Trust Dr. Boom when he says, “Driving a racing car round an exploding race track is a pretty hazardous thing to do.” Photo: Electric Square
Detonation Racing bills itself as “the most dangerous, least sensible racing series ever devised.” Gameplay involves skillfully maneuvering around a track, but also maybe throwing a nuclear submarine at your opponents.
Remember those heady days of WWDC 2021, when Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi performed a magical drag-and-drop demo of Universal Control that made the near-future world of macOS Monterey seem especially cool? Oh, yeah. It was just last month.
Anyway, Redditor kinky_unicorn certainly remembers it. They recreated Federighi’s workstation from the video, took a photo of it and posted it on Reddit, after all.
Woot’s latest sale offers bargain iPad refurbs from just $169.99 today only. 9.7-inch iPad, iPad Air, and iPad mini units are available — all with deep discounts — but stock is limited. Bag yours before they’re all gone.
Remember the days before everyone was Zooming? Photo: Zoom/Cult of Mac
Many parts of the world are starting to open up again as the pandemic (hopefully) continues to subside. But video-conferencing apps, possibly the app category most associated with COVID-times, continue to ascend.
According to data from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, collective monthly active users of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet continued their surge in the first half of 2021. Usage was collectively 21x higher during the first half of 2019 than it was prior to the pandemic.
iPad shipments last quarter are up about 50% from where they were two years ago. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
iPad sales kicked onto high gear in 2020 and haven’t slowed down since. In the April-through-June quarter of 2021,
Apple shipped around 15 million tablets, roughly 50% higher than shipments in the same period two years ago.
Plugable's new USB-C charging hub keeps gadgets going and files transferred. Photo: Plugable
Nobody’s too happy when Apple decides to subtract ports from a new MacBook, but that’s what connectivity hubs are for. The newly launched Plugable 7-in-1 USB-C Charging Hub is no exception, adding seven USB-A ports to your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air.
Google Maps adds two widgets for iOS with more probably on the way. Photo: Google
The new version 5.74 of Google Maps for iOS adds two straightforward, useful and intuitive widgets for you to try with your iPhone. You can use them in the Today View or on the Home Screen.
GarageBand now includes an expanded Sound Library with new Sound Packs from top artists and music producers. Graphic: Apple
Apple wants to help people get over the hump of learning art of music remixing with its free GarageBand application for iPad and iPhone. Two new Remix Sessions offer step-by-step video instruction in the app itself. Thy use hit songs from Grammy-winning artists Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga.
Musicians can also now create tracks with seven new Producer Packs full of beats, loops and instruments.
The HomePod mini likely had a lot to do with it. Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac
HomePod shipments in the United States increased 180% year-on-year in the last quarter, eclipsing the growth of smart speaker makers Amazon and Google during the period, market intelligence firm Omdia reports.
While Apple still lags behind the other two companies on shipments, it is looking more competitive than it has at any point in the history of the HomePod so far. That’s particularly impressive when considering that this was a rough three-month period for smart speakers in the US, whose growth is stalling.