So guys, it’s almost 2014, which means it’s almost the future, right? And what better way to realize that then by realizing that sharks are now using Twitter?
Yup, You heard us correctly.
Off the coast of Western Australia there are 320 sharks ( Great Whites included) outfitted with transmitters that automatically update Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s Twitter feed when the sharks get too close ( within 0.6 of a mile) to any of the coast’s popular beaches.
The move is to keep surfers and swimmers safe and aware of the sharks’ presence, which is vitally important with 6 deaths due to shark attacks off Western Australia in the past two years.
For example, a tweet sent early Saturday in Australia reads: “Fisheries advise: tagged Bronze whaler shark detected at Garden Island (north end) receiver at 06:0700 AM on 27-Dec-2013.”
We love this. Sure, it’s a program designed to protect life and it seems to be working and all that good stuff, but it’s also sharks sending tweets.
Thanks to 9to5Mac, we have the full letter that Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, sent to his employees. The letter reflects on the last year, cements the ideals of the company and looks forward to 2014.
Team,
This holiday season, tens of millions of people around the world, from all walks of life, are experiencing Apple products for the first time. Those moments of surprise and delight are magical, and they’re all made possible by your hard work. As many of us prepare to celebrate the holidays with our loved ones, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved together over the past year.
First and foremost, we introduced industry-leading products in each of our major categories in 2013, showing the breadth and depth of innovation at Apple. We extended our lead in the smartphone market with iPhone 5s; launched iOS 7, an extraordinarily ambitious project; released OS X Mavericks for free to our customers; introduced the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display; and this week began shipping the Mac Pro from a manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. We also marked our 50 billionth download on the App Store – a milestone no one could have predicted we would reach so quickly.
Together we’ve shown the world that innovation at Apple goes beyond our products to the way we do business and how we give back to our community. This year, Apple raised and donated tens of millions of dollars for important charities and relief efforts like Red Cross aid to typhoon victims in the Philippines, and we continue to be the largest contributor to (PRODUCT)RED, supporting the Global Fund in its fight against the spread of AIDS in Africa. Just a few weeks ago, Jony Ive led an unprecedented effort that brought money and awareness to eliminating the transmission of AIDS from mother to child.
And finally, Apple is standing up for what we believe is right. We know that equality and diversity make our company and our society stronger, so we’ve urged the U.S. Congress to support workplace protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. We are also laser focused on our contribution to several environmental initiatives and we will increase our efforts even more in this area in the future.
We have a lot to look forward to in 2014, including some big plans that we think customers are going to love. I am extremely proud to stand alongside you as we put innovation to work serving humankind’s deepest values and highest aspirations. I consider myself the luckiest person in the world for the opportunity to work at this amazing company with all of you.
Happy Holidays,
Tim
Makes you feel all kinds of goo inside, right? in 2014 we as customers can look forward to a bunch of new and updated software and hardware releases such as the iWatch, iTV, iPhone 6 and a larger iPad.
We’ll be going into the ins and outs of everything we can look forward to early in the new year. It’s very exciting!
Meanwhile, it’s Christmas eve eve! We hope your holiday season is everything you guys could have wished for so far, and is set only to get better!
We wished for a kitten wearing a santa hat and drinking eggnog, as well as a bunch of stinky old iPhones, so things are going excellently!
The Queen Bee has a new album! AND it’s breaking all sorts of records because, well, duh, she’s Queen B. Beyonce dropped her very unexpected self titled visual album late on Thursday night, exclusively on iTunes.
In a press release, Apple has proudly announced that the album is the fastest selling ever on the iTunes store, moving 828,773 united worldwide in the the first 3 days and going straight to number one in 104 countries. Try naming 104 countries, and then think about being number 1 in all of them. It’s pretty mind blowing.
