It didn’t take long for OS X Mountain Lion to hit the top of the Mac App Store’s paid chart following its release yesterday, which means Apple shifted a heck of a lot of copies on day one. In fact, it sold so many copies that traffic from the Cupertino company’s servers was up to six times higher than normal.
The Podcasts app, released by Apple last month, is a thing of potential beauty. I’ve already returned to a state of podcast listening due to the app, which lets me find and focus solely on the podcast content I need, without all the kludgy hassle of syncing and downloading.
Notice I said “potential” beauty. The app is really not ready for prime time, with freezes, crashes and a dearth of sync between, for example, an iPhone and an iPad. That’s set to change later today, according to “sources” mentioned at AllThingsD, with an update to the Podcasts app that should fix these issues, at least.
On The CultCast, our listeners ask us all the time whether they should go for the Macbook Pro or the Macbook Air. I say be a real Apple fan — get both. But if that’s not an option, we’ll tell you when which model makes more sense than the other, and which Macbook will be right for you on our latest episode.
And then, Faves and Raves! The fun but poorly-named segment where we pitch our favorite apps and gear then vote on which is best.
Don’t miss this stupendous new episode of The CultCast. Subscribe now on iTunes, or stream new episodes right on your iPhone or iPad with Apple’s new Podcasts App.
Show notes below!
We’ve had it with wireless providers charging us more money for less data and fewer features, and on our brand new CultCast, we’ll tell you why the prospect of carriers charging for FaceTime over 3G makes us mad as hell!
And then, Faves and Raves! The fun and poorly-named segment where we pitch our favorite apps and gear then vote on which is best.
Don’t miss a very fun new episode of The CultCast. Subscribe now on iTunes, or get all techie like the Dark Knight and stream new episodes right on your iPhone or iPad with Apple’s new Podcasts App.
Show notes below!
Using Apple’s recently released Podcast app for your browsing and discovery needs? Apple’s latest evolutionary step in the podcast world is a standalone app that took the podcasts out of the standard Music app and gave them a home of their own. This makes a lot of sense, as most podcasts are not strictly music. Audio, yes. Music? Not always.
The hype around the release of the app has been about discovery, of course, as giving the media type its own separate place for users to look at, complete with Apple’s own special sauce for featuring and categorizing things for their users, really helps us all find the podcasts we didn’t even know we wanted to listen to.
However, once caught up in the discovery process, you might not have known that you can subscribe to any podcast, whether it is featured or not, right from the Podcast app itself.
It seems like every couple weeks now, we get new rumors that the iPad is about to get all mini-me on us. But does anyone really want a smaller iPad? We’ll tell you what we think on our latest CultCast.
Then, Raves and Faves! The segment where we pitch our favorite tech and then vote on which is best — only one gadget may live!
Go on and subscribe to the CultCast here, or download Apple’s smart new Podcasts app and effortlessly stream The CultCast whenever you’d like.
Full show notes ahead!
GarageBand for OS X changed the way us mere mortals create great music on their Macs. Included with all new Macs or available in the Mac App store for $15, it gives musicians from the brand new to the seasoned veteran a way to record all kinds of music, connecting real instruments, MIDI devices, and microphones to your Mac for easy music sessions. It also does some other cool things, which we’ll tell you about right now.
Apple has already conquered the world of PCs, mobile phones, tablets, and soon, television. But Steve Jobs had aspirations of dominating more than just the world of computers, and on our newest CultCast, we’ll tell you where we’d love to see Apple head next.
And then: we’ve been iffy on ever seeing an iPad Mini, but we now have reason to believe that the mystical device will indeed see the light of day. Don’t buy that Kindle Fire just yet!
All that and more on The CultCast. Go on and hit the ‘ol subscribe button here, or download Apple’s brilliant new Podcasts app and effortlessly stream The CultCast whenever you’d like!
Show notes ahead!
Apple’s new Podcasts app, with its skeuomorphic tape reels and beautiful interface, is an absolutely brilliant way to discover, manage, and listen to podcasts. And on our newest CultCast, we’ll tell you how Apple’s new gem will finally bring podcast entertainment out of the shadows and into the hands of the masses.
And then, did you know Google just released their beloved Chrome browser for iOS? We’ll tell you what we think and if it’s going to give Safari a run for its money.
All that and our answers to your Twitter questions on an all-new CultCast! Subscribe now on your shiny new Podcasts app, then catch the show notes after the jump!
Remember when someone in the Apple camp let their censoring powers go to their head back in May, and they began censoring the word “jailbreak” across music, movies, apps, and podcasts? It didn’t take the Cupertino company too long to backtrack, and it removed the censor almost entirely just hours later.
I say almost before for podcasts, the word was still considered an expletive — until this morning, when Apple removed the censor completely. Finally.
Apple is said to be preparing an iTunes overhaul that will deliver the largest change the online music store has seen since its debut back in 2003. Set to be unveiled by the end of this year, the refresh will reportedly bring better iCloud integration and file-storage for users with multiple iOS devices, as well as new features for sharing music with friends.
It’s no secret that the designers at Apple are fans of Braun. Jonathan Ive has even expressed at times that his work is influenced by Dieter Rams, Braun’s head designer for nearly 30 years. In the past, Braun products have inspired the designs for several Apple products and applications, such as the iMac G4, Mac Pro, iPod, Aluminum iMac, iPod Hi-Fi, iPhone OS 1 Calculator, and most recently, the iOS 5 iPad music app.
