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.
A new Mac Studio desktop and Studio Display anchor this setup. Photo: [email protected]
With Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event only just past and deliveries of newly release products in progress, we see computer setups with new Mac Studio desktops and Studio Display monitors cropping up on social media sites.
Checking in with real people and their first impressions about the gear — and their answers to others’ questions about it — can be a pretty good early look at how things are going with Apple’s latest products.
In Apple's new ad, student battle for electoral supremacy using the powerful new iPad Air. Photo: Apple
With Friday being the official launch day for sales of Apple’s new iPad Air (and the 5G iPhone SE), Apple has rolled out a new ad depicting high school students battling to become class president. The powerful new tablet is their primary weapon.
Apple Books has a "tell-all" about Lumon Industries and the "Severance" procedure. Photo: Apple TV+
Don’t tell Lumon Industries I’m saying this — and later I may not even remember writing it — but Apple Books may be about to blow the lid off this whole “severance” thing.
On Friday it plans to release a “tell-all” book about the sinister company at the center of the chilling drama series Severance on Apple TV+.
Working al fresco can be refreshing. Except for the downpours. And the lizards. Photo: [email protected]
There’s nothing like taking your work outside on a nice day, especially if it’s a Friday — if you live somewhere that allows it, weather-wise. The sounds of the birds. The feel of the breeze. The smell of exhaust fumes from nearby traffic.
But sometimes it’s not about half-playing hooky while working on your tan and pretending to work. Today’s featured setup, looking quite complete and perfectly productive, was driven out of the house by renovations.
StarTech.com's capable new Thunderbolt 4 docking station can broaden your laptop's horizons. Photo: StarTech.com
With Thunderbolt 4 connectivity becoming more and more common in new laptop computers, including various Macs, you may be in the market for a worthy docking station. After all, small, lightweight laptops don’t always have all the ports you need. So it’s a good thing StarTech.com recently released its TB4CDock for Mac and Windows. If you also need an apple sd card reader along with a docking station, consider checking out this 6-port hub from Zagg.
The Thunderbolt 4 station bristles with the ports you need to turn your laptop into a desktop, or close to it.
If you need to bring your Mac Studio desktop computer somewhere, this is a good way to do it. Photo: WaterField Designs
If you buy a powerful new Mac Studio desktop computer and you need to take it somewhere, what are you going to do? Re-pack it? Here’s a better idea. Get a stylish and protective new carrying case like the one WaterField Designs just released.
The San Francisco-based luxury bag maker for tech gear adds the new Mac Studio Shield Case to its list of quality goods, including sturdy leather AirTag accessories and a cool AirPods Max case that Apple should’ve made.
Have Siri tell that robot Roomba vacuum where to go. Photo: iRobot
Siri is about to get better at helping you clean the house. iRobot has begun to roll out an iRobot Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence software update to Roomba robot vacuum and Braava jet robot mop customers. The update brings Siri voice support to all users, at long last.
So cleaning the floors isn’t just for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant anymore.
Apple CEO Tim Cook meets with a Foxconn worker on a previous occasion. Photo: Apple
Foxconn, Apple’s primary assembly partner for iPhones, has resumed production in its assembly plant in Shenzhen, China, as the city’s COVID-19 lockdown has partially lifted.
Despite hopes that Apple's new Studio Display might get mini-LEDs sooner than later, it might not happen. Photo: Apple
It appears unlikely Apple will roll out any new products with mini-LED displays in 2022 because of concerns about cost, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a tweet Wednesday. That would include hoped-for updates to the 11-inch iPad Pro and the recently released Studio Display.
Kuo clarified that Cupertino’s existing mini-LED products, such as the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, may be updated this year.
Ian Zelbo works on renders on a tricked-out PC in New York City. Photo: Ian Zelbo
We last wrote about the computer setup of 17-year-old concept creator and render artist Ian Zelbo back in May 2021. As then, the young New Yorker’s 3D renderings of Macs and other leaked tech products continue to amaze viewers online.
But he recently switched things up a bit with the gear he needs to get the job done. Along with a big step up from a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro to a 14-inch M1 Pro version, he custom-built a PC to do a lot of the heavy lifting in his resource-intensive work.
An India-based blog posted a series of renders on Wednesday it said are based on leaked factory CAD images of the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro. They support leaks and rumors indicating that a hole-punch design will replace the notch, among other changes.
Razer's new Key Light Chroma offers adjustable colors and temperatures. Photo: Razer
If you want to kick your streaming or vlogging up a notch, Razer has a trio of new products designed to help you look and sound better to your online audience.
On Friday, the gaming peripherals company rolled out the Razer Key Light Chroma, the Razer Seiren BT lapel microphone and the Razer Audio Mixer.
If you're looking for cloud storage, consider pCloud as an alternative to Dropbox and other services. Photo: pCloud
This cloud storage post is brought to you by pCloud.
The well-regarded pCloud service prides itself on providing highly secure encrypted cloud storage, where you can safely keep your personal files, back up your PC or share your business documents with your colleagues and collaborators. As such, it’s a great alternative to Dropbox, with plenty of benefits above and beyond everyday cloud storage offerings.
