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Here’s another clue that Apple’s ‘One More Thing’ is new Macs

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Steve Jobs’ estate triumphs in battle over SteveJobs.com
Steve Jobs announced a dramatically changed MacBook as a “one more thing” before. And Apple might do so again.
Photo: Kazuhiro Shiozawa/Flickr CC

By calling its November product-launch event “One More Thing,” Apple seems to be dropping a hint that history is about to repeat itself.

Way back at Macworld 2006, then-CEO Steve Jobs introduced a MacBook that set a new course for Apple. This came as a “one more thing” addition at the end of his keynote. Something like that might be about to happen again.

iPhone 12 mini charges more slowly with MagSafe

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A smaller battery and slower MagSafe charging seem to be the iPhone 12 mini's only weaknesses.
A smaller battery and slower MagSafe charging seem to be the iPhone 12 mini's only weaknesses.
Photo: Apple

If you’re still on the fence about whether to buy an iPhone 12 mini, here’s one reason you might want to avoid it. Apple’s smallest 2020 iPhone charges more slowly than other models in the lineup when you use the new MagSafe charger.

There’s a massive error with UK’s contact-tracing coronavirus app

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covid.19.coronavirus.graphic1
App may not have been sending out alerts correctly.
Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The UK’s botched contact-tracing COVID app has run into its latest hurdle — this time the fact that thousands of people have been possibly exposed to coronavirus without being told that this is the case.

The reason for this is that the app used the wrong risk threshold to send out warnings. In essence, it assumed that people were too far away for transmission to be possible — even when they weren’t. As a result, “shockingly low” numbers of people received warnings.

Keep your real phone number hidden with a second, ‘burner’ line

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Hushed
Get a second phone number that you can use for Craigslist deals, dates, work calls, and other times when you'd rather keep your real number private.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet changed a lot about how we communicate. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the sensitivity of giving out your personal phone number to randos.

Craigslist, Tinder dates — heck, even work associates — there are lots of people you might not want to be able to reach you on a whim. This inexpensive private phone line offers an invaluable buffer between you and the unknown.

This app lets sexting couples sign an NDA first

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Couple in bed
E-gree is a free legal contract service.
Photo: Womanizer WOW Tech/Unsplash CC

Want to receive an intimate photo from a romantic partner? You’d better be ready to sign on the dotted line (or, at least, the smartphone screen.)

A new app called e-gree allows couples to create legal contracts that could help stop the saucy selfies from being shared without permission. No legal fees involved.

Don’t expect the first Apple Silicon MacBooks to look radically different

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Apple_macbookpro-13-inch_screen_05042020
Don't expect a significant (exterior) redesign for the first MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
Photo: Apple

Don’t expect to see any major design changes when Apple introduces its first Apple Silicon MacBooks at next week’s “One More Thing” event, claims Bloomberg.

The unprecedented third Apple media event in three months will take place on Tuesday, November 10. At the event, Apple will show off the initial Apple Silicon Macs, first announced at June’s WWDC. But it seems that the MacBooks won’t be getting fancy new exterior redesigns to go along with their new processors.

Want to make a MagSafe accessory for iPhone 12? Follow these guidelines

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MagSafe on iPhone 12 Pro GIF
MagSafe is back — but not as you knew it.
GIF: Apple

Apple has created a guidelines document for third-party manufacturers who want to create their own MagSafe accessories for the iPhone 12.

It contains specific guidance, such as the fact that MagSafe cases must have a a maximum thickness of 2.1mm, and should be capable of clinging on securely to an iPhone without necessarily having to rely on the magnets to do so.

Christopher Walken will surely creep us out in Severance on Apple TV+

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Christopher Walken will be in ‘Severance’ omn Apple TV+.
Christopher Walken can’t stand on a sidewalk without looking frightening.
Photo: Wikipedia CC

Any doubts that the Apple TV+ workplace thriller Severance will be creepy were laid to rest Monday when word got out that Christopher Walken has joined the cast. He’s added an eerie tone to many roles in the past.

He’s just one of multiple big names already involved in the upcoming Apple series. Patricia Arquette is also set to star, while Ben Stiller will direct.

It’s decision time, America!

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iPhone 12 mini versus iPhone 12 Pro Max: One of 2020's toughest decisions.
One of 2020's toughest decisions.
Photos: Apple

Like many other Americans, I face a momentous decision this week. A choice between two polar opposites, each with hard-core backers who say you’re stone-cold crazy if you don’t go with their pick.

I’m talking about, of course, one of the most pressing decisions of 2020: iPhone 12 mini or iPhone 12 Pro Max. They’re the most exciting iPhones in this year’s lineup, for very different reasons.

