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iOS 15 concept goes minimalist with the Home screen

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iOS concept thinks simple, not more complex.
An iOS 15 concept design simplifies the Home screen... and looks familiar.
Concept: Roland Mészáros

When concept designers imagine the future of iOS, they often pack in new features. A new design goes the opposite route, simplifying the look of the iPhone to “keep you focused,” in the words of the artist.

Still, it finds space for some Home screen widgets, which are supposed to debut in iOS 14.

20 Apple Watch home workouts you can do during lockdown

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No excuses! You could be doing one of these workouts right now.
No excuses! You could be doing one of these workouts right now.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch supports a huge selection of workout types, but most of the popular ones, like running and swimming, you probably can’t do right now thanks to the coronavirus lockdown. Fortunately, if you delve a little deeper, you’ll find plenty of Apple Watch home workouts you can choose from that require little or no special equipment.

So why not take the opportunity to master a whole new kind of exercise? Here are 20 Apple Watch indoor workout options you can do at home right now.

How to add a Smart Folder to your Mac’s Dock (and why you’ll want to)

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A Smart Folder can make a powerful addition to your Dock.
A Smart Folder can make a powerful addition to your Dock.
Photo: Dan Counsell/Unsplash CC

I have an app I use every day, but whenever I open it, it opens to a new, blank document, instead of the project I was working on when I closed the app. To open that project, I have to mouse up to my Mac’s menu bar, click on File > Recent Items…, and find it in there.

To fix this, I set out to find a way to easily access the last few projects from this app. What if I could put this list of recent projects into my Mac’s Dock? It turns out that you can easily do this, using a quick Spotlight search, a Smart Folder and a drag to the Dock.

Alluring FaceTime photo shoots won’t stop when quarantine lifts

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Nick Fancher's FaceTime portraits
Nick Fancher's portraits are "remotraits."
Photo: Nick Fancher

Photographer Nick Fancher has been photographing models in his studio at a time when COVID-19 social distancing rules have forced his contemporaries to cancel portrait sessions.

But the only chances the Columbus, Ohio-based Fancher takes are creative ones. In the very spot where models normally stand for him, Fancher is projecting live images of sitters following his directions via FaceTime.

He calls these the “Remotrait” sessions.

Amazing Stories ends with a bang, should have settled for a whimper [Review]

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Kerry Bishé in Amazing Stories
Kerry Bishé closes out the first season of the new Amazing Stories
Photo: Apple TV+

Amazing Stories’ season finale “The Rift” serves as a case study into the rebooted show’s highs and lows. With its five-episode run complete, the ways in which the Apple TV+ anthology series succeeded — and the ways it failed to cohere — become more obvious than ever.

“The Rift” was directed by Mark Mylod and written by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner (co-creators of History Channel’s Knightfall). However, the episode takes more cues from executive producer Steven Spielberg than nearly any of the preceding entries, to both its detriment and its occasional benefit. The real MVP of the piece, however, is the perpetually underrated Kerry Bishé.

How to sanitize your Mac or iPad keyboard

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Sanitize your Mac or iPad keyboard with these easy steps.
Sanitize your Mac or iPad keyboard with these easy steps.
Photo: Dmitry ChernyshovUnsplash

The filthiest part of you computer is probably its keyboard. It’s the part you touch the most, it’s the part you likely use to catch the debris from your lunch, and it’s the part that you probably never clean, because you don’t look at it enough to get grossed out. And these days, as doctors warn us to wash our hands constantly (and correctly) to avoid the coronavirus, you probably want to make sure that your keyboard is not just clean, but sanitized.

This is a fairly straightforward process, so let’s get started.

Essential accessories make working from home more comfortable, productive

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New to working from home? These essential work-from-home accessories will help you get the most out of COVID-19 isolation.
New to working from home? Here's how you can get the most out of it.
Photo: Hello I'm Nik/Unsplash CC

COVID-19 lockdowns mean more and more people will find themselves working from home. While everyone agrees that staying away from the office is the right thing to do, working from home nonetheless comes with certain challenges. These work-from-home accessories can help.

If you want to thrive in this new environment, you should consider investing in some or all of these items. They will make you more productive, and more comfortable, as you wait out the coronavirus pandemic. And, yes, I assume you already own a computer you can work on. (If not, those new iPad Pros look pretty hot.)

Protect your beloved AirPods Pro with this affordable silicone case

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Elkson-AirPods-Pro-bumper
Sturdy silicone keeps AirPods Pro looking fresh.
Photo: Elkson

AirPods Pro might be the best accessory Apple has ever made. So you would be mad to let yours get beaten up in the bottom of your bag. Protect them with this wonderfully affordable silicone case.

Made from military-grade materials, the Elkson bumper keeps AirPods Pro free from scuffs and scratches. It also has a handy carabiner that lets you attach your beloved buds to almost anything.

Start work right with this one-click app and playlist launcher

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applescript
Writing this AppleScript is as easy as writing your shopping list.
Photo: David Ballew/Unsplash

Every morning when I sit at my Mac to start writing, I open the same apps and start the same iTunes playlist. This repetitive, tedious task is what computers are supposed to do for us, so I figured I’d make my Mac open up those apps, and start that music playing, all without me having to do anything.

