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.
New animated series Sago Mini Friends debuts September 16 on Apple TV+. Image: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ listed its fall slate of kids and family fare Monday. It includes new animated series Sago Mini Friends, Slumberkins and Interrupting Chicken, plus live-action series Circuit Breakers.
And in addition to those, kids and their families can enjoy returning favorites plus a new lineup of classic Peanuts specials.
Paralyzed in the crash, Ryan McConnaughey said he'd be dead if not for the Apple Watch. Photo: KGTV News San Diego
Mountain biker Ryan McConnaughey took his usual daily ride near San Diego only to find himself going over the handlebars in a steep section. He slammed into the ground, head-first, helmet on.
Sprawled on his back, he soon found he couldn’t move from the neck down. “I knew for sure that I needed to get medical attention as quickly as possible. My brain kind of kicked into survival mode,” he said.
With his iPhone in his backpack, he began talking to his Apple Watch.
Is your iPhone stuck in a boot loop? Dr.Fone can help. Photo: Wondershare
This iOS system repair post is presented by Wondershare, maker of Dr.Fone.
Apple devices like iPhones have great reputations for reliability, but nothing’s perfect. And if you find your iPhone stuck on the Apple logo while booting up — often called a “boot loop” — what to do about it can be a real head-scratcher.
Fortunately, there is software designed to help fix that and other problems. One such option is Dr.Fone from Wondershare.
Can you picture needing 9 Macs, including 3 top-shelf machines? Photo: [email protected]
Occasionally a computer setup displayed on social media makes you swoon. Usually it’s a combination of amazing gear, artful arrangement and exceptional photography, like something staged by a pro. But sometimes it’s just a sick amount of awesome Apple computers and displays.
Today’s featured setup, run by a consultant who “works for several companies,” relies on four high-spec Macs, five very-nice-but-not-exceptional Macs and three Apple Displays, including a Pro Display XDR — which goes for $5,000 or more by itself.
Does your wallet hurt yet? We just took ours to the ER.
The shooting threat halted filming in downtown Baltimore. Photo: Pexels/Abdullah Almutairi
Shooting on the set of Apple TV+ series Lady in the Lake paused Friday afternoon in downtown Baltimore to consider another type of shooting. According to reports, locals threatened that if production didn’t stop, they’d return with guns blazing. Unless producers paid them $50,000.
Taping on the limited crime drama series starring Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram shut down. But producers refused to pay. They opted to move locations instead.
Who says you need an external display in your computer setup? Some people get by just fine without some big, expensive monitor and whatever hub and cables it might require. Instead, they rely on their devices’ built-in screens.
And doing that, the owner of today’s featured setup takes advantage of Universal Control. That helps him work seamlessly across an M2 MacBook Air and an M1 iPad Air mounted on stands.
★★★★☆
The new Soundcore Space A40 earbuds have stellar ANC and epic battery life. And you'll probably like how they sound, too. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
The new Soundcore Space A40 True-Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds came out Thursday alongside their sibling Space Q45 over-ear headphones.
Upon release, both products made a lot of noise about strong active noise cancellation (ANC) and massive battery life. And like the headphones, which I already reviewed, the earbuds don’t disappoint.
While their marquee qualities are strong ANC and lengthy play time, the A40 buds also sound good and feature lots of opportunities for audio customization.
Meet Apple's second Impact Accelerator class of minority-owned businesses looking for growth in a greener economy. Photo: Apple
Apple introduced its second Impact Accelerator class Thursday. It’s made up of leaders from 16 minority-owned businesses that work in environmental services. They’ll be trained and mentored to help grow the businesses, which may end up partnering with Apple.
And at the same time, they’ll advance “a shared goal of creating a greener world,” Apple said.
And it comes with an Apple Watch, you say? What a bargain. Photo: Golden Concept
Tired of slumming it with just a regular ol’ expensive Apple Watch? Well, you could dress it up a bit if you fork over $15,000 for an Apple Watch case smothered in more than 400 diamonds.
I mean, you deserve a special treat now and again, don’t you? A company called Golden Concept thinks so.
You can get a huge array of colors or bright white light out of these strips. Photo: TP-Link
TP-Link just flipped the switch on a new lineup of smart LED light strips and light bulbs, some of which you can use with HomeKit or other home-automation systems.
The main selling point here is budget-friendliness. Prices range from $25 to $50, so you won’t break the bank lighting up your space.
★★★★☆
The new Soundcore Q45 headphones have strong noise cancellation and long battery life. Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac
With Thursday’s release of the new Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones and sibling Space A40 earbuds, Soundcore began replacing its Life series of sound products. The company sent me both products to test. This review covers the Q45 cans (my A40 review will appear tomorrow).
I’ve spent a couple weeks with the Q45 over-ear, closed-back headphones. Soundcore pushes two main selling points: strong noise cancellation and long battery life. And with the Q45 headphones, the company has hit it out of the park on both counts.
The SwitchBot Lock fits over your existing "dumb" lock. Photo: SwitchBot
Users who aren’t ready to to take the plunge into full home-automation system like HomeKit and related accessories have another option to make a dumb lock smarter.
