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How a broken Apple Lisa was transformed into a powerful computer

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restored Apple Lisa with clear plastic housing
Saying John McLearan restored this Apple Lisa 2/10 is an understatement.
Photo: John McLearan

The Apple Lisa computer was a colossal failure. It was also the most important machine in personal computing history.

You can try to argue that last claim with John McLearan. He believes it. And he offers his restored Lisa 2/10 — loaded with modifications to make it a 21st-century workhorse — as proof that the computer’s reputation needs a considerable upgrade.

Parallels Toolbox gets brand new tools, big improvements

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Parallels-Toolbox
Parallels Toolbox is better than ever.
Photo: Parallels

Parallels Toolbox just got a massive update on Mac that adds a whole bunch of useful new tools.

The version 3.5 release brings the ability to access clipboard history, an energy saving mode, and a sleep timer. It also allows you to hide menubar icons you don’t always need access to.

FTC hits Facebook with record $5 billion fine

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
This is the largest fine in FTC history.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Federal Trade Commission hit Facebook with a massive $5 billion fine Wednesday due to the social network’s lax privacy policies.

This stands as the largest fine ever dished out to a tech company by the FTC. The massive penalty eats up approximately 9% of Facebook’s total 2018 revenue.

Apple lobbying for new ‘very low power’ Wi-Fi tech

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home Wi-Fi
This could open up new possibilities for Wi-Fi devices.
Photo: Alan Levine/Flickr

Apple joined forces with a number of other tech companies to lobby the Federal Communications Commission for a new Wi-Fi band.

The proposed 6 GHz band would open up new types of short-range connectivity for portable Very Low Power (VLP) devices. It could prove useful for everything from mobile augmented reality devices to high-speed tethering with smartphones, laptops and tablets.

Major expansion for Civilization VI coming to iOS

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Civilization VI
Gathering Storm will make a sprawling epic game even bigger.
Image: Aspyr Media

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a triumph on iOS. But it’s about to get even better — courtesy of an upcoming new expansion pack in the form of Gathering Storm.

Arriving on Windows, Mac and Linux computers earlier in 2019, the expansion is set to come to iPhone and iPad later this year.

Hilariously sarcastic weather app gets an iPad-focused refresh

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Carrot Weather 1
CARROT Weather is a quirky -- but surprisingly great -- weather app.
Image: Carrot Weather

Everyone’s favorite sarcastic AI taskmaster weather app has received a big update.

CARROT Weather 4.12 just landed in the App Store, bringing a plethora of upgrades designed around the iPad. If you’re a tablet user with an interest in a quirky, yet surprisingly deep weather app, this may be the one for you!

Attorney General says tech companies should break strong encryption

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Apple: Keep Out, privacy
Barr's comments won't win him any friends in Cupertino!
Photo: Apple

Attorney general William Barr has a warning for tech companies using strong encryption: You need to be willing to break it.

In a keynote at the International Conference on Cyber Security in New York, Barr stressed that it is important that law enforcement can crack encrypted messages when they need to do so. The comments are likely to win Barr no friends in Cupertino, given Apple’s stance on privacy.

StayGo hub offers all the ports your Mac is missing [Review]

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Twelve South StayGo review
The StayGo is an 8-port USB-C hub designed to be used in the office or on the road.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

TwelveSouth has a hub for those who remember the days when MacBooks came with USB-A, Ethernet, and video ports. This uses a single USB-C port to bring back six legacy ports.

On top of that, the StayGo comes with a 1-meter cable for use on your desktop, plus a short built-in cable for plugging in on the road.

Is this the hub your Mac needs? Read on to find out.

U.S. launches huge antitrust investigation into major tech companies

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Apple leases new offices near to Apple Park
Are Apple and other tech companies too big?
Photo: Duncan Sinfield

Stock prices of the major U.S. stock companies all took a tumble in after-hours trading today after the U.S. Justice Department revealed that it is launching a broad antitrust investigation into tech companies.

The department has not said which companies will be investigated specifically but it’s pretty likely that Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook will be swept up in the case.

BMW will charge outrageous annual fee for CarPlay

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CarPlay-dashboard-iOS-13
My cheap Kia came with CarPlay as standard.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

BMW has decided that it will charge customers an annual fee if they want to enjoy CarPlay in its newest vehicles.

