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Google’s Uptime app lets you enjoy YouTube with friends

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Uptime-app
YouTube is better with friends.
Photo: Uptime

The latest iPhone app from Google lets you enjoy YouTube videos with your friends no matter where they are.

Uptime, designed by the company’s Area 120 startup incubator, is a group messaging client that allows you to share, watch, and talk about your favorite clips in real time.

Get a proper cover for your webcam, and more [Week’s Newest Deals]

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collage-2017-03-11

We’ve been keeping busy gathering the best new deals on gear and gadgets, and this week was a good one. On offer this week is a powerful firewall for any home’s WiFi-connected devices, a set of slick covers for your webcams, a tool for unlocking the potential of PDFs, and a trio of Corel’s cutting edge creative apps plus more than ten hours of training. Read on for more details:

Activate Night Shift mode on your Mac and spare your eyes

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Night
Spare your eyes with Night Shift mode on Mac.
Photo: Pexels Laptop Computer Turned on While in Dark Area

If you use your computer before going to bed, you owe it to your eyes to turn on Night Shift on your Mac. The feature, which adjusts the color of your display to the warmer end of the light spectrum after sundown, eases eye strain and can make falling asleep easier.

Night Shift dials down the amount of blue light emitted by your display. Studies have shown that exposure to blue light, which makes images look bright and crisp, can have adverse effects during nighttime use of electronics: Getting too much blue light after dark can make it more difficult to drift off to sleep.

Hackers turn our gadgets against us, plus our favorite supercharged routers on The CultCast

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The CIA just made it easier to hack your Camera Roll nudies.
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.

Two terabytes of secured cloud storage, and more [Week’s Best Deals]

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We've got a lifetime of coding courses, VPN access, futuristic Bluetooth earbuds, and more in this week's best deals.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

March went off with a bang at the Cult of Mac Store, where we’ve gathered a bunch of great deals on gear and gadgets. From a lifetime of development courses and VPN access to a set of futuristic Bluetooth earbuds and two full terabytes of cloud storage for next to nothing, you’ll want to check these deals out. Read on for more details:

Creatives rejoice! This massive asset library is royalty-free [Deals]

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CoM - StockUnlimited Design Library- 3-Yr Subscription
Get three years of access to a growing, royalty-free library of over 600,000 high-quality design assets.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

One of the skills a designer must have is the ability to put various pieces together into something cohesive. Problem is, those various assets can cost a lot of money. And if you’re not a full-time professional designer, or you’re simply strapped for cash, an asset library can be the tool that lets you complete your creative work.

That makes this massive royalty-free library of more than 600,000 assets from StockUnlimited a must-see for any designer, especially those designing iOS apps. And right now, you can get a three-year subscription to StockUnlimited Design Library for just $39.99 at Cult of Mac Deals.

Twitter begins censoring profiles that post ‘sensitive’ content

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Twitter
Will Facebook and Instagram follow suit?
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

As part of its ongoing effort to make micro-blogging a less offensive experience, Twitter has begun censoring profiles that post “potentially sensitive” content.

Users that publish offensive tweets and images will have their profiles grayed out, forcing visitors to push a button to see censored content.

Apple fights ‘right to repair’ bill in Nebraska

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apple-iphone-cracked-security-mac-ios-malware-flaw
Oops.
Photo: Faris Algosaibi/Flickr CC

Apple delegates have officially opposed the so-called “right to repair” bill in Nebraska that would make it easier for consumers to repair its products.

Should the bill be passed, Apple could be forced to give users and third-party repairers access to its components and service manuals. Company representative Steve Kester warned Nebraska would become a “Mecca for bad actors.”

WikiLeaks vows to share CIA ‘cyberweapons’ so tech firms can fix holes

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Wikileaks'
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.”

Versatile backpack carries the load with style [Reviews]

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The Moshi Arcus backpack wants to shoulder the weight of all you carry for a day's work or travel.
The Moshi Arcus backpack wants to shoulder the weight of all you carry for a day's work or travel.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Red flags go up for me when a shoulder bag or backpack is described as having a “minimalist” design. Minimalist is code for “won’t carry all my crap.”

However, in the case of the new Moshi Arcus multifunction backpack, the minimalism actually conceals an ample and well-thought-out space. A surprising number of pockets in various sizes accommodate all the tools of a daily carry.

FBI says nobody should expect privacy in America

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"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.”

Whatever your sound needs, we’ve got you covered [Deals]

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Looking to upgrade your audio game? Whatever your jam, we've got you covered.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With all our devices, it seems like there are nearly as many ways to listen to sounds as there are sounds themselves. That’s why we’ve gathered up these deals on four of the best ways to enjoy your tunes, shows, podcasts or anything else that tickles your ears.

In this Cult of Mac Deals roundup, we’ve got top-shelf on-ear headphones, nearly invisible in-ear buds, a set of workout-ready Bluetooth earbuds and a headset that transmits sound through bone conduction (seriously).

The lengthy process Apple uses to teach Siri new languages

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you’ve ever tried to learn a new language, you’ll know it’s a hard and incredibly time-consuming process. It’s not much easier for virtual assistants like Siri.