SwitchBot recently launched a new version of SwitchBot Lock. The company said it’s the best way to make a door lock smart without refitting, so users can lock or unlock their door via devices like iPhone or Apple Watch.
Better yet, right now you can get 15% off on Amazon, or about $15 off the $100 price.
Finally, a new iPhone worth $1,150, if not more. Photo: Neal.Fun Design the Next iPhone
A new interactive website called Design the Next iPhone lets you have a laugh by making whatever monstrosity you want out of Apple’s market-leading handset, due for a major refresh with the iPhone 14 series on September 7.
And each time you make a new design, Apple CEO Tim Cook pops up with some encouraging marketing-speak.
That's a classy Apple Watch band from Laut. Photo: Laut
Everybody knows a leather Apple Watch band is a timeless and elegant accessory, just as it has been for watches in general for decades. But not all leather bands are equal.
Laut, for example, offers its Prestige Leather Apple Watch Band made from premium Saffiano leather. It finishes your look in style.
And you can get it right now in the Cult of Mac Store for just $49.99.
Plenty to see here, but the "tower for power" in the corner drew most of the attention. Photo: [email protected]
Some people care deeply about cable management, with nary a cord to be seen in their computer setups. Others couldn’t care less about it, leaving wire-spaghetti all over the place. And folks in the middle want to do it right, but meh, maybe next week, and maybe only somewhat.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Pro setup stakes out much of the ground described above. Cable management is in play, but it’s done in a way that drove some neatniks crazy while others applauded the controlled mayhem.
Steelseries said its new Arena 9 is the first 5.1 surround sound system that works via a single USB connection. Photo: Steelseries
Steelseries, known for gaming headsets, has jumped into the desktop speakers pool with a big splash. Its new Arena line of desktop speakers is the company’s first product of that type.
And it includes what the company calls the world’s first 5.1 surround sound speakers you can run with a single USB connection to a Mac, PC, gaming console or TV.
FixGo can solve all kinds of iPhone problems, including the dreaded boot loop. Photo: iToolab
This post on iPhone boot loops is brought to you by iToolab FixGo.
iPhones are justifiably well-known for reliability, but problems can come up. Sometimes malware’s the culprit. Other times a software update doesn’t end well and jams up your handset.
On those rare but incredibly frustrating occasions when your iPhone can’t get past the Apple logo and keeps rebooting — known as getting stuck in a “boot loop” — or freezes up for any reason, iToolab FixGo can help.
The Mac app can fix all kinds of operating-system problems with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Certain powerful and accomplished woman inspire Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. Photo: Apple TV+
In the first trailer for upcoming docuseries Gutsy, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton take part in animated discussions with strong and accomplished women who inspire them.
The list of participants in the series, which premieres September 9 on Apple TV+, is truly varied. It includes famous names from different walks of life, including Kim Kardashian, Gloria Steinem and Jane Goodall.
YT Saver makes it quick and easy to download videos from YouTube and other popular sites. Image: YT Saver
This post on how to download YouTube videos is brought to you by YT Saver.
When you love to download videos, audio and playlists from YouTube and other popular websites, it helps to have a solid video downloader that can handle browsing, downloading, converting and securing content all in one place.
YT Saver Video Downloader does the trick, whether you use Mac or Windows. We’ll focus on Mac and show you how the video downloader and converter works.
Casetify's new collection features action-packed imagery from the classic game Street Fighter. Photo: Casetify
Casetify, known for pop-culture imagery on its iPhone cases and other accessories, plans to mark the 35th birthday of classic game franchise Street Fighter with a slew of products featuring imagery from it.
The products will include iPhone 13 cases and MagSafe chargers, according to a new report.
The new Dell Pro Webcam features a built-in, noise-cancelling microphone. Photo: Dell
Dell rolled out its new Dell Pro Webcam over the weekend, offering a less-expensive alternative to the UltraSharp 4K webcam it brought to market last year.
The new one shares some high-end features but also lets go of some others to get the price down.
The Mac mini is mounted behind the monitor. And, yeah, the Magic Trackpad in the middle of the split keyboard is backwards on purpose. Photo: [email protected]
Sometimes you see one thing that seems quietly radical about a computer setup, only to find out it’s full of even weirder tweaks.
Today’s featured setup is a good example. It hides a Mac mini behind a display. But in front of the display, a wildly split mechanical keyboard surrounds a Magic Trackpad turned backward — on purpose!
The Southwest Conservation Corps’s Leaders of Color crew provides a supportive space for aspiring BIPOC conservationists to break into the field. Photo: National Park Foundation/Jeremy Wade Shockley
Apple pledged Monday to donate $10 to the National Park Foundation (NPF) for many Apple Pay purchases. If you buy via Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app or at a U.S. Apple Store through August 28, you’re helping national parks.
Cupertino said it’s a way to celebrate 106 years of the U.S. National Park Service. And you can also enjoy special content and collections on Apple Maps, Apple Podcasts and more.
Into social gaming? This little number should help. Photo: BenQ
BenQ unveiled its new TH690ST short-throw 4LED projector Friday, calling it “the world’s first 4LED video party projector with preset game modes for bringing big entertainment to any gathering.”
You connect it to any gaming console or other video source with an HDMI cable to get the party started. Oh, and don’t forget to have a wall to project on.