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 3D printer at left helped make other parts of this computer setup. Photo: [email protected]
You still rarely see a computer setup with a 3D printer in it. Today’s featured setup is an exception. You can see the printer against the wall on the left in the photo above.
Probably more workstations in the near future will have them. Why? Not only are they becoming more affordable, you can use them to make parts of the setup!
If you can afford it, the new Sonus Faber Omnia could be your new all-around hi-fi audio player. Photo: Sonus Faber
“Omnia” means “prepared for all things” in Latin. The 40-year-old Italian audio brand Sonus Faber tries to live up to that with its new Omnia all-in-one wireless streaming speaker. It joins the fray in a fast-growing market for compact but premium systems.
The Omnia has built-in support for practically all streaming sources and you can hook up almost any audio-related hardware to it.
Did I mention it costs two grand? Well, there are reasons for that price point.
The new Schooly app helps students stay organized. Photo: Schooly
Many students rely on Apple devices — including some who get them for free — though iOS and macOS don’t offer functions designed especially for school-related routines. But the Schooly app just came out on the App Store, giving students one special place to organize their scholastic lives.
Free up a little desk space by putting your wireless charger under it. Photo: Choetech
If you suffer from a cluttered desktop — and who doesn’t, at least sometimes? — Choetech has something for you. Right now you can preorder its new Invisible Wireless Charger and take one more item off the junk pile.
Of course, unless you also suffer from some seriously magical thinking, you know it’s not literally invisible. But it does hide the charger under your desk so you can power up your iPhone or other Qi-enabled gadget right on the desktop without another piece of gear sitting there.
A firmware update adds an equalizer so you can tweak the sound of your Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones. Photo: Bose
Bose made a splash with its recent, long-awaited update to its popular QuietComfort 35 headphones. But while the company was probably smart not to change the QuietComfort formula much, that included not expanding the classic headphones’ limited customizability. Until now.
If you have a set of QC 45s, Bose said a new firmware update lets you access and adjust a new equalizer via the Bose Music app. So you can tweak the sound all you want with the new Adjustable EQ feature.
If you're in college, maybe it's time to transfer? Photo: Bowdoin College
In 2020, Bowdoin College in Maine launched a $1.7 million program to give students iPads and accessories. It was a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, the school said it would expand what it calls its Digital Excellence Commitment. Now it will provide every student with a MacBook Pro, an iPad and an Apple Pencil.
Now with Thread support, Eve Water Guard sends leak alerts to the Home app. Photo: Eve Systems
If you’ve ever suffered major water damage from a leak, you probably wish you could’ve found the problem before it was too late. Now you can — if you have the right smart home automation.
The second generation of the Bluetooth-enabled Eve Water Guard adds Thread networking technology that works with HomeKit. That lets it automatically join your Thread network and provide water leak notifications in Apple’s Home app before the damage is done.
BenQ's new gaming projector throws a 100- to 150-inch image on the wall. Photo: BenQ
BenQ is known for making quality displays and monitor lights, but it also makes projectors. Its latest offering, the BenQ X3000i, can handle blazing-fast gaming at a refresh rate up to 240Hz, but it comes at quite a price — about two grand.
You don't see two Pro Display XDRs in one setup very often. Photo: [email protected]
When a software engineering manager who works from home decided to leave PC gaming behind, he went all-in on his Mac conversion. In part he did it for work. He slings a lot of native code for macOS in building HR recruitment software. But, working and playing from home full time, in part he did it for himself.
So why wouldn’t he buy a super-tricked out 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, not one but two Apple Pro Display XDRs and pretty much top-shelf everything else?
CODA will show for free in theaters from Friday, February 25 through 27. Photo: Apple TV+
In celebration of CODA‘s Oscar nomination for Best Picture, Apple TV+ said Friday it will celebrate by re-releasing the indie hit in theaters next weekend. And you’ll be able to watch it for free.
You can see the film for free in theaters from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27.
The wearable infrared camera can see what you're saying. Photo: Cheng Zhang@Cornell University
Ever been in a situation where your hands aren’t free but you can’t speak out loud to Siri voice assistant, either? There could be a camera coming that understands your voice commands even if you’re not making a sound.
Two Cornell University researchers created a wearable infrared smart camera that detects voice commands not by sound, but by measuring movements in the neck and face from under the chin.
Dead warriors like this one are fierce and playful in Park Chan-wook's short. Photo: Apple
Most people use the awesome filmmaking potential of iPhone 13’s Cinematic Mode to shoot vids of their cats. But not South Korean director Park Chan-wook. In the latest in Apple’s “Shot on iPhone” series, he takes you into afterlife in a short film packed with martial arts wizardry and dream-like sequences. It’s called Life is But a Dream, and it’s shot entirely on an iPhone 13 Pro.
Even if you and your cat had a famous director’s resources — the cast, the sets, the costumes, the rich folklore — you still probably couldn’t come up with anything like this. But thanks to the technology in your iPhone, you can try.
Would you put a 28-inch 4K monitor on top of this 35-inch display, or next to it? Photo: [email protected]
When you see a computer setup with two monitors stacked on top of each other, what do you think? Maybe something like … doesn’t the person have to crane their neck to look at the top one? Isn’t it uncomfortable? Where does the webcam go? What’s wrong with side-by-side, maybe with one in portrait (vertical) mode instead of landscape?
