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Apple isn't taking orders yet for the Apple Watch, but that's not stopping a company called Brikk from offering versions of the smartwatch with some high-end materials. One of them has diamonds placed on its case and band and costs $69,995. Brikk is actually launching 30 different versions of their Apple Watch, under the Lux Watch branding. Pricing for the smartwatches range from "just" $7,495 for the Standard version to the previously mentioned $69,995 for the Lux Watch Omni. Apple has not offered much info on the way of Apple Watch pricing, other than stating the entry-level Sport edition will cost $349. There is some speculation that Apple could price the high…

The iMore show brings you everything you need to know about the week in iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple! On this episode — EmojiGate not, Apple Watch Edition, car concerns, Apple Store changes, Files.app, in defense of thin phones, shoddy security reporting, Forge, Minecraft, car cases, Polar Loop, and more! With Serenity, Peter, Ally, Rene and very special guest John Moltz. Support the iMore show: Visit thetiebar.com/iMore and use promo code iMore50 by the end of February for free shipping on orders of $50 or more! Subscribe in iTunes: Audio Subscribe in RSS: Audio Download directly: Audio Show notes Diversity Emoji Where's the middle finger? Apple Watch u…

By Kathleen Hogan, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Brad Smith, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs Every day, Microsoft employees have the opportunity to help people do more and achieve more through technology. And today is a special day, as we’re announcing two new steps we’re taking to support our employees’ involvement in their communities. As we’ve come to appreciate, everyday people working in nonprofit organizations wake up determined to solve some of the world’s toughest problems. But there are so many challenges facing them, a big one being lack of IT expertise to help them extend their work and do more g…

The Apple Watch will ship this April. While we've all seen the introduction, we haven't seen everything yet. We have the broad strokes, not the fine details. Those will come soon. Still, there's more than enough to keep us content for now — especially when it comes to fantasy shopping. What sizes, materials, bands, and other options are we leaning towards?We've been thinking and talking about it so much amongst ourselves, we figured we might as well get together and hash it out in a roundtable. And we brought friends... Which size Apple Watch will you be getting? Serenity: 38mm. My wrists are sad, tiny things, and I am very grateful that Apple will be offerin…

Ever typed on your keyboard and noticed you weren't hearing any keyboard clicks? Or taken a photo and didn't hear the shutter go off? Maybe you locked your iPhone or iPad and didn't hear the closing sound? That's a question we get frequently after iOS updates, and it's the question we're tackling today: Hi guys. My wife just installed 8.1.3 on her new iPhone 6+, and she noticed that her keyboard stopped making the usual sounds. When she shut the phone off, it didn't click, and also the camera doesn't click. All the other sounds are working fine. Anyone have a fix for this? Thanks. I've experienced this issue going back to iOS 7. The good news is, there are a fe…

The Chinese government has removed Apple along with other prominent U.S. technology vendors from its state purchase lists in favor of local vendors. According to Reuters, the change comes on the heels of cybersecurity concerns, with Chinese government officials reported to be wary of surveillance from Western government agencies. Other US technology firms whose products were removed include networking equipment manufacturer Cisco, Intel's McAfee and network and server software maker Citrix. The report highlights how the total number of products on the Central Government Procurement Center (CGPC) list increased by 2,000 to nearly 5,000 from 2012 to 2014, with a bulk o…

Debug is a casual, conversational interview show featuring the best developers in the business about the amazing apps they make and why and how they make them. On this episode Andy Matuschak, creator of the Sparkle update framework for Mac, member of the UIKit team from iOS 4.1 to iOS 8, and current mobile engineering lead at Khan Academy talks to Guy and Rene about helping to bring a world class education to everyone in the world. Subscribe in iTunes Subscribe in RSS Download directly Follow on Twitter Show notes Sparkle UIKit Khan Academy Controlling Complexity in Swift Young Children Reinvent Arithmetic: Implications of Piaget's Theory Debug 56: Laur…

George Washington University has announced today that Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the commencement address at its 2015 commencement ceremony on May 17. The announcement was made earlier tonight on George Washington University's online news outlet. The university's President, Steven Knapp, expressed his excitement on the matter: I am delighted that Tim Cook has accepted our invitation to give this year's commencement address on the National Mall. I know our graduating students will be inspired and enlightened by his reflections on the lessons he has garnered from his distinguished career as a highly effective leader at the forefront of technological innovati…

This iPhone 6 Plus screen protector is custom designed to fit perfectly on your device and is easy to apply, even for a novice. The ultra-slim PET film reduces glare and fingerprints while providing a smooth touchscreen experience. Each package includes one screen guard, cleaning cloth and application instructions. Yours today for only $14.95 Continue reading...

