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The Ministry of Magic is one of the strangest and most mysterious government organizations in fiction, but that comes as no surprise since they are literally the governing body of magic in Britain. The Ministry’s reach seems to go far, and they control and adjudicate over every aspect of magical life in the British wizarding world. And one of the most interesting elements of the Ministry of Magic is the Wizengamot, the wizarding court within the Ministry....

The Ministry of Magic is meant to help control the wizard population, keep the peace, and basically ensure everything runs smoothly. But sometimes they simply make awful mistakes. You know what we’re talking about here; you’ve seen ample examples of their mistakes within the Harry Potter series. Sometimes the Ministry simply makes a law that makes absolutely no sense. Or worse, they put a law into place that is actively harmful....

The Harry Potter franchise largely focuses on a single generation of wizards, and rightly so, since it’s set during the school years of the title character. Though fans of the novels and movies know a lot of information about Harry’s generation, there are so many more wizards that make up the Harry Potter universe. Those witches and wizards who attended Hogwarts spent their youth sorted into different houses. Out of Ravenclaw graduated some of the most creative members of the wizarding world....

There are few franchises as generation-defining and globally appealing as ‘Harry Potter.’ From the best-selling books to the critically acclaimed films, it was once considered the pinnacle of franchise management. But then author and creator J.K. Rowling found twitter and used the online social media platform as a medium to expose more and more of her world’s lore. That evolved into her signing off on ‘The Cursed Child,’ a two-part stage play that introduced the kind of ridiculously convoluted plots that time travel stories have been making fun of since time travel was first introduced as a narrative convention....

Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkman #18 The heroic Hawkwoman has made her triumphant return to the pages of the DC Universe to help Hawkman defeat a new villain: Himself. In case fans missed it, Sky Tyrant, the evil version of Hawkman hailing from Earth-3 has stolen the spotlight of the latest Hawkman issue. As one of the chosen team members of the villainous Batman Who Laughs’ Infected army, the Hawkman fans knew has been corrupted… or in this case, taken prisoner in his own body....

The iPhone running iOS 6 boasts Darwin Kernel Version 13.0.0. We can also see that the processor is an ARM S5L8950X. Interestingly, that is a full release above the most current developer version of MAC OS 10.8 Mountain Lion. The XNU build is also higher (21XX vs 2050.5.8): The Samsung 5L8950X ARM processor is most likely manufactured at the same fab in Austin where Apple’s other Ax processors are built. The S5L8950X is a step up from the S5L8940X on the previous iPhone and the S5L8945X on the ‘new’ iPad but we’re not sure what that means in terms of cores, processor speed or fab size....

The infamous Harley Quinn may have started as a villain in Batman’s universe, but she’s put her evil-doing ways behind her. And to prove it to Batman, she’s joining up as his newest partner to find a mystery killer who’s out to frame her for murder. Even for Harley Quinn, being forced to prove her own innocence could have come at a better time. As if it wasn’t enough that Harley’s mother was recently diagnosed with cancer, someone has gone to great lengths to make it seem like Harley is not only not completely over her ex, the Joker, but out to frame him - and is willing to kill to do it....

Throughout his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter faced many dangerous creatures and formidable foes. Even after he bailed on school, he couldn’t avoid returning to throw down with his enemies. But one of the scariest and most dangerous magical creatures that he encountered was one of his earliest challenges at Hogwarts: the mighty and scary-as-heck Basilisk. The Basilisk that Harry ultimately had to face was merely a tool in Voldemort’s tool belt, but a Basilisk is a wildly dangerous and fierce challenge even on the best of days....

Luna Lovegood is definitely a well-loved character from the Harry Potter series. While she’s not a main character, she is a prominent side character. She was a loyal friend to Harry and a devoted member of Dumbledore’s Army. She was so devoted to doing the right thing and helping defeat Voldemort that she even started up Dumbledore’s Army, along with Ginny and Neville, under Snape’s reign at Hogwarts. There are also some interesting things about Luna that happened to her before and after the series started....

Hex has today announced a brand new lineup of official Star Wars cases for the iPhone X and 8/8 Plus and 7/7 Plus. The cases are all made from genuine leather and offered in the company’s “Snap” form factor as well as its folio wallet and zipper case styles. While Otterbox released its official Star Wars cases last week, the new options left out iPhone X owners. Now, just two weeks ahead of the release of The Last Jedi, Hex has launched its official Star Wars cases....

As Apple’s September 10th iPhone unveiling approaches, we’ve heard that Verizon Wireless is blocking its retail employees from requesting vacations between Wednesday, September 18th and Sunday, September 22nd. Based on Apple historically shipping new versions of the iPhone about a week and half following the unveiling, it would make sense for the new iPhones to arrive for customers on Friday, September 20th. Due to the high demand and interest in Apple’s smartphones, it is likely that Verizon Wireless would restrict vacations during that timeframe in order for as many customers as possible to be assisted and sold new iPhones....

