Ed Hardy - page 90

Victrola probably isn’t the first name that leaps to mind when you’re shopping for speakers – it’s a company that built its reputation on the phonograph. But great-grandpa would be amazed because the company is keeping up with the times and recently launched the Victrola Music Edition 2, a great-looking Bluetooth speaker suited for small parties or outdoor gatherings. Plus it has some nice extras, like a wireless charger.

I tested the speaker with my iPhone 13 Plus – here’s why I’m quite pleased with it.

The National Labor Relations Board determined that Apple’s tactics in pressuring employees at an Atlanta Apple store to not unionize broke the law.

The NLRB regional director reportedly gave Apple the option to settle or she will start the process of compelling the company to do so.

Apple just revealed the 20 titles that made the Apple Arcade Top Games of 2022. At the top is NBA 2K22 Arcade Edition, as well as the revamped version of The Oregon Trail.

The best-of list includes a range of options for many types of players.

The HyperPack Pro has room for a 16-inch MacBook plus all your other gear, and the backpack includes a built in tracker using Apple’s Find My technology so it can easily be found if misplaced.

Hyper’s new backpack just debuted, but has already been named a CES 2023 Innovation Awards Honoree.

If it seems like almost everyone you see wearing wireless earbuds is using AirPods, you’re not far off. Apple owns a whopping 31% of the world market – three times the market share of its closest competitor.

And the company’s lead is growing, with shipments growing strongly year-over-year, according to a market research firm.

The 24-inch iMac is a beautiful bit of kit, but it comes with a hefty “chin.” A custom modified version shows what the all-in-one desktop would have looked like if Apple had made some other design decisions.

Take a look and judge for yourself if this is an improvement.

Apple’s new Emergency SOS via satellite service built into the iPhone 14 helped Alaska State Troopers rescue a man near the Arctic Circle.

As the satellite SOS service just launched in mid-November, this may be the first time it has been used in real crisis.

OtterBox merged a power bank, an Apple Watch wireless charger and a stand for the wearable into a single product. Just place the accessory on it end and it becomes a stand that juices up the Watch.

In addition, OtterBox also released on Thursday a MagSafe iPhone power bank that comes with a clip-on stand plus a car vent mount. This is joined by a foldable power bank with a built-in iPhone stand and Apple Watch charger.

All three new accessories are now available from the Apple store.

Your old AirPods aren’t what they used to be. The speakers can get gummed up, degrading the audio performance. But the Belkin Cleaning Kit for AirPods can take care of the problem.

This might save you the cost of buying a new pair of Apple earbuds.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday walked back his claim that Apple was threatening to remove Twitter from the App Store.

This comes after Musk said he engaged in a “good conversation” with Apple CEO Tim Cook.

The new iOS 16.1.2 update is intended to make the iPhone 14 stop calling for an ambulance when the user takes a tumble. It includes “Crash Detection optimizations” according to Apple.

The update released Wednesday also makes some other tweaks so it’s worth installing on all compatible iPhones.

What if a therapist told his clients what he really thinks they should do? That’s the premise for Shrinking, a comedy starring Jason Segel and Harrison Ford premiering in January on Apple TV+.

The series was written by the a co-creator of the mega-hit Ted Lasso. A teaser trailer released Wednesday gives an early taste of the fun.

Very early benchmark scores for what is apparently the 2023 MacBook Pro show buyers will be able to configure the laptop with much more RAM. And new details on the M2 Max processor were revealed, too.

The performance scores show a modest 14% increase over the 2021 version, but benchmark scores months before the release of any computer are of limited use.

The Chinese government lifted the COVID-19 lockdown in Zhengzhou, China, the location of the Foxconn facility where most iPhone Pro models are assembled. This raises the possibility that normal operations at the facility will resume soon.

Lockdowns in the area have dramatically lowered assembly of Apple handsets… possibly by as much as 80%.

A man was robbed of 300 iPhones he’d just purchased at the famous Apple store on Fifth Avenue early Monday. He walked out of the store and was soon assaulted by a pair of criminals who drove off with a bag carrying $95,000 worth of handsets.

It could be worse, though – that was just one of the three bags full of Apple merchandise the New York City man was carrying.

Plugable’s new USB-C dock is small enough to be mistaken a hub but has room for seven ports. And that includes dual 4K HDMI ports that can be used even with Macs that ordinarily support only one external monitor.

The USB-C HDMI Docking Station also has USB and Ethernet ports, as well as an SD card reader.

Emancipation has a problem: the upcoming Apple TV+ docudrama stars Will Smith who was at the center of one of the year’s biggest Hollywood scandals, “The Slap.”

In an interview on The Daily Show, Smith said he regrets that his action at the 2022 Oscar ceremony is distracting from the work that others put into the film, especially director Antoine Fuqua.

SpongeBob discovered a new card game and now he wants to share it with everyone in Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob SolitairePants is played on a three-by-three array of cards, and it’s the latest addition to the Apple Arcade gaming service.

The game is now available for a range of Apple devices.

Elon Musk declared war on Apple on Monday afternoon. A Twitter war, anyway. The new owner of Twitter very publicly objects to the 30% fee the iPhone-maker claims from purchases made through the iPhone software store, and also says Apple has threatened to pull the Twitter app from the App Store. He also asked, “Do they [Apple] hate free speech in America?”

An open conflict with Apple is a risky move by Musk, as Twitter needs Apple much more than Apple needs Twitter.

A second round of ‘Rapid Security Response’ bug patches for the iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 betas were seeded to developers and other beta testers on Monday. At this point, Apple is testing the system for distributing these by releasing them for beta versions of the operating systems.

Once testing is over, these will allow Apple to fix security problems without releasing a full OS update.

Protests at a Foxconn plant in China where the two iPhone 14 Pro models are assembled will allegedly cut deeply into the supply of these handsets. Millions of units that would have been produced in 2022 without the protests supposedly now will not be.

Workers clashed with police during recent COVID-19 lockdowns at the plant, known as “iPhone City” due to its strategic importance to Apple.

Elon Musk says he’ll release a phone that competes with iPhone and Android if he has to. The owner of Twitter might be forced to make a handset if Apple and Google ban the social network from their software stores.

Such a ban is possible, as both companies have policies that block apps that spread hate speech or calls for violence.

If you are overstraining your brain trying to come up with the right gift for an iPhone fan, consider a clip-on game controller. Mobile gamers can appreciate that physical buttons, sticks and triggers make play a lot more fun for many types of games.

I’ve reviewed all the top iPhone game controllers. Here are my recommendations.

Spirited, with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds starring in a comedy musical version of A Christmas Carol, is pulling in a sizable audience. It was one of the top five most-watched streaming shows last week, despite premiering halfway through the week.

The Christmas special is available now on Apple TV+.

Emancipation starring Will Smith portrays one man’s fight through unthinkable terrors to reunite with his family. It is based on the real-life story of Peter, whose saga of escaping slavery made headlines around the world in 1863.

A trailer for the upcoming Apple TV+ film premiered Wednesday revealing top-quality acting and cinematography.