cufflinks would make the perfect accoutrement for that iOS Geek turned Groomsman. $65 bucks will get you a pair, and enter the coupon code “iphone10” at checkout to get another 10% knocked off your order.

[via iDownload Blog]