With the release of Apple’s Podcasts app for iOS, the legacy of Braun continues to live on in the form of the reel-to-reel tape recorder found in the now playing interface. Looking at the interface last night, I was struck by how realistic the design was, which prompted some Google searching, leading me to the conclusion that indeed, the Podcasts app houses a nearly accurate rendering of a Braun TG 60 tape recorder. Ben Lenarts also noted the same thing on Twitter this morning.
To show you some of the striking similarities between these two designs, we’ve compiled a gallery of the two, which you can find after the break.
With the release of Apple’s own dedicated Podcasts app today, it’s clear that Apple is finally taking Podcasts seriously. When podcasts were first brought to iTunes in 2005, Apple made a strong push to promote what they felt was the future of broadcasting. Apple’s own Eddy Cue even said at the time: “We really think podcasting is the next generation of radio.”
Unfortunately, as time marched on, podcasts were pushed to the side and left pretty much unattended. iOS has always had minimal support for podcasts, and even iTunes itself offers no real compelling way to manage your subscriptions. What makes today’s announcement big is that it marks a new, renewed effort on Apple’s part to make podcasts a key part of their iTunes ecosystem.
Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed their new “iPad killer,” a sleek and sexy tablet they’re calling the Surface. The guys over at Gizmodo think it looks even better than the iPad and the MacBook Air. We don’t. Who’s right? What better way to find out than to grab Gizmodo’s Editor-in-Chief, Joe Brown, and let the fists fly on an all new CultCast.
Can Joe convince us that Microsoft is the coolest company in tech right now? Or will the CultCast crew enlighten the Gizmodo chief? Find out on a titillating new episode — and don’t miss the reveal of our favorite new gadgets!
Hit the subscribe button right now and read on for the show notes.
Macbook Pros with Retina displays; Mountain Lion’s best new features; the secrets of iOS 6; Apple announced a glut of new software and hardware at last week’s World Wide Developers Conference, and if you’d like to relive the glory, or need help making sense of it all, don’ miss the second part of our special-edition WWDC CultCast.
Subscribe now on iTunes to catch both of our special WWDC episodes, and peep the full show notes after the jump!
The implementation of podcasts in iOS has traditionally seemed like an afterthought. In order to find a podcast, you had to jump over to iTunes, find the episode you wanted, download it, and then hop back over to the music app to play it, in the same fashion as you would a playlist. Apple provided no options to automatically download episodes, subscribe to certain shows, or sync podcasts across devices. With iOS 6, this could all change, according to All Things D.
The best podcasting app on iOS (alibeit one with a wonky and controversial pricing structure), Instacast has just gotten a huge update making it even better.
We couldn’t wait! Catch an all-new CultCast right now in iTunes to find out everything you need to know about Apple’s brand new Macbook Pro with Retina display.
And don’t miss another new episode at our normal time, this Thursday night, with the rest of our WWDC coverage. We’ll be discussing all of Apple’s updated Macs, and the new and noteworthy features in iOS 6 and Mountain Lion.
All that and our thoughts on Apple’s quiet Mac Pro update on this special edition of CultCast! Don’t miss a beat, subscribe now on iTunes, and let the hardware lusting begin.
A hardware bomb! That’s what CultCast special guest and Ars Technica writer Chris Foresman thinks is about to go down at next week’s WWDC. I think he’s right, and on our brand new CultCast we’ll tell you why Apple might be about to refresh every Mac they make. Plus, there’s iOS 6. We’ll tell you what to expect from Apple’s new mobile OS too.
And don’t miss our winner of Faves and Raves, the game where we pitch our favorite hardware/apps and then vote on which is best.
All that and too many LULZ on our brand new CultCast. Subscribe now in iTunes and read on through for our show notes.
Apple’s tower of power, the Mac Pro, hasn’t been updated in almost two years, but on our latest CultCast, we’ll tell you why that could soon change.
And, did you catch Tim Cook at last week’s All Things D conference? We’ll get you up-to-date quick as we analyze and scrutinize every little thing he said (and didn’t!).
All that and our answers to your questions on our brand new CultCast. Subscribe now in iTunes and read on through for our show notes.
Samuel L. Jackson may love Siri, but are every-day users as smitten? Find out what we think on our latest CultCast.
And someone call King Arthur, Jony Ive just got knighted. But is he ready to protect the realm?
All that and our thoughts on Facebook’s new Camera app on The CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes and read on for our show notes.
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference is right around the corner, and on our latest CultCast, we’ll tell you why you need to hold off on your Macbook or iMac purchase for just a little longer — it’s going to be worth the wait!
And then, we answer all our your queries on our brand new listener questions segment.
All that and more on The CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes and read on for our show notes.
Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference is swiftly approaching (June 11th!), and we know they have some big announcements up their sleeves. Will we see new “Air like” Macbook Pros with SSDs and no DVD drives? Are updated iMacs with Retina displays on the horizon? And what about iOS 6? We tell you what we know on our brand new CultCast.
And then a segment we love: listener questions! You’ve tweeted at us and we’re ready to answer all your queries.
Our all-new CultCast is on iTunes now — subscribe to listen and read on for our show notes!
I can imagine that the reaction you get from mentioning the word “jailbreak” within the Apple camp in Cupertino is almost identical to that you get when mentioning the word “bomb” on an airplane. In fact, Apple hates the word so much that it considers it an expletive, and it’s now filtering it from the iTunes Store.
We’ve figured out how to get the best prices on every piece of Apple gear you buy, and on the latest CultCast, we’ll tell you how, too.
Plus: our source within Apple has seen their secret new HDTV – we tell he told us.
And don’t miss our our reactions to what this insane Apple fan installed on his person.
Subscribe to the CultCast now on iTunes, and read on for our show notes!