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David Snow - page 68

New Apple-certified GaN charging station powers up 6 devices at once

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You might not always have to charge six devices at once, but with this charging station, you can.
You might not always have to charge six devices at once, but with this charging station, you can.
Photo: ESR

ESR just launched a Kickstarter campaign for an unprecedented, Apple-certified 100-watt 6-in-1 charging station with GaN technology to juice up all your devices.

The company called the device — which can charge iPhone, iPad, MacBook, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously — the “world’s first” of its kind. You can preorder it now at a 20% discount. And it may serve all your charging needs.

Sleeves in sleek black or plush pastels protect MacBook

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Laut's sleek and protective sleeve protects your laptop.
Laut's sleek and protective sleeve protects your laptop.
Photo: Laut

When you don’t want to lug around a computer bag or case, or you need something slim to protect your MacBook inside your luggage, a sleeve can suit the situation perfectly. Laut makes a great selection of sleek and protective sleeves, including colorful ones.

Check out three different sleeves for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in different sizes in the Laut MacBook Sleeves collection.

Here’s why people are learning to love Apple Maps

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Apple Maps' use of 3D imagery led the way, but in other ways it trailed Google Maps.
Apple Maps' use of 3D imagery led the way, but in other ways it trailed Google Maps.
Photo: Apple

After its launch in 2012, Apple Maps performed so badly that Apple CEO Tim Cook actually apologized for the service and fired the company’s head of software (for the disastrous launch and other reasons). But now, many people actually choose Apple Maps over Google Maps and other services, according to a new report.

The most confusing and misused emoji will melt your brain

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We have a winner: survey finds Woman Tipping Hand is most-confusing emoji.
We have a winner: Survey finds Woman Tipping Hand is the most-confusing emoji.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

Ever find yourself perplexed by the intended meaning of an emoji in a message? A recent survey suggests you’re not alone. Even on World Emoji Day (July 17), a lot of the little graphics have people scratching their heads and even offending each other.

Ukraine-based language-learning platform Preply sought to understand which emoji cause the most confusion and misuse — unintentionally or intentionally — among Americans. You can see the main findings below, including insights on the least used emoji that rarely make an appearance in conversations.

Brilliant new Clarity Pro Touch display packs great features [Review] ★★★★☆

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Alogic Clarity Pro Touch display★★★★☆
With Alogic's new Clarity Pro Touch display, you get a brilliant touchscreen with retractable 8MP webcam.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

If you’re among the many folks who balk at the high price of Apple’s excellent Studio Display, intriguing new alternatives just arrived. Alogic recently unveiled its new 27-inch Clarity Pro and Clarity Pro Touch 4K displays, building up the line after releasing the original Clarity display last year.

I gave the Clarity Pro Touch a go and found it beautiful to look at and highly functional, as well. Priced at hundreds less than Apple’s Studio Display, either of the new Clarity displays should make a tempting alternative.

Before and after photos show MacBook Pro rig’s subtle evolution [Setups]

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See if you can spot the differences between the setup in the photo above and the setup in the photo below.
See if you can spot the differences between the setup in the photo above and the setup in the photo below.
Photo: [email protected]

We love it when computer setup users show their work as they trudge toward home-office nirvana. Today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Pro setup does it in a subtle way, providing “before” and “after” photos showing incremental changes that improved the workstation.

You can see the before photograph below and the after shot above.

3 cool new wallpapers you won’t regret downloading

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Basic Apple Guy's
Basic Apple Guy's "Trip Around the Sun" wallpaper puts things in perspective.
Photo: Basic Apple Guy

Mac maven Basic Apple Guy seemingly never stops creating gorgeous wallpapers you can download and put on your Apple screens — Mac, iPad and iPhone. Just in the past couple of weeks he’s made three beauties for you to try out.

Check out the images and see descriptions and links below.

Versatile Mac mini powers DIY workstation [Setups]

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An M1 Mac mini drives a n LG display in this Chicago-area setup.
An M1 Mac mini drives a n LG display in this Chicago-area setup.
Photo: Bill Penhale

While Apple is finally putting out an M2 Mac Pro even as its powerful Mac Studio machines conquer most hardcore computing tasks, the truth is most users can more than get by with an M1 or M2 Mac mini. That goes for Bill Penhale, who sent us his setup from Shorewood, Illinois, near Chicago.

“I am pretty techy for 70, ha!,” the retired sales director told Cult of Mac. And judging by his M1 Mac mini-powered setup, with a fine 4K external display, solid audio and loads of external storage, that’s certainly true.

