| Cult of Mac

Here’s how to get 20TB cloud storage for life for $70

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This 20TB lifetime cloud storage is a great gift for techies at only $69.97.
For $69.97, you can get a 20TB lifetime cloud storage.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Apple’s iCloud is very convenient for iPhone and Mac users, but the storage plans are skimpy and expensive. iCloud storage tops out at 12TB and costs an eye-watering $59.99 a month.

That’s why you should look at this great deal from Prism Drive Secure Cloud Storage, which is offering a full 20TB for just $69.97 for life. That’s nearly twice iCloud’s maximum storage for just over the price of one month’s rental. And unlike iCloud, it doesn’t go away when you stop paying monthly subscription charges. Note: this sale is only here for a few more days.

Best Mac accessories of 2016

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Best Mac accessories 2016
From dongles to docks, these are the year's best Mac accessories.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

2016 Year in Review Cult of Mac We value our Mac computers. Whether on a desk or in a lap, they help us complete many life tasks. But you and your machine wouldn’t make it without reliable accessories — especially now that we live in the USB-C era.

Storage drives, hubs with extra ports, a good pair of headphones, maybe a bag to carry your tech — all these Mac accessories play important roles. They often remain unsung, but sometimes come through to help us avoid a devastating loss of hardware or important work.

So if you are looking to bolster your Mac support team, look no further than this list of some of Cult of Mac’s favorites accessories from 2016 for iMacs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

A prismatic puzzle game and other cool apps of the week

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Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

We’re always keeping our heads up for the best new apps coming to our iOS devices and Apple TVs. We’re like prairie dogs that way, only we’re not as cute, and our homes are only metaphorical holes.

Every week, we round up the coolest new apps (or awesome updates to existing ones) that have hit Apple’s digital storefront in the past seven days. And if you’re spending your Valentine’s Day browsing the App Store for some new utilities, we have you covered. Also, we’re sorry that that is how you’re spending your Valentine’s Day.

Check out our weekly picks for apps of the week below.

Apple And Other Tech Giants Will Run National Print Ad Demanding NSA Reforms

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Since revelations of NSA eavesdropping surfaced earlier this year with the Edward Snowden leaks, Apple has been at the forefront of a tech company push-back demanding reforms.

The company is joining a number of other industry giant — including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft, LinkedIn and AOL — in setting aside business rivalries to demand a scaling back of government surveillance.

Apple Forms Alliance With Google, Microsoft And Others To Push For NSA Transparency

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A former Apple lawyer faces criminal insider trading charges.
Photo: Cult of Mac file

Apple and some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies have been under heavy fire ever since info on the National Security Administration’s PRISM program leaked to the public last month.

In response to the public’s outcry that tech companies are working with the NSA to pilfer personal info on targets of interest, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and others have formed a broad alliance with civil liberties groups that will tomorrow demand for increased transparency regarding the U.S. government’s spy programs on citizens.

All Things D reports that the alliance will publish a letter Thursday, demanding President Obama and Congress allow tech companies to provide reports on information requests related to national security.

Worthy Mac Upgrades And Vine Vs. Instagram On Our All-New CultCast

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This time on a very patriotic CultCast: Apple starts trademarking “iWatch”; the back to school sale is back; Mac upgrades that are worth the money; Vine Vs. Instagram; PRISM takes Alex; we wish you a happy 4th; and sooo much more!

Have a few laughs and get caught up on this 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 audio adventure begin.

Show notes up next.

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Why Apple Owes Us Real Transparency About PRISM [Opinion]

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iSpy? Apple's two-page Wall Street Journal ad timed to coincide with the PRISM statement.

You really had to hope that Apple would be more above board than other companies about who has access to our iData. We love them so much: half of all U.S. households own at least one Apple device. They’ve sold us on documenting our growing kids, cooking for our families and debuting new haircuts with iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Instead, Apple initially denied any involvement in PRISM, the National Security Agency’s massive e-spying program. Then, like Facebook and Microsoft, the Cupertino company issued a statement meant to clear things up but the numbers released by all three companies just confuse and minimize the issue.

So if they all did it, why am I seeing red about Apple? We deserve more from a publicly-traded company that has built its reputation on products that aspire to “enhance the life it touches” as in the above two-page ad timed to appear in the Wall Street Journal the day of the PRISM statement.That statement, headlined “Apple’s Commitment to Customer Privacy,” seems about as phony as this Android iPhone clone.

Apple Explains How It Handles Government Requests Following PRISM Scandal

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Apple has issued a statement which explains its commitment to customer privacy and how it handles government requests for data following the PRISM scandal. The Cupertino company has reiterated that it did not know about the PRISM program until June 6 when it was first contacted by the media, and that it does not provide government agencies with direct access to its servers.