This week: William Shatner is the coolest grandpa ever; to take on Apple, Microsoft doubles down on design; Apple inches closer to a digital wallet; why the Apple on your iPhone 6 could glow; iBeacons are a marketer’s best friend; and then… if you could ride any animal into battle, what would it be?  We’ll answer that question and more on an all-new Get To Know Your Cultist. 

Thanks to Lynda.com for sponsoring this episode!  With over 2,000 high quality video courses taught by industry-leading experts, Lynda.com will help you master virtually any application, all on your own time and at your own pace.  Learn all you want for free for 7 days with a free trial.  Try it now at Lynda.com/CultCast 

And a big thanks to Kevin MacLeod for all the great music you hear on this week's episode.

Links to todays stories:

OS X Yosemite beta goes public — here’s how to get it

http://www.cultofmac.com/288717/apples-os-x-yosemite-public-beta-live/#5TqpPA3ODgazIybP.99

William Shatner reviews Facebook apps… on his Tumblr

http://williamshatner.tumblr.com/

Microsoft makes design central to its future

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/microsoft-makes-design-central-to-its-future/

Apple’s mobile payments solution could arrive in the iPhone 6 this fall

http://www.cultofmac.com/288607/apples-mobile-payments-solution-finally-arrive-iphone-6-fall/#YtuFpUY3cdZYeBkJ.99

Apple orders insane number of new iPhones, but 5.5-inch model faces setbacks

http://www.cultofmac.com/288316/apple-orders-insane-number-new-iphones-5-5-inch-model-faces-setbacks/#FTtKB7oWcfRavQKE.99

Glowing Apple logo could serve up alerts on iPhone 6

http://www.cultofmac.com/288148/glowing-apple-logo-serve-alerts-iphone-6/#XvLprk5SVvBdgi0p.99

All the little tweaks Apple added to iOS 8 beta 4

http://www.cultofmac.com/288205/new-stuff-ios-8-beta-4/#GXlAAx0rCkmvz1IM.99

A look at the redesigned iTunes 12 in OS X Yosemite beta  

http://www.cultofmac.com/288212/itunes-12-tour/#siIZOsCFJShLeyFx.99

Apple’s iBeacons are paying off for advertisers in a huge way

http://bgr.com/2014/07/23/apple-ibeacon-advertising-stats/?

This week: Chicks on tech!  Plus, rumored Apple tech could give weeklong battery life to your iPhone; why your grandma will love the new iTunes; Apple and IBM kiss and make up; Kim Kardashian’s iOS app makes way more than it should; Beats brings the marketing magic back to Apple; and we pitch our favorite apps and tech then vote on which one’s best—it’s an all new Faves N Raves! 

Our thanks to Smile Software for supporting this episode!  If you haven't tried TextExpander from Smile software, you’re missing out on one of the most useful apps available for the Mac and iOS. 

TextExpander saves you time and effort by expanding short abbreviations into frequently-used text,  pictures, code blocks, and more, and it's an application we use every single day.  Try it out for free at http://smilesoftware.com/cultcast 

This time on The CultCast:  thirsty Germans drink the tears of Brazilian children!  Ohhh, sorry.  Too soon?  Also on the docket:  the secret Apple eBay store is back at it and selling iPhones at absurdly low prices; we pitch insanely great feature we hope Apple bakes in to Siri soon; a Youtuber gets his hands on the iPhone 6’s sapphire screen and its durability is hard to believe; and… GEEKN, the new segment where we divulge whatever gadget or activity we’re currently obsessing over.  Stay tuned till the end for that. 

Thanks to lynda.com for sponsoring this episode!  With over 2,000 high quality video courses taught by industry-leading experts, lynda.com will help you master virtually any application, all on your own time and at your own pace.  Learn all you want for free for 7 days with a free trial.  Try it now at lynda.com/cultcast.

This week's stories:

Secret Apple factory outlet is the cheapest place to get an iPhone 5 

http://www.cultofmac.com/286607/apple-launches-new-secret-ebay-store-refurbished-iphone-5/#FdbhHhv6po5xSfuU.99


How Siri’s ultimate killer feature could be remembering

http://www.cultofmac.com/286521/siris-ultimate-killer-feature-remembering/#MEVH0hVBoZ7qG2lC.99

Steve Jobs was right: Tablet sales set to topple the PC market

http://www.cultofmac.com/286533/steve-jobs-right-tablet-sales-set-topple-pc-2015/#IGbC7kXHvhRmEFEK.99

Total iBeacon shipments will blow past 60 million units by 2019

http://www.cultofmac.com/286670/ibeacons-shipments-will-pass-60-million-2019/#Jg1D8XxZ1xPo3QAW.99

iPhone 6 Sapphire display emerges unscathed from brutal scratch test 

http://www.cultofmac.com/286467/iphone-6-sapphire-display-comes-scratch-test-completely-unscathed/#U4ojRrsVz8WrxhwQ.99

Battery life will still suck on ultra-slim iPhone 6

http://www.cultofmac.com/286352/thinnification-iphone-will-suck-battery-life/#qXpG6jbAE8OxdRqe.99


Foxconn is ready to release an army of robots to build the iPhone 6

http://www.cultofmac.com/286323/foxconn-ready-release-army-robots-build-iphone-6/#PeYEPBdHSxZLEEro.99

OS X Yosemite gets Dark Mode and other interface tweaks in third developer preview

http://www.cultofmac.com/286422/os-x-yosemite-gets-dark-mode-interface-tweaks-third-developer-preview/#sF6o1skpLPXmyLAW.99

All the tiny new tweaks added in iOS 8 beta 3

http://www.cultofmac.com/286369/tweaks-added-ios-8-beta-3/#WSIIWkBSwkbJBiQJ.99 

USA!  USA!  On this festive new episode, we reveal our favorite 4th activities and it’s clear Alex E Heath will be in jail by the 5th.

Plus!

A weird breakthrough app has us texting hodor to all our friends; Apple kills off Aperture and iPhoto; Siri might finally understand us after a rumored update; Apple maps is poised to finally get a whole lot better; and did you know Steve Jobs always ate lunch alone like a sad Keanu?  It’s true. Well, maybe.  Alex doesn’t believe a word of it.  We’ll tell you story coming up.   

Our thanks to Smile Software for supporting this episode!  If you haven't tried TextExpander from Smile software, you’re missing out on one of the most useful apps available for the Mac and iOS. 

TextExpander saves you time and effort by expanding short abbreviations into frequently-used text,  pictures, code blocks, and more, and it's an application we use every single day.  Try it out for free at s