Cult of Mac

We start the day off with three hardware deals: the iMac, the iPad and a Cinema Display. First up is a Core i3 iMac running at 3.26GHz bundled with 8GB of RAM and three years of AppleCare for just $1,629. Next is a 64GB Wi-Fi first-generation iPad for only $450. Finally, a 27-inch LED Cinema Display for just $849.

Along the way, we check out speakers for your iPod, docks for your iPad and charging units for your iPhone. As always, details on these items plus many more can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

We Apple watchers are forever reading whatever tea leaves are available to divine Apple’s intentions, vision and plans for the future. This is increasingly important because Apple’s products are not only growing across the board in market share, but those products are arguably the most influential in shaping the direction of the entire industry.

Steve Jobs’ presentation to the Cupertino City Council this week looked like a company CEO requesting approval for a construction project. But for Apple watchers, it was Christmas.

In Apple’s breathtaking plans for a spectacular new campus was revealed everything you really need to know about Apple – and the Apple-dominated future of consumer technology.

Here’s what Apple’s plans to build a giant spaceship campus tell us.

Like cowboys hoping to brand its herd of cattle before rustlers move in, Apple has registered dozens of domains to protect products unveiled at this week’s WWDC.

Apple didn’t announce a new iPhone with a beefed up camera on Monday, but they did inform us that they are making some big improvements to their camera app. With the ability to take pictures from the lockscreen, volume shutter buttons, basic photo editing and much more, Apple’s done a great job of making sure the iPhone will continue to be one of the most popular cameras on the web. Here is our run down of the new features in iOS 5’s camera app.

Unlike iOS 4, Apple’s promised not to leave any iOS devices behind with the jump to iOS 5, but older devices might lose some features. The iPhone 3GS under iOS 5 tellingly doesn’t support many of iOS’s new photo abilities, but even last year’s iPad might get the short thrift with the latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system: users are reporting that the original iPad running iOS 5 does not support the new gesturing feature.

We’re back at it again today. After yesterday’s highly successful Twitter Trivia Giveaway we’ve decided to give everyone another chance to win the Twitter Trivia Giveaway. We’ve been giving out free stuff all week via Twitter, but we’re nearing the end of our weeklong giveaway. With only two more chances to win you got to make each try count. If you’d like to join our three other winners and receive a free iMainGo X we’d be happy to have one sent to you as long as you play by the rules.

Let’s say Steve Jobs came to your little town and said he wanted to build an awesome frickin’ spaceship HQ there that would not only prettify the town and serve as a tourism draw, but also could provide an intergalactic life boat for the local populace in case worlds collide… what would you say?

“Hell [expletive] yes!” would be most people’s answer, and that’s just what Cupertino Mayor Gilbert Wong said in a press conference yesterday: there’s just no way we’re going to pass this opportunity up.

Steve Jobs has unambiguously said that Apple does not see a place for an iMac or MacBook with a multitouch display in their line-up of Macs. Citing the problem of gorilla arm, Jobs says that touch needs to be something that can be done in your lap, not accomplished reaching across the table. Trackpads and multitouch mice are the future of Macs.

Seems pretty unambiguous, doesn’t it? Then again, this is the same guy who just a year ago said that Apple was “pretty skeptical” about the cloud, when they were already working on iCloud. So guess what? Despite what Steve Jobs says, Apple’s also working on multitouch iMacs.

When the fifth-generation iPhone launches later this year, with it may come its third U.S. carrier, as sources now report that a Sprint iPhone is in advanced testing.

In the wake of Apple’s iMessage, Android is reportedly working on its own free messaging service. Could 2011 be the year that SMS starts to wither and die?

Got an incriminating call from that doxy your wife told you to stop fooling around with? In iOS 5, you can just delete the record of that call, no jailbreak required.

