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David Snow - page 114

Test shows AirTags are better and safer than Tile and GPS trackers

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A New York Times reporter found that AirTag tracking and privacy alerts can work better than other trackers.
A New York Times reporter found that AirTag tracking and privacy alerts can work better than other trackers.
Photo: Apple

Just a day after Apple touted its beefed-up privacy precautions for AirTags — in the wake of criminal incidents involving the tracking devices — an article in The New York Times on Friday showed their superiority to Tile and GPS trackers.

A reporter tracked her husband using all three kinds of devices. She found the AirTags not only better at tracking him in an urban area, but also better at tipping him off to the tracking.

Learn to automate your home office like an IT pro [Setups]

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After seven years working at home, Derek Seaman built this computer setup.
After seven years working at home, Derek Seaman built this computer setup.
Photo: Derek Seaman

Blogger Derek Seaman may be an IT systems architect in his day job, but he also designs and builds advanced computer setups. That is, if his home office is any indication. Which it is.

He shared his MacBook Pro-driven workstation — actually, the whole room — with Cult of Mac recently.

Apple boosts AirTag privacy after criminal incidents

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AirTags seemed so innocent and helpful at first.
AirTags seemed so innocent and helpful at first.
Photo: Apple

Apple said in a statement Thursday it will update AirTags item trackers with new privacy warnings, better warning sounds and smarter Find My tracking. The efforts comes as the company tries to improve security in the wake of criminal activity involving the devices, such as theft and stalking.

To make sure your AirTag has the latest security improvements, check for the AirTag update regularly.

Make your house a little smarter with updated Home Widget for HomeKit

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Home Widget for HomeKit updates just made your house a little smarter.
Home Widget for HomeKit updates just made your house a little smarter.
Photo: Home Widget for HomeKit

If you’d like to improve your experience using HomeKit-enabled accessories on iOS, it might be time to try Home Widget for HomeKit. It already provides quick access to the Home app from your Home Screen, and it got a refresh on Wednesday, adding sensor support, different panel sizes and more.

Canadian celeb ‘Strombo’ runs Apple’s new book club

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First up on the reading list is Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock.
First up on the reading list is Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock.
Photo: Apple Books

In the tradition of media personalities helming book clubs — Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon — Apple Books welcomes a new book club with a new host. The Canadian is not exactly a household name in the U.S., but he has a track record with Apple. It’s Apple Music Hits live radio host George “Strombo” Stroumboulopoulos, who said in a tweet on Tuesday he’s going literary.

The new club is called Strombo’s Lit. Bookworms in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia can check it out now on the Apple Books app.

Protect your iPad Pro with Nomad’s new leather case and folio

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Nomad's new case and folio offers premium leather options to protect your iPad Pro without bulk.
Nomad's new case and folio offer premium leather options to protect your iPad Pro without bulk. (Pictured: folio).
Photo: Nomad

If you’d like a change from plastic or silicone cases for your iPad Pro, you have a new option. Accessories maker Nomad rolled out two new premium leather products Wednesday, the Modern Leather Case and the Modern Leather Folio. Depending on how you feel about leather, you may find they offer a touch of class without much bulk.

Both products feature full-grain leather. Their slim design offers protection mainly because of specs like a raised TPE bumper and a polycarbonate layer.

Can you get work done while using an under-desk treadmill? [Setups]

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Two items that set this setup apart are the iPad stand and the elevated Edifier speakers.
Two items that set this setup apart are the iPad stand and the elevated Edifier speakers.
Photo: [email protected]

When you spend loads of time at a desk, it’s natural to wonder how you might remain chained to it but still somehow get exercise. That’s why under-desk treadmills exist, of course. But can you really get things done while walking in place?

Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup answers the question and offers up a couple of other tantalizing tidbits, like a killer iPad stand and affordable bookshelf speakers with isolation pads.

Nothing Ear 1 true wireless earbuds get Siri voice support

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With Siri voice support added, these buds just became a little more competitive with AirPods and AirPods Pro.
With Siri voice support added, these buds just became a little more competitive with AirPods and AirPods Pro.
Photo: Nothing

Nothing, the audio brand from OnePlus founder Carl Pei, just updated its Ear 1 true wireless earbuds to include Siri voice support. That makes the inexpensive earbuds a little more competitive with competitors like AirPods and AirPods Pro. After all, the Ear 1 buds already have a lot of premium features.

New CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 dock boasts record 18 ports

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This thing bristles with 18 ports, the most ever on a Thunderbolt 4 dock, CalDigit said.
This thing bristles with 18 ports, the most ever on a Thunderbolt 4 dock, CalDigit said.
Photo: CalDigit

CalDigit said Tuesday its newly released Thunderbolt Station 4 dock for MacBook Pro sports 18 ports — the most ever on a Thunderbolt 4 dock. The company said it’s also the only TB4 dock with 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet as well as 98W of charging power.

Dell’s new 4K USB-C monitors are first to use LG’s high-contrast ‘IPS Black’ tech

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Dell's new 27-inch and 32-inch UltraSharp monitors are the first to use LG's IPS Black Technology.
Dell's new 27-inch and 32-inch UltraSharp monitors are the first to use LG's IPS Black Technology.
Photo: Dell

Dell said it has started shipping two new monitors that are the first on the market using LG’s new IPS Black Technology, rolled out at CES in January. IPS Black promises 35% deeper blacks than typical 4K displays, which tend to have poor contrast in favor of other benefits (mainly brighter colors). That’s effectively doubles the usual contrast ratio to 2000:1.

If you depend on your display for the best possible image — say, like a designer does — the new monitors could offer the great color IPS displays are known for, but with solid contrast, too.

Elizabeth Moss gets scary-metaphysical in Shining Girls Apple TV+ trailer

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Think twice before you cross Elizabeth Moss.
Think twice before you cross Elizabeth Moss.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ set a premiere date of April 29 and put out an initial trailer for the Apple Original horror-thriller series Shining Girls on Friday. And it’s seriously spooky. What with all the blurred reality and scary-shapeshifting-killer vibes, the trailer makes the show look both disturbing and disorienting.

Universal Control sends game dev with Mac arsenal over the moon [Setups]

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Apple's Universal Control is this game developer's dream of seamlessly carrying tasks from one screen to the next.
Apple's Universal Control is this game developer's dream of seamlessly carrying tasks from one screen to the next.
Photo: [email protected]

When Apple demonstrated its new Universal Control feature during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote back in June 2021, it made Apple fans drool. Too bad Cupertino made everyone wait longer than expected to get their hands on it.

But now, Universal Control is finally in beta testing ahead of its public release, and the anticipatory drool is once again flowing — especially among those who get to test it out.

The owner of today’s iMac Pro-based featured setup, a game developer and blogger, is no exception.

Apple Music cuts free trial period from 3 months to 1

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First-time Apple Music subscribers get just a 1-month free trial now (unless they bought an Apple device).
First-time Apple Music subscribers get just a 1-month free trial now (unless they bought an Apple device).
Photo: Apple

Since Apple Music launched in 2015, it has offered first-time subscribers a three-month free trial — a very tempting proposition in a competitive streaming market. But now the service has cut the free trail for first-timers to one month, starting this week.

Apple Music continues to offer a six-month free trial to those who buy eligible audio devices.

Got pets? Try protecting your peripherals this way. [Setups]

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This is the desktop in unprotected mode. Down, Fluffy!
This is the desktop in unprotected mode. Down, Fluffy!
Photo: [email protected]

Anyone with a curious cat knows the desktop can be one of their favorite spots. Sometimes it’s like they’re trying to ensure you can’t work, as they sit or stretch out right on top of the keyboard or in front of the screen. And that’s just when you’re sitting there. Who knows what they do when you’re away. Other than dreaming up other ways to hasten your unemployment.

Lucky for you, today’s featured computer setup shows a simple method for protecting peripherals like input devices — keyboard, mouse, perhaps a trackpad — from pushy pets. And if you’ve got canines, take heart. It also works for dog slobber.

iBook G3 mod makes the coolest iPad case you’ll ever see

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It's a little big, but that's the price you pay for retro-cool.
It's a little big, but that's the price you pay for retro-cool.
Photo: skipperfilms@tiktok

Apple users do the darnedest things with old gear. Recently a guy stuck a USB-C port in an iPhone X and got $86,000 for it on eBay. We profiled a Romanian developer who designs games for souped-up vintage Macs. Then there was the guy who merged an M1 Mac mini with an iMac G4.

And now we find a clever TikTok user crafting a retro-cool iPad case with an Apple Watch charger out of a classic iBook G3 laptop.

Lincoln’s Dilemma trailer shows Honest Abe in a new light on Apple TV+

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The documentary airs February 18 on Apple TV+.
The documentary airs February 18 on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

A new Apple TV+ trailer for the Apple Original documentary series Lincoln’s Dilemma shows Honest Abe in a new light, as historians reflect upon what he was really about and how the changing country challenged the president who never asked to be “The Great Emancipator.”