These MagSafe mounts take iPhone 12 photography up a notch

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Check out the lineup of Moment MagSafe mounts.
Moment put together a range of MagSafe-compatible mounts and cases for the iPhone 12 series.
Photo: Moment

Accessory-maker Moment unveiled a variety of mounts to help photographers make better use the very advanced cameras built into the iPhone 12 series. These employ the MagSafe magnetic-connection system built into Apple’s newest handsets.

There’s also a new lineup of MagSafe-compatible iPhone 12 cases from Moment.

Apple TV comes to Xbox consoles next week

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Apple TV and Xbox: together at last
A version of the Apple TV app will be ready when Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S debut next week.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Those who use a Microsoft Xbox as their entertainment center will soon be able to watch the Apple TV+ streaming video service. A version of the Apple TV software will be released for a range of Xbox consoles next Tuesday, including the newest ones.

How to see the MacBook clue in Apple’s November event invite

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An AR easter egg hints that the Apple November event will include a new MacBook.
Apple seems to be broadly hinting that a MacBook will be unveiled next week.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple put an augmented reality Easter egg into the invitation to its November product event. The AR object seems to hint that there’ll be at least one new MacBook on the docket.

The basic graphic in the event invite, which went out Monday, is the Apple logo surrounded by streaks of light. iPhone users can transfer that design to the real 3D world, and put it in motion. That motion looks a lot like a MacBook opening and closing.

Get ready for Apple Silicon Mac at ‘One More Thing’ event

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Apple Silicon Macs are likely too be the stars of the
Here come those Apple Silicon Macs.
Graphic: Apple

Apple sent out invites on Monday to an unprecedented third product launch event. This will almost certainly be the debut of Macs running Apple Silicon, the company’s own processors.

Titled “One More Thing,” the November event is scheduled for 10 a.m. PST on Tuesday, November 10.

Apple closing all 38 stores in England as country goes into new lockdown

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apple.store.regent.street.london.1
One of the many stores in England which will be closing temporarily.
Photo: Richard Shrum for Cult of Mac

Apple Stores will close again in England as the country goes into a second national lockdown, starting Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the lockdown over the weekend as a result of a sharp spike in coronavirus cases. The lockdown — which will last a minimum of four weeks, but maybe longer — means that all non-essential stores will close. That includes Apple stores.

Learn a new language the same way you learned your native tongue

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Memrise
With videos of common, useful phrases spoken by native speakers in 22 different languages, this app makes the learning process easy and fun.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Lots of us have made the commitment to learn a new language, only to watch it fall by the wayside. Unless you’re fully immersed and have plenty of free time, it’s usually not as easy to learn a second (or third) language as it was to learn the first.

The Memrise Language Learning app aims to make it far easier to earn additional languages, using a three-step approach that mimics the way you mastered your native tongue. At the heart of the app are video clips featuring native speakers, who demonstrate all the subtleties of phrasing and tone that carry as much information as the words themselves.

Apple ordered to pay more than $500 million in long-running patent battle

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iPhone with gavel.
Will this be the end of the road? Who knows!
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

Apple’s long-running battle with patent-holding entity VirnetX took another expensive turn Friday as Apple was ordered to pay $502.8 million for infringing on the company’s patents.

The verdict was decided by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Apple and VirnetX have been battling back and forth since 2010.

Apple: Cutting App Store fees will have ‘adverse’ effect on bottom line

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app-store
Apple makes the admission in new financial report.
Photo: Apple

In its latest 10-K annual report, detailing its 2020 financial reports, Apple warns investors that if it’s made to reduce the commission it charges in the App Store, this could have a “materially adverse” affect on Apple’s bottom line.

Apple includes the clause, which seemingly hasn’t been in previous 10-K reports, at a time when Apple’s commission is being challenged. A number of developers and politicians have suggested that Apple’s control of the App Store in unfair, and that it charges too much.

No, Sean Connery didn’t turn down an offer from Steve Jobs

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James Bond
Sadly there's no evidence of a meeting between Connery and Jobs.
Photo: UA

Over the weekend, the first (and arguably best) actor to play James Bond in a movie, Sean Connery, passed away at the age of 90.

Almost immediately, a story began doing the rounds online about the time, in 1998, when Connery told Steve Jobs that he flat-out refused to participate in an Apple ad. Why? Because Jobs was “a computer salesman” and Connery was “f*cking James Bond.”

It’s a great story. It’s also totally untrue.

This app takes financial strain off your relationship

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HoneyFi
Team up with your partner and manage your money together.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Moving in with a romantic partner can be complicated and stressful. But an even higher level of stress comes when you merge your financial accounts.

There are ways to work things out, though. This intuitive app makes it easy for couples to plan their financial futures.