Cult of Mac

Being stuck at home with nothing to do but watch the world collapse around us is kind of a downer, but there are some upsides. One is that people are getting creative. Like, literally creative — making more music, writing and sharing videos. The other silver lining is that app-makers are offering big discounts and extended trials for some amazing apps.

For instance, Apple now offers a free, three-month trial of its music-production app, Logic Pro X. And Ableton just matched this offer with its Live Suite.

Most Americans are used to celebrating April Fools’ Day on the first day of April, but there’s another hugely important holiday happening today that you probably don’t know about: Census Day.

The decennial holiday kicks off on April 1, which is an important reference date for the census as enumerators attempt to count how many people there are in the country and where they live. This time, census takers are turning to the iPhone 8 instead of pencil and paper to get the job done.

Apple Cardholders facing sudden financial distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic can skip their April payments without interest.

Goldman Sachs, which backs the new Apple credit card, offered the same program to cardholders who had trouble making March payments.

Apple gave developers their initial watchOS 6.2.5 beta on Wednesday. This will be a “bug fix” update for watchOS 6.2 that launched last week.

You’re stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, and maybe you’re spending lots of time keeping up with family and friends. But here’s an idea: Why not make a podcast? Not that you should stop actually talking to the people you like and love, but as a home project, making a podcast is a lot of fun.

And if you’re a musician, or you have kids, you can do a lot more than just monologuing into your iPhone’s mic. You can talk, add music, interview other family members, and anything else you can think of. Then, your friends and family will have a cool show to look forward to every day, or however often you publish.

The iCloud Keychain password manager built into iOS and macOS is reportedly getting support for two-factor authentication. This is a feature now only available in third-party password managers like Dashlane. It would make storing and using passwords more secure.

Apple is gearing up to celebrate Earth Day 2020 later this month with an all-new animated film and the greatest actress of her generation, Meryl Streep, has lent her voice to the project as the narrator.

The first trailer for Apple’s Earth Day show, Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth, landed on YouTube this morning and it looks like it will be something kids and adults fall in love with. The only thing more soothing in the trailer than Meryl’s voice is the cozy animation style that strikes a balance between being super detailed and approachable at the same time.

Check it out:

Apple’s most recent software updates have reportedly broken FaceTime compatibility with older iPhone and iPad models, leaving many users unable to make voice or video calls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The issue affects devices running iOS 13.4 and macOS 10.15.4 when they attempt to connect with devices running iOS 9.3.5 or iOS 9.3.6 — or vice-versa. There is no fix for now.

Apple shocked us with its acquisition of the Dark Sky weather app and dev team yesterday leading many fans to wonder how the app and its tech will be integrated into iOS in the future. And thanks to Parker Ortolani’s quick Apple Weather concept, we already have a good idea of what that could look like.

It will likely take months or even a year for Dark Sky to be integrated into the iOS weather app, but Ortolani’s concept shows how the acquisition could dramatically alter the app’s UI. New elements like a Map Radar view and precise rain notifications could turn the weather app from an after-thought into a crucial tool for everyone.

Take a closer look at some of the features:

One of the nicest features of the latest AirPods is the ability to charge them wirelessly. Just plunk them on top of a Qi-compatible charger and you’re good to go. But what about the original AirPods, which didn’t come with a wireless charging case?

Well, now you can add Qi charging for just $25, thanks to Elkson’s Wireless Charging and Bumper Case.

WhatsApp might be the only messaging platform that you cannot use on multiple devices simultaneously — but that might finally change. A discovery in the latest WhatsApp beta suggests a true multi-platform experience is coming.

The T-Mobile and Sprint merger is now officially complete, transforming the third and fourth-biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. into a more giant-sized rival to take on Verizon and AT&T.

The New T-Mobile, as it will be known, will be run by CEO Mike Sievert. Sievert takes over from T-Mobile boss John Legere, who has been chief executive of T-Mobile since 2012. Legere will remain on T-Mobile’s board until June.

