Top stories - page 242

If you think Apple Watch makes workouts fun and efficient, wait till Apple’s mixed-reality glasses land on your face. Graham Bower outlines how and why augmented reality will take fitness to the next level in Cult of Mac Magazine‘s cover story this week. It all sounds quite incredible — and yet also quite possible.

Also this week, we’ve got plenty of fresh Apple rumors, plus a trove of tantalizing tidbits gleaned from insider emails that came to light during the Epic Games v. Apple trial that’s currently unfolding.

And if you haven’t watched Mythic Quest or The Mosquito Coast yet, it’s time to start streaming. It looks like Apple TV+ has a couple more winners on its hands.

This week, Cult of Mac is giving away one ParcSlope stand from Apple accessory powerhouse Twelve South.

The ParcSlope is a dual-purpose desktop easel that functions as a typing stand for MacBook and as a sketching wedge for iPad. It elevates your MacBook or iPad Pro for a better working angle and an ergonomic viewing height.

If you win, you can use the ParcSlope stand for all of your tasks. And if you don’t, Twelve South is sweetening the giveaway with a $10 promo code to purchase the ParcSlope for everyone who enters.

The process for checking applications submitted to the App Store became the major focus of the Epic Games v. Apple court battle Friday. An important detail that came to light is that Apple employs 500 human experts checking submissions.

Epic Games used Friday’s trial testimony to bring to light fraudulent or inappropriate apps that slipped past Apple’s review team and onto the App Store. Fortunately, the problem is fixable: Put more people on the job. Double or triple the number.

If only “Cut, Copy, Paste” commands worked everywhere on your computer. If you want to grab text from images and PDFs, you may have to resort to transcribing the text yourself unless you use TextSniper. This invaluable tool allows you to lift text from any image with the click of a button. And right now, the Mac app is available for just $3.99.

When you’re traveling home from work or on your way to meet someone, you can use Apple Maps on iPhone or inside CarPlay to quickly share your estimated time of arrival (ETA). We’ll show you how.

An intrepid do-it-yourselfer disassembled Apple’s new AirTag and rebuilt it into something slim enough to fit into a wallet.

Watch his video with step-by-step instructions for following in his footsteps — if you dare.

Apple Maps gives users in the U.S. the ability to report accidents, hazards and speed traps in iOS 14.5. The information you submit could help other road users avoid lengthy jams and expensive tickets.

Here’s how to file your own report inside the Maps app.

By the time of its release in March 1997, the over-the-top-shelf powerhouse known as the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh had seen its initial price of $9,000 cut to $7,499, or about $12,000 in today’s dollars.

The interesting-but-still-hopelessly unaffordable system — for a time delivered door-to-door and set up by tuxedoed concierges — failed in the marketplace. It went on to become a collector’s item.

These days, a Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, or TAM, often sells for around $1,500. So Redditor Cbaltz2 kind of scored when he picked one up a while back on eBay for $800. And remarkably, he found a good use for it in the here and now.

In its second season, Mythic Quest doubles down on characters and lets workplace dynamics subsume the work itself. The creative team that drives the Apple TV+ comedy about game developers found the sweet spots that made the first season above average, then worked on them like mechanics.

The result is a season every bit as strong as the first — and one that portends greatness for the future.

As the internet continues to adapt to the ways we utilize it over time, it’s wise to understand how it works on a fundamental level. Most organizations already shifted away from on-premises IT systems, incorporating cloud solutions into their daily operations. In fact, Gartner forecasts that cloud services will grow three times more than overall IT services through 2022.

This week on The Mosquito Coast, the Foxes are on the run and the heat is hot on their tail — in every way possible.

The third episode of Apple TV+’s paranoid new drama can’t do much but crawl. But it covers some important ground. And strong acting and clever writing again combine to keep you hooked.

Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency feature looks surprisingly popular with users — and potentially devastating to advertising. According to analysis by Flurry, just 4% of U.S. users allow apps to track them when given a choice.

The new privacy feature, rolled out in iOS 14.5 in late April, requires developers to ask for permission to use Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers tag to track users’ movements across websites and third-party apps. Flurry’s stats indicate a massive 96 out of 100 users in the United States denied that permission.

AirTag owners have discovered a hidden debug mode inside the Find My app on iPhone. It offers more detailed information on your tracker and allows you to customize the Precision Finding interface.

We’ll show you how to enable it on iOS 14.5 or later.

AirTag, like many Apple devices, is automatically linked to your Apple ID when you set it up for the first time. If you plan to sell one or give it away, you will first need to remove it from your account with a factory reset.

We’ll show you how.

We get it: You probably use your earbuds for everything from zoning in on a deadline to powering through the last few minutes of your morning run.

Unfortunately, immersive sound (where you can barely hear your surroundings) might seem good in theory. But just wait until your co-worker tries to flag you down in the office or you narrowly avoid a car during your morning walk.

It’s not necessary to buy an accessory to attach an Apple AirTag to your keys, bike or dog’s collar if you own a 3D printer. There are tons of CAD files with options to connect the recently released item tracker to various objects. And all of them are free to use.

Got an “AirTag found moving with you” alert on your iPhone or iPad? It means an AirTag registered to another person is traveling with you and you may be being tracked. Here’s what you can do to stop it.

Juuk Design’s wonderfully high-end bands are the quickest way to take your Apple Watch from drab to fab — and you can save up to15% on all of them in the Cult of Mac Store’s big Mother’s Day sale.

This rare discount ends on soon, so enjoy it while you can.

Like Apple Watch before it, Cupertino’s much-anticipated mixed-reality headset looks set to be another leap forward for fitness wearables.

Mixed reality is already commonplace in TV sports. You see it every time the virtual line of scrimmage is superimposed onto a football field. Now imagine that the players on the field can see that virtual line too, just like the viewers at home. That’s exactly what Apple’s latest gadget could deliver, adding a whole new dimension to sports and fitness.

The big open window shown in the photo above certainly helps keep the place lit for free in bright daylight. But what does Redditor Kwipz do about cheap lighting for the darker hours?

They spend a few bucks. Literally.

Bag yourself an official Apple case for iPhone 12 and save up to 60% for a limited time only. Prices start at just $19.99 — down from $49.99 — for the Silicone Case with MagSafe for iPhone 12 mini.

Our top pick, however, is the Leather Sleeve with MagSafe for iPhone 12 Pro Max. It’s now down to just $51.99 — its lowest price yet after a $77.01 discount.

Considered “COVID-safe for collective entertainment,” drive-in movies made a comeback in the summer of 2020. This classic form of entertainment popularized in the 1950s offers an enjoyable movie experience for a large outdoor audience, all from the comfort of your car.

Woot’s latest sale on iPad refurbs gives you the chance to bag a new slate for as little as $194.99. Various models are on offer, from iPad mini to iPad Pro.

Get yours before they’re all gone!

If you and your friends are big PlayStation fans, you probably already know about PlayStation Plus — but you might not realize just how different it is from PlayStation Now. PlayStation Plus is actually made for users to reap the full benefits of the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.

Apple’s new AirTag tracker is no bigger than a coat button and cannot be attached to anything without the use of accessories. So it’s likely many are going to get lost. Here’s what you should do if you ever find one.