David Snow - page 80

Big-time PDF applications like Adobe Acrobat are great, but for many folks, splurging on them seems like hauling a pricey, seven-course banquet to a picnic at the beach. Many people are better off spending less to get only what they need. (You wouldn’t want to get sand in the caviar.)

The new Røde Wireless ME Compact Wireless Microphone System, with clip-on transmitter and receiver, tries to make pro-level audio recording effortless — not to mention inexpensive.

With the new release, content creators who want to hit the ground running with quality audio have another option.

Bradley Rein, who allegedly crashed his SUV into an Apple Store in Massachusetts in November 2021, was indicted Tuesday. He faces second-degree murder, assault and other charges, a new report said.

The crash in Hingham, Massachusetts, killed one person and injured 22 others.

There’s much to be said for hiding stuff under your desk. And we don’t mean cramming it down there like you shove junk under your bed. We mean mounting it properly out of sight. It gets said stuff — computers, docks, cables — off the desktop for a cleaner look to your setup, not to mention a more-efficient workspace.

Today’s featured setup uses an inexpensive acrylic mount to stash an M1 Mac mini and connected cables under the desk. Below you can see images of the mount itself as well the “before” shot of the setup. The “after” shot appears above.

A new open letter signed by tech leaders urges a six-month pause on development of advanced artificial intelligence applications that may pose “profound risks to society and humanity.”

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, other tech execs and many AI academics signed the letter. It urges caution concerning “emergent” AI more powerful than GPT-4. We’re not talking Siri here (at least not yet).

Here’s your chance to build an empire of rail — and even beat notorious railroad barons of yesteryear at their own game. Take that, Cornelius Vanderbilt.

The classic strategy game Sid Meier’s Railroads! arrives April 5 on mobile devices including iPhone and iPad. And you can preorder now via the App Store thanks to Feral Interactive.

Ecovacs Robotics’ newest robot vacuum, the Deebot T10 Omni, includes its own artificially intelligent voice assistant named Yiko, which features natural language processing. Sorry, Siri.

The premium vacuuming-and-mopping bot joins the new Deebot N10+ and T9+ vacuums in the lineup. And it comes at a deep launch discount through March 30.

It’s almost magical how an MagSafe iPhone sticks so firmly and easily on magnetic stands and chargers. But your devices don’t actually need to be MagSafe-enabled to enjoy that kind of mount — not if you have the MagEasy FlipMount Magnetic Hoop Stand. It’s MagSafe-compatible, sure, but it also takes older, unmagnetized iPhones, iPads and practically anything else.

That’s because the handy, flexible stand comes with adhesive magnetic hoops — also sold separately — that can make almost any device MagSafe-compatible. Both the stand and hoops are available now in the Cult of Mac Store.

Amazon bargain site Woot! is pushing M1 Macs at low prices through April 3. You can get up to 46% off some machines, which include MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac from 2020 and 2021, plus a handful of Intel-powered Macs.

If you have an iPad, you should protect it with a case and put the device on a stand for perfect, hands-free use, whether you’re typing away on a keyboard, drawing with Pencil or just watching a video. And right now you get Elago’s Magnetic Folio case and the company’s magnetic stand for 15% off when you buy them both.

You can find Elago Magnetic Folio cases for all models plus the Magnetic Stand for iPads in the Cult of Mac Store.

We often see big upgrades to setups we’ve covered here in the past. But they’re not usually comprehensive, where everything from the daily-driver Mac to the input devices to the audio gear gets made over (and in some cases greatly expanded).

Let’s just say today’s featured MacBook Pro setup looked a lot different 2 years ago. It’s more evidence that a setup is never, ever “done.”

The beauty of a portable power bank becomes apparent when it gets you out of jams as your gadgets run out of power without an electrical outlet in sight. And if the bank can juice up a few devices at once, all the better. That’s what makes the Momax AirBox Go so great.

Momax recently sent me the three-in-one portable MagSafe charger to test. I took it on a weekend trip and found it performed well, keeping my iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods Pro going.

Ugreen’s latest multiport docking station — sporting nine ports for most workstation connectivity needs — is helpful in several ways, including if you want to extend an M1 MacBook’s external-display capacity from one to two.