Here’s a slice of the press release for you:
“The self-titled, BEYONCÉ, is the fifth solo studio album from Beyoncé, which was made available exclusively worldwide on the iTunes Store on December 13 by Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. The self-titled set is the artist’s first visual album. BEYONCÉ is infused with 14 new songs and 17 visually stunning, provocative videos shot around the world from Houston to New York City to Paris, and Sydney to Rio de Janeiro, all before the album’s release. The album represents Beyoncé’s biggest sales week ever.”
“Beyonce’ is being billed as a ‘visual’ album because each song has an accompanying music video. If you would like to check out some previews for the songs before buying, they’re loaded on her Youtube channel. You can buy the album on iTunes.
Here’s a taste!
“Self-Titled” is a mini art feature comprised of several parts that give a glimpse into the entire project. It details her mind-set and artistic vision throughout the making of BEYONCÉ.
For the first time ever, the US is included in Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts App! It should be pretty awesome, so big yay’s all around!
The app can be downloaded as of right now (although you do need to have iOS 7 installed) and is leading up to 12 days of free giveaways from Apple’s various digital stores starting December 26th.
That’s one free gift from Apple every day (think songs, books, apps, movies etc) for 12 days right up until January 6th!
This is a promotion that Apple has been running in other countries for years, but this is the first time we get to have some free gift fun too! Download the app today so you can be prepared when it comes to all the free stuff! Available now in the App store.
We told you we loved Christmas right? We also really like deals. Deals, tips, tricks, writlefifers, all of it. This is why we now proudly present the Christmas Gift Guide Part 3 – Tips & Tricks for buying Tech this Christmas!
According to Macrumors, Apple now has an official policy on price matching, which allows specialists to price match iPhones, iPads, and Macs, giving up to 10 percent off on products without authorization. Specialists are also allowed to give business customers up to 20% off a non-Apple accessory when purchased with an Apple product via special order.
Apple also has free shipping now through December 22nd.
If you’re thinking of buying that special someone a Smartphone this holiday season, you should get yourself along to Whistleblower – a fantastic tool that you can use to compare cell phone plans online, and see which one is best for your needs and your budget!
If you use Amazon ( and you should) you should be aware of a couple of things. Firstly, they will price match on cell phones and televisions within 14 days of shipment of the product. Click here to see the details.
Amazon also offers 3-months of Amazon Prime Membership for free for parents & caregivers. This includes Free 2-day shipping on qualifying items, 30% off Select Diapers & Wipes which qualify for subscribe & save (15% discount + 15% S&S discount, an additional month of Amazon Prime for each $25 you spend on a single order (up to 1 year total of free prime) and exclusive e-mail discounts and offers.
If you’re a college student you can also get free Prime membership for 6 months and only $39/year after that as well as a $5 credit for each friend you refer. Click here to sign up.
College students should also click here to apply for Best Buy’s student discounts, all you need is your student email address ( must end in .edu). With this, you’ll save $50 on MacBooks and receive similar discounts in your email.
You guys should definitely check out the refurbished products on the Apple special deals page here. You can find deals like the iPad Mini Wifi 64 Gb with a 1 year warranty for $419, 13 inch MacBook air for $849, or Apple TV for $75.
Target’s markdown day is usually Monday for electronics. Markdowns usually take place every two weeks and items will continue to be marked down every two weeks until sold or the discount reaches 75 percent. Markdown schedule’s might vary from store to store, so it won’t hurt to check.
You can get a bunch of sweet Mac applications all in one go from MacUpdate in corroboration with Macrumors. For only $39.99, the bundle includes 10 applications such as iStopMotion 3, Anonymiser, and Backblaze. All up it’s worth a cool $360 clams. Click here to check out the deal.
And here’s a couple of specific deals you should check out:
iPad Mini and iPad Mini with Retina Display Smart Cover by Apple – 19.99 for blue, 14.99 for all others including Red. Free Shipping. Click here to see the deal.
Pioneer A4 WiFi Speaker w/ AirPlay Streaming $80 + Free Shipping save $120! Check it out here.
Get a Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro for $1549.99 with a discount and rebate at MacMall.
Happy dealing and Writlefifing and Merry Christmas!
