First comparison photos of black and white 4.7-inch iPhone 6 screen glass.

Photos of physical mockups and various parts for the upcoming iPhone 6 have been leaking out an almost weekly basis over the course of the past several weeks. However, actual parts for the display cover for the larger phone have yet to leak out. Today, a source has sent us several photos of purported display glass covers in both black and white variations for the 4.7-inch iPhone. Apple is also working on an even larger 5.5-inch “phablet” model, but we do not have photos of the screen covers for that model…

The above photo shows a comparison of the size between the 4.7-inch display and the 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5s/5c/5. We previously posted images of 5.5-inch iPhone screen backlighting components. The images do not indicate any breakthrough new features for the next-generation iPhone, but the availability of these parts indicates that the new iPhone is nearing mass-production ahead of a launch this fall. A new hole appears to the left of the ear speaker, but it is unclear if this is a re-located FaceTime front camera or a proximity sensor. The variation in port location from part-to-part could be due to production of parts still being in early stages. It is possible some pieces were produced earlier or later than others. The edges also appear to be slightly curved.

In addition to a bigger screen, the new iPhones will include a thiner and rounder metal case, new sensors, improved cameras, and a more efficient A8 processor. A sapphire crystal display coverhas also been rumored for the larger-screened version.

OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 fixes a super annoying WiFi bug.

Right on the heels of iOS 7.1.2, Apple has released an update to OS X Mavericks in the Mac App Store. Version 10.9.4 of Mavericks features a fix for a bug many have been experiencing related to WiFi connectivity.

There has been a known issue in OS X that keeps some Macs from automatically connecting to WiFi after being woken up from sleep. Apple has addressed the issue in 10.9.4 along with general reliability improvements for waking from sleep. Safari 7.0.5 is also included.

I’ve been dealing with the WiFi problem on my Retina MacBook Pro for a long time. Whenever my Mac is woken up from sleep, I have to manually connect to my WiFi network instead of it automatically connecting like it’s supposed to. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone and that Apple has finally fixed the problem.

OS X Yosemite is launching in the fall with a new design and a ton of new features. Those of us still waiting on Mavericks should head on over to the Mac App Store and install today’s update ASAP.

Apple’s annual Back to School promotion to start tomorrow.

As we reported two weeks ago, Apple’s annual Back to School promotion will begin tomorrow, according to sources. The program will be similar to last year’s offering, which provided $100 Mac App Store gift cards alongside Mac purchases and $50 cards with iPhone and iPad purchases. Apple will be re-decorating its stores overnight with a new education theme to go along with the new promotion. Earlier today, Apple unveiled upcoming iTunes U updates for the iPad, and the timing seems like anything but a coincidence.

Siri may have helped this 2-year-old girl save her mother’s life.

Siri. You love her or hate her. For many of us, Siri is a novelty at best, and an inconvenience at worst: the annoying voice who starts asking you what you want from your back pocket when you accidentally sit on your iPhone. But for those who love Siri, she can be a lifesaver … literally. Because Siri may have just helped a 2-year-old save her mother’s life.

Liz Neaton of Montrose, Minnesota, has a nervous disorder that causes her to have fainting spells on occasion when she stands up. She’s also the mother of Eve, a smart 2-year-old girl who Liz trained to use Siri to call 911 in case of emergency.

That little act of foresight paid off big time last week, when Neaton had a fainting spell and only her daughter was around to help her. Remembering what her mother had taught her, Eve picked up her iPhone, pushed and held the home button to call up Siri, then used the voice assistant to make an emergency call.

I think scenarios like this show the real use of Siri, and why it’s a fantastic addition to Apple’s line of services. Siri is useful to the rest of us in many different scenarios, sure, but what Siri does is make using an iPhone accessible to everyone, from the elderly to the preverbal. It may not be the perfect user interface, but it is the most intuitive and easy-to-understand one.

Source: Cult of Mac.

Facebook ran secret psychological experiments on users.

A report from a team at Facebook that was first published in a scientific journal earlier this month reveals that the social network ran secret psychological experiments on 600,000 users without their awareness.

The report, published in the Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, stated that back in January 2012, Facebook changed those users’ news feeds to highlight either positive or negative posts from their friends. The paper stated:

When positive expressions were reduced, people produced fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions were reduced, the opposite pattern occurred. These results indicate that emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion via social networks.

Facebook’s Data Use Policy does give the company broad access to conduct these kinds of experiments, stating that users agree to “data analysis, testing, research and service improvement” when they sign up to use the social network. The paper does state that a machine was used to handle this experiment and no personal data from those 600,000 users was accessed.

Source: iMore.

Free Sleep Sounds – get some shut-eye or relax with this free app.

Free Sleep Sounds (free!) joins a pretty crowded field of apps designed to help you sleep, relax or meditate.

The app contains 25 well-recorded environments in stereo in categories like Ocean, Rivers and Streams, Wind, Fire, Birds and more. A unique feature is the ability to created blended mixes of any of up to six tracks, so you could hear wind along with the crickets. The app can run in the background.