The device also offers 100 watts fast charging plus fast file transfer via USB-A and USB-C ports.

BenQ recently added its 27-inch PD2706UA Design Monitor for home productivity to its lineup of screens that ship with the Ergo Arm. It follows the 27-inch PD2705UA and the 32-inch PD3205UA, both aimed more specifically at designers for their color accuracy.

All three displays offer customizable ergonomic design with plenty of options for movement on the Ergo Arm.

Apple TV+ served up a new trailer Thursday for Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker. It’s a two-part documentary exploring the life of the German tennis legend. He triumphed at Wimbledon at age 17 and won 49 career titles, including six Grand Slams plus an Olympic gold medal. And then he went off the rails, life-wise.

Following an ugly divorce involving infidelity, the troubled celebrity ended up in prison for concealing assets to avoid paying debts. But in the trailer, filled with other tennis stars, Becker says a new chapter in his life is coming. The documentary debuts April 7.

Today’s featured setup carries a strong vibe of minimalism — so much so it appeared to lack even a computer, at least at a glance at the photograph. But then we realized the laptop was stashed away in unusual (and questionable) fashion.

We recently featured a setup with the MacBook Pro and iPad hidden on a little shelf mounted under the desk. This time the laptop is stashed in a case sitting directly under the monitor stand’s base (not recommended).

We’ve all heard of tablets you can draw on — looking at you, iPad lineup — but how about a 24-inch drawing display?

Xencelabs Technologies unveiled its new Pen Display 24 Studio Series at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, which ends Friday.

If you’re serious about your art, it could be for you.

Nanoleaf opened up preorders for its newly Matter-enabled Essentials lineup of smart bulbs and light strips Wednesday.

Thanks to the Matter smart-home standard, they work with HomeKit and other smart-home platforms. But there is one catch regarding their use with HomeKit.

COVID-19 lockdowns in China didn’t just mess up iPhone production, they inspired the invention of a bizarre new machine with fake lips you can use with your smartphone to “kiss” someone far away.

Chinese startup Siweifushe launched the MUA — named after kissing sounds — a couple of weeks ago, selling more than 3,000 of them and receiving orders for 20,000 more, a new report said.

Bluetti noticed a gap in the portable power market. There are many solar power stations, but small ones offer questionable capacity. And the high-capacity power banks tend to be big and heavy.

Aqara unveiled its new Video Doorbell G4 in January. It’s the first battery-powered, easy-install doorbell to integrate HomeKit Secure Video. And now it’s available to buy.

This is good news for HomeKit users who don’t like to mess with wiring but would love to have a artificially intelligent video doorbell that triggers automations.

The Nothing company followed up its Ear (1) noise-canceling earbuds with the new Ear (2) version Wednesday, offering hip, hi-tech earbuds comparable to Apple’s AirPods Pro — but at a lower price of $149.

The new Nothing earbuds feature active noise cancellation, Hi-Res Audio certification, partially transparent casings for a cool look, and more personalization options than the originals.

People go nuts for solid wood on everything from guitars to flooring. But how about an all-solid-wood mechanical keyboard?

Japanese outfit Hacoa has one decked out in wood from the keycaps down through the housing, in either walnut or cherry. It’s called the Hacoa Full Ki-Board Wireless.

And it can be yours for the stout price of 99,000Yen ($745) plus shipping costs. That’s more than a base Mac mini.

When you start to worry the air in your home could make you sick, an air purifier can help. And they’re getting smarter (but hopefully not “rise of the machines” smart a la Terminator).

The nara Pro, which the company bills as “the versatile air purifier robot,” runs a two-stage system via artificial intelligence that works with Siri and HomeKit, as well as other smart-home systems.

And you can get a good deal on it on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform.

This just in from the Things That Look Like Other Things Department: a Mac Studio desktop computer sitting on top of a Mac mini “looks like a small robot from Wall-E or one of the [other] Pixar films.”

Today’s featured setup sports the unintentional character in the form of an old Mac mini acting as a server and a stand for the much-newer Mac Studio. It’s pretty cute. You can imagine it rolling around, beeping and maybe firing off a laser blast.