The developers behind Sega's remastered editions of Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2 are hoping that Sega will allow them to complete the trilogy by releasing their version of Sonic 3 & Knuckles for iPhone. Developers Christian Whitehead and Simon Thomley, also known as Taxman and Stealth, respectively, have voiced support for a fan-launched campaign to demonstrate interest in the project. The pair has previously developed remastered versions of Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2, all of which were published by Sega. A prototype version of the game is already up and running, according to the Sonic 3 Remastered campaign site: The duo now have a…

The Polar Loop has a great hardware design, tracks motion and sleep, and can be worn while swimming and bathing. Unfortunately, the software side needs some serious work. Worn like a traditional watch band with a clasp, the Polar Loop is comfortable and stylish all in one. But does function match form? How accurate is the step count? How well does goal-setting work? How good is the battery life? How effective is the waterproofing? Let's find out! The good Great watch-style design that is easy to put on and remove Water resistant up to 20m, which means you can swim and shower without removing it Supports external heart rate sensors, although an internal sensor …

Barclays has announced that Pingit users in the UK will be able to use their smartphones to send money using Twitter handles, which would remove the requirement for mobile numbers and bank account details to be exchanged. The new feature will go live on March 10. All that will be required is your Twitter handle, which will need to be added to the Pingit profile settings. The recipient will also need to be signed up through Twitter for the feature to work. The best part about Pingit is you don't need to own an account with Barclays, and the apps are available for everyone. Free - Download Now Source: The Next Web Continue reading...

BabyTalk is a free program offered by the Stanford Ear Institute and Weingarten Children's Center that uses Apple's iPad and FaceTime to bring speech therapy to deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the rural areas of California. Kathy Sussman is executive director at Weingarten, and a passionate advocate for the children, aged newborn to three years, served by BabyTalk. I spoke with Kathy over the phone for our Experts series and found out just how much work and dedication it took, from everyone involved, to make the program a reality, and the challenges it faces moving forward. Weingarten's Children's Center is nestled in Redwood City, California, and provides an i…

Today, I was honored to announce a $1 million in-kind contribution to build a high-tech interactive exhibit at the U.S. Diplomacy Center (USDC)—the first step in a partnership with the Diplomacy Center Foundation (DCF). Opening in 2017 in Washington, DC, the USDC will be a next-generation museum and education center that will showcase the importance of American diplomacy. Our new partnership with DCF is an exciting step for Microsoft’s technological and philanthropic efforts and will help Americans understand U.S. diplomacy in a new and unique way. I thank Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, a senior advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry and a Director of the Diplomac…

A federal jury in Texas has ordered Apple to pay $533 million in damages after it found that the company's digital media distribution services – including the iTunes Store – infringed on three patents owned by Smartflash LLC. The patents in question were allegedly used without permission in third-party games that were available from iTunes. According to Bloomberg: The dispute is over digital rights management and inventions related to data storage and managing access through payment systems. Smartflash claimed that iTunes used the inventions in applications such as Game Circus LLC's Coin Dozer and 4 Pics 1 Movie. The game companies settled out of court wit…

It seems that Apple Pay has really, well, payed off for Chase Bank. The company announced today that over 1 million of its customers have started using their credit or debit cards with Apple's payment platform since its launch last fall. The numbers were released during Chase's 2015 Investor Day earlier today. Along with the numbers, however, Chase also released some charts about how its customers are using the service. Perhaps most interesting bit is a chart that shows that Chase customers using Apple Pay are, on average, younger with higher incomes. These numbers follow a similar statement given by Bank of America last month, in which it noted that 800,000 o…