It is the first car-maker to turn Apple’s platform into a subscription service. Most now include CarPlay as standard, or as an optional feature that lasts as long as the vehicle.

iPhone 4s and older models get fresh iOS update

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iPhone 4S with iOS 9.3.6
Your iPhone 4S can’t be obsolete if Apple just released iOS 9.3.6 for it, right?
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Believe it or not, there’s an iOS update for anyone still using an iPhone 4S, iPad 2, or other Apple devices from 2012 or before. This ensures these classic models can still accurately access the GPS system.

How to fake True Tone on older Macs

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Make your Mac match its surroundings.
Make your Mac match its surroundings.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Owners of recent MacBooks Pro and Air can enjoy True Tone, a great technology that uses an ambient light sensor to match the color of the Mac’s display to its surroundings. True Tone mimics a white sheet of paper, which reflects the ambient light. The goal is to avoid a cold-blue screen when you’re in a nice, warmly lit room.

True Tone is a wonderful feature, and really makes everything look better. But it’s only available on new Macs. Today we’ll see how you can fake it on older computers.

Apple asks Trump administration to spare Mac Pro parts from tariffs

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Macpro
The Mac Pro is an expensive beast.
Photo: Apple

Apple submitted multiple requests to the Trump administration asking that the government exclude Mac Pro parts from a 25% import tariff.

Production of the Mac Pro moved to China this year as Apple moves on from the “trash can” Mac Pro design manufactured in Austin, Texas. In nearly all 15 of its filings, Apple says there are no other sources for the proprietary, Apple-designed components.

Apple denies report of App Store search monopoly

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Appstore
You can request them manually if you need to.
Photo: Apple

The Wall Street Journal claims Apple is giving its own apps preferential treatment in the iOS App Store search results. During a wide-ranging test of basic app search terms like “maps”, WSJ discovered that some of Apple’s apps show up first in the rankings 60% of the time. For other terms, the rate was even higher.

This eSIM lets you roam in Europe and the US

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Finally, your can leave your travel SIMs at home.
Finally, your can leave your travel SIMs at home.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

KnowRoaming’s new eSIM lets travelers in the United States and Europe add a new roaming SIM to their late-model iPhone or iPad, just by scanning a barcode. So, if you’re already on vacation, and you can’t bring yourself to speak to the locals, you can easily sign up and get started — all without a physical SIM card.

Rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro might start at $3,000

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The days when you could get a 17-inch MacBook Pro like this one could be returning.
Apple’s next MacBook Pro won‘t be as jumbo as this 17-inch model, but it’s still going to have a hefty price.
Photo: Apple

Anyone eager to get their hands on the much-rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro better be saving their pennies. It could cost as much as $3000, if an unconfirmed report coming out of Asia is correct.

Improved Taptic Engine could replace 3D Touch in iPhone 11

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3D Touch
The handy but not vital tricks that come with 3D Touch are reportedly going away.
Photo: Apple

Evidence continues to grow that the iPhone 11 will lack 3D Touch, and will instead include a smarter version of Haptic Touch — a fancy name for long-pressing on the screen.

Previous unconfirmed reports indicated Apple would kill 3D Touch to lower the cost of the 2019 models.

Steve Jobs insisted every bolt on Pixar’s HQ be hand-tightened

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Steve Jobs sweated the details of the Steve Jobs Building on the Pixar campus in Emeryville, California.
Steve Jobs sweated the details.
Photo: Duluoz cats/Flickr CC

Breaking news: Steve Jobs was kind of a perfectionist when it came to design.

OK, so that’s not exactly the world’s best-kept secret. But a new story about the creation of Pixar’s headquarters highlights Jobs’ obsessive attention to detail. For anyone who remembers hearing about the creation of Apple Park, it will sound eerily familiar…

Easily remove or replace anything in your digital photos [Deals]

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InPixio Photo Clip 9 Editor
Easily remove or rearrange the contents of your photos with this powerful, intuitive editor.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

In the age of always-on digital cameras, it’s easy to get photobombed. That could be a person, an object or a background element that you’d rather didn’t make it into the frame. This simple app makes it so you don’t need a graphic editing suite to fix it.

Apple pushes to make India its manufacturing hub

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iPhone sales are showing signs of life in India
Apple's "Made in India" initiative.
Photo: Apple

Apple is petitioning the Indian government to rethink its policies regarding manufacturing. The move comes as Apple looks to lessen its reliance on China as a manufacturing base.

According to a new report, Apple is pushing for the Indian government to adopt reduced import duties. These would cover components that would later be re-exported.