Last chance: Get 30% off all SwitchEasy iPad cases

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SwitchEasy's origami case for iPad provides multiple positions.
SwitchEasy's origami case for iPad provides multiple positions.
Photo: SwitchEasy

Attention iPad owners: This is your last day to slash 30% off a fantastic variety of iPad cases in the Cult of Mac Store.

SwitchEasy’s sleek and protective cases cover any iPad you might own. See key highlights below and check out the SwitchEasy Flash Sale, which ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific on July 13.

Porsche’s new app integration drives CarPlay forward

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There goes the latest Porsche Cayenne with the new CarPlay app integration.
There goes the latest Porsche Cayenne with the new CarPlay app integration.
Photo: Porsche

Porsche just became the first carmaker to give drivers personalized control over vehicle functions from an app within CarPlay, accessible via new digital controls on the dashboard (and on iPhone).

With the My Porsche app showing up in CarPlay to control features like audio, climate and lighting in the latest Cayenne SUV, the integration may give a sense of what CarPlay could be like soon in other cars.

Can using a huge smart TV as a display harm you? [Setups]

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That 55-inch OLED smart TV may be far enough away because the desk is 40 inches deep and the user said he tends to lean back a bit.
That 55-inch OLED smart TV may be far enough away because the desk is 40 inches deep and the user said he tends to lean back a bit.
Photo: [email protected]

Increasingly, gamers and other users replace traditional computer monitors with large smart TVs or ultra-wide monitors that eclipse screens like Apple’s 27-inch Studio Display and 32-inch Pro Display XDR in size. Today’s featured M2 Max Studio Display setup sports a 55-inch Samsung 8K OLED smart TV, for example.

Everybody loves plenty of screen real estate, but ergonomically speaking, is it healthy? Today’s setup represents the debate, offering pros and cons.

More Momax Prime Day deals: Save on GaN travel adapter, magnetic charger with stand and more

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Momax's universal travel adapter is small enough to fit in almost any bag.
Momax's universal travel adapter is small enough to fit in almost any bag.
Photo: Momax

Momax jumped on the Amazon Prime Day bandwagon this year in a big way. The company’s offering a bunch of great deals on a slew of specialty accessories for all your Apple gear. Sale items include a compact GaN travel adapter you can use in 150 countries, a magnetic portable charger with a stand and a bunch of other great products.

See some highlights below and get ready to save even more with coupon code CULTOFMAC10.

Get a glimpse of scary ‘adult fairytale’ The Changeling coming to Apple TV+

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Anyone up for a horrifying
Anyone up for a horrifying "adult fairytale" about parenthood in New York City?
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ dropped a “first look” at a new drama/horror series and “parenthood fable” The Changeling, coming to the streaming service September 8. See the photographs below.

The eight-episode show stars LaKeith Stanfield (Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You) and comes from the critically acclaimed and bestselling book of the same name by Victor LaValle.

Prime Day slashes prices on Momax’s potent power bank, MacBook stand and more

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The 10,000mAh power bank has plenty of juice for charging devices on the go.
The 10,000mAh wireless power bank packs plenty of juice for charging devices on the go.
Photo: Momax

Amazon Prime Days are here, and this year Momax is offering splendid deals on a variety of technology products for Apple fans, including a powerful wireless charger/power bank, a useful vertical laptop stand and a slew of other cool items.

Plus, you can expect even more Prime Day deals from Momax tomorrow.

Prime Day deal: Lowest-ever price on awesome noise-canceling earbuds

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EarFun Air Pro 3 noise-cancelling earbuds for around $50 is a great deal.
EarFun Air Pro 3 noise-cancelling earbuds for around $50 is a great deal.
Photo: Earfun

With Prime Day upon us, Earfun is offering one of its best deals ever on high-quality noise-canceling earbuds, Earfun Air Pro 3.

“This exclusive Prime Day deal represents the lowest prices in our brand’s history, and we are confident that they will be extremely enticing for consumers,” the company told Cult of Mac.

For Amazon Prime Day, July 11 and 12, you can get an astonishingly low price on earbuds of this quality — under $50.

This is how you make your computer setup a thing of beauty [Setups]

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It took months to put together this well-put-together setup.
It took months to put together this well-put-together setup.
Photo: [email protected]

There’s nothing like stained wood to make a computer setup look like a class act. Today’s featured M1 Max MacBook Pro and custom PC workstation places those powerful machines on shelves off to the side that more-or-less match the desk.

