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.
Miops Spark is a handheld device that gives your iPhone DSLR-like controls. Photo: Miops
Camera products maker Miops unveiled a Kickstarter campaign Tuesday for Spark, a new camera companion designed to help iPhone users capture photos and video like professionals.
The handheld attachment provides DSLR-camera-like buttons that help you control your iPhone’s cameras.
If you love cats, not to mention sea monsters, light it up with Razer Kraken Kitty V2 and V2 Bluetooth headsets. Or you could just buy the ears. Photo: Razer
Gaming brand Razer birthed a new litter of Kraken Kitty headsets Tuesday in recognition of International Cat Day, “so gamers, streamers, and cosplayers alike can celebrate in style.”
It said its original Kraken Kitty headset is one its most popular models.
“When we first released the Kraken Kitty, it really scratched an itch in the market, as there was nothing like it before.” said Alvin Cheung, senior vice president, Hardware Business Unit.
The idea that Apple could buy Disney keeps coming up. Photo: The Walt Disney Company
As legacy studios like Disney face formidable problems, a new report suggests CEO Bob Iger might revisit a “once-unthinkable option” — that Apple might buy the company, or at least a stripped-down version of it.
After all, in a near-future of even greater tech-company dominance over entertainment, Disney may need deep-pocketed protection. And its longstanding connection with Apple could come into play.
Mac users love Logitech mice like the MX Master 3S for Mac. Photo: Logitech
With summer on the wane and the new school year looming, peripherals giant Logitech — a mainstay in our computer setups coverage, especially for the MX Master 3S mouse and MX series keyboards — is running a site-wide sale through August 16.
Logitech’s back-to-school sale is “filled with cutting-edge technology and exclusive deals to help you embark on your academic journey with confidence and success,” the company said.
Obviously, you don’t need to be a student to get the deals. Anybody can do it. See below.
Today’s featured Mac Studio setup found an interesting way to arrange its four displays — three little ones in a row and one huge one broadcasting the Bat-Signal on top.
With Batman undoubtedly on his way (OK, maybe it’s just the logo, not the actual signal), the workstation also boasts a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Apple’s Smart Folio and a remarkably affordable mechanical keyboard for use with the desktop machine.
★★★☆☆
It's a funny-looking critter, but it's useful. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
In a world of ever-more-compact-and-potent chargers, Mobfree launched a surprising and innovative entrant Wednesday on Kickstarter. It’s XuperCable, a three-in-one gadget with three retractable connectors to fast-charge a variety of devices at up to a 100 watts
It’s a funny-looking critter with its tentacles (cables), but it’s quite useful. It sticks to surfaces, it rotates and its three cables unspool and retract — what could possibly go wrong? Not much, as it turns out. The company sent me a XuperCable to try out.
These 2021 iPads are "new" in that they're not used. Photo: Apple
Amazon deals site Woot! is at it again, offering great prices on Apple gear. This time the steals are big discounts on 2021 iPad Pro — 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes, with or without cellular coverage along with Wi-Fi.
They may not be new-new, but they’re not used and they could be new to you. The sale goes through August 14 at 10 p.m. PT.
You weren't going to sleep well ever again, anyway. Photo: Apple
The new Apple TV+ trailer for the upcoming drama series The Changeling starts off lightly enough — LaKeith Stanfield’s character, Apollo, can’t get a date with Clark Backo’s Emma in New York City because she’s moving to Brazil.
But once she’s there, dark magic soon reveals this Big Apple-based “drama” to be an absolute supernatural horror show. It premieres Friday, September 8.
★★★★☆
This slim dock does a lot. You can run three external displays with your MacBook and hook up several other peripherals. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
Advanced computer docking stations keep getting better. The new Alogic Quad Display DV4 Universal Docking Station is a fine example, easily connecting up to four screens and several other peripherals to a computer.
That’s important for anyone relying on a laptop with limited ports — like many MacBook Pro and MacBook Air users over the years — who can appreciate a good docking station that broadens limited connectivity options.
A big Samsung smart TV dominates this Mac Studio rig. Photo: [email protected]
We look at a lot of computer setups on social media, but sometimes what drives conversation among commenters surprises us. With today’s Mac Studio rig with an odd couple of mismatched displays, the main debate concerned … keyboards for iPad.
Specifically, when an iPad is so wonderfully light, what keyboard case doesn’t weight it down too much?
Wade said his setup is usually a total mess, but he cleaned it up for once. Photo: Wade B. TechDaily
It’s only natural that a user would clean up his computer setup to show it off to the world, and that’s exactly what TechDaily’s Wade B. did with his MacBook Air and Studio Display setup before sending it to us with a video.
“It’s really the first time I’ve ever had a desk that wasn’t a total disaster area,” he told Cult of Mac.