1.Please don’t miss social opportunities that you mistake as AWKWARD social situations by pretending that you’re texting.
When we use technology to avoid possibly awkward situations, we’re simply avoiding learning how to manage ourselves in possibly awkward situations. Once we learn that, we can turn these situations around to use them in our advantage. Evil genius or awesome Yogi advice?
2.Don’t go one step further and pretend to be on a phone call, cos, you know, the phone will probably ring.
There is no sage advice with this one. Just don’t risk it, please. For humanity’s sake.
3. Don’t Judge people on their smartphone choice or lack of choice.
Just because you made a choice based on your own understanding of how technology works well in your own life, does not mean you should judge other people for making a different decision. Your opinion on which brand is better may be imporant to you, but calling people sheep or stupid for their smartphone choice is irrelevant and, well, dumb. People make different choices, get over it.
4.Please don’t put your phone on loudspeaker, put it right in front of your mouth and then proceed to yell into it.
This. This just hurts everyone’s ears and some people’s souls. Please consider the poor souls around you. Speaking quietly is far more effective in business and personal relationships, at any rate. However, it is far more acceptable if you are yelling into your phone because you are pretending it is a microphone, and that you are Steven Tyler. ( Liv Tyler’s dad for those more, uh, modern among us.)
5. Don’t Frape.
In case you don’t know, Fraping is when someone leaves their phone or computer unattended and has their FaceBook app or page open. The aim is to then go ahead and try to make them seem stupid/gay/pregnant etc to their many friends and loved ones.
Who is actually laughing at these? Please stop. The only exception is if it is awesome, like this one.
6. It’s totally the cool thing these days to make sure no-one uses their phone at the dinner table, or in other social circumstances. We get it, people are trying to be disconnected from the outside world, and only connected to the people in the physical space around them.
But please, don’t be a obnoxious douche and please understand if someone has to have their phone on. Sometimes people have things going on in their lives that means they need to be connected to the outside world. It doesn’t mean they’re rude.
7. On the other hand, don’t be a rude douche and take out your smartphone out to do anything that is less important that what is happening in the room around you.
Especially if there is something happening that is important to someone you care about. Even though it may be tempting to follow the game during the family christmas movie time, think about how that breaks you apart from what everyone else in the room is experiencing. No good.
8. DON’T USE YOUR MOBILE PHONE WHILST DRIVING.
It’s so tempting, we know, and we know you can do two or three things at once, and we know you’re one of the best drivers you or anyone else knows, but that’s what other people thought, minutes before they crashed.
Just don’t do it.
9. Don’t forget to use your upgrade!
Sirs! Madams! You should upgrade! Why are you waiting around with a stinky old phone? You can do better, you can be better! Upgrade! And then don’t you dare leave that stinky old phone in a drawer. Sell it for CASHMONEY.
Then smile!
Lastly,
10. Don’t forget to be super grateful and happy about the tiny fancy computer in your pocket that lets you communicate, educate, create, listen to music, play games and movies, take photos and video. Be happy about the fact that these tiny computers are relatively normal now, because technology is always advancing, and you’re lucky enough to experience it personally!
iPhone Antidote LOVES christmas. We put our christmas tree up in October, no joke.
AND we’ve been tracking the best gifts this year so you can get everyone in your life the best damn christmas present they’ve ever had. We’re talking tears in the eyes of the toughest man you know kind of christmas gifts. You guys are gonna get so much christmas karma this year!
Although tech stuff tends to be on the higher side of the budget range, we’ve tried to include a broad range of prices AND gifts for a broad range of ages and interests.
We’ve also provided some nice gift viewing music to serenade you whilst you read. Did we mention that we love Christmas?
You ready? Here we go!
Health Conscious
For the health conscious in the family, any of the Fitbit product line will make for a perfect gift. At iPhone Antidote, we recommend the FitBit One (seen above), but the Fitbit Flex has been reviewed positively as well.
