David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
The new Dell Pro Webcam features a built-in, noise-cancelling microphone. Photo: Dell
Dell rolled out its new Dell Pro Webcam over the weekend, offering a less-expensive alternative to the UltraSharp 4K webcam it brought to market last year.
The new one shares some high-end features but also lets go of some others to get the price down.
The Mac mini is mounted behind the monitor. And, yeah, the Magic Trackpad in the middle of the split keyboard is backwards on purpose. Photo: [email protected]
Sometimes you see one thing that seems quietly radical about a computer setup, only to find out it’s full of even weirder tweaks.
Today’s featured setup is a good example. It hides a Mac mini behind a display. But in front of the display, a wildly split mechanical keyboard surrounds a Magic Trackpad turned backward — on purpose!
The Southwest Conservation Corps’s Leaders of Color crew provides a supportive space for aspiring BIPOC conservationists to break into the field. Photo: National Park Foundation/Jeremy Wade Shockley
Apple pledged Monday to donate $10 to the National Park Foundation (NPF) for many Apple Pay purchases. If you buy via Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app or at a U.S. Apple Store through August 28, you’re helping national parks.
Cupertino said it’s a way to celebrate 106 years of the U.S. National Park Service. And you can also enjoy special content and collections on Apple Maps, Apple Podcasts and more.
Into social gaming? This little number should help. Photo: BenQ
BenQ unveiled its new TH690ST short-throw 4LED projector Friday, calling it “the world’s first 4LED video party projector with preset game modes for bringing big entertainment to any gathering.”
You connect it to any gaming console or other video source with an HDMI cable to get the party started. Oh, and don’t forget to have a wall to project on.
The new Moft Flash Wallet & iPhone Stand is MagSafe-compatible. Photo: Moft
Accessories maker Moft offered a new folding wallet Thursday that magnetically sticks to your iPhone 12 or 13, but also acts as a stand whenever you need one.
Carry your license and another card with your handset. Set the stand to take a video call or watch a YouTube video. What’s not to like?
Well, some folks might not like the two-card maximum, but that could work fine for others.
A wobbling monitor will drive you mad in short order. Photo: [email protected]
Imagine buying a massive new ultra-wide, curved monitor to display what you do on your Macs in style. But once you get it all set up, the monstrous thing won’t stop wobbling.
Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro and Mac mini setup suffers just that problem, despite the use of a recommended monitor arm attached to a solid standing desk.
Check out the advice the user got and all the gear in play below.
Shazam, owned by Apple since 2018, turned 20 on Friday. Photo: Apple
Apple bought the popular music-recognition app Shazam, which can name any song you hear, in 2018. Friday marks the app’s 20th birthday. And this week it officially surpassed 70 billion song recognitions, Cupertino said.
That’s a lot of people in bars wondering what the tune is.
Ever wonder what song is the most “Shazamed” of all time? Well, Apple provided that nugget and many other factoids, and referred to a lot of interesting music you may want to check out.
The three neutral colors are designed to blend in like a proper fashion accessory. Photo: Apple
Three new colors of Beats Fit Pro wireless earbuds — a collaboration between Beats and celebrity Kim Kardashian — went on sale at Apple online Tuesday and promptly sold out. But now you can get them on Amazon, too.
The three new “neutral” colors are designed to blend in more than most earphones. Following Tuesday’s launch at Apple.com/Kim, they went on sale Wednesday at select Apple Stores and resellers.
“Shantaram” is a new Apple Original drama series starring Charlie Hunnam. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ offered a first look at upcoming drama series Shantaram this week in the form of a photo of star Charlie Hunnam (Son of Anarchy) in character, plus a rundown of the cast and plot of the adventure-romance, set to premiere October 14.
And speaking of drama and adventure, the production ran into big trouble on the way to becoming a reality.
World record holder and gold medallist swimmer, Zac Stubblety-Cook, uses Apple Watch to track his activity and manage his training load. Photo: Apple
Australia’s national swim team uses Apple Watch, iPad and a combination of apps to improve performance, helping the team in the most-successful period in its history, Apple said Wednesday.
As if you needed another thing to make you feel bad about skipping the lap swim at the Y this morning.
Bluetti Power Week features great deals on premium power stations, backup batteries and more.
Image: Bluetti
This post on power stations is brought to you by Bluetti.
Electricity, one of the most widely used forms of energy in the world, is one of modern life’s necessities. As summer burns on with record heat throughout much of the world, even a brief power outage can have catastrophic consequences.
To ease your worries about maintaining electrical power this summer, Bluetti plans a Power Week from August 18 to 28, with major savings on the company’s products. Power Week will feature Bluetti’s B230 and B300 batteries, versatile power sources that can save the day when the lights go out.
With just four rows of keys, the new Keychron Q9 mechanical keyboard features an unusually small 40% layout. Photo: Keychron
The ninth entrant in Keychron’s custom mechanical keyboard line came out Wednesday, making it abundantly clear the company wants to cover every corner of the market. The new Q9 is for folks who want a tiny keyboard they can customize — maybe one that’s smaller than anything they’ve ever used.