Anker's portable power bank has a light and 60,000mAh battery capacity to charge your devices. Photo: Anker
You may not want to lug around a full-on generator for the occasional camping trip or brief power outage, but wouldn’t it be cool to have a powerful little one to provide light and keep your gadgets going?
That’s the Anker 548 Power Bank PowerCore Reserve Portable Charger. And you can get $50 off the regular price right now on Amazon.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 may come with both plain and black titanium cases. Photo: @ShrimpApplePro
You can expect a new color for Apple Watch Series 9 — pink — and a new black titanium case for the second-gen Apple Watch Ultra, according to a reliable leaker.
If Apple remains true to its usual scheduling, we should see both new items in September at an event unveiling the iPhone 15 lineup.
The 3-in-1 wireless charger juices up MagSafe iPhones, Apple Watch and AirPods. Photo: ESR
ESR unveiled two new MagSafe chargers Thursday. Its new 25-watt 3-in-1 Wireless Charger and 15-watt Car Charger follow last month’s launch of the 100W 6-in-1 Charging Station on Kickstarter.
All three feature “MagSafe + CryoBoost,” which we’ll get into below.
At your bedside or in a hotel, Belkin's new MagSafe charger does the trick. Photo: Belkin
Belkin unveiled its new BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with MagSafe Wednesday, offering a compact way to charge iPhone and AirPods on the road.
The deal is far from done, but Apple TV+ may pick up Pac-12 football games at some point. Photo: Pac-12
NCAA Pac-12 conference leaders saw an offer Tuesday from Apple TV+ for a streaming deal to replace the conference’s expiring TV contact for football games, a report noted.
After Apple’s deals to air Major League Soccer (MLS) and Major League Baseball (MLB) games, its potential entry into college football is intriguing — but it’s not a done deal yet.
An attacker could take full control of your Mac to steal your personal and financial information. Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
A security company recently asked OpenAI’s ChatGPT about Mac threats online and used the results to uncover some scary malware for sale from Russia on the dark web.
At a price of $60,000, it can give an attacker total control of someone’s Mac. A more damaging version is available for $80,000.
In any case, if the malware gets on your Mac, you won’t know it’s there, it’s very hard to get rid of, and it can steal a lot of your information. Luckily, you can probably avoid it.
The accent wall and solid-wood DIY standing desk steal the show from the M2 MacBook Pro and 49-inch curved display. Photo: [email protected]
When you remodel your home office, isn’t that a great excuse to revamp the ol’ computer setup? That’s what happened with today’s featured rig, which relies on a new MacBook Pro and a Samsung super-ultra-wide display.
But all commenters wanted to talk about was the accent wall and the solid-wood DIY standing desk. And the killer Klipsch audio got some love, too.
You remember Marcie, don't you? She's the smart, quiet one. Photo: Apple
“Sometimes, the people who make the biggest difference aren’t the ones who grab the spotlight,” Apple TV+ said Wednesday, when it dropped a trailer for a new Peanuts special focusing on the introverted character Marcie and all the behind-the-scenes work she does.
Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie premieres Friday, August 18.
The new Anker Prime chargers handle charging multiple devices with less clutter. Photo: Anker
Anker rolled out eight new chargers Tuesday, including a 240-watt USB-C charger and a 250-watt power bank for fast-charging multiple devices.
The company said its new high-speed, multi-port chargers take good advantage of gallium nitride, aka GaN, technology, referring to efficient power transfer, compact design and active heat reduction.
With this case, you might not need a new charger or cable for a long time. Photo: Elago
If you’re on the road a lot for work, you know your computer accessories — like chargers and cables — can take a beating. That’s why Elago now offers its MacBook Charger Cable Management Case.
Coming to Apple Arcade in August: Samba de Amigo: Party-to-Go plus three puzzle games. Photo: Apple
Apple said Tuesday it will add four new games and more than 30 updates and events to Apple Arcade in August.
New games include a revival of Sega’s classic rhythm game Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go, puzzle games Nekograms+ and Kingdoms: Merge & Build, and indie puzzle-remix game finity.
“Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go is coming soon to Apple Arcade with exciting new songs and a series first Story Mode only found on the service,” said Ian Curran, president and chief operating officer of Sega of America.
Just twist the top to switch from one hand to the other. Here it's in left-handed mode (thumb rest on the right side of base). Photo: Targus
Known for laptop cases and such, Targus unveiled its new ErgoFlip EcoSmart Mouse last week. You can switch it from right- to left-hand use (or vice versa) with a simple twist of the top.
“This is the first mouse that provides true ergonomics for right- or left-hand use, solving the age old problem of finding a mouse that truly everyone can use,” said Mike Sexton, Targus’ senior director of Global Product Management & Development.
“This, along with its gaming-level performance and precision, and sustainable benefits, including its long battery life, makes it the mouse that does it all,” he added.