Cult of Mac

Most folks refer to Siri as “she,” but that’s not always true. The original British English Siri, for example, was male-only up until iOS 7.1 added a female version. And in the latest iOS 14.5 beta, a female Siri is not the default option.

No matter what, you don’t have to stick with your local version of Apple’s comically bad voice assistant. U.S. English speakers, for example, can currently choose from American, Australian, British, Indian, Irish and South African accents for Siri, and also pick male or female versions — with more voices coming soon.

So, if you’re a U.S. native who views the U.K. Standard English accent as quaint, cute, respectful, sexy or reproachful, it’s easy to set your iPhone or iPad to sound like a Brit or whatever you want. And your choice of Siri accent will follow you on all Apple devices logged into with your Apple ID. (In addition to iPhone and iPad, Siri works with just about everything now: Mac, AirPods, iPod, Apple Watch, CarPlay, HomePod and Apple TV.)

Let’s see how to change Siri’s accent.

A Mission Control-looking setup featuring an ultrawide monitor with a spacious screen above it and a portrait-oriented screen on either side of it was bound to get some attention — especially with ring lights sticking up from it like antennae. And it did.

“That just seems so excessive that it isn’t even funny,” one Redditor commented on KipKang’s post promoting his MacBook Pro setup and its relative orgy of displays. “I love it and I am jealous of it. Long winded way of saying NICE!”

“Thanks! ‘Nothing exceeds like excess,’” KipKang replied.

Apple made a huge push for its gaming service on Friday, launching 11 original games. These cover a range of genres, from NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition to Star Trek: Legends. And Fantasian from the creator of the Final Fantasy series also launched in Apple Arcade. Plus many, many more.

Apple’s subscription gaming service grew significantly Friday. Apple Arcade added 30 titles and two new categories: Timeless Classics and App Store Greats. This adds favorites like Monument Valley and Fruit Ninja Classic. And there are now versions of Suduku, chess and other perennial favorites.

“Today we’re launching our biggest expansion since the service debuted, now offering more than 180 great games that include new Arcade Originals, Timeless Classics, and App Store Greats,” said Matt Fischer, Apple’s vice president of the App Store.

Space-race soap opera For All Mankind drops a bomb this week that could ruin the chances of everybody here getting what they want — and definitely destroys whatever character work the writers and actors have done up until now.

The writers realized nothing exciting had happened all season and so just dropped a bunch of character arcs in favor of what’s convenient. I wish I was surprised.

Apple Arcade subscribers are in for a treat. Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also made the classic Final Fantasy series, also created Fantasian for Apple’s gaming service. It mixes computer-generated characters with handmade sets for a truly unique look.

Don’t get your hopes up for an iPhone SE Plus this year. Or next. This is rumored to be the first in the SE series with an edge-to-edge screen, but an analyst focused on the display business said Thursday that the wait will stretch into 2023.

However, a new model using the current design might arrive before then.

The average U.S. iPhone user shelled out $138 for apps in 2020, according to a market research firm. That’s a 38% year-over-year increase.

As has held true for many years, mostly what people are buying is games.

Apple will announce the financial results of its winter quarter on April 28. So far, people forced to work and learn from home have been very good for the Mac-maker’s bottom line. We’ll soon see if that carried through to the beginning of 2021.

Your hands are full and you need to look something up on your Apple Watch. Engineers at Apple dreamed up a system that would allow you to control the wearable by blowing on it. A newly filed patent application also imagines a breath-controlled iPhone.

So far, there’s no sign this is an April Fools’ Day joke. But it’s possible.

Today marks 45 years since a little outfit called the Apple Computer Company was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Apple set out to build and sell personal computers. Since then, it’s risen from a hobbyist startup to a tech giant valued at more than $2 trillion.

In the last four and a half decades, Apple changed the tech world in all kinds of ways — some big, some small. Here, in no particular order, are 45 of the most notable ways Apple put a ding in the universe.

The indie Opera browser, one of the oldest browsers still operating today, has been updated with native support for Apple Silicon Macs. The update means that the Opera browser now runs 2x faster on M1 Macs.

Opera first debuted on Mac way back in 1996. That’s approaching a decade before Safari made its debut. One of Opera’s first big claims to fame was that it made it easier to browse several web pages at once. Today, its big appeal is its minimalist aesthetic, innovative sidebar design, and (now faster than ever) performance.