Relocating the computers makes more room on the beautiful wooden desktop, which ups the quality even further with a handsome wooden desk shelf for the external display and other items.

After the Whistle podcast with Ted Lasso’s Coach Beard is back

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Tune in July 19 for a preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup and follow each episode covering the tournament's matches.
Tune in July 19 for a preview of the 2023 Women's World Cup and follow each episode covering the tournament's matches.
Photo: Apple News

Apple News said Monday its popular soccer podcast After the Whistle with Brendan Hunt and Rebecca Lowe will return for a second season July 19.

While the first season saw Hunt — Coach Beard on the smash hit Apple TV+ soccer comedy Ted Lasso — and veteran sports broadcaster Lowe applying their super fandom to the Men’s World Cup tournament, the second season focuses on the 2023 Women’s World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Bluetti Prime Day Sale: Save up to $1,199 on solar generators, power stations and expansion batteries

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Bluetti's Prime Day Sale offers huge savings and doesn't require an Amazon Prime membership.
Bluetti's Prime Day Sale offers huge savings and doesn't require an Amazon Prime membership.
Photo: Bluetti

If you’ve been thinking about getting a reliable backup power source for your home that you can also use to power outdoor adventures, don’t miss this opportunity — Bluetti’s Prime Day Sale.

SPONSORED
This post is brought to you by Bluetti.
A pioneer in renewable energy storage, Bluetti powers up its Prime Day Sale on July 11 and 12. You can get huge discounts of up to $960. And you don’t need an Amazon Prime membership.

Jony Ive returns to hardware design with $60,000 record player

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Jony Ive's design firm LoveFrom worked on the new Linn Sondek LP12-50 turntable.
Jony Ive's design firm LoveFrom worked on the new Linn Sondek LP12-50 turntable.
Photo: Linn Products Limited

If Apple made a turntable, would it cost $60,000? Almost certainly not, but that’s the lofty price tag on the new 50th anniversary Linn Sondek LP12-50, sketched out by former Apple chief designer Jony Ive and his firm LoveFrom.

It’s his first hardware design project since leaving Apple in 2019. And he did it for free.

How would you fix this MacBook Air workstation? [Setups]

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How would you improve this setup? See others' advice below.
How would you improve this setup? See others' advice below.
Photo: [email protected]

On social media we see plenty of people flaunting pristine computer setups, and even completely staged ones. But plenty of them are “lived in,” and some aren’t necessarily complete. People sometimes call out for help: “How do I make this better?”

Today’s featured M1 MacBook Air setup is example of the latter. The user asked for advice and got it. But he didn’t agree with some of it. See below.

Jony Ive’s discontinued Apple design book now goes for big bucks

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You're probably going to wish you bought the thing when it was merely expensive.
You're probably going to wish you bought the thing when it was merely expensive.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

When former Apple design honcho Jony Ive released his super-premium Apple design book in 2016, a lot of folks thought it was an overpriced ego trip. After all, Designed by Apple in California went for $299 for the large size and $199 for the small size.

And now? Well, now you’d be lucky to get the fancy coffee-table books for dollar amounts in the high hundreds and low thousands.

Judge blocks government from pushing social media censorship

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Social Media
A federal judge blocked federal government contact with social media sites.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

A federal judge in Louisiana issued a broad injunction Tuesday limiting federal government contact with social media sites over what the Biden administration may see as disinformation spreading out of control.

The ruling is one of many upcoming that frame a fight over the constitutionality of curbing social media’s influence in light of the First Amendment’s right to freedom of expression.

Apple Watch may detect Parkinson’s disease long before symptoms appear

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Amazingly, Apple Watch may become even more vital to tracking your health in the near future.
Amazingly, Apple Watch may become even more vital to tracking your health in the near future.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

A smartwatch like your trusty Apple Watch might be able to screen you for Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before symptoms would show up if you have it, according to a fascinating new study.

Parkinson’s damages the brain slowly, so early detection via smartwatch could offer treatment advantages as new therapies develop.

Killers of the Flower Moon trailer follows the money and the bloodshed

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro star in Martin Scorsese's
Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro star in Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," debuting in October.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ dropped the official trailer Wednesday for its upcoming historical drama Killers of the Flower Moon. The sprawling period piece is filled with the rage and bloodshed of one of America’s most-enduring murder mysteries.

Based on a nonfiction account of a deadly conspiracy by white men to capture oil wealth held by the Osage Indian nation members in early-1900s Oklahoma, the Marin Scorsese film counts Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert De Niro among its sprawling cast.