The person behind today’s featured setup is confronting those very questions on the way to deciding a common multi-display conundrum: to stack or not to stack? That is the question.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway remains bullish on Apple. Photo: Kevin Dooley/Flickr CC
Charlie Munger, investment company Berkshire Hathaway’s vice chairman, laid out high praise for Apple during an interview with Yahoo! Finance on Thursday. He called the Cupertino juggernaut “ungodly well-managed.”
He also described Apple as “one of the strong companies” and said he expects it to remain so.
Would you pay $50 - $75 more for that NBA logo? Photo: Beats by Dre
Apple subsidiary Beats by Dre said Thursday its new, limited-edition PowerBeats Pro earbuds will celebrate the NBA’s 75th anniversary, marked through the 2021-2022 season.
Designed in partnership with Canada-based brand and retailer Better, the new Powerbeats Pro are off-white and sport red and blue ear tips. The Beats logo goes head-to-head with the NBA logo on one bud and with the Better logo on the other.
AppleTV+ is Apple's streaming service launched in November 2019. Photo: Apple TV+
A good crime story is hard to resist, and it looks like Apple TV+ has one. A new series and companion podcast called The Big Conn will tell the larger-than-life tale of a Kentucky attorney’s exploits. He defrauded the U.S. government out of $500 billion — the biggest Social Security scam in history.
Apple TV+ premieres the series’ first two episodes at the SXSW Film Festival in March. All four episodes and the podcast launch on May 5 on Apple TV+ and Apple Podcasts, respectively.
Websites may have issues with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox when each one hits version 100. Photo: Google/Apple
Google, which makes Chrome, and Mozilla, which makes Firefox, warn that those web browsers are about to reach version 100. And that could mean major websites stop working properly with them.
Why? Coded to recognize two-digit version numbers, websites may have trouble identifying browsers with three-digit numbers.
Some old Apple-1 circuit boards have a handwritten serial number and some don't Photo: Achim Baqué, Apple-1 Registry
From time to time you hear about Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, selling to collectors at auction for big bucks. But did you know some of those surviving antiques carry an enduring mystery? For decades, no one could figure out who wrote the serial numbers on their circuit boards. Until now.
Here's an example of a split photo the waterproof dome case will let you take with a smartphone. Photo: SJPro
You know those cool photographs that are half underwater and half above water? They’re called split photos. And a new waterproof case on Kickstarter called the SJPro Smartphone Mobile Mini Dome will let you take them with your iPhone, or almost any smartphone, for a pledge of $45.
Whether you’re a blogger, a web editor or a software developer, automatic formatting can mess with your writing. That’s why you need a text editor, which is similar to a word processing program but lets you work with nothing but plain text and symbols.
If you write code, a text editor is the most important thing to have (after expertise in your coding language, of course). That’s true whether you use HTML or a more complex and powerful tool, like C++ or Python. But how do you pick a suitable text editor?
The new Sony LinkBuds feature an unusual, perhaps even unique, open design. Photo: Sony
For some time now, the wireless earbud market has grown toward the bursting point, with all sorts of options for active noise canceling buds with wireless charging, long battery life, solid waterproofing and other features for prices between $75 and $150.
But if you’re sick and tired of paying less for more, Sony has something new for you. You can pay $178 for earbuds without ANC or wireless charging, plus pedestrian battery life and minimal waterproofing. Meet the all-new Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbuds!
What do you get for that price? Sony’s reputation, plus an interesting new compact, lightweight, open-style design that might work great for at least some people.
A magnetic divider in Intelli's CarryOn case puts AirPods Max to sleep when not in use. Photo: Intelli
It’s safe to say not everyone loves Apple’s stock carrying case for its flagship headphones, AirPods Max. You might even say some people hate the case. So it’s worth noting when an alternative comes along, like Intelli’s stylish new CarryOn case, released Tuesday.
And they look like a solid choice to carry AirPods Max whether or not you’re traveling at 30,000 feet.
The Twelve South BackPack for 24-inch iMac is a handy storage rack for your Mac's back. Photo: Twelve South
If your computer setup tends to get cluttered — and whose doesn’t? — you have a new tool. That is, if you own a 24-inch iMac or plan to get one, anyway. On Tuesday Twelve South rolled out an updated version of its popular BackPack shelf just for the latest M1 desktop Macs.
Using the BackPack shelf, you can stash all sorts of stuff, like USB-C hubs, hard drives and other devices, out of sight behind your computer.
MobileTrans - WhatsApp Transfer makes it easy to move the popular messaging app to a new device. Screenshot: Wondershare
This WhatsApp transfer post is presented by Wondershare.
When you get a new device and transfer your WhatsApp account to it — let’s say you’re switching from an Android device to a new iPhone 13 — you might be surprised there’s no automatic way to do it when two different operating systems are involved.
Thankfully, MobileTrans makes it easy to do WhatsApp transfer, backup and restore operations. And it works even when you’re moving your WhatsApp chats from one operating system to another.
Which makes you swoon more, the 30-inch Cinema Displays or the mounted Yamaha powered speakers with the Mackie Big Knob controller? Photo: [email protected]
There’s something special about old Apple gear. Maybe that’s why it comes up fairly frequently in Cult of Mac‘s Setups coverage. One of the most-beloved classics in Apple’s storied history of beloved products is the Cinema Display. Today’s featured setup sports not one but two 30-inch Cinema Displays, the big stunners Steve Jobs introduced to an absolutely dazzled Worldwide Developers Conference audience in 2004.
So, naturally, questions came up about how to best use them with a newer Mac.