We've seen some cool iPhone 6 cases inspired by 1980s sci-fi blockbusters. Batman. Back to the Future. But I'm still waiting on the one I really want... I nearly lost my mind when I saw the Batman iPhone 6 cell phone cover. It's the coolest thing I've seen that's absolutely useless but that I want anyway. It lights up, it projects the Batsignal onto a wall. What's more, the same Japanese outfit (Bandai's Crazy Case brand) has built a replica of the DeLorean sports coupe featured in the classic 80s comedy sci-fi blockbuster Back to the Future II. Just like the Batmobile, there are parts that light up. It even has a little Mr. Fusion reactor on it, and hover-wheels!…

Due to the insane interest and backing that Pebble's latest endeavor, the Pebble Time, has received, the company has issued an update announcing that it has decided to increase the number of units it will ship in May from the $179 tier to 30,000. In addition, the Pebble team says that it will open up a new reward tier with a June ship date after the current tier is full. The Pebble Time was announced earlier today, and features a color screen, weeklong battery life, and a stainless steel bezel. In addition, the new watch also features a quick release for bands, and an accessory port that allows the watch to interact with accessories created by third-party developers.…

Ting's GSM network, which it announced late last year, has officially entered into an open beta. Previously, customers could test the network out on an invite-only basis. If an open beta for a network sounds odd, Ting explained the benefits of the tests it has done so far: We've been hard at work on Ting on a GSM network. We've sent out invitations in the thousands with a majority of people taking us up on the offer. We've used the feedback we've received from our intrepid testers to further refine the activation process and the way we confirm that devices are compatible. Another thing we've been working on is making the switch from the CDMA to the GSM network …

Sid Meier's Starships, the space-based strategy game that was first announced in mid-January now has a firm release date and price for the iPad and Mac. The latest effort from the legendary game developer and his team at Firaxis Games will be released on March 12 for $15. The release date and price was first revealed today via a hands-on preview of Sid Meier's Starships by Pocket Tactics. It states: You have one (and only one) pawn on this board: your fleet of starships, which you dispatch around the galaxy, taking on missions to earn the loyalty of these planets. Prove yourself a steadfast and noble ally to the people of Pavonis 58 by killing some pirates or p…

Ed: Welcome to this week's edition of The Pixel Project: a weekly comic from Diesel Sweeties' Rich Stevens on Apple, technology, and everything in-between. Today: Macs are free from PC bloatware, right? Read more comics from the Pixel Project on iMore.com. Continue reading...

Apple has added 300 new emoji to the iOS 8.3 and OS X 10.10.3 betas, but they're focused almost exclusively on inclusivity — diversity in skin tones and country flags. The watch, phone, and computer emoji have been redrawn to match Apple's current products, but it doesn't appear that any of the new Unicode standard emoji have been added. Paul Kafasis, writing for One Foot Tsunami: None of the emoji from the updated Unicode 7 spec are included. Apple continues to flip us the figurative bird by refusing to provide us with a literal middle finger. Diversity of races is surely a good thing, but where is the diversity for people who wish to communicate with widely recogn…

This durable case boasts a highly protective defense system to combat the rigors of everyday life. It accentuates your stylish personality with a truly unique horizontal raised pattern that provides an incredible 3 dimensional look and a refined brushed metal gloss finish. Yours today for just $14.95 Continue reading...

Facebook has launched a new app for the iPhone that lets you manage your ad campaigns. Ads Manager lets you view ad results, edit your advertisements, and even create ad campaigns for your small or medium business. You'll need a Facebook page, rather than just a profile, in order to use Ads Manager. Once you've created a page, you'll be able to create an ad campaign right form the app. You can then view your campaigns, specific sets of ads, or even individual ads themselves, filtering what you're looking at by if it's active, scheduled, in review, and more. You can edit your ads from Ads Manager, fixing typos, swapping images, selecting your desired audience, and …

Apple Retail is reportedly in the process of overhauling its Genius Bar experience. In a bid to better serve customers, starting from the week of March 9, a new initiative dubbed "Concierge" will be rolled out to replace walk-in appointments. The program involves Apple Store employees using an algorithm-driven iPad app to provide priority-assessed wait times for a customer's query. According to 9to5Mac: The customer then provides a phone number, which Apple uses to send three text messages with wait time updates: An initial text message confirming the Genius Bar request and providing the wait time A text message telling the customer to start heading back to the …