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 comfy, secure silicone magnetic Apple Watch band fits most occasions with its sleek look. Photo: SwitchEasy
SwitchEasy makes an array of cool bands for Apple Watch in different styles and with various materials, from stretchy nylon to stainless steel mesh. In the SwitchEasy Flash Sale, the Cult of Mac Store has four excellent choices on sale for 20% off the regular prices through July 3.
A dual monitor mount is used for the external display and the MacBook Pro. Photo: [email protected]
Monitor mounts and the like may not be terribly glamorous or exciting, but they can do an awful lot for a computer setup.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro workstation uses them to make the laptop and two other crucial pieces of hardware easy to move around. And they keep the hardware off the desk, creating space for other items.
Increasingly, U.S. households need to prepare for wildfires, which can not only burn homes but cause widespread power outages. Photo: Bluetti
Canada’s 2,000 wildfires made news all over the United States when the resulting smoke drifted south in June. The fires burned more than 14 million acres, serving as a wake-up call for heightened attention to wildfire preparedness — especially because the United States is no stranger to its own conflagrations, with more than 72,000 communities at risk.
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Are you prepared for the possibility of a wildfire? In this post, we’ll go over the best ways to prep for when a wildfire threatens your household and damages your surroundings, and what to do afterward. One key part of your prep: a good portable power station from Bluetti.
Casetify's Bounce Vision lineup of accessories for Vision Pro will feature a range of colors and textures. Photo: Casetify
We know not to expect Vision Pro to go on sale until early next year, yet accessories for the AR/VR headset unveiled at WWDC23 are starting to show up already.
Phone case maker Casetify previewed a lineup called Bounce Vision Friday.
A powerful new MacBook Pro and two Studio Displays make the most of this attractive setup. Photo: [email protected]
A top question folks have when they put together a computers setup is, “how simply can I connect everything?” How little hardware and how few cables can I get away with?
Today’s featured M2 Max MacBook Pro setup makes things easy by driving two beautiful Studio Displays with one cable via one of the best docks on the market. And don’t miss the great-yet-affordable speakers and cool podcasting gear, either.
★★★★☆
Slap the Anker 620 MagGo Phone Grip on any metal surface and it becomes a mount for your MagSafe iPhone. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Anker’s recently released 620 MagGo Phone Grip is one of those simple products that just does what it says it does. It’s not any sort of big, fancy deal. It’s just good. And what it does so well is help you mount, carry or prop up your MagSafe iPhone in lots of convenient places.
The small grip, which looks sort of like an oversized pretend wristwatch, is a good get for $20, too. The company sent me one to try out.
Ready for more alien attacks? Apple TV+ sci-fi series "Invasion" returns with season 2 on August 23. Photo: Apple
Providing a first-look image (above), Apple TV+ said Friday its expansive sci-fi series Invasion will return for season 2 before the end of the summer.
Aliens resume battling humans on August 23. Are you ready?
The Targus UV-C LED Disinfection Light sanitizes your desktop. Photo: Targus
Laptop case maker Targus rolled out its UV-C LED Disinfection Light for sale Friday. The CES Innovation Awards Honoree is a no-touch way to reduce pathogens on desktop devices.
Its UV-C Light technology breaks down DNA of microorganisms crawling all over your keyboard and other gadgets.
The phone bot talks to telemarketers so humans don't have to. Photo: Mart [email protected]
People don’t answer the phone as much they used to, especially because they can usually see who’s calling. But if you have a history of hating telemarketers’ tenacious harassment, now you can get some payback.
A new report points out you can hire a phone bot that uses artificial intelligence and voice cloning to keep those unwanted callers tied up until they give up and hang up.
Creatives can work their magic right on Clarity Pro Touch's interactive touchscreen. Photo: Alogic
Alogic’s new Clarity Pro and Clarity Pro Touch 4K UHD Display Monitors build on the success of the company’s Clarity 4K UHD Display Monitor. Both 27-inch monitors feature an 8MP auto-retractable webcam, an eight-port USB-C hub and built-in speakers. And the Clarity Pro Touch adds a touchscreen, bringing a whole new dimension of usability.
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“We have added best features to Clarity Pro and Pro Touch, making them the ultimate tools for graphic designers, animators, photographers, videographers, scientists, research professionals and more, offering them spectacular displays that help their work shine, contributing to their overall productivity,” said Ritesh Kumar, Alogic’s co-founder and sales director.
Beats Studio Pro may look a lot like Beats Studio3, but come packed with much-needed upgrades. Photo: Beats
Apple will release the new Beats Studio Pro over-ear headphones July 19, according to the same anonymous source who correctly predicted the recent release of Beats Studio Buds+.
The new cans are expected to have high-end features a la AirPods Max, like Beats’ latest active noise cancellation (ANC), and to come in four colors.
Razer Moray wired in-ear monitors are designed for marathon gaming and streaming sessions. Photo: Razer
Razer, known for gaming gear, sounded off Tuesday with its first in-ear monitors (IEM) — Razer Moray.
Designed for gamers and streamers, the new wired earbuds emphasize THX-certified audio, natural noise isolation and lightweight comfort for long gaming and streaming sessions, the company said.
That M1 Max Mac Studio is about to get replaced for not quite handling renders. Photo: [email protected]
It seemed only yesterday M1 Max Mac Studio showed up as the new powerhouse in town, ready to take on all tasks. But in today’s featured setup, it’s on the chopping block for failing to handle heavy-duty rendering work for animated films well enough. The designer running the setup eagerly awaits an M2 Ultra Mac Studio.