The gadget tracks steps, miles,and other activities undertaken as well as calories taken in and expended, weight and even your sleep patterns. A very effective tool for maintaining or improving healthy living.
The Fitbit range is sold in most good tech stores. The Fitbit One is $99.99 and the FitBit Flex sells for $99.99 everywhere. Try Best Buy or Target.
Speakers.
Cos everyone loves music, right? And how awesome is it when you can just press a button on a device and music comes pounding out across the room? Or across the campsite? That’s why everyone needs a portable bluetooth speaker, like the Beats by Dre Pill ( shown above), $199.95 at most good techy retailers. Try Macy’s or AT&T.
We’d also highly recommend the SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker from Bose. Get it here for $199.99.
Groupon currently has a good deal on the BassBoomz Portable Bluetooth Speaker, usually $130, now $29.99. Click here to see the deal.
On the other hand, Airplay speakers ( strictly Apple only connectivity) give better sound quality than bluetooth, but you certainly pay for it. The one we like the most is the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air for $599.99. Click here to get that price.
The iKross Bluetooth Stereo Music Audio Receiver makes any speaker in your house a bluetooth connectable speaker. Uh, awesome? Get it for $24.98 here.
Game systems
If you haven’t already snapped up one of these and are wanting to, well, we wish you luck my friend. They are a little scarce on the ground at the moment, but we think that supplies might bulk up towards the pointy end of Christmas. Might.
But if you can, either of these would make a smashing christmas present. Just make sure you get the right one, and we’re not telling you which one that is- they are both awesome, but it is a fierce battle forged in people’s minds as to brand alliance, much like Samsung and Apple products. If the person you’re getting it for has no alliance, you’re good to go on what suits the budget and environment.
The Playstation4 is $399.99 at Walmart, Best Buy & most good retailers. The Xbox One is $499.99. Consider getting a product bundle as well.
The alternative to the two big players is the Nintendo Wii Ufor just $299.99 at Best Buy -that’s the Wii U Console Deluxe Set with New Super Mario Bros. U AND New Super Luigi U games.
Games
Games! Woop! These are the top coolest games we can think of to recommend!
Grand theft auto V. The game everyone’s been talking about! Be warned, this is not the game to get your 10 year old! Mature themes run throughout, but those, uh, mature enough to play it? They say it rocks socks. In a more mature way of saying that. Available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.$59.99 at Best Buy.
Groupon currently have a deal to buy Just Dance 2014 for Wii, Xbox 360 Kinect, or PS3 Move . Super fun and easy game for everyone to play. Usually $39.99, now only $29.99.
Toys
We scrounged the very bowels of the internet to get the top 5 coolest kids toys for your little munchkins this year.
The new Furby Boom toys are the most interactive Furbies yet. And they’re back, in a BIG way. Starting at $47.80 at Walmart.
Snap Circuits – super award winning learning toy, where the objective is to build projects such as AM radios; burglar alarms; games, etc. Shop Amazon for $45.07 with Prime here.
Romo Robotic Pet for iOS. Romo is a little guy creature ( downloadable app) that lives in your iOS device – attached to his wheels he can roll around, snap photos and interact with and adapt to his environment. Get this at Brookstone for $199.99.
Ubooly Smart Toy is an interactive smart toy that doubles as a really cute little thing AND an educational toy with 1,000+ fun activities for ages 4-10. Ubooly tells stories, plays games, teaches lessons and every week, new activities are pushed wirelessly to your mobile device. Yes please.
The iStabiliser Monopod. A smartphone and gadget holder thingy, so your photos turn out super stable, and your arm doesn’t hurt when you’re filming. Get it here for $ $34.95.
Hellonomad Charge card (seen above).USB powered charge card that is the size of two credit cards, so can fit easily in your wallet. Get it here for $25.
For cases, we reccomend trying out either Opena casefor function ( they have the bottle opener case among others) or Red Bubblefor design.
Groupon currently has a deal for Agloves Touchscreen Winter Gloves, so you can use all your smart gadgets even when it’s super cold! Usually $25.99, now only $ 7.99! Get in fast, it’s super limited.
