David Pierini - page 7

Sandmarc’s top-notch lenses now fit the iPhone 11 line

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Sandmarc lenses and cases for the iPhone 11 line
Sandmarc makes the case for its lenses paired with the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro.
Photo: Sandmarc

Sandmarc, a top producer of high-quality smartphone lenses, now has a line of mounting cases for its lenses to fit on the iPhone 11 series.

Many smartphone lens makers had to rethink their mount designs after Apple rolled out new iPhones with square camera bumps. The two Pro models have three cameras in the module and companies got busy making new mounts and cases.

iPad magician uses fan art for Christmas-themed tricks

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iPad magician Simon Pierro
Merry Christmas from the iPad magician.
Screenshot: Simon Pierro/YouTube

Instead of writing to Santa Claus, a 10-year-old boy named Aiden sent a message to iPad magician Simon Pierro asking for a few Christmas-themed magic tricks in a YouTube video.

Pierro not only came through with Aiden’s request, but he also used the kid’s drawing of Olaf, the snowman character from Disney’s Frozen, in his unique iPad magic.

Sleek wireless charger has your iPhone covered in 3 ways [Review]

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Review of RapidX MyPort wireless charger
It's a wireless charging stand as well as a stand-in for on-the-go charging.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

Many wireless chargers are designed to serve three mobile devices. The RapidX MyPort is made to selflessly serve one device in three different ways.

MyPort is first a smartphone stand to wirelessly charge your iPhone. But the vertical charging element has a restless side. It begs to be detached from the base to travel as a companion to your iPhone. It works as a portable wireless charger. And, with its two USB ports (one USB-A, one USB-C), it becomes a quick-charging wired power bank.

10 copies of new Cult of Mac book are now up for grabs

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The Cult of Mac 2E
Enter. You may be one of 10 lucky winners to receive a free copy of The Cult of Mac 2E.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

We want to put free copies of The Cult of Mac 2nd Edition on 10 coffee tables across the United States.

Now through Dec. 20, the Cult of Mac website will accept entries to give away this Mac book that is every bit as beautiful as a MacBook. All you have to do is enter your email in the submission widget below.

Lightroom for iPad gets import-export features it should have had all along

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Adobe demo of Direct Import for Lightroom mobile
Adobe cuts a little workflow time with Direct Import for Lightroom mobile for iOS and iPadOS.
Screenshot: Adobe/YouTube

Adobe launched a major power boost today to Lightroom Mobile that adds Direct Import and Advance Export features to iOS and iPadOS.

Direct Import streamlines the workflow by eliminating the need to import photos into the Camera Roll. Users can now skip that by connecting a drive or SD card to transfer photos directly to Lightroom for iOS or iPadOS.

Ex-employees dish on why Instagram ‘Likes’ are dying

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Instagram's Twitter announcement on hiding likes
Instagram's announcement on hiding "Likes."
Screenshot: Instagram/Twitter

In hiding the number of “Likes” a post gets on Instagram, parent company Facebook is actually hiding another motivation for the grand experiment – making you post more.

Instagram said the hidden “Likes” test was one part of a strategy to reduce cyber-bullying. Removing the count would create a kinder, gentler experience and allow users to connect without the social pressure of feeling liked.

Apple had the hottest third quarter in a sizzling wearables market

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Elago-Wrist-Fit-Apple-Watch
Apple's size of the wearables market keeps growing.
Photo: Elago

Apple continues to expand its dominance of a wearable device market that only gets hotter with each quarter.

Thanks to a price reduction on the Apple Watch Series 3 and the launch of AirPods Pro, Apple snagged 35% of the market share in the third quarter, a year-over-year growth increase of more than 195%.

2021 iPhone might signal the end for Lightning port

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At least one iPhone will lose Lightning in 2021, according to one report
At least one iPhone will lose Lightning in 2021, according to one report
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple will begin to phase out Lightning connectivity on iPhones beginning with a 2021 flagship that will “provide the completely wireless experience,” analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors today.

Kuo also said there will be five new iPhones in 2020, four of which will feature OLED screens.

Chrome extension brings ‘Likes’ back to Instagram, sort of

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Instagram lawsuit
A Chrome extension can bring your hidden "Likes" out in the open.
Photo: Pixabay

The “Like”-minded Instagram influencer didn’t have to wait long to get a work-around to the social media app’s experiment with hiding the number of “Likes” on posts.

A company known as Socialinsider has created a free Google Chrome browser extension called “The Return of the Likes.”

Hacker revives dead devices with iPhone and Apple Watch

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Mac keyboard and mouse running an iPhone
Tap through your iPhone, 1980s-style, with a vintage Mac keyboard.
Photo: Niles Mitchell/YouTube

The living can communicate with the dead — and Niles Mitchell regularly holds seances on YouTube to prove it.

