I moved to a new home over the weekend, and in it I’ve already built a new workstation. What better time to revamp things? Actually, it’s more like another stage in my computer setup’s herky-jerky evolution.
I went from just a PC laptop a few years ago to various iterations of a MacBook Pro workstation to my new rig, featuring dual monitors, a standing desk and a proper office chair for the first time in ages.
Wish you didn’t have to open the Apple Music app to see what song will play next? The new iOS app LivePod turns your Apple Music Up Next queue into a Live Activity on your Lock Screen. And with newer iPhones, it shows up in the Dynamic Island.
You can use it for free on a limited basis.
With Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Behind Us — with no sign of a discounted Mac mini that we noticed — here’s your chance to bag deals on M2 Mac mini from B&H.
They include the entry-level model of the small-but-mighty desktop machine for a hundred bucks off, at just $499. And some models are marked down $150.
Gone are the days when you needed a separate charger for pretty much every device. These days, with gallium nitride, aka GaN, technology allowing for small-but-powerful chargers, you can handle most of your charging needs with just one device.
Some computer setups look “clean” and “minimal” because they’re, well, empty. Under-equipped. Not all there. But today’s featured M2 MacBook Air setup with Studio Display actually brings enough gear, it just does so in a beautifully clean way that has the rest of us slobs drooling with envy.
Hell, our setup is practically a waste dump half the time, compared to this thing.
It’s 2003, and the United States leads the way on Mars in its Happy Valley Base, having turned its international space-race competitors into allies. But when an asteroid presents an almost-unimaginably rich mining opportunity, it’s back to pitched competition, as seen in the For All Mankind season four trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday.
The alternative-history sci-fi series started with an interesting premise — what if the United States lost the moon race in 1969 to the Soviets? — and has run with it into a fourth season, which debuts November 10 on Apple TV+.
Citing a workforce that has become more mobile than ever before, Journey unveiled its new journey laptop sleeve that also works as a wireless charger, mouse pad, and desk mat for a mobile setup, the company said Thursday.
“The Nexa is a laptop accessory that actually does the job of four accessories – a sleeve, charger, mousepad, and desk mat,” Journey said. ““Laptop users with a NEXA in hand can enjoy better mobility when they come and go between different workspaces each day.”
Nanoleaf added a handy new portable smart lamp with brand partner Umbra and two new smart bulbs to its Essentials line, the company said Thursday.
All of the products will work through the Matter smart-home standard with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms.
Although the well-reviewed Beats Studio Pro wireless active noise canceling (ANC) headphones just launched in July, you can now get them for half off on Amazon (49% off, to be exact). And that’s not a Prime member special, either.
So for an unknown amount of time, you can nab them for $179.95 instead of $350.
Logitech unveiled its new Wave Keys ergonomic keyboards for personal and business uses Wednesday. They offer “instantly familiar typing, providing comfort at the desk in the home and office,” the company said.
“We believe that everybody deserves to feel good at the end of a day of work, so we set about designing workspace essentials that are as attractive and approachable as they are ergonomic,” said Art O’Gnimh, general manager, Logitech Core Personal Workspace. “Wave Keys has workspace wellbeing at its heart, thanks to its science-driven design with a stamp of approval from leading ergonomists.”
Apple posted a 90-minute “Study With Me” YouTube video Wednesday showing actress Storm Reid, a college student, leading a study session with her 15-inch MacBook Air.
And while the video promotes the laptop, it really is a study session using the Pomodoro method, with study periods, breaks and music. So crack that laptop and get to work with her.
As part of Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, Function101 offers a couple of ways to save on Apple accessories, like the accessory-maker’s nifty Cable Blocks, Apple TV remote control and Desk Mat Pro.
But act fast, because the offers end Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.
Cult of Mac reader Nick Howard sent us his clever M1 Mac mini computer setup. It’s clever because it pulls a disappearing act, with very little effort on Howard’s part, whenever it’s not in use. Almost like magic.
“I love this setup as it’s completely unobstrusive when not being used and, in use, it offers the perfect combination of screen size and display of information for me, [while] remaining minimalist,” he said.
The new Mophie 3-in-1 Extendable Stand with MagSafe features a tilting charging pad that telescopes upward from its base to help you position your iPhone for the best FaceTime calls.
And with charging spots for Apple Watch and AirPods, you can power up three devices at the same time.
Flighty became popular as a flight-tracking app for iPhone, with its snappy alerts and intuitive interface. Now, with watchOS 10, it lands on Apple Watch with critical data and intelligent updates tracking your trip from your wrist.
Today’s MacBook Pro setup presents a strange picture not just because of the image repeated on the four screens. It’s just weird seeing dual “flying” MacBooks and an iPad as part of a quad-display setup.
After writing about hundreds of computer setups spotted in the wild, we can’t remember one that featured a pair of MacBooks open on stands like that. And the user questions the choice, too, seeking to possibly save a ton of desk space.
Amazon bargain site Woot! offers great deals in its MacBooks sale on both new and refurbished MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models.
As usual, Woot! has a little fun in the description at the top: “Somewhere there’s still an Apple IIe running ‘Leisure Suit Larry,'” it wrote.
The sale ends October 15 at 10 p.m. PT.
★★★★☆
Summer outdoor activities are no more, but if you’ve got a fall hike or hay ride coming up, bring Soundcore’s compact new Motion 300 portable speaker. It’s one of the best of its kind.
It’s small, it’s tough, it looks good, it sounds great and it goes on sale today for $80. Soundcore got it right with the Motion 300, a 30-watt speaker with Wireless Hi-Res Certification and 13 hours of playtime.
Ridley Scott’s epic film Napoleon may come in a shorter theatrical release at 2 hours and 38 minutes as well as a director’s cut of 4 hours and 10 minutes (as of its last editing), the legendary director said. He suggested the long one will air on Apple TV+ after the short one’s theatrical release.
iFixit brought in a new toy for its iPhone 15 teardown video Friday — an Olympus DSX1000 digital microscope. That enabled magnification of up to 7,000x on the tiny bits inside Apple’s newest base handset.
Watch the video below and see some shots from it above and below.
Apple CEO Tim Cook place fourth on a list ranking CEOs by popularity according to employees. Blind Workplace Insights released it this week.
Tech, e-commerce and finance leaders dominated the high end of the Blind professional social network’s list. But tech firms were no stranger to the low end, either.
New Nanoleaf Essentials Matter Smart Holiday String Lights — with support for the new Matter standard and all smart-home plaforms, including HomeKit — are coming in time for winter holidays, the company said Thursday.
Or maybe even in time for Halloween, for that matter. At any rate, it’s almost time to get festive.
From time to time we see setups with both a Magic Trackpad and a mouse because of their different peculiarities — mainly because many people find trackpads especially good for gesturing. But why would you use two Magic Trackpads?
Well, today’s MacBook Pro setup with dual Studio Displays and dual Magic Trackpads provides a use case.
Apple TV+ provided a first look Thursday at upcoming World War II drama series Masters of the Air, from the team behind the acclaimed wartime series Band of Brothers and The Pacific. That would be Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman.
So the gritty and realistic WWII action continues, and that’s OK by me. The new nine-episode series follows the harrowing missions of an 8th U.S. Army Air Force bomber group as it helped defeat Nazi Germany.
Apple’s Community Education Initiative (CEI) brings “coding, creativity and career opportunities to learners of all ages, and to communities that are traditionally underrepresented in technology,” the tech giant said in a new feature story about its outreach success in Houston.
The article focuses on programs including TechConnect, which gives iPads to kids in various training projects. It joined the initiative in 2022.