Tim Cook has repeatedly dissed Microsoft’s Surface tablets by comparing them to a toaster-refrigerator, but during his trip to China this week the Apple CEO was forced to spend some up-close time with the convertible tablet.
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Before everybody had a smartphone in their pocket, many carried palmtop computers to stay productive on the move. A British company is hoping to bring them back with Gemini PDA, an ultra-portable computer with a physical keyboard that fits in your pocket.
It’s just one of the awesome projects in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We’ve also got the ultimate 3D printer, an iPhone case that has a built-in Android phone, and stunning sleeves for your MacBook.
Apple's new iOS update is nearly ready for primetime. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Developers received new beta software updates today for iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4, possibly signaling that a public release is just around the corner.
The new updates come just a few days after Apple dropped the last betas of macOS 10.12.4 and iOS 10.3 on developers. Both updates come with a number of bug fixes and under the hood improvements to go with new features that were added in previous versions.
The CIA just made it easier to hack your Camera Roll nudies. Photo: Nvidia
This week on The CultCast: The CIA loses control of its iPhone-hacking arsenal, and computer crooks turn your gadgets against you. Plus: Why iPhone 8 may arrive later than you hoped; our favorite Apple AirPort replacement routers; and we discuss the non-Apple gear we’re currently obsessing over in an all-new and aptly named “What We’re Into.”
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.
Wikileaks' "Vault 7" data dump allegedly reveals CIA hacking tools used to compromise iPhones, Android phones and other devices. Image: Gordon Johnson/Pixabay
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has vowed to give technology firms like Apple access to the CIA’s “cyberweapons” arsenal so they can develop fixes that make our devices more secure.
Earlier this week, thousands of leaked documents and files revealed the full extent of the CIA’s cyber attacks on smartphones, computers and even smart TVs. WikiLeaks says the spy agency has lost control of it all in a “historic act of devastating incompetence.”
"There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America," says FBI director James Comey. Photo: CNN
FBI director James Comey has warned that we should not expect “absolute privacy” in America. His comments come just days after a WikiLeaks dump revealed the CIA’s incredible arsenal of malware and viruses used to spy on iPhones and other smart devices.
Speaking at a Boston College conference on cybersecurity this week, Comey said that while the government cannot invade our privacy without good reason, “there is no place outside of judicial reach.”
The first iSetups episode shows off three Mac setups. Photo: Cult of Mac
If you’re a computer scientist, you can never have too many Macs. Just ask Richard Crossley, a Ph.D. candidate currently studying “optimization in high-performance computing to achieve maximum resource efficiency.”
It probably shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that Crossley’s got a pretty vast Mac collection. Check out his system, as well as other impressive Mac setups, in this week’s episode of iSetups. It’s Cult of Mac’s new monthly show highlighting the best Mac setups submitted by viewers — plus tips and tricks for how to improve them.
The CIA's new headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Although Google’s Android dominates the worldwide smartphone market, the CIA concentrated on Apple’s iOS because of its popularity among global elites, WikiLeaks reports.
The huge trove of leaked CIA documents, codenamed “Vault 7” and released Tuesday by WikiLeaks, reveals that the CIA formed a special unit called the Mobile Development Branch (MDB) to infect smartphones. And within that unit, Apple’s iOS was a prime target.
The entire hacking arsenal of the CIA has been dumped online and the entire internet is freaking out.
WikiLeaks dropped a data bomb Tuesday with its massive document dump, which it claims is one of the biggest in history. Secrets on how the CIA hacked devices made by Apple, Google, Samsung and Microsoft are now available for all to see. But should you start freaking out just yet?
Cult of Mac talked to a number of iOS security experts to make sense of all the new info. While it’s tempting to panic, there’s a lot more you need to know first.
Wikileaks' "Vault 7" data dump allegedly reveals CIA hacking tools used to compromise iPhones, Android phones and other devices. Image: Gordon Johnson/Pixabay
The Central Intelligence Agency has been using malware to spy on iPhone and Android users, according to the largest-ever publication of confidential documents from WikiLeaks — and the spy tools are now in the hands of others.
As part of a covert hacking program, the CIA created a “malware arsenal” and dozens of “zero day exploits” to infiltrate smartphones, tablets and even smart TVs to extract data and turn them into covert microphones.
But the agency recently lost controls of these tools. Those who have obtained them now have “the entire hacking capacity of the CIA” at their disposal, according to WikiLeaks.