As a 40% layout mini keyboard with just four rows of keys, the all-aluminum Q9 makes even a compact 60% keyboard look big.
Charge four devices at once with the stand. Photo: SwitchEasy
Who doesn’t love saving money, saving space and saving your gadgets from running out of juice? Well, you can do all three at once when you buy a SwitchEasy 4-in-1 MagPower Charging Stand.
The compact charger powers up four devices at once. And you can get it at 30% off in the Cult of Mac Store through 11:59 p.m. PDT Wednesday, August 17, 2022. That’s a savings of about $25 on something you’re likely to use every day.
The biggest iPad doesn't look so big next to that mechanical keyboard. Photo: Steve Troughton-Smith
App developer Steve Troughton-Smith raised a few eyebrows recently when he tweeted a photograph of his iPad Pro propped up on a stand and hooked up to a mechanical keyboard that dwarfed it in size. It looked like some ungainly desktop machine of yesteryear.
“The perfect computer doesn’t exist,” the title read.
It would be a stretch to say Troughton-Smith does all his work on that iPad setup, but he does some of it via the tablet, he told Cult of Mac.
It's glamorous, but it's not over-the-top glamorous. Photo: Goldenerre
Sometimes you want to glam it up a bit, but not so much that you look silly at the laundromat. If you’d like an Apple Watch band that you can look good wearing at the burger joint, the French restaurant and the gala black-tie benefit, look no further. Goldenerre’s Starburst Apple Watch Band has you covered.
And it’s available now for a staggering 66% off in the Cult of Mac Store. That’s a savings of $56!
If you've been wanting an M1 Pro MacBook, don't miss this opportunity. Photo: Apple
Amazon surfaced the lowest prices ever on certain 2021 MacBook Pro laptops Tuesday, including 14-inch and 16-inch models. Specifically, there are three options featuring the M1 Pro chip and different sizes of solid state drive (SSD).
If you’re in the market for one of those, act fast. Deals where you can lop $300 off the the usual prices don’t usually last long.
AirVersa's new Purelle air purifier works with HomeKit as well as the Thread wireless networking protocol. Photo: AirVersa
AirVersa’s new Purelle Smart Air Purifier for HomeKit came out on Amazon in the U.S. on Saturday. According to the company, it’s the first air purifier to support the Thread networking standard.
That Thread support will be important when the Matter home automation standard starts helping devices made by different makers work well together.
Two Studio Displays offer identical color consistency. Photo: [email protected]
If there’s one thing Apple displays are known for, it’s high prices. OK — all joking aside — if there are two things they’re known for, it’s crisp, accurate colors and being worth the price for that level of quality.
After all, those who work or play with graphics, photos, video or animation need great color.
And if you go dual-display, it helps if they’re the same model. Today’s featured Mac Studio setup, for example, corrected mismatched displays and the resulting color inconsistency by adding a second Studio Display.
Christopher Walken, John Turturro and Zach Cherry in “Severance” on Apple TV+. The series won 5 awards from the Hollywood Critics Association. Photo: Apple TV+
Two of the best-loved shows on Apple TV+ — Severance and Ted Lasso — took home honors over the weekend from the Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards.
Severance won five awards, including Best Drama, and Ted Lasso won two awards, including Best Comedy. Apple TV+ topped all streaming services with 53 nominations overall.
★★★★☆
I've already accidentally added some "character" to this fine leather iPhone case. You know, scratches. Maybe they'll fade or blend in as the patina develops. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Whether you’re getting an iPhone 13 series handset at a discount because iPhone 14 is coming soon or you just want to change up your case for the iPhone you already have, you can’t go wrong with the tasteful and tough Journey iPhone 13 Leather Case.
The company sent me a MagSafe-compatible, tan-colored case for iPhone 13 Pro to try out. I found it a refreshing switch from the Apple clear MagSafe case I’d been using, which had begun to blacken at the corners over the past several months.
pCloud has a new family plan with 10TB of cloud storage -- and you can get up to 80% off the price! Photo: pCloud
This cloud storage post is presented by pCloud.
If you’re looking for reliable cloud storage for the whole crew, pCloud’s new family plan delivers 10TB of shared storage. Plus, a great back-to-school deal can save you some serious money (up to 80% off).
The Switzerland-based company, subject to strong privacy laws, offers affordable, super-secure cloud-based storage and backup for individuals, families and businesses.
"Stephen C." annoys Irving B. at Lumon Industries in "Severance" parody. Photo: Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert created a parody Thursday night of the psychological thriller Severance on Apple TV+. The segment’s a must-see for fans of the show, or for fans of nouveu-comedy classic The Office, which figures into the mashup heavily.
I just called Severance a psychological thriller. In his lead-in to the video, which you can watch below, Colbert was probably more accurate.
“Severance is easily one of the top dystopian workplace sci-fi mystery black comedy psychological thrillers I’ve ever seen,” he deadpanned, getting a laugh.