Cult of Mac

April 15, 1981: Apple CEO Mike Markkula defends the struggling Apple III with a surprisingly straightforward admission. The comment comes even as the company pushes an unorthodox “fix” for the Apple III motherboard, which tends to overheat due to a questionable design.

“It would be dishonest for me to sit here and say that it’s perfect,” he tells The Wall Street Journal, after critics blast the new computer for its overheating motherboard. Apple’s official solution to the problem? Ask users to drop their Apple III from a height of 6 inches, thereby hopefully reseating the chips.

After a stellar 2023, iPhone shipments dropped 9.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2024, according to a market-research firm.

Archrival Samsung also saw a decline in smartphone shipments, but not as large as Apple’s. On the other hand, two Chinese phone-makers saw extremely strong growth last quarter.

Apple could finally eliminate lens flare, a longtime problem with the iPhone camera, with a new lens coating technology on the iPhone 16 Pro.

It’s common for lens flares to show up in photos or videos taken with an iPhone’s camera, but Apple has made little improvement in this area over generations.

Already known for all sorts of innovative smart lighting, Nanoleaf unveiled its first outdoor string lights at CES 2024 in January. But now you can finally buy them to dress up your yard or patio in time for spring. Nanoleaf Matter Smart Multicolor Outdoor String Lights come in three lengths.

It takes a lot more than wanting to be Billy Joel to become a piano player. You need passion, time, motivation and an excellent instructor (and, uh, a piano). But traditional piano lessons might not fit into your schedule. Plus, they can get expensive if you’re serious about learning.

That’s why you might need Skoove. This app lets you practice with hands-on piano lessons and AI software that listens to your playing. Get all this and more in a lifetime subscription for only $119.99 (regularly $300) — that’s the lowest price found all across the web! But you must use code ENJOY20 by April 16 to get this price.

April 14, 1986: The “low-cost” Macintosh 512Ke brings hardware upgrades — and a bit of confusion — to the low end of the Mac lineup.

The Mac 512Ke is an “enhanced” (hence the “e”) model of the Mac 512K. The upgrade addresses complaints that the original Mac lacked enough memory. The 512Ke adds a double-density 800KB floppy drive and a 128KB ROM to the Mac 512K formula.

Apple wants the process of moving from Android to iPhone to go as smoothly as possible, of course. To make the switch simpler, it created a Move to iOS application.

A recent video from Apple Support explains how to use the Android app.

With the right scanning app, your iPhone or iPad can scan documents with vivid clarity. There’s no need for a printer-size scanner — you just need your Apple gear. A great example of such an app, iScanner is now on sale for only $31.99 (regularly $199) with code ENJOY20.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: A surprise leak about Apple M4 chips says they’ll come sooner than almost anybody suspected. But nobody’s shocked to hear that they will focus on bringing AI capabilities to Macs.

Plus, there’s news of Ferret-UI, a new Apple project designed to help AI understand how humans use iPhones. Apple’s definitely tin a rush to cash in on tech’s biggest buzzword!

Also on The CultCast:

• With Project Titan abandoned and hopes of an Apple car destroyed, Cupertino goes on a desperate search for its “next big thing” to boost revenue.
• The new Humane Ai Pin, previously lauded as a potential iPhone killer, is DOA. The first reviews are shockingly bad.
• And we wrap up with an all-new edition of What We’re Into! Spoiler alert: It’s all sci-fi this time around.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

When it comes to knives, a dull blade can make even simple tasks a pain. Whether you’re prepping meals for the whole family, or just a casual home cook, a proper at-home knife sharpener can ensure you get the most out of your blades.

For a limited time, you can purchase the highly rated Angle Pro knife sharpener with angle gauge for $55.99 (regularly $199) or pick up a two-pack for $99.99 (regularly $398). These are the best prices you’ll find online. However, you must use code ENJOY20 to get the maximum savings.

Colin Farrell’s star power helped quickly propel Sugar to popularity. His Apple TV+ series about a private detective searching for the missing granddaughter of a Hollywood magnate premiered last week and it’s already near the tops of the streaming ratings charts.

And Palm Royale, an Apple TV+ comedy series, also keeps attracting plenty of viewers.