Groupon currently has a deal on for the HMDX Bluetooth Speaker & Alarm Clock with Apple Lightning Pin Dock. Usually $79.99 now only $39.99! Get it here.
iHip Robot Mini Speaker. Super cute brightly colored little speaker guys! Groupon currently has them down from $29.99 to just $6.99. Excellent stocking stuffer!
Quadcopter/helicopter
No matter what age, a Heli or Quadcopter will bring a lot of joy this holiday season. The best of the lot would be the Stunt Copter ( seen above) at Brookstone for $69.99. It takes a little learning, but comes with a repair kit and takes some good smashes with no damage. Designed for inside and outside play, it’s a perfect toy that takes some practice- but the practice is hella fun.
For more of a toy than a project, we’d recommend this the Hovermaxx UFO RC Helicopter, for only $19.99 from Brookstone, it’s perfect for beginners age 6 and up for inside play and includes 6 LED lights on the device.
For the Quads, we’d definitely recommend the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 App-Controlled Quadricopter($299.99 at Brookstone), it’s big brother the Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter Power Edition which lets you stay in the air for 3 x longer ($369.99 at Brookstone), or if you want to go REALLY LARGE – the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV is really top notch. Check it out. ($453.44 with prime at Amazon)
Smartwatch if you cants wait ( but we suggest you do).
If you or one of your loved ones realllly can’t wait for the iWatch or similar expected far advanced tech, then it’s ok, we got you.
We recommend the Pebble Watch if you’re after a standalone smart watch (173.99 from Amazon), or the Martian Passport Smart Watch if you’re after a stylish accessory to go with your smartphone ($299 with Prime from Amazon).
Both are great Smart Watches and hella stylish to match, but expect big advances in battery time and capabilities as early as next year in their own updates and in new products.
Cool things
Light show fountain speakers. Turn on your favorite jam ( do we still say jam for music? ) and the water inside the speakers will dance to the beat and the 4 multi-colored LEDs will light up. Super rad. $49.99 from Thinkgeek.
GoPro Hero 3. You’ve all seen the video’s right? These are the cameras that you attach to things as you go hurtling down a ski-field, climbing up a rock or simply hiking to the ocean. They’re also beginning to be a must have. Starting at $199.99
Bird Photo booth. Catch the au naturale side of your backyard bird friends with this bird photo booth. Uses your own iPhone or GoPro, but comes with macros and polarising lenses. You can also, uh, talk to the birds using FaceTime? $149.99 from Thinkgeek.
Game boy watch. Everyone loves vintage gamer stuff! And now you can wear it on your hand! $86.87 including shipping here.
Perfect Drink App-Controlled Smart Bartending. Exactly what it says it is; a fancy cocktail machine. It includes a smart scale and app that lets you choose from hundreds of drink recipes, follow real-time pouring instructions, and watch as a virtual glass fills on your smartphone or tablet, as well as suggesting what drinks you can make from what you have. (Kahlua and Bacardi 151 anyone?) $69.99 from Brookstone.
Really cool things
ELECTRIC DELOREAN DMCEV.Brought to you by the DeLorean Motor Company in association with Epic EV, the Electric DeLorean is battery powered but its AC induction liquid-cooled electric motor packs 260 horsepower. That means a top speed of 125mph and 0-60 in 4.9 seconds.
The Flying Hovercraft. Yes, it’s a flying hovercraft. It glides over land and water yet also soars in the air up to 70 mph with the aid of integrated wings. A 130-hp twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled gasoline engine, turbocharged and fuel-injected, drives its 60″ wood/carbon composite thrust propeller while a 1,100-rpm 34″ lift fan inflates its durable vinyl-coated nylon skirt for hovering above the ground.
That’s a wrap! ( get it? …Christmas wrap? ..no?) I hope you guys found some nice gift ideas for your loved ones and enjoyed the dulcet tones of Miss Mariah!
Happy Happy Holidays!