That dream was quickly quashed — the Mac isn’t quite able to read my mind yet. So I settled for the next best thing: An AppleScript that I can leave in the Dock, and then click once to open everything. The best part is, it’s absurdly easy to make your own.

How to use Apple Maps public transit directions

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Stockholm's excellent public transit.
Stockholm's excellent public transit.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple Maps offers surprisingly great public transport features. It recently expanded transit directions across Europe, so you can get “turn-by-turn” directions for metro, tram and other modes of public transit.

Even if your city isn’t yet covered by these directions, there’s still a whole lot of really useful information available. For instance, just tap a station on the map, and it will show all upcoming departures.

Let’s take a look at Apple Maps public transit features.

How to customize Apple Watch iMessage smart replies

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Change the lame Apple Watch smart replies by adding custom replies.
Change the lame smart replies on your Apple Watch.
Image: Apple

You know when you reply to a message on your Apple Watch, and it’s such a pain to write it out a letter at a time or to dictate your reply (only to have Siri mishear you)? The alternative is to use one of Apple Watch’s canned responses. Unfortunately, they all sound like your account got hacked, or that you don’t care about the sender enough to come up with a proper reply.

However, you can customize those replies to make them much more useful. And with one clever trick, you can make Apple Watch smart replies sound just like you really wrote them.

Judge slams ‘dumb’ FCC in iPhone radiation lawsuit; case moves to trial

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The FCC is currently shut down.
A California judge whacks the FCC with a ruler over its testing standards for radiofrequency radiation, but says the case will continue.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

U.S. District Judge William Alsup allowed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple over allegedly exposing iPhone owners to high levels of radiofrequency radiation to move forward Thursday. However, the judge also blasted the Federal Communications Commission for its “dumb” testing standards.

How to block privacy-invading read receipts in email

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email read receipts
An untracked, artisanal email.
Photo: Erica Steeves/Unsplash

Did you know that your boss might be tracking when you open and read her emails? Or that anyone who operates a mailing list can see when you open their emails, thanks to read receipts?

But did you also know that it’s trivially easy to block read receipts? You can make your overreaching boss think that you never read her emails, or at least make her a bit more paranoid. Email tracking uses something called tracking pixels. Let’s see how to block them, and disable email read receipts on Mac and iOS.

These tips make text-selection on iPhone and iPad far less frustrating

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Text-selection on the iPad can feel pretty clunky.
Text-selection on the iPad can feel pretty clunky.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

iOS 13 (and iPadOS) fixed the frustrating text-selection tools on the iPhone and iPad, but only if you know how to use them. Selecting a single word or sentence is still way easier on a Mac, because you have a mouse and keyboard permanently attached. On the iPad, though, you can still find the text selection slipping and jumping like an oiled fish.

Use these iPhone and iPad text-selection tips to highlight words and paragraphs the easy way in iOS.

Dubai fan has one of the most impressive Apple collections you’ll find

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Jimmy Grewal Apple collection
75 computers, a bunch of Newton MessagePads, and more.
Photo: Jimmy Grewal

A large white room filled with row upon row of just about every Apple computer you can imagine, all in pristine condition. On the walls are framed copies of Apple’s black-and-white “Think Different” ads. Sunlight streams through the large windows, giving everything a warm glow.

Is this heaven? The world’s greatest Apple Store? Nope, it’s Dubai, actually. Home to Jimmy Grewal, a collector of vintage Apple computers and one of the most impressive collections you’re likely to find anywhere.

New Apple devices for the holidays? Get the best price for your old ones

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iPhone 7 red
Cult of Mac pays real cash for your old Apple devices.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you were lucky enough to get new Apple devices for the holidays, it’s time to start thinking about what you’ll do with your old ones. They’re likely still worth a pretty penny, and Cult of Mac can help you get the best price.

We’ll buy back any old iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac. We’ll even take your dirty old AirPods — and broken devices in need of repair. What’s more, we typically pay more than other trade-in services.

Cult of Mac pays real cash and we won’t leave you waiting weeks for your money. Get a quote today to find out how much your old Apple devices are really worth.

10 copies of new Cult of Mac book are now up for grabs

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The Cult of Mac 2E
Enter. You may be one of 10 lucky winners to receive a free copy of The Cult of Mac 2E.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

We want to put free copies of The Cult of Mac 2nd Edition on 10 coffee tables across the United States.

Now through Dec. 20, the Cult of Mac website will accept entries to give away this Mac book that is every bit as beautiful as a MacBook. All you have to do is enter your email in the submission widget below.

Rotor Riot iPhone game controller lets you kick more ass in Apple Arcade [Review]

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Rotor Riot Wired Game Controller plays well with Apple Arcade.
Rotor Riot Wired Game Controller is like plugging an Xbox controller into your iPhone.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

While the 100+ games on Apple Arcade are designed for touchscreens, many of them are more fun with a physical controller. That can be one from an Xbox or Playstation, but the Rotor Riot Wired Game Controller is a better option for iPhones because of its built-on phone stand and Lightning connector.

I tested this surprisingly-affordable MFi controller with some of the best titles on Apple’s gaming service. Read on to see why I’m so impressed by it.