Top stories - page 8

The Newyes Scan Reader Pen 4 is a translator pen instantly translates written or spoken words, making it quick and easy to understand foreign languages — anytime, anyplace and in practically any situation. The tiny translating gadget also packs special features for people with dyslexia, as well as for language learners you and old.

It can translate text on pages, digital screens, textiles, boxes and much more. And it can allow you to carry on a conversation using a language you don’t know.

Just in time for the holidays, it’s on sale for only $159.99 (regularly $187). It’s the ideal gift for avid readers, language learners and world travelers. Grab one (or several) today to ensure on-time Christmas delivery!

Data breaches have compromised 2.6 billion personal consumer records in the past two years, with a rapid rise since last year, according to an independent study Apple published Thursday.

Increasing threats to consumer data stored in the cloud underscore a need for end-to-end data encryption like Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, launched in 2022, Apple said.

“Bad actors continue to pour enormous amounts of time and resources into finding more creative and effective ways to steal consumer data, and we won’t rest in our efforts to stop them,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As threats to consumer data grow, we’ll keep finding ways to fight back on behalf of our users by adding even more powerful protections.”

December 7, 2007: Apple opens its magisterial store on West 14th Street in New York City. The new Apple Store features a three-story glass staircase deemed the most complex ever made.

The store is Apple’s biggest in Manhattan (and second-largest in the United States, after the one on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue). The first three-story Apple retail outlet, it boasts an entire floor dedicated to services. It’s also the first Apple Store to offer free Pro Labs classes to customers.

The sheer size of this Apple Store — with its 46-foot Genius Bar — proves impressive. However, its astonishing spiral staircase steals the show as its most iconic design feature.

If you’re shopping for the perfect gift for a DIY enthusiast, crafty carpenter or grease-stained garage guru, take a peek at this versatile power station. Right on time for the holidays, the Koda PowerStation — a powerful work light with multiple outlets (and wireless charging for an iPhone or AirPods) — is on sale for only $59.99 (regularly $85).

It’s more than just a gadget — it’s perfect for anyone who wields power tools, toils on a workbench or tinkers in a garage. Just be sure to order it today if you want it to arrive by December 25!

Some governments are spying on push notifications sent to iPhone users, Apple confirmed Wednesday. By examining logs of push notifications sent by various apps, authorities can piece together surprisingly detailed information about smartphone users and their activities.

The previously undisclosed data gathering, which also affects Android devices, became public after Sen. Roy Wyden published an open letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on Wednesday requesting disclosure of the surveillance method.

Connect Apple Watch to treadmills at Planet Fitness, and other exercise equipment, for more accurate health data inside the Fitness and Health apps on your iPhone. After all, if you’re working out, you want to make sure your Apple Watch gives you credit for it.

Here’s how.

Drones make great gifts, and we’ve got a great deal on a drone that’s perfect for beginners. The Ninja Dragon Blade X 4K Dual Camera Drone is sure to delight even first-time drone pilots. And now it’s on sale for just $79.97 (regularly $199) through December 17.

However, you must order by December 7 to ensure on-time holiday delivery!

Curved ultra-wide gaming displays have been making their way into Mac setups for quite some time now. But some people want to experiment, maybe push the envelope a bit, so they mount them on top of other displays or sometimes in portrait mode (vertical). But today’s Mac Pro setup takes the cake in that regard.

The user nixed a Studio Display with a high-quality external webam in favor of a truly massive, 55-inch curved ultra-wide Samsung gaming display — mounted vertically. It towers over everything with a pronounced stoop.

If your iPhone 14 case is a little bulkier than you’d like — maybe a bit tight in the pocket — perhaps it’s time to try SwitchEasy’s MagSafe Gravity iPhone Case.

The incredibly slim case adds zero bulk, works with MagSafe and is available in the Cult of Mac Store for just $25, but is currently on sale for $19.99.

December 6, 2000: Apple Computer’s stock price falls after the company posts its first quarterly loss since Steve Jobs’ return to Cupertino in 1997.

Shares tumble $3 to just $14 a share as doom-predicting pundits worry that the big Apple comeback might come screeching to a halt. Little did they know …

Blip is a delightful utilty that lets you transfer files across the internet — directly from your Mac to theirs. There’s no middleman uploading to and downloading from a cloud, no pesky web app to sign into. It’s like beaming your files onto someone else’s computer.

It’s the easiest and most straightforward way to send someone large folders of files or complex projects from your Mac. And best of all, it’s totally free and secure.

Art is all about the free flow of ideas from the brain onto the canvas. When that canvas is digital, the right tools matter — and we’re not just talking about software. Getting the right iPad stylus makes a big difference.

Now, you can score holiday savings on the Digi Pen, a stylus compatible with iPad and other tablets. Through December 17, it’s on sale for only $34.97 (regularly $99).

With a sleek design and pinpoint sensitivity, the Digi Pen makes the ideal gift for the iