David Snow - page 82

When a young Parisian woman flies to Tokyo after learning of her estranged father’s death there, she finds something unexpected. He has left her the world’s greatest wine collection. It’s worth $148 million. But she can only have it if she defeats a brilliant young wine expert in a series of wine-tasting tests.

That’s the premise neatly poured in the trailer Apple TV+ released Tuesday for Drops of God. The live-action drama series, adapted from a popular Japanese manga (comics), premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.

Kids inspired by famous primatologist Jane Goodall go on epic quests to help protect wild animals in the upcoming Apple TV+ show Jane.

The first Jane trailer, which Apple released Monday, offers a glimpse of the new “live action/CGI blended” series. In it, 9-year-old character Jane Garcia says, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Jane Goodall said that.”

“I know,” her mother replies, drily, at her bedside. “You recite it every morning.”

Last week we asked if you were lucky enough to have about $65,000 to spend on an iPhone that can’t connect to anything. Now we know you didn’t need that much money after all.

The original, sealed iPhone (1st generation) that went up for auction Thursday sported a rare “Lucky you” sticker on the box. But that wasn’t enough to vault the handset into the record books ($63,356). Bidding started at $32,000.

Update: And … bidding ended at $40,320, the low end of the projected range of $40,000 – $60,000. Too many old iPhones up for auction lately? Maybe.

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And if “it” refers to cool old Apple gear, you should reconsider replacing it, too — especially if it’s still going strong. Today’s featured setup boasts a “trash can” Mac Pro from 2013. It drives not one, not two but three Cinema Displays of yesteryear.

And that’s not all for the workstation’s retro wares. It also features Apple’s old iSight webcam, a Mighty Mouse and a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive for Time Machine backups. And how often do you see a solar-powered keyboard? It has one of those, too.

The Steve Jobs Archive’s first major release — a digital book titled Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words — will arrive April 11.

Despite the announcement coming in an email from the archive on April Fools’ Day, the news appears to be genuine. And that includes the part about the e-book, which is filled with Jobs’ emails, conversations, photos and more, being free online for all.

PlayStudios launched a Rewards Store Friday for the classic puzzle game Tetris. The program will let millions of mobile players earn rewards, including a free one-month subscription to Apple TV+.

Of course, this comes “just in time for the premiere of Apple Original Film Tetris, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.”

Because of course it does.

Apple said Friday it supports Exceptional Minds, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit academy preparing autistic artists to become animators, VFX artists and motion graphics designers in the film industry.

The tech giant’s Friday feature story focused on a number of interesting creatives learning at the academy with the help of iPads, Pencil and other Apple wares.

Attractive or fun decor can really give a computer setup an edge. Real plants. Vintage Apple gear. Epic Lego sets. Today’s featured MacBook Pro setup sports a detailed replica stormtrooper helmet from Star Wars.

It overlooks a Darth Vader-worthy 49-inch Samsung curved gaming display and an Elgato Stream Deck, which is associated with video streaming tasks but can also do a lot for productivity in general through shortcuts.

Sony Electronics unveiled its new full-frame 12MP ZV-E1 camera Wednesday. It takes its place at or near the top of the company’s growing ZV lineup of cameras for vloggers and other content creators.

At $2,200 it’s not cheap — a big step up from the company’s roughly $750 cameras for content creators — for but it could a key to making amateur content look professional.

As usual, when Apple invites developers to attend WWDC — June 5 to 9 this year — it also welcomes submissions for the annual Swift Student Challenge. Competitors create innovative coding projects with the help of Apple’s Swift Playgrounds app.

And some winners get to attend a special event at Apple Park on June 5, Apple said. That’s the first day of WWDC23.

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.