The four-part series hits Apple TV+ all at once, not one episode at a time, on February 18.

New Targus active stylus for iPad claims to stay 99.9% cootie-free

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The new Targus active stylus for iPad is part of the company's antimicrobial line.
The new Targus active stylus for iPad is part of the company's antimicrobial line.
Photo: Targus

Bacteria is everywhere. Health experts say a lot of it is actually beneficial rather than harmful, but it can still give you the “icks.” If you’re a person who wipes down gadgets a lot because you know your hands and fingers are basically Petri dishes gone wild, Targus rolled out a new active stylus for iPad on Thursday that might suit you.

It’s the new Targus Antimicrobial Active Stylus for iPad, designed to remain 99.9% free of bacterial growth for the life of the product.

Add color to HomeKit with 12 new Philips Hue lighting scenes

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Now you've got 12 new color schemes to play with in your HomeKit lighting.
Now you've got 12 new color schemes to play with in your HomeKit lighting.
Photo: Signify

Philips Hue unleashed a dozen new lighting scenes in the Hue app on Monday. So now you can dress up your HomeKit-connected lighting with delightful colorations like Amber Bloom, Painted Sky, Orange Fields and Blue Planet — among many others.

The release comes soon after the company put out a trio of cool vintage-vibe lights for outdoor use.

Hey Siri, darken the sunroof glass in my Apple Car

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This Apple Car concept is unrelated to the patent, but at least it shows a sunroof.
This Apple Car concept is unrelated to the patent, but at least it shows a sunroof.
Photo: Vanarama

The rumored Apple Car may not be on the verge of rolling off the assembly line, but someday a version of it may have sunroof glass that you can darken or lighten with the touch of a button or with a Siri command.

That’s according to a patent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Apple this week for a sunroof with variable-opacity glass. That means a driver could adjust its transparency.

Find the perfect Apple Watch accessory set for Valentine’s Day

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Goldenerre's set could be just the thing for you and your significant other this Valentine's Day.
Goldenerre's set could be just the thing for you and your significant other this Valentine's Day.
Photo: Goldenerre

It’s that time of year again. No, not the dead of winter. Well, yes, actually — for many it’s the dead of winter. But it’s not only that. Valentine’s Day comes along on February 14, as it does every year, obliging many to buy gifts for their significant others.

But, lucky for you, this year the  Cult of Mac Store has a nice discount on what could be just the thing: the Goldenerre Red Heart Healthy Set for the Apple Watch. And 10% of sales goes to charity! See below for more information.

Want to make your monitor float in space? Try this. [Setups]

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That display is not wall mounted. And it's not levitating, either. It just looks like it is.
That display is not wall mounted. And it's not levitating, either. It just looks like it is.
Photo: [email protected]

Who doesn’t love good optical illusions? And they’re especially cool when they result from an unexpected action that works as well as the expected action. Today’s featured computer setup surprised us with a floating display.

Thing is, though, the screen is not mounted on the wall. And it’s not levitating, either.

Apple TV+ beefs up Foundation cast and offers first look at season 2

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In the first image released from season 2, we see the characters Demerzel, Harry Seldon, and the emperor together. Could it be a flashback?
In the first image released from season two, we see the characters Demerzel, Hari Seldon and the emperor together. Could it be a flashback?
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ released a tantalizing first look in photographic form at the highly anticipated second season of Foundation. The epic series is based on Isaac Asimov’s award-winning stories. And the streaming service revealed 10 new cast members set to join Emmy Award nominees Jared Harris and Lee Pace in the new season.

The much-lauded and often-pirated adaptation chronicles the stories of four individuals transcending space and time. They overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity.

Snarky Carrot Weather app’s storm of updates includes new maps

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Carrot Weather can give you global view. You don't want to miss anything.
Carrot Weather can give you global view. You don't want to miss anything.
Photo: CARROT Weather

The award-winning app Carrot Weather, known for a touch of the snark in its forecasts, rolled out a series of major updates in version 5.5 Wednesday. Set to launch at 7 a.m. PT, they include rebuilt weather maps and some firsts for a general-purpose weather app, creator Brian Mueller told Cult of Mac.

“The maps have been completely rebuilt from the ground up to make them more readable and faster to load,” he said. “I also added a ton of major new features, some of which have never appeared in a general-purpose weather app like Carrot before.”