When you walk into an Apple Store — the minimalist design, the Macbook screens tilted just so, the approachable, encyclopedic sales staff — you might be forgiven for being a little bit speechless.

It’s not unlike walking into a Porsche or Mercedes dealership — you don’t expect to find bargain bins full of junk. The presentation is, in fact, as important as the product, and once inside, you’re going to hand over your money to get both.

Even though Apple stores have become tourist attractions in their own right where folks come from countries like Sweden and Brazil to purchase these great products at prices lower than at home, savvy customers might someday shun those stunning glass facades and signature spiral staircases for cheaper prices found elsewhere.

A new report by DealNews shows that Apple products are getting deeper discounts sooner in a product lifecycle than ever before, begging the question: is the Apple Store the best place to buy your gear?

Apple finally announced the dates for WWDC 14 and while there won’t be a mad two minute dash to sellout this year, it might be even harder to get in thanks to Apple’s new lottery system.

Only 5,000 developers will be selected to purchase tickets to the Apple event of the year that will packed with everything from new product announcements, hands-on labs, concerts, and code melting out of your eyeballs.

Here are five reasons why WWDC 2014 shouldn’t be missed:

We’ve descended upon San Francisco for Macworld 2014! Join us for our show expectations, plus plenty of news, rumors, and discussion on: why 2014 might be the year for Retina Macbook Airs; Apple’s plans for a streaming TV service with Comcast; Office coming to iPad; the problem with emojis; and why iTunes needs to be more like Spotify.

Snicker your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the uproarious good time commence.

And thanks to Lynda.com for sponsoring this episode! Learn at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at Lynda.com.

Everyone at Cult of Mac knows I’m a sucker for wood-paneling all of my gadgets. I wood-paneled my iPhone 4s, my iPhone 5, my iPad, my iPad mini, and even my MacBook Air.

I have to say, though, that as understated as they are, I love Richard Clarkson’s wood-panels for the iPhone 5 most of all. They replace the tiny glass accents on the upper and lower parts of the iPhone 5 with little wood slivers in a variety of accents that looks amazingly understated and lovely.

Currently only available for the iPhone 5, Clarkson’s wooden replacement accents cost $38 a pair. There’s cheaper and easier to apply options, but we love this none the less.

Source: Richard Clarkson

Of all the Apple rumors out there, one that comes from particularly far out in left field is the iPad Pro. There have been some reports that Apple is planning to release a larger tablet, but nothing substantial.

Like always, that hasn’t kept concept designers from imagining what a 12.9-inch, bezeless iPad Pro could look like. This one comes from the same people behind the Apple TV touch remote concept from last week.

After some confusing starts, a software update makes the neat Transporter into a true alternative to cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive. Previously, the Transporter was a hard drive which could stay in sync with another Transporter kept anywhere, letting you have a safe and up-to-date offsite back up at all times.

Now, finally, the software has adde in features that turn this connected storage into a proper cloud service. A cloud service that’s hosted by you, and not by the NSA.

Twelve South is at it again with the new Rutledge BookBook, a hand-finished leather creation that marks the company’s first MacBook case in three years. The Rutledge is designed for both MacBook Air display sizes, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and both Retina MacBook Pro display sizes. 

As laptop speakers go, those built into Apple’s MacBooks aren’t bad — particularly if you have a MacBook Pro. But they can be so much better. Plug Twelve South’s BassJump 2 into one of your USB ports and you have a mini sound-system that dramatically improves your MacBook’s audio performance.

Whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or just enjoying a podcast, the BassJump 2 subwoofer gives you significantly richer and fuller sound that you won’t believe is coming from your MacBook. There’s no need for expensive external speakers that take up too much room in your bag, or headphones that limit the experience to just one person.

The BassJump 2 is priced at $69.99, and Twelve South calls it “an essential road tool for listening to and editing tracks on the tour bus, hotel room or anyplace else your music takes you.” Now, I’m no musician or music producer — but I definitely agree.

Apple will finally discontinue the non-Retina MacBook Pro later this year, according to sources in its supply chain. Production is expected to come to a halt during the second half of 2014, reducing Apple’s notebook lineup to just the MacBook Air and the newer, thinner MacBook Pro with Retina display.

You can now double the storage space of your MacBook Air by jamming Sandisk’s new 128GB microSD card into an adapter in the SD card slot. Or you can slide it into any number of devices that use the pink-nail-sized storage standard. And if you are using it in a phone or a camera, it’s fast enough to capture HD video recorded straight to the card.