The problem with investing in a fancy TV is that there’s always an upgrade right around the corner. From crisper resolution to even thinner bezels, it can start to feel like a rat race to get the largest, most high-tech television possible.

Here’s a way you can satisfy all your binge-watching needs on a giant screen that adapts with you, whether you choose to have movie night outdoors with all your friends or just want to watch your favorite show solo in your living room. This Minolta MN673 Mini LCD Projector allows you to project movies, shows, music videos and more in crisp 1080p resolution wherever you want to watch them.

Russia’s “anti-Apple” law came into force today, meaning that all smartphones, tablets, and computers sold in the country must offer local software and apps as part of the setup process.

Apple reportedly “strongly opposed” the law, and even went so far as to threaten to pull out of the Russian market over it. However, as was the case with a government-created “Do Not Disturb” app in India, it eventually relented.

The app ecosystem did very, very well during the global pandemic. While many businesses struggled, the app industry experienced a massive boom in sales, as people were stuck home with, in many cases, a lot more time on their hands.

It seems the 2020 rise in sales isn’t slowing down, either. According to a new App Annie, consumer spending on apps achieved a new record high in the first quarter of 2021. Across both iOS and Android, customers spent $32 billion on apps in the quarter. That’s a 40 percent increase from the same period last year — and the biggest quarter on record.

Life can be hard on desktop accessories, and so Satechi created the Cybermouse. It’s made of indestructible “Super-Tough” aluminum in a design sure to widen the eyes of Elon Musk.

And the designers didn’t leave out other advanced features, like wireless and solar charging.

There could soon be an alternative to the current, simple Apple TV remote. A schematic showing a rumored new version has leaked out, and it includes a wide array of buttons. It’s therefore likely to please those unhappy with the present version.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina screen released in late 2012 was a groundbreaking model in its day. But now, many years later, it’s been classified by Apple as obsolete.

This means that getting repairs or even spare parts for this device just got much more difficult. But it has been out of production for more than 7 years.

There are plenty of good reasons why you’d want to learn to take and edit beautiful photos. Whether you’re starting a side hustle in photography, want to capture your memories or grow your brand on social with high-quality content, it helps to have composition and editing skills.

After almost a decade of using a female voice by default, Siri users will be given a choice of voices for the virtual assistant when they set up Apple devices. The virtual assistant will also come with two new English-language voices.

These changes debuted in iOS 14.5 beta 6 and the iPads equivalent, which Apple seeded to developers Wednesday.

WhatsApp on Mac now has the ability to make and receive voice and video calls. It’s ideal for keeping in touch with friends, family, and colleagues from your desk while you can’t see them face to face.

Here’s how to initiate a voice or video call yourself.

Apple supposedly will announce its first virtual reality/augmented reality headset “in the next several months,” according to a very reliable source. It could be as quickly as WWDC 2021.  That’s well before other predictions.

While the iPhone-maker hasn’t committed to any such device, its VR headset has been the subject of many leaks. But no one can agree on when it’ll reach customers. Most recent reports have pointed to some point in 2022, though.

Sometimes a setup promoted on social media stops you dead in your tracks, and it’s not because you’re excited about the hardware. Sometimes it’s the amazing, hand-built “man shed” where the setup lives that stuns you.

Such is the case with CourseEcstatic6202’s offering on Reddit. The cloud architect — let’s just call him “CE” — works in Amazon Web Services on California’s central coast. He designed and built a beautiful little house for his MacBook Pro-based setup in his back yard.

Keep your shiny new iPhone 12 protected and in pristine condition with some high-quality cases from SwitchEasy. They’re brilliantly designed and well-built. And when you buy one from the Cult of Mac Store right now, you’ll get another absolutely free.

This deal ends Friday, April 2, so enjoy it while you can!

Apple frenemy Samsung has achieved its goal of using 100% reusable energy in its factories in the USA, Europe, and China. It announced the sustainability drive in 2018, and achieved 92% reusable energy by the close of 2019.

Samsung has not yet revealed whether it plans to try and push this same focus on reusables to other parts of the world that it operates — including its home turf of South Korea.