There are only a few hours left until the entire country goes jettisons itself into a deranged mess of Halloween parties. If you don’t have your costume ready by now then you might be panicing about coming up with something cool on the fly.
Don’t worry. We’ve got three great Apple-themed Halloween costume ideas that you can pull of in minutes before you head to your parties tonight. Check ’em out.
If you preordered an iPad mini directly from Apple.com, you have probably noticed that you have yet to receive a shipping confirmation from Apple… and it’s getting close to the wire.
Considering the fact that Apple is guaranteeing a Friday, November 2nd delivery for initial preorders, and that Apple usually ships out new products directly from the factories in China, that might have you concerned.
There’s no reason to panic. Your iPad mini has, in all likelihood, already shipped, and is right now sitting in a delivery center in the United States, just waiting for Apple to give the okay to have it delivered to your door.
Here’s how to check on your iPad mini, even if Apple hasn’t sent you a shipping reference yet.
With Halloween almost upon us, what better way to celebrate than to scare yourself silly with some of the most terrifying games the App Store has to offer? We’ve put together a selection of the best horror titles that will have you watching your back this October 31, with some big hits like Walking Dead, Rage HD, Dead Space, and more.
iPad mini reviews are upon us. Apple’s embargo recently lifted and handpicked publications have exposed their early reviews for all to see. Apple has already sold out of initial pre-order stock, and the company’s smallest tablet will be available in limited supply at retail stores this weekend. The mini is expected to rock Apple’s bottom line this holiday season, and reviewers are gushing about how the bar has been set higher for the rest of the tablet market (again).
We’ve scoured the internet to find early reviews of the iPad mini, and they have been collected below for your viewing pleasure. Cult of Mac’s official review will be published soon.
“Where the heck is iTunes 11?!?” That’s the question many have been asking since it’s now the end of October and Apple has yet to fulfill its promise to release the new software. Back at the iPhone 5 media event last month, Apple unveiled the all-new iTunes 11 and said that it would arrive in October. The month has come and gone without a word from Apple… until now.
Apple has just confirmed via an official spokesperson that the release of iTunes 11 has been pushed back until November. Apparently there are some kinks that still need to be ironed out.
Skeuomorphism, or the tendency to deliberately make something new look like something old and familiar. Some people love it, some people hate it and think it’s tacky.
No matter how you feel, his love for skeuomorphism is one of many reasons that former iOS chief Scott Forstall was fired yesterday. Replacing him is Apple’s Senior VP of Design, Jonathan Ive, who will lead a new Human Interface Group in Apple… and whom reportedly loathes skeuomorphism with every fiber of his being.
All that fake leather stitching, those hideous textures, those bizarre font choices in iOS’s stock apps? If Ive gets his way — and we think he will — they’re all about to change.
Here are the eight skeuomorphic apps in iOS 6 we hope Jony Ive is going to change in iOS 7, along with some third-party apps we hope he takes inspiration from.
Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, has a tradition stretching back to the 15th century and earlier, though it is currently a more secular holiday, with children and the young at heart dressing up as everything from scary ghouls and monsters to the more tame video game characters or that bane of every feminist out there, the “sexy” nurse/librarian/pikachu/what have you.
Regardless of how you celebrate, though, we thought you’d enjoy this list of the scariest Mac games we could think of, each available to play on current (and some older) Macs just in time for the next couple of creepy weeks.
Scott Forstall was destined for big things at Apple. Originally part of Steve Jobs’s NeXT team, he spent 15 years with the Cupertino company and spearheaded its hugely successful iOS software division. Many believed he would succeed Tim Cook as CEO later on, but on Monday, but the chances of that happening looked impossible when Apple announced Forstall was on his way out.
The news came as a shock to us all, but it seems there are several reasons why Apple had to remove Forstall from its executive team — it seems refusing to apologize for the whole Maps debacle wasn’t the only one.
Shortly before unveiling the iPad mini last week, Apple announced a new fourth-generation iPad — just 7 months after it released the third-generation iPad. In addition to an improved FaceTime camera, faster Wi-Fi, and Apple’s new Lightning connector, the device comes with the latest A6X processor. But is it a worthy upgrade over its predecessor?
Well, if performance is important to you, then yes, it is.
Personally, I’m not a big gamer, but even I can see how awesome this deal today is—The Mac Gamer Bundle Featuring Call of Duty 4: Get Your Game on With 6 Killer Mac Games worth $195 for Only $30!—it’s really crazy good. Six great games for just $30? There has to be a catch or something. Nope. Here are the 6 games included:
It may seem that getting rid of Scott Forstall is a bad thing. He was, after all, the major architect of Apple’s most successful software: iOS, the software that runs the iPhone and iPad.
It’s actually a very good thing, and it means your iPhone is about to get a whole lot better.
The announcement that both Scott Forstall and John Browett are leaving Apple today came as a big surprise to many Apple fans. Browett has only been with Apple for nine months, but Scott Forstall was one of Steve Jobs’ favorite employees and has been with Apple since 1997.
Apple hasn’t released any of the specifics as to why Browett and Forestall are leaving Apple, but we’re assuming they got fired for their missteps from the past 12 months.
Here’s why both of them may have been axed:
Apple has announced its biggest executive shakeup since Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO.
The biggest surprise is the departure of Scott Forstall, a longtime Apple executive and the senior vice president of iOS Software. Forstall was the major architect of Apple’s mobile software and had been tipped as a possible future CEO. He will be leaving the company next year. He is serving as an advisor to CEO Tim Cook until his departure in 2013.