It’s always a good time to work on learning a new language. But during the coronavirus crisis, many of us have more down time than we’re probably used to. If you’ve been waiting to start practicing your French or Spanish or some other language, this massive deal on a top-rated subscription to Babbel is your cue to start.

The world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer and Apple’s biggest supply chain partner has reassured investors that it can ready the 5G-capable iPhone 12 in time for a fall debut.

Tim Cook on Wednesday confirmed that Apple has more than doubled its donation to China’s COVID-19 relief efforts. The iPhone-maker has now handed over more than 50 billion yuan ($7 million).

Trapped in an oppressive single location, allowing no-one to get within breathing distance of you, while the apocalypse teeters ever closer on the horizon… Life in coronavirus lockdown? Maybe. But it’s also an apt description of Doom and Doom II, the classic first-person-shooters which just got a nifty update on iOS.

With a variety of improvements and more than 30 new levels to enjoy, there’s never been a better (or more appropriate) time to check out or revisit this grisly duo of classic 1990s blasters.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have created an app that can detect COVID-19 simply by listening to you cough and talk.

The COVID Voice Detector analyzes voice recordings to detect signs of infection and is open to anyone who wants to use it. It’s the cheapest, most accessible method of testing so far — but it’s still “experimental” for now.

Apple late on Tuesday rolled out the latest updates to its iWork and iMovie apps for iPhone and iPad. All now offer full mouse and trackpad support, iCloud file sharing, and a number of other new features and improvements.

Apple chipmaker TSMC is reportedly on track to move forward with volume production of its next-gen 5-nanometer chips. This most likely refers to Apple’s next A-series chips for the iPhone 12 series of handsets.

According to a report published Wednesday, this production process is currently on as scheduled. This counters recent speculation that Apple had asked TSMC to defer manufacturing for the new iPhone.

Apple has stopped signing iOS 13.3.1 after the release of iOS 13.4, stopping people who have upgraded to the latest version from going back again.

Every iOS update Apple introduces is designed to be speedier, more stable, and more secure than its predecessor. As a result, Apple blocks downgrades soon after its latest release has rolled out to everyone. This was the turn of iOS 13.3.1 to go to the big software graveyard in the sky!

All the apps in Apple’s free iWork productivity suite for Mac now support iCloud Drive folder sharing, a collaboration feature that debuted last Tuesday in macOS 10.15.4.

This new feature is a highlight of each iWork application — Pages, Numbers and Keynote — reaching version 10.0. And there are numerous other enhancements, too.

Apple’s decision to cancel the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, and move to an online-only format was not only a good idea but a no-brainer, according to an international survey of more than 2,200 independent software programmers.

Need a new MacBook Pro? You won’t want to miss Woot’s brilliant deal on 13-inch models, refurbished by Apple, which are now available for as little as $679.99. Or pick up the brand-new 2020 Mac mini from $699 — $100 off its usual price tag.

That’s just some of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup that will help you tackle self-isolation and working from home during the COVID-19 crisis. Other highlights include:

• Sims 4 for Mac — from $4.99
• Beats Solo3 wireless headphones — save $140
• iPad Air with 4G — save $130

Find all these discounts and more in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.

You may have seen a notification from Apple Music at some point. It popped up, told you about a new album from a favorite artist, and you thought, “Thanks Apple Music! That’s great news.” Finally, you thought to yourself, this is a machine doing what machines are supposed to do. Then maybe you clicked on that notification, and the Music app launched, but didn’t go to the artist or album. Or perhaps you dismissed the alert, and when you opened the Music app later, you were confused because you couldn’t find the notification anywhere.

Now, Apple has (maybe) fixed this problem. Instead of just plain old lock-screen notifications, the Music app will now show you new music alerts inside the app itself. Here’s how to switch them on.

The FCC on Tuesday gave wireless carriers until next summer to implement a system designed to prevent caller ID spoofing. The goal is blocking phone scammers from using fake caller ID information to convince call recipients that they are talking to someone trustworthy or from their local area.