Free Sleep Sounds also shows you some nice images taken around the world to accompany the sounds. There is a sleep timer, and the tracks nicely fade out so they are not jarring.

I tried Free Sleep Sounds with headphones as well as on a Bluetooth Stereo speaker, and found the audio quality quite good. Using this ad-supported app is easy enough, but it has the most intrusive and obnoxious ad placement I have seen in years. The screen bounces with notifications, and many of the ads are animated and distracting. It is the LAST thing I would want to see in an app designed to help me relax. If you look at the screen at all, anxiety replaces any soothing effects the soundscapes are designed to create. At times I wanted to throw my iPhone out the nearest window.

The same developer offers a paid app that is actually a pretty good deal. While it is on sale for US$0.99, Sleep Sounds HQ offers more than 600 relaxing sounds. Some of the categories are a bit weird, like Industrial and Trains; not the kinds of soundscapes I would think of first if I needed to get some rest. Still, there is so much to choose from and the lack of ads makes Sleep Sounds HQ seem the better deal.

I would suggest trying the free app and see if you like the sounds and features; if you do, migrate to the paid version. I am sure that was the developer’s intention in the first place…

My favorite sleep/relaxation app is still Naturespace. It’s a free app with a lot of in-app purchases, but the audio is first rate, and the free version has some great soundscapes. Naturespace is designed for headphone listening and has special settings for earbud listeners, but it sounds fine over external speakers.

Sleep Sounds and Naturespace both provide natural sounds, which I prefer to synthesized soundscapes. Free Sleep Sounds requires iOS 6 or later. It’s not universal, and it is optimized for the iPhone 5.

This gold Putin edition iPhone 5s will set you back a cool $4,360.

Unless someone’s *ahem* Putin us on, this 18-carat gold plated iPhone 5s featuring the visage of Russia’s controversial president is currently selling for around $4,363.

Called the Caviar iPhone 5s Supremo Putin, it is the work of luxury jewellery house Perla Penna, and is available only in Russia.

In addition to an etching of Vladimir Putin, the phone case is accompanied by the Russian coat of arms, along with the first two lines of the Russian national anthem.

“The most powerful person according to Forbes and Time – President Putin has come to symbolize the new generation, the leader of will and resolution,” says Perla Penna, describing the so-called Putinphone as the “best expression of patriotism.”

Putin is the latest in a series of iconic figures to wind up as etchings on luxury Perla Penna iPhones — with previous choices including Leonardo de Vinci, Mohammed Ali, and Steve Jobs.

Of course, given that the iPhone 6 is on its way, one wonders about the logic of shelling out more than $4,000 for a soon-to-be-superceded iPhone. Unless the Putin iPhone 5s decides to run another term that is.

Source: Cult of Mac.

This might be the most dangerous iPhone case you can buy.

Novelty iPhone cases are nothing new, but while most are simply weird, this one could get you in some serious trouble. The peculiar design is modeled after an item from the Japanese manga and anime series Attack on Titan, but to your average Joe, it looks like something much more sinister. With a pistol-style grip, metallic coloring, and massive pull-switch, it would probably get plenty attention from anyone who spots it in a crowded public place.

In short, it looks like something that could set off a bomb, which isn’t exactly the kind of thing you want to be carrying around with you right now — or ever, really. The case is currently up for pre-order with a scheduled retail debut in August, and you can pick one up for around US$40, but if you’re not prepared to deal with a whole lot of questions from people who spot it, and potentially from law enforcement, it might be the kind of thing you just leave on your shelf as a collector’s item.

The 80s Back-to-School Staple The Trapper Keeper Makes a Comeback as an iPad Case.

Remember the Trapper Keeper? That great catch-all notebook/random access paper filing system you kept in your school locker back in the ’80s? Well, it’s making a comeback in a form today’s kids will likely find much more useful than its previous incarnation: As an iPad case!

Case-maker Kensington is partnering with Mead for the Trapper Keeper relaunch, so in addition to the gloriously 80s graphics, there is also a composition-style notebook, as well as a version of the Pee-Chee sketchbook you might have doodled upon in class.

The new Trapper Keeper tablet cases will come in two sizes, 7-inch and 10-inch, and will be priced at $25-$30. They will, of course, open into stands so you can catch reruns of Saved by the Bell in between classes. (Or let’s face it, business meetings.) The entire Kensington Trapper Keeper lineup can be seen at the Kensington website.

Oh, and if you want to go totally old-school, traditional versions of the Trapper Keeper are available too.

Source: MacTrast.

Supreme court rules police need a warrant to search cell phones.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that police must have a warrant to search the content inside a cell phone of a person who has been arrested.

The decision is the result of two cases that were brought to the Supreme Court, Riley v. California and U.S. v. Wurie, both of which involved police who searched the content of cell phones of people who had been arrested but without asking for a warrant beforehand.

However, in a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the nine members of the Supreme Court all agreed that “police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested.”

The court did state there will be a few exceptions to this rule, such as cases that involve kidnappings and bomb threats that generate what the judges consider to be “exigent circumstances”. However, today’s decision finally does offer solid guidance on what the police can and cannot do when they arrest people with cell phones.

Source: iMore.