Ted Lasso tends to dominate during awards season. Photo: Apple TV+
Ted Lasso, the hit Apple TV+ sports comedy series, keeps winning awards. On Sunday night it picked up four at the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards ceremony, including Best Comedy, topping seven other nominees.
The streaming service’s indie film CODA also won a Critics Choice award, as well as a pair of BAFTA awards (aka the British Oscars) over the weekend.
The college kid who owns this computer setup might be headed for an aerospace-related career. Photo: [email protected]
College students, often not exactly made of money (yet), usually feel obliged to be super-thrifty. Their setups might feature entry-level gear, hand-me-down equipment, doors on cinderblocks serving as desks — that sort of thing.
But today’s featured setup, owned by a college student, comes with some frills. They’re courtesy of a lucrative internship the computer science major completed last summer.
Baseus' new Blade 100W Power Bank can charge four devices at once. Photo: Baseus
Whether you’re a traveler, a commuter or just need to charge a bunch of devices around the house, you might find the new Baseus Blade 100W Power Bank useful. Baseus rolled out the “notebook thin” device on Thursday.
What would you do with that cable on the left? Photo: [email protected]
Many a near-pristine computer setup is marred by one pretty ugly thing: a power cable. People pride themselves on having “one-cable” setups, where gear plugs into other gear or works wirelessly, and the whole shebang depends on one cable going into the wall outlet from a hub or a power strip. Others get as close as they can to that Zen-like state of near cableless-ness.
Today’s featured setup has that one, nagging cable. And we’re here to help make it go away.
Apple's new black-and-silver peripherals dress up your desktop whether or not you buy them with the new Mac Studio or Studio Display. Photo: Apple
Along with the new Mac Studio desktop computer and Studio Display Apple rolled out on Tuesday, it launched swanky black-and-silver peripherals — Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse — that go well with the new gear.
They’re similar to options you can choose if you buy a pricey new Mac Pro. But now you can purchase them separately.
Do you have to pay a bit more than you would for the normal options sold a la carte? Yes. But of course you do.
You can use Cooler Master's new 65% layout mechanical keyboard with PC or Mac. Photo: Cooler Master
Hardcore gamers, dedicated office workers, gear geeks — can you ever have enough choice among affordable mechanical keyboards? Well, another new one entered the fray recently when peripherals maker Cooler Master released its new CK721 Gaming Keyboard.
The new keeb sports a sleek 65% layout, customizable features and compatibility with macOS, iOS, Windows and Android.
How does your IT department manage all the devices your employees use, in all the places they use them? Image: Scalefusion
This MDM post is brought to you by Scalefusion.
With the recent surge in employees working via smartphones, tablets and laptops from practically anywhere, it’s no surprise mobile device management, aka MDM, has become a crucial tool for organizations large and small. Then add in the growth of cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps, plus companies letting employees use their own devices (BYOD).
It all adds up to needing an MDM provider you can depend on. These days, you need something that serves the IT department’s needs while remaining easy for users to navigate. And it should work across operating systems and device types.
With Scalefusion, you can get up and running fast with a vast array of devices, and even expand your fleet, without having to worry about engaging multiple MDM providers.
Transmart's new portable speaker packs 60W of power and four drivers. Plus a light show. Photo: Tronsmart
Not every Bluetooth speaker on the market packs 60W of power, but the new Tronsmart Bang Outdoor Party Speaker does. And it brings a beat-driven light show to the party, too. The company rolled it out on Tuesday, emphasizing that the four-driver speaker is “loud and powerful.”
“The Bang delivers an audio feast with an impactful stereo sound thanks to its two tweeters and two woofers,” the company said.
Feel like you're drowning or freezing to death? It could be the lighting. Photo: [email protected]
Ever wonder how people get crazy-cool mood lighting in and around their computer setups? You see it all the time in folks’ photos on social media sites. The hardware — computer, displays, peripherals, other gear — may be fabulous in its own right, but the lighting just takes it to another level.
Or not. Sometimes lighting ends up being too flashy — as in, on the verge of fit-inducing. And sometimes it’s just too much of one thing. Today’s featured setup shows a cool blue wash that might just drown productivity. Or maybe it’s just for off-duty hours.
Whatever your preferences, an increasing array of products can help you get your setup light show on.
AMD's latest GPU can boost your Mac Pro's graphics performance. Photo: Apple
Need to add a little more graphical firepower to your Mac Pro? AMD rolled out its new Radeon Pro W6600X GPU for Mac Pro on Tuesday, now available at Apple for $700.
The new graphics processing unit is designed to boost image quality and performance for design pros and other content creators.
Apple's new M1 Ultra chip is the most powerful one ever in a personal computer. Photo: Apple
When Apple rolled out the first M1 chip in late 2020, it seemed like a pretty big jump forward. Then the new M1 Pro and M1 Max in MacBook Pro models blew people away in October 2021. Now the Cupertino tech giant calls its latest M1 Ultra chip in the new Mac Studio desktop computer “the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac.”
It’s almost like when Neil Armstrong got back from taking “one giant leap for mankind” on the moon in 1969 — if someone had told him, “you can toss that jalopy you went up in. Now we’ve got a real spaceship for ya.”
Apple said at its “Peek Performance” event Tuesday that the M1 Ultra is “the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer.”