Meanwhile, he uses Universal Control to pair his powerful desktop with an M1 iMac for basic tasks and relies on massive amounts of external storage for his humongous files.
It may be described as "4D," but don't expect stuff to actually burst out of your screen. Photo: Nanoleaf
Nanoleaf says its new 4D Screen Mirror Camera and Lightstrip Kit will “take your entertainment experience beyond the screen.” And now you can finally preorder the hardware, which the company unveiled at CES in January.
Once it ships, you get a big light strip to set up behind your TV. The camera lights it up with colors reflecting what’s on the screen. And you can mix in other Nanoleaf smart lights, too.
You can use the BentoStack to neatly store you Apple accessories (and charge them). Photo: Function101
Do you ever feel like you could be neater and less disorganized? Some of us always feel like that. But plenty of tools exist to help you get organized, like the Function101 accessories listed for 20% this week in the Cult of Mac Store.
You can find 10 helpful items in the Function101 collection, from desktop organizers to cable-management must-haves. See some highlights of the sale below. The sale runs through July 5.
Insta360's new Go 3 action camera shoots by itself, but also fits into its Action Pod for charging and use with a flip LED screen. Photo: Insta360
People love shooting video with their iPhones, but action cameras are gaining in popularity as they get smaller and even easier to stick on a ski helmet or bicycle handlebars.
Case in point: Insta360 just released its Go 3 action camera, which is about the size of your thumb when detached from its remote charging pod with flip LED screen.
★★★★☆
Here's the Ezmo, laden with cash and cards, serving as an iPhone stand. You can widen the stand's angle and mount the iPhone in landscape orientation, too. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Whether you carry a wallet bursting at the seams or you’re a two-cards-and-cash-in-a-clip person, Journey has a new product you might want to give a go. It’s the Ezmo Magnetic Wallet and Phone Stand.
It’s a high-quality leather product that fixes to your iPhone. But whether you want it to be your daily carrier for cash and cards depends on how little you feel you can get by carrying around with you. The company sent me one to try out.
2023 Mac Pro with Apple M2 Ultra Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple’s latest Macs are powerful and versatile. So much so that some people wonder if anybody will want the top-of-the-line Mac Pro desktop, even with its new M2 Ultra chip.
A new report found an audience for the top desktop lacking, given the capabilities of Mac Studio and MacBook Pro. But others suggest Mac Pro is here to stay.
Caller ID service and spam blocker Truecaller now offers call recording on Android and iOS. Photo: Truecaller
The Truecaller app is already well known as a caller-ID service and spam blocker. And now it lets you record incoming and outgoing calls on your iPhone in the United States.
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That’s incredibly helpful — not to mention quite legal (see below). And it means you can capture all the details of a call, even if you’re a sloppy notetaker or you don’t have a pen handy. With Truecaller’s new Call Recording feature, you won’t miss a thing.
They're small enough to fit on your desk, but they promise big sound as well as clarity. Photo: Fiio
Back when Fiio released its jack-of-all-trades R7 desktop hi-res audio player and amplifier in March 2023, it promised its new SP3 powered desktop speakers would follow, its first active speakers. And so they have, released earlier this month.
They could be the perfect companion for the R7 and a variety of desktop audio needs. They carry Hi-Res Audio certification and feature decent connectivity options via cable.
Al Gore was using Cinema Displays, but you get the idea. See Gore in the photo below. Photo: [email protected]
What do you get when you combine a high-end Mac Studio with three Studio Displays? You get a killer workstation. And in the case of today’s featured computer setup, you get a comparison to Al Gore, noted climate evangelist, former U.S. vice president and senator, and total Apple guy in more ways than one.
The user playfully implied he based his setup on Gore’s triple-Cinema Display workstation of yesteryear.
Klipsch's new R-40PM and R-50PM (pictured) have connectivity built in for turntables and almost any other sound source. Photo: Klipsch
Klipsch unveiled two new powered Bluetooth bookshelf speakers in its Reference series recently. The R-40PM and R-50PM speakers replace older “41” and “51” models, upgrading design, pumping up bass response and broadening connectivity with a phone preamp so you can easily connect a turntable, in addition to most other sound sources via USB and other line-in connections.
What you don’t need with these speakers is an amplifier, because they’re powered already.
Adding a second 27-inch monitor in portrait mode enhanced the setup. And look at that classic PowerBook G4 poster! Photo: [email protected]
Adding a second or third external display in portrait mode can really enhance a computer setup and its workflow. The owner of today’s featured MacBook Pro setup lucked into a second monitor and set it up vertically. Many people find the orientation suits certain tasks, like coding or reading email.
And who doesn’t love a classic Apple poster? Don’t miss the nice framed PowerBook G4 poster on the wall above the desk in the photograph above.
The Beanie Bubble, starring Zach Galifianakis, premieres July 28 on Apple TV+. Photo: Apple TV+
The first trailer for upcoming Apple TV+ movie The Beanie Bubble has a lot of fun with the Beanie Babies fad of the 1990s.
“Witness the crazy … behind the craze,” shout title screens in all caps between scenes. And Zach Galifianakis and Elizabeth Banks, as the partners behind the bean-filled-stuffed-animal business, do a good job of showing it.
Charge up to three devices at once from the new power bank's big 25,000mAh battery. Photo: Ugreen
Ugreen introduced its latest on-the-go charger for MacBooks and other gear Thursday. The new Ugreen 145W Power Bank offers fast charging and a rather large 25,000mAh battery capacity.
The company said, “the intelligent power bank can charge three devices simultaneously and even charge a 13-inch MacBook Air in just 90 minutes.” If you’re looking for the best GaN charger, check out this great option that provides high-speed charging in a compact design.