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Best science and tech documentaries of 2018 [Year in Review]

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Year in Review Best Documentaries 2018
Here's some holiday viewing for you.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018 Do you want to celebrate the end of another year by relaxing in front of a great informative documentary? Nobody would blame you! Fortunately, 2018 was a great year for tech- and science-focused factual filmmaking.

Here are our choices for the best science and technology documentaries 2018 had to offer.

How to fix your parents’ messed-up computers when home for the holidays

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Good luck fix parents mac
Good luck!
Photo: Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018 Christmas time means packing up your daily troubles, forgetting work for a week, and heading home to … troubleshoot your parents’ broken computers and gadgets? Oh man, is it that time of year again already?

That’s the problem with being the family’s only geek — you get handed all the geek jobs. However, you can turn this to your advantage, and make it a lot easier, by going in prepared. Check out our Holiday Troubleshooting Guide right here.

Parallels app for running Windows on a Mac gets new owner

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Parallels 14 for macOS
Parallels Desktop is now owned by Corel, which hopefully be for the good of users.
Photo: Parallels

Corel Corp. has acquired Parallels Desktop, software that enables Macs to run Windows, as well as the company that produces it. This shouldn’t make fans of this app nervous, as Corel promises to make “significant investment” in the business. 

Corel is best known for its graphics applications for Windows, like CorelDRAW and PaintShop Pro. It also offers multimedia apps. And now it makes desktop virtualization software.

Google Home tops Siri and HomePod in smart speaker test

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HomePod market share
The new HomePod could offer a neat new feature.
Photo: Apple

Apple may have been late to the smart speaker game but its HomePod is showing signs it could one day outperform them all.

But only if Apple gives Siri the power.

In Loup Ventures annual smart speaker comparisons, Google Assistant understood all 800 questions and answered nearly 88 percent of them correctly. In its first Loup Ventures test, the HomePod with Siri at the helm misunderstood just three questions and managed to answer correctly nearly 75 percent of its queries.

How to run multiple cooking timers with Shortcuts

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Yum. Perfectly timed.
Yum. Perfectly timed.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

“Hey Siri, 30-minute timer!” you shout across the kitchen, elbows deep in turkey gizzards. Only Siri isn’t interested. It’s already running that one-hour timer for the roast potatoes. Why would anybody want to run multiple timers at the same time? Silly human.

Thankfully, Shortcuts is here to save your bacon (and your Brussel’s sprouts, sage-and-onion stuffing, and so on). If you’re feeling fancy, you could even set this up to use with Siri, but today we’ll keep it simple. So, no matter how complex your Christmas Day cooking arrangement, Shortcuts will let you know when your goose is cooked.

Apple promotes new SVP of machine learning and AI

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John Giannandrea
John Giannandrea is Apple’s newest SVP.
Photo: Apple

Apple has promoted John Giannandrea to its executive team as senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Giannandrea, who joined Apple back in April of this year after eight years at Google, is responsible for Siri and the Core ML framework. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “fortune to have John … driving our efforts in this critical area.”

PlayStation brings brand new Lemmings game to iOS

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Lemmings on iPhone
Get it from the App Store today.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

The lovable Lemmings are back and better than ever. Help them navigate there way through challenging environments in a brand new game, exclusively for mobile, from Sony PlayStation.

With more levels than every previous Lemmings game combined (literally thousands!), carefully perfected touch controls, and plenty of variety throughout, it’s a must-have for mobile gamers.

Apple pulls certain iPhones in Germany following court verdict

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iPhone
Apple is appealing the court's decision.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple will be barred from selling certain iPhone models in Germany, after a court ruled that Apple was infringing on a Qualcomm patent. While the ban isn’t immediate, provided that Apple appeals it, Apple has said that it will stop selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in Apple Stores until the matter is resolved.

The decision against Apple comes shortly after Qualcomm scored a similar victory in a court in China. It will not affect the iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max.

Apple’s updated App Store rules allow gifting of in-app purchases

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App Store
Apple apps no longer dominate App Store search results.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to allow the gifting of in-app purchases.

Shoppers have long been able to gift apps and games, but Apple’s rules previously prohibited the purchase of in-app items for others. You probably won’t be able to gift in-app purchases in time for the holidays, however.

Apple splashes cash on water storage facility to cool its data centers

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Don't be a afraid of the water ip68
The $8.7 million project will benefit both Apple and the local community.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple will splash out (pun intended) $8.7 million to help build an underground water storage facility in Prineville, Oregon.

Apple has two data centers in the area. Cooling them requires massive amounts of water, which has made Apple Prineville’s biggest water user. The new water storage facility will service both Apple and the city.

A complete education in iOS 12 coding for just $11 [Deals]

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Dive into a comprehensive course in building iOS apps, for a deep discount.
Dive into a comprehensive course in building iOS apps, for a deep discount.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Learning to build apps for iOS is a great way to expand your skills. That’s true whether you’re looking to get a new gig, or just want to work on personal projects. But coding is complicated, and iOS 12 is full of advanced features, so it helps to have a guide.