The other big surprise is the departure of Apple’s newest executive, John Browett, head of Apple ‘s retail division. Browett is leaving after running Apple’s stores for less than a year.
As part of the reshuffling, Apple’s head of design, Sir Jonathan, gets a major promotion. As well as leading Industrial Design, Ive will also run the company’s Human Interface department. Ive will be in charge of the all-important product interfaces in both hardware and software, a role previously fulfilled by the late Steve Jobs.
Microsoft gathered the press in San Francisco today to unveil Windows Phone 8, the next major iteration of its mobile platform. At today’s Windows Phone Summit, Steve Ballmer and co. unveiled the new operating system and all of its improvements. Initial reactions and early reviews are calling Windows Phone 8 a great update, but Microsoft still has a lot of catching up to do before it joins the ranks of Google and Apple in the smartphone space.
Today, Google announced two new Nexus tablets — the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 — which will go head-to-head with more established competitors like the iPad, the iPad mini and the Kindle Fire HD. But how do they stack up?
Hurricane Sandy is supposed to slam into the East Coast today, bringing flooding and and diaster with her that hasn’t been seen in decades. New York City is already flooding and the worst hasn’t even hit yet.
Even though the iPhone does a lot of magical fun things, you can also use it to stay informed on Sandy and use a couple of apps that will help you know what to do when disaster hits. We want everyone on the East Coast to stay as safe as possible today so here are seven apps that will help you survive Sandy.
I don’t usually start off these posts with the money aspect, but in this case I think it’s essential that I do. This course is usually $497 and the deal we have here is $79. Okay? Big savings. Now the best part, this course from Udemy is a soup to nuts course on how to build iOS apps in Xcode—The Ultimate Xcode For iOS Apps Course: Build & Launch iOS Apps With The Most Comprehensive Xcode Course for Beginners.
So if you have an idea for an app, but absolutely zero coding experience…this is the course you need.
When Microsoft announced the Surface I was shocked. Not shocked because Balmer was doing something gutsy, but shocked because the Surface actually looks cool. Like, it’s probably the coolest looking tablet I’ve ever seen, other than the iPad, and if that crazy Touch Cover keyboard thing actually works well, then holy shit, the future is here.
Even though it’s not made by Apple, I had to try the “Surface with Windows RT” because I wanted to touch the future, and I really thought that maybe Microsoft was going to pull it off and create something that amazed me. After playing with the Surface and comparing it to an iPad though I found out that the future isn’t quite here yet, but it looks promising.
Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Google and all the big-screen TV makers want to own the the all-purpose living room entertainment system of tomorrow.
Smart TV systems, which will incorporate movies-on-demand, gaming, web surfing, videoconferencing, home automation and more (even TV shows!) are likely to become the next big opportunity for content-driven platform companies.
But is time running out for Apple to make its move?
The surprising answer is: No, not really. Apple’s got plenty of time. And there’s no need for Apple to make a TV set, either.
Here’s why.
If you have a previous generation iPod nano (the touchscreen one), you’ve probably seen the straps and kits to make it a watch (you know I never did see one that made a nano look like a pocket watch). Since I had the chance while working for an Apple retailer to see lots of samples of these straps and kits, I can tell you something with authority—most of them were junk.
Most of the samples I saw looked awful on your wrist or looked cheap or…just bad. The ones that looked best were the ones that employed more “watch-like” features like…screws, links, real bands. This is what I like about the Lynk Watch Kit, it looks like a watch band—The Lynk Watch Kit By LUNATIK (Black): Get an Ultra-Lightweight, Stylish & Comfortable Watch Piece That Will Fit Any Occasion.
I had a great idea this morning. I figured I’d head to the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale around 10am, waltz in, buy a Microsoft Surface, and then be out in 10 minutes. I assumed the store would be empty. I mean, come on, this is a Microsoft tablet we’re talking about, and who goes to the Microsoft Store anyway?
I was completely wrong. Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface RT, may not do everything an iPad can, but it’s drawing some pretty big lines to Microsoft retail stores across the country for its launch this morning.
Microsoft’s new Surface RT tablet made its debut today, just three days after Apple announced the new fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini. If you’re not completely dedicated to iOS, you’re probably having a hard time decided which tablet to go for.
To help you make your decision, we’ve put together a handy chart that compares the Surface RT with some of the most popular tablets on sale right now, including the new iPads, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Google Nexus 7, and more.
Rockstar Games brought Grand Theft Auto 3 to Android and iOS last December, and I’ve been playing it over and over ever since; it’s one of my favorite games on mobile. I was delighted, then, when Rockstar announced today that its successor, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, is also being ported to Android and iOS to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
Galaxy Tab; Nexus 7; Kindle Fire HD—they’re all doomed, and on this week’s CultCast, we’ll tell why Apple’s new iPad mini will most definitely sit as the king of all tabs small.
Then, we review a new social iOS game so stellar, it’ll have you clamoring for Game Center friends just so you can get your fix.
All that and more on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream The CultCast via Apple’s free Podcasts App.
Note: Some listeners have informed us that iTunes isn’t displaying episode 39 yet, but if you subscribe, it will show up and download just fine.
Onwards, to the show notes!
Having lost its appeal against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in a High Court ruling in the United Kingdom earlier this month, Apple was ordered to publish advertisements in British newspapers and magazines, and on its website, which must say that Samsung did not copy the iPad.
The Cupertino company has now published a statement on its website, and it makes for a very humorous read. Basically, Apple quotes the judge, who said that Samsung’s tablets “are not as cool” as Apple’s, then says that despite the decision, Samsung did copy the iPad really.