Serious gamers will soon have a compact and highly equipped new input device to try — the Logitech Pro X 60 Lightspeed Gaming Keyboard. The Swiss peripherals giant said this week it designed the sleek board with leading gamers.

Logs, caches and plugins all serve a purpose on your Mac. The problem is that they tend to hang around long after they stop being useful. If you want to know how to clean Mac storage and free up space on your computer, here’s a one-word answer: MacCleanse.

This service can help you banish these space-consuming files with a single click. And now, lifetime access to MacCleanse costs just $31.99 with code ENJOY20.

April 13, 2005: The tech world gets excited when a sketchy rumor suggests Apple is building a tablet computer.

The Chinese-language report claims Quanta will build a 15-inch touchscreen tablet PC with detachable keyboard. Apple will supposedly ship the device in the first quarter of 2006. Things don’t turn out quite like that, but the rumor offers the first hint about Apple’s secret iPad project.

Setting up a new Mac is an experience in itself. But once you finish your initial setup, you should change these Mac system settings for a better experience. These five easy tweaks to default Mac system preferences will speed up your workflow and save you time.

Irrespective of whether you are a new or long-time Mac user, below are five settings to change on your Mac. Keep reading or watch our latest video.

The Elago Magnetic Stand for iPads lifts the tablet up and does so beautifully. It closely mimics the design of the iMac, making the iPad into a small desktop.

Most iPad stands offer a very limited selection of colors — perhaps only silver. Elago’s comes in a range of them, including pink.

The action-comedy romance film Argylle finally reached Apple TV+. The spy thriller turns spy-movie tropes upside down.

The star-studded movie — there’s Henry Cavill, Dua Lipais and many more — is not a hit with critics but it does fairly well with audiences.

Don’t let earwax, dust and dirt foul your AirPods. You can keep things pristine with a specialized deep-cleaning tool that works on Apple’s earbuds and other devices without destroying them. And you won’t destroy your wallet, either, because this AirPod cleaner is on sale now at an outrageous discount.

For a limited time, this versatile AirPods cleaning tool currently comes in a two-pack for only $11.99 (regularly $29) with code ENJOY20.

Wish you could find affordable componments to build up mighty home-theater sound? Two trusted names in home audio — Klipsch and Onkyo — just teamed up to give you that with the new Klipsch Flexus Sound System.

The lineup of soundbars, wireless speakers and subwoofers starts at $349.

A Benjamin Franklin docudrama now on Apple TV+ has the founding father taking on the dangerous task of convincing the king of France to financially support the American Revolution.

Legendary actor Michael Douglas has the title role of Franklin, a limited series that runs through mid May.

April 12, 1976: Apple’s third co-founder, a former Atari colleague of Steve Wozniak’s named Ron Wayne, cashes in his Apple shares for just $800.

Wayne, who owns a 10% stake in the company, throws in the towel after worrying that he doesn’t have the time or energy to properly invest in Apple. He later receives an extra $1,500 check to seal the deal. When he cashes it, he loses out on an investment that could have been worth billions.

“I was 40 and these kids were in their 20s,” Wayne told Cult of Mac decades later, referring to Wozniak and Steve Jobs. “They were whirlwinds — it was like having a tiger by the tail. If I had stayed with Apple I probably would have wound up the richest man in the cemetery.”

Accessories powerhouse Anker released a new hybrid power bank and wall charger this week that covers a lot of gadget-charging needs. The 30-watt device is called Anker 3-in-1 Power Bank Fusion.

Today’s featured computer setup runs on two powerful MacBooks, which of course have their own keyboards. But the user doesn’t settle for those, except maybe when he’s away. Instead, he chooses to use a mechanical external keyboard with his dual laptops and dual displays. It’s a Keychron Q3 Pro custom keyboard, and it’s a beauty. 

There’s no better all-in-one desktop PC than Apple’s M3 iMac. And if you have been holding out on buying one, Amazon has a deal you should not miss.

The fantastic deal drops the entry-level 24-inch M3 iMac to $1,149, making it $149 cheaper than its MSRP.

The hit series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is officially getting a season two. In addition, Apple TV+ struck a deal with Legendary Entertainment that will result in multiple spinoff series based on the franchise.

“We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise as we expand Legendary’s Monsterverse,” said Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV+.