Here are the mind-blowing steps Apple goes through to teach Siri new languages and dialects that help it stay one step ahead of the competition.

Why Apple should make a cheap activity band (and what it might look like)

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A no-frills Apple fitness tracker could get new users hooked on the Activity app.
A no-frills Apple fitness tracker could get new users hooked on the Activity app.
Image: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

The Activity app is one of Apple’s most important and powerful products. Its three brightly colored rings are changing people’s lives around the world, inspiring individuals to make healthier choices throughout their day.

The trouble is, if you want to use the Activity app, your only option right now is to buy an Apple Watch — and Apple Watches are expensive.

With this kind of game-changing product, Apple usually wants to reach as big an audience as possible. Take the iPod, for example. It was too expensive for some consumers. so Apple released a no-frills, sub-$99 version called the iPod Shuffle. Could a similar strategy work for the Activity app? An affordable activity band from Apple could be a Fitbit killer.

Sleek iPhone 8 concept shows how ‘Function Bar’ might work

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iphone
We hope the next iPhone is this beautiful.
Photo: AlHasan Husni

The rumored “Function Bar” will make a beautiful addition to the upcoming iPhone 8 if it looks anything like the concept created by designer AlHasan Husni.

In the stunning new artwork, Husni imagines how the Function Bar at the bottom of the new iPhone will work. Not only could it make unlocking the iPhone even faster, it could add a whole new set of swipe functions to bring up certain features.

PowerVR graphics upgrade allows for 4K iPhone displays

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iphone-new
It also paves the way for iPhone VR.
Photo: Apple

Imagination Technologies, the company behind the PowerVR graphics technology used in iPhone and iPad, has unleashed its powerful new Furion architecture.

It’s the first major upgrade since the introduction of Rogue, the architecture currently used in iPhone 7, and it’s capable of powering 4K smartphone and tablet displays with four times the resolution of 1080p.

Apple should steal every idea from this amazing iOS 11 concept video

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The iPad needs support for multiple users.
The iPad needs support for multiple users.
Photo: Jacek Zięba

Now that we know the date for Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, it’s officially time to start dreaming of new features that should be added to iOS 11.

Concept designer Jacek Zięba kicked off the dreamfest with one of the coolest iOS concept videos we’ve seen in a while. Check it out:

Give your iPhone camera the gift of glass [Deals]

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The best upgrade you can give your iPhone's camera is a new set of lenses, and we've got some of the best you'll ever find.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Your iPhone has a great camera. But as any photographer will tell you, the lenses you use are just as important as the camera itself. That makes these lens kits for iPhone a must-see. From a quickly deployable 4-in-1 ‘revolver’ lens, to a simple and slim clip-on with two lenses, a 3-piece set of detachable lenses and and a legit telescopic lens, we’ve got what you need to up your mobile photography game. Read on for more details:

2017’s ‘iPhone Edition’ to arrive late, OLED display uncertain

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iPhone 8 concept
Don't get your heart set on OLED just yet.
Photo: iDropNews

We’ve all been calling it the iPhone 8 for months, but according to a new report out of Japan, Apple’s tenth anniversary smartphone will be named “iPhone Edition.”

The device is expected to be announced alongside the “iPhone 7s” and “iPhone 7s Plus,” but we’ll have to wait longer to actually get our hands on it. What’s more, sources claim that the OLED upgrade we’ve been looking forward to isn’t a sure thing yet.

Apple: We’ve patched ‘many’ iOS vulnerabilities exposed by WikiLeaks

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These apps' iOS widgets will give your iPhone superpowers.
Keep your iPhone up to date to ensure it's as safe as can be.
Photo: Gilles Lambert/Unsplash CC

Apple insists it has already patched “many” of the iOS vulnerabilities that were exposed in WikiLeaks’ CIA document dump Tuesday.

Cupertino says it is working to address any identified holes that weren’t already patched, and the company reminds fans that the software built for iPhone boasts the best data security available to consumers.

See an unbelievably huge Mac collection and more [iSetups]

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iSetups episode 1
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.

Famous jailbreaker says WikiLeaks CIA dump is overhyped

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The CIA has been hoarding zero day exploits.
The CIA has been hoarding zero day exploits.
Photo: US Gov.

WikiLeak’s trove of CIA cyber documents is being hyped as one of the biggest leaks since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA. But according to one of the world’s top jailbreakers, you shouldn’t believe the hype.

Cyber security expert Will Strafach, who gained notoriety under the name Chronic for finding zero-day exploits used for jailbreaking, says iOS users don’t need to be worried.

Gaming smartwatches, concentration headphones, and more [Crowdfund Roundup]

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Crowdfund Roundup
Help turn these awesome ideas into reality!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

If you still feel like smartwatches have no use, how about one that’s designed for on-the-go gaming? Gameband is built to be the most powerful wearable you can buy, with long-lasting battery life and expandable storage.

It’s just one of the awesome projects included in this week’s Crowdfund Roundup. We’ve also got a beautiful mechanical keyboard inspired by traditional typewriters, headphones that help you concentrate, and more!

Global elites’ love of iPhone made iOS a prime target of CIA

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The CIA's new headquarters.
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.