P.S. Watch out for our 2nd tech christmas guide coming soon on where to find the best deals on everything Apple!
Apple is in the process of purchasing a company that has the technology to bring super, super exciting things to it’s product line.
The Israeli firm Primesense is responsible for the technology associated with 3D body sensing used in Microsoft’s Kinect platform.
You know, the thing where you dance around all silly in front of the game system and don’t care because it’s AMAZING that what you’re doing is copied/simulated on screen? Yeah, that stuff.
The original asking price back in June was 280 million buckaroos, but according to Israeli newspaper Calcalist, the deal is now worth a slammin $345 million. Yowzer.
There are still some minor issues that need to be settled before the transaction is done and dusted, but we’re on purpose getting ahead of ourselves here and getting excited about what this could mean for future products or what it could mean for current products, like the iPhone. Ooh, also The iTV, (duh).
Although Apple has not commented (not unusual), and PrimeSense has not publicly acknowledged the deal, the company did release the following statement:
“PrimeSense is the leading 3D technology in the market. We are focused on building a prosperous company while bringing 3D sensing and Natural Interaction to the mass market in a variety of markets such as interactive living room and mobile devices. We do not comment on what any of our partners, customers or potential customers are doing and we do not relate to rumors or re-cycled rumors.”
We’re hoping that ‘re-cycled rumor’s part is just PR spin. Cos this? Could be really cool.
We’re crossing our fingers and looking forward to an official announcement in the next 2 weeks!
Yeah, yeah, why should we care what kind of celebrities use what kind of phones? Right? Right?
Well, cos they have people to tell them which is the best one to buy according to style and/or function. And they also have lots of money, so no real barrier to entry.
OR they get the best sponsorship deal. OR they get all phones for free and choose the best one.
Or cos they’re cooler and prettier than people in real life, and we want to be just like them.
Or so we can make fun of them cos they suck, and their smartphone choice proves it.
Anyway, wanna know which of your favorite celebrities use which brand smart phone?
Here’s what our researchers have come up with. Judge away.
Brad pitt uses an iPhone ( Hello ladies) as does Kate Hudson, Sarah Michelle Gellar ( Of course Buffy uses an iPhone. Right? COS SHE COOL.), Selena Gomez, Posh Spice, Denise Richards, Sharon Stone, Miley Cyrus and the Biebs (Uh oh).
Kanye West appears to have convinced Kim Kardashian to swap to an iPhone from Black berry. Halle Berry is also a big swapperer, having changed from being a Blackberry lover.
Speaking of Blackberry lovers, a surprising amount of celebs fit into this category. Who knew?
George Clooney, Megan Fox, Demi Moore, Leo DiCaprio, Reese Witherspoon, Courtney Cox, Ben Affleck, Rihanna, Paris Hilton, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Justin Tiberlake, Snoop Dogg ( Lion?) and Mindy Kaling (Breath), The Olsen’s, Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen all fit in here. As does Justin Bieber, again. What a category lover.
The President is well known to be a fan of the BlackBerry. So much so, that he has two of them.
Celebrities that use Samsung phones are also different than we expected – a lot less! Perhaps someone in Samsung has to get their celebrity marketing game on!
Jay Z is of course endorsed by Samsung and uses the brand, LeBron James lurves Samsung, as does Eliza Dushku, Nicole Sherzinger and Evan Rachel Wood, Robbie Williams, Anna Kendrick and a whole bunch of Ashley’s; Ashley benson, Ashlee Simpson and Ashley Green.
So the winning phone category if we cared what celebrities like would be Blackberry, then iPhone, then Samsung? That sounds…weird.
P.P.S. We’re also grateful for: The Breaking Bad Finale being Awesome, Pumpkin Pie, Planes, Kangaroos, Bill Murray, Magic shows, technology, Phil Dunphy, aaaaaaaaand animals that have weird faces!
Apple, Cool Features, New Releases | iPhone-Antidote | 
December 30, 2013 1:13 pm | 
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