This week Benjamin and Zac discuss running a half marathon with Apple Watch Series 3 and AirPods, Apple’s first Folio Case for iPhone X, Jony Ive returning to lead day-to-day design, a quick TV app review, Apple buying Shazam, HomeKit’s vulnerability and iOS 11.2.1, and the iMac Pro’s debut. New episodes of Happy Hour are recorded every week. Subscribe to our podcast to guarantee new episodes are delivered as soon as they’re available....

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth film in the series, chronicles Harry’s life at Hogwarts as he deals with witnessing Cedric Diggory’s death and Voldemort’s return while the Ministry of Magic feigns ignorance of both. On top of that, The Daily Prophet slanders him and Dumbledore on the orders of the Ministry, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor psychologically and physically abuses students....

Friday 2/21/2014, Apple released security update iOS 7.0.6 for its iPhone, iPad and iPod devices to fix a vulnerability which allowed an attacker to capture and modify secure web traffic from the devices. Yeah, not good. The update is available from your device via Settings –> General –> Software Update on iPhone 4 and later, iPod Touch (5th Gen) and iPad 2 or later. Apple also released iOS 6.1.6 for the iPhone 3GS and iPod touch (4th Gen) devices....

HBO’s Watchmen TV series has enjoyed playing with convention, and now appears to be smartly mocking its own fan backlash. Even before Watchmen premiered, there seemed to be a campaign against the series’ very existence. The writer of the original DC comic, Alan Moore, is said to be “not thrilled” with Damon Lindelof’s live-action sequel and while critical reaction to Watchmen has been extremely positive thus far, fan opinion is far more mixed....

With consumers not shy about voicing their own opinion of Apple dropping the headphone socket from the iPhone 7, The Verge decided to find out what headphone manufacturers had to say about it. Privately, they probably have mixed views, faced with the hassle of upgrading older models to Lightning or wireless versions, while at the same time seeing the obvious financial benefits of customers wanting to upgrade. In public, though, it was all smiles....

Shortly after Apple announced the iPhone 5 on stage last Wednesday, we confirmed the company chose to go with the nano-SIM card as its new standard to support LTE. We got a closer look this evening at the first official nano-SIM card from the world’s biggest iPhone carrier, AT&T. You will see the 76mm of plastic above—which you will surely become familiar with over the next few days. As you can see, the nano-SIM looks roughly 40 percent smaller than the micro-SIM that first debuted on the iPad 3G....

High Maintenance on HBO follows the exploits of a New York City weed deliveryman, simply known as “The Guy.” The show takes viewers on the various adventures of the protagonist and each episode deals with a new set of unique characters, allowing for fresh plot lines to be introduced with each new broadcast. First premiering on HBO in 2016, High Maintenance has become a hit with fans and critics alike. With three seasons behind it and a fourth currently airing, there are a plethora of episodes to choose from for anyone looking to start the show, or simply get a refresher before jumping into the new season....

Welcome to the second installment of the revamped Happy Hour podcast. Today we’re talking all about cars. Apple cars. Do they exist? Well, that’s anyone’s guess at this point, but there are a lot of details that line up for this to become a possibility. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed… [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/191737483?secret_token=s-BnvxP” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /] Click here to subscribe on iTunes or listen to the second episode embedded above....

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/307058061″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] New episodes of Happy Hour are available every week. As mentioned, you can download this podcast via iTunes or plug in our RSS feed link into your favorite podcasting app. Note: Subscribing to the podcast feed will guarantee the latest episode is downloaded as soon as possible. Hosts: Benjamin Mayo Zac Hall Here’s what we discussed in this episode: BeatsX earphones sporadically appearing in stock for pickup at Apple Stores ahead of launch, still unavailable to purchase Apple spaceship campus interior details: polished concrete ceilings, iPhone-like elevator buttons, flat doorways BeatsX earphones go on sale February 10 at US Apple retail stores and online, two new colors announced Report: Apple Watch’s record quarter generated near 80% of total smartwatch revenue in Q4 w/ estimated 6M units Tim Cook receives honorary degree from University of Glasgow, denounces Trump immigration order Report: iPhone 8 to feature Lumentum-sourced 3D sensor, launch above $1,000 this fall despite early production rumors Tim Cook talks legacy of Steve Jobs, Apple Pencil, and immigration at University of Glasgow [Video] KGI predicts wireless charging for all three new iPhones, iPhone 8 requires higher cost 3D Touch sensor What’s next for Apple Watch?...