The Reeder app from Silvio Rizzi has been one of the most successful Google Reader clients for iOS devices, and has proven to be incredibly popular on the Mac since its beta release last November. Today, Reeder leaves its beta tag behind and arrives in the Mac App Store.

Apple’s In-App Subscriptions policy hasn’t always been favourable with magazine and newspaper publishers, forcing some to avoid the App Store altogether… but a recent change to the guidelines may lead to an influx of new content on our iOS devices.

Here’s a look at Find My Mac configured in iCloud on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. It works just as you would expect it to with the Find My iPhone app on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Only Guest users will have access to Safari which will aid you in the recovery, locking or wiping of your Mac.

With the unveiling of iOS 5 at WWDC earlier this week, Apple announced a few features that may be cause for concern for some third-party application developers. One feature that wasn’t mentioned, however, may worry those who produce panoramic camera applications.

This is the size of Steve Jobs’ new Apple spaceship campus — compared to the massive Pentagon building. You can imagine the scale of the complex Steve Jobs is planning to build.

The Pentagon building, btw, is the world’s largest office building (by floor size). It houses about 26,000 people. Steve Jobs’ new HQ will house 13,000 — but it’s parkland in the middle. We imagine it’ll have similar security though.

Thanks Se Mo!

Don’t Miss: Pictures of Apple’s New Mega Mothership Campus

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcXGLGRUEiY

Espen Horne, a filmmaker in Norway, had an eerie experience with an iPhone and a fire alarm, resulting in one of those Reese’s peanut butter moments.

The next logical step: he made a three-minute clip asking Steve Jobs to integrate a fire alarm sensor on the iPhone.

Bowing to pressure from lawmakers after a recent U.S. senate hearing, Apple has updated the review guidelines to sideline new apps that might be seen as aiding drunk drivers.

Section 22.8 of the updated App Store Review Guidelines reads:

Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected.

Some of the apps in question are, however, still available in iTunes for download.

Evernote launched today a free new app designed entirely around the iPad 2’s Smart Cover. It’s called Evernote Peek.

The app is designed for learning and memorization, and works like flash cards. You point the app at some content in your Evernote account that you’d like to learn. Then the Smart Cover magic happens. Just lift up the first segment of the cover to see the question. Try to remember it, and lift up the next segment to see the answer. To move to the next question, just close the cover.

Evernote also gives you hints on how to best create notes to learn with the app. Brilliant.

Go here to read the Evernote announcement.

I’m not exactly sure why this thing works so damn well. The idea is pretty simple: Use Aviiq’s Portable Quick Stand ($40) to prop your laptop up (in this case, Aviiq has settled on a 12-degree angle) and suddenly the screen is closer to eye level, and the keyboard is tilted. And man, does it make a huge difference.

For a few minutes today, Twitter account BWilks2001 played host to a number of images purporting to come from Apple’s forthcoming Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5 release, giving designers an intriguing glimpse into what could be the future of Apple’s professional video production suite. Then, just like that, the Twitter account was gone, brought down by Apple’s lawyers.

But don’t worry. We’ve got all the leaked screenshots, after the jump.

Boring your family and friends with all your Apple talk? Come hang out with some kindred spirits… and maybe get drunk and score some free swag at the same time. Yeah, that’s right: Cult of Mac is having a party on Thursday June 9th at the Il Pirata bar in San Francisco, and you’re invited.

Apple has now made iTunes 10.3.1 available to download an incremental update to iTunes 10.3 released earlier this week. In case you missed it here’s what’s new!

Want to check out what qualifies as the creme de la creme of app design in Steve Jobs’ eyes? We’ve got screenshots of every app that won an Apple Design Award at WWDC 2011 last night.

With iOS 5’s new Wireless Syncing functionality, the umbilical cord of your iPhone or iPad has finally dried up and fallen off… except when it needs power, when you have to plug it in to a wall socket.

But Apple’s serious about cutting the cord. Future iOS devices might be truly wireless, sucking in power as wirelessly as they will sync.