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 Signe floor lamp and a light strip add ambiance. Photo: Signify/Philips Hue
Signify, the parent company of Philips Hue, put the word out last week that funky new lighting products are coming. Some are out now and some will light up later. A new partnership with the music platform Spotify has launched, too.
Several items offer the gradient technology Philips Hue added last year to its Play Lightstrip.
Apple fans can buy a perfect re-creation of the Apple-1 Operation Manual, along with a custom case to display it in. Photo: Armin Hierstetter
This Apple collector’s item post is brought to you by apple-1-manuals.com.
In 1976, the Apple-1 became the future Cupertino tech giant’s first product. Fewer than 70 of the devices remain today, only six of them believed to be in working order. And even the original Apple-1 Operation Manual is incredibly collectible. But now you can get a faithful re-creation of the manual — the product of hundreds of hours of work — for your very own.
You can find basic copies of the original on cheap printer paper, but Armin Hierstetter, a German entrepreneur and retro computer enthusiast, took it upon himself to do it better.
Kingston's XS2000 lets you take up to 2TB of data with you. Photo: Business Wire
Kingston Digital is now shipping its new XS2000, a portable SSD featuring USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 speeds in a tiny drive you can slip into your pocket. So you can carry around up to 2TB of data and barely notice it’s there.
iMac and MacBook Pro, check. Massive display, check. Le Creuset mug, check. Photo: [email protected]
Redditor Doyniish runs a Mission Control-looking workstation, thanks a gargantuan monitor in between a substantial 24-inch iMac display on the left and a MacBook Pro on a stand to the right. In the shot, they’re all festooned with open windows, making it look like all the work in the world is in progress at that particular desk.
Redditor NotDeadYet7917 dragged himself out of bed on Monday and photographed his M1 MacB00k Air computer setup exactly as it appears in real life. It’s not staged like some of these fancy-schmance setups you see (we’ve seen plenty). And you can tell the workstation is keeping it real by how “lived-in” it looks.
Facebook has launched fantasy gaming on iOS and Android. Photo: Brett Jordan/Unsplash
Facebook rolled out a fantasy gaming service for iOS and Android users in the U.S. and Canada this week. Facebook Fantasy Games lets you predict outcomes of sports events and other entertainment, like TV game shows.
Drive four monitors and more with StarTech.com's new hub. Photo: StarTech.com
StarTech.com now offers a new USB-C hub for preorder with more than the average range of features. Its new Quad Monitor USB-C Dock drives up to four displays at 60Hz apiece and offers six other ports to turn your computer into a powerhouse.
Wrexham AFC players will have to pace themselves with all those biscuits. Photo: Wrexham AFC
On August 23 we reported on the brutal tongue-in-cheek legal battle set to break out between Apple TV+ and actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney over a joke in an episode of Ted Lasso. And now we’re back with a breaking update: the biscuits have arrived.
Kensington's new 8-in-1 hub turns one port on your machine into eight. Photo: Kensington
Kensington brought out two new USB-C hubs this week featuring up to 100W passthrough charging and as high as 4K 60Hz HDMI connectivity along with other features.
Apple is asking employees for their vaccination status. Photo: Apple
In the latest step in Apple’s COVID-19 campaign, the company is requesting that all U.S. employees report their vaccination status. But so far, Cupertino has not mandated that employees get shots.
The XL Harber London desk mat adds soft, supple leather to your workspace. Photo: Harber London
You may not be into overstuffed leather sofas, leather car seats and jackets worthy of the wardrobe department of The Sopranos. But it’s hard to deny the sense of class and luxury leather accessories can add to a computer workstation. And you can really dress up your desk with Harber London’s leather desk mat and mouse pad combo.
A dual display, dual MacBook Pro home office relies on built-in cable management. Photo: [email protected]
Redditor baby-yoda-stan — Stan for short, let’s say — posted pics of his home office computer setup, which features dual Dell displays and a couple of Intel-powered MacBook Pro laptops. He credits the clean look to built-in cable management in some of his setup’s components.