Mitchell is a true medium, putting contemporary technology like the iPhone or Apple Watch in touch with obsolete hardware. He connects the two worlds and gets devices, old and new, to work together in ways likely never imagined by their creators.

Apple’s purchase of Intel phone modem biz is a done deal

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intel
Intel and Apple have formalized a deal that has the iPhone maker producing its own smartphone modem.
Photo: Thomas Hawk/Flickr

Intel Corporation says it has completed a $1 billion sale of most of its smartphone modem business to Apple.

The deal goes down as Apple’s second-biggest acquisition in its 42-year history. Apple will absorb patents, equipment and roughly 2,200 Intel workers.

iPhone 11 Pro scores highest in 2019 for video camera

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iPhone 11 Max Pro cameras
The next iOS update will have an additional off switch for Location Services after recently data privacy concerns.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple has seen the rise of competitors launching smartphones with cameras declared by reviewers and consumer labs as surpassing the iPhone.

But the iPhone 11 Pro dismissed some creeping doubts when it launched this fall and it will end 2019 at the top of several recap and best-of lists.

Among the first with its 2019 review is independent lab DxOMark, which tested 31 new smartphones this year and ranked the 11 Pro as its favorite for video.

Cult of Mac book designer embraces ‘think different’

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cover of Cult of Mac 2E
The Apple inspiration doesn't stop with the cover.
Photo: No Starch Press

Designer Derek Yee asked himself why there weren’t any books about Macs that looked like MacBooks.

So when the assignment came across his desk to design The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition, he thought that making the upcoming book’s cover look and open like a silvery MacBook Pro was a winning idea.

His colleagues at No Starch Press weren’t so sure.

Double-insulated touchscreen gloves fight the frost [Review]

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Mujjo touchscreen gloves with iPhone
Touch sensitive and toasty.
Photo: David Pierini/Cult of Mac

For the longest time, winter gloves had one job: Keep our hands warm. When smartphones came along, things got complicated for gloves.

Consumers demanded a fabric conductive enough for our gloved hands to work our touchscreens. Simple enough — except, of course, on really cold days, when fingers inside those typically thin touchscreen gloves felt like icicles.

Fantastic fisheye lens expands view of iPhone camera

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scene from iPhone 11 with Moment fisheye lens
Go wide! The new Moment fisheye lens lets you shoot in Night Mode and capture RAW images on the iPhone 11 series.
Photo: Moment

By now, we’ve learned that two of the three rear-facing cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro are worthy of the Pro name. The third, the ultra-wide, is merely adequate.

Mobile phone lens-maker Moment has a new chunk of glass to bring fisheye drama to your photos with the image quality you expect from a camera with Pro in the name.

Video shows off the beauty of new Cult of Mac book

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The Apple Museum in Prague is just one of many destinations in The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
The Apple Museum in Prague is just one of many destinations in The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Photo: No Starch Press

It will be a few weeks before you can thumb through our salute to Apple fans, The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition. So we’ll do it for you in a promo video that offers a sneak peek at the book’s clever design.

The Mac book designed to look like a MacBook hits store shelves on Dec. 17 and is available for preorder today on Amazon.

Designer AirPods cases look just like tiny purses

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purse-like AirPods case
The Bottega Veneta case retails for $560.
Photo: Bottega Veneta

Some of the world’s top handbag designers feel strongly that your AirPods case could use a little help.

Purses for AirPods appear to be a growing sector of the fashion accessories market and all the big names are in it, like Gucci, Dior, Bottega and Louis Vuitton to name a few.

Adobe takes first steps to fix Photoshop for iPad

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Apple Pencil 2
Adobe promises changes to Photoshop on iPad very soon.
Photo: Apple

Adobe says it will soon deliver features and updates to its iPad version of Photoshop.

The announcement comes after a buildup of user frustration over the launch earlier this month of Photoshop for iPad, a highly anticipated release after the imaging software giant promised a full-power version for the tablet computer.

Meet the world’s biggest Apple fans in new Cult of Mac book

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The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition takes another deep dive into Apple fandom.
The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition takes another deep dive into Apple fandom.
Photo: No Starch Press

Apple fans run on their own colorful OS that seems nearly impossible to hack. This growing subculture is worthy of study — and a place on your coffee table! You can get to know some of the world’s biggest Apple fans, thanks to the rich stories and colorful photographs in The Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition, by Leander Kahney and David Pierini.

The book, which hits stores Dec. 17, is much more than an update to Kahney’s 2006 book, The Cult of Mac (which gave this blog its name). Now available for preorder from Amazon, the second edition is a companion volume crammed with new stories and pictures. All told, they paint a picture of a uniquely devoted community.

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