Civilization VI for iOS offers all expansion packs free this month

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Civlization VI
A big game gets even bigger.
Photo: Aspyr Media, Inc.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is already pretty darn epic when it comes to the number of hours you’ll need to put in to get the most out of. But if you’re looking to make a big game even bigger, you’re in luck.

That’s because the iOS version of the game is offering all of its expansion packs for free through the rest of December. Happy holidays indeed!

iPhone lets shipwrecked user call for lifeguard

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iPhone XS Max vs. iPhone XS size: Sometimes bigger really is better.
Waterproofing has helped the iPhone a lot.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

An iPhone user reportedly had her life saved after using her iPhone to call the coast guard after her ship capsized in rough waters. The woman, named Rachel Neal, was visiting Japan at the time, when she and her friends chartered a boat off the coast of Okinawa.

When the group wound up in the water, concerned about their safety, Neal’s waterproof iPhone allowed her to call for help. They were rescued 90 minutes later.

Apple hopes to avoid Qualcomm’s wrath in Germany

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The iPhone XS Max is 25 percent larger than any previous iOS handset. So how is it as an iPad mini replacement?
Apple has made a change to iOS to try and ward off a legal challenge in Germany.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

China isn’t the only place where Apple is trying to ward off a possible legal challenge from Qualcomm. According to a new report, it has introduced a change to iOS that affects only users in Germany.

It comes before a hearing, scheduled for later today, in which a German court will hear that Apple allegedly violated Qualcomm’s patents.

Receive an iPad with a bent chassis? Nothing to worry about, says Apple

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The screen really is beautiful.
Some iPads appear to be less than perfect even when you first open them.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Okay, so most people aren’t silly enough to throw down their hard-earned money on a new iPad Pro, only to snap it in half like that infamous YouTube video which did the rounds recently.

But some users have noticed that their new iPads are actually shipping with a slight bend in the aluminum chassis, which is therefore present before the device has even been used.

Don’t worry, Apple says. That’s totally normal, and nothing to worry about.

See the new iOS animation that could save Apple’s bacon in China

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With an iPhone in China, apps close by shrinking, not by sliding off the screen.
With an iPhone in China, apps close by shrinking, not by sliding off the screen.
Screenshot: Joe Rossignol/YouTube

There’s now proof that Apple rushed iOS 12.1.2 out primarily to make changes to iPhones in China.  We also have confirmation of exactly what the modifications are.

These were designed to convince a Chinese court that iPhones don’t infringe on two Qualcomm patents.  The hope is that court will then reverse an iPhone sales ban that went into effect in that country last week.

Shop online securely this holiday season

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Shopping online can be safer (and less annoying) with Dashlane password manager.
Shopping online can be safer (and less annoying).
Photo: Bruce Mars/Pexels CC

This post is presented by Dashlane.

Christmas season used to mean spending days dashing between stores to rack up presents for loved ones. Now it means buying online from people and companies all over the country, maybe even the planet.

Online shopping is the norm now, so protecting your credit card information involves more than covering the keypad as you enter your PIN at the cashier’s stand. To avoid losing your payment information this shopping season, the best line of defense is a good password manager.

Dead seagrass makes a swell iPhone case

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seagrass iPhone cases
Dead plant life lives again in tech accessories made by PHEE.
Photo: Phee

At the beginning of each summer, coastal cities in Greece spend thousands of dollars cleaning up dead seagrass that washes up on the country’s beaches. Tourism officials see it as an eyesore and are more than happy to send tons of it to local landfills.

But to Greek startup Phee, the dead leaves of the vascular sea plant known as Posidonia oceanica make beautiful iPhone and iPad cases.

Waze’s annual Tim Cook Day is totally not a compliment

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Apple Maps reservation OpenTable
The first version of Apple Maps was terrible. Driving-directions-that-can-get-you-killed terrible. And that was the making of Waze.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Waze CEO Norm Bardin will never forget the day his company started on the path from small startup to becoming practically a household name. He says the beginning of this rise is all due to Apple and its CEO.

But that wasn’t really Tim Cook’s plan. Waze’s success is due to a bad, bad time for Apple.

Apple’s historic 2018 by the numbers [Year in Review]

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Apple Year in Review 2018 By the Numbers: Some of these Apple numbers are just huge.
Some of these Apple numbers are just huge.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac Year in Review 2018: best Apple ads of 2018 2018 has been one of the best years ever for Apple. Looking at some of the company’s most popular metric shows that the numbers are up across the board (stock price excepted).

Never before have there been more developers making more money off iOS while Apple extends its ever-growing reach. Revenue hit an all-time high. And the next big thing feels like it’s just on the horizon.

Here’s Apple’s 2018 by the numbers.

Apple seeds first iOS 12.1.3 beta to developers

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The official iOS 12 release date is next week, but you can download it now.
There's a new beta out for iPhone.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple has busted out one more beta update for developers to play with before the end of 2018 with the first build of iOS 12.1.3.

The new iOS 12.1.3 beta 1 update comes just days after Apple released iOS 12.1.2 to the public as a way to fix patent claims by Qualcomm in China. Along with the new iOS beta, there are also new beta updates for macOS Mojave and tvOS.