The GripTight GorillaPod for MagSafe is highly adjustable. Photo: Joby
Vloggers and other content creators often use Joby’s bendable, wrappable tripods from the GorillaPod line. Now the company offers a set of Joby GripTight accessories for MagSafe, making those and other tripods easier to use.
WnSoft's PTV AV Studio is powerful photo slideshow software for Mac. Photo: WnSoft
WnSoft’s PTE AV Studio is powerful but easy-to-use slideshow software that is widely used by photographers, camera clubs and AV groups for competitions and festivals. Shows created in PTE AV Studio have won prizes in events held in the U.K., France, Belgium, Italy and other countries.
Now, WnSoft calls its latest version of PTE AV Studio Pro “the most powerful photo slideshow software for Mac.” And judging by the robust feature set it includes, that may be no exaggeration.
Young Lou Reed appears almost prayerful in one of the many still photos from the documentary. Photo: Apple TV+
The first Apple TV+ trailer for the upcoming film The Velvet Underground — director Todd Haynes’ first documentary — takes you on whirlwind tour of the history and milieu around the avant-garde rock band as it rose to become a major influence on music and culture.
The Apple Watch Series 7 probably won't be round, but its edges should be less rounded than past models. Photo: phoneArena.com
Apple Watch Series 7 may see the wearable’s most significant design change since the first iteration came out six years ago. The folks at phoneArena.com put together a set of 3D renders showing off the possible new look.
The high-speed Kingston DataTraveler flash drive comes in sizes up to 1TB. Photo: Kingston
Kingston Digital, the flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology, is rolling out its new DataTraveler Max. The company said the USB-C 3.2 flash drive “delivers record-breaking speeds up to 1,000MB/s read and 900MB/s write to make it one of the fastest USB drives on the market and the first of its kind.”
Spot the old iBook on the shelf to the right and The Cult of Mac hardcover under the display. Photo: [email protected]
We last saw Redditor 17parkc after they took delivery of their lovely new blue 24-inch iMac in May. Now it looks like they moved to a new studio apartment with a few new toys. Actually, in one case, an old toy — an iBook from back in the day, sometime around the turn of this century.
Apple helped fund Hurricane Ida relief efforts. Photo: NASA-GSFC
In the wake of Hurricane Ida’s category 4 landfall in Louisiana on Sunday, officials and aid workers are assessing damage and needed relief efforts. Today Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed the company will donate money in support of those efforts.
The new HyperDrive hubs attach to your iMac, allowing easy port access. Photo: Hyper
Accessories maker Hyper rolled out new HyperDrive 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 USB-C hubs today to expand what you can do with your 2021 24-inch iMac. And they look pretty good doing it, too.
The two new hubs don’t just add connectivity options with a variety of ports. They also clamp right onto the bottom of your iMac and feature faceplates in seven colors to match your machine.
Apple's new service program covers iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro with 'no sound' issues. Photo: Apple
Apple says a new service program will address sound problems some iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro users experience when placing or receiving calls. It’s the first service program for the iPhone 12 series.
The M1 MacBook Pro is all work and the M1 Mac mini is all play. Photo: [email protected]
Redditor jackwong343 knows how to keep his work computing and his personal use separate — even within a clean, spare and capable computer setup. It all starts with an M1 MacBook Pro for work and an M1 Mac mini for play, and never the twain shall meet.
Apple donations through August 29 plus content collections help celebrate 105 years of America's national parks. Photo: Austin Mann Photography/Apple
With the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) turning 105 years old, Apple said today it will donate $10 for purchases of its products from official sales points to the National Park Foundation (NPF) through August 29. The Cupertino tech giant will also share new ways for customers to learn about and celebrate America’s parks.
Journey's Magnetic Wireless Charger features a premium leather covering. Photo: Journey
Melbourne, Australia-based Journey makes electronics accessories designed to evoke the aesthetic appeal of the Australian landscape. And its handsome Magnetic Wireless Charger and practical Magnetic Wireless Car Charger could keep your iPhone 12 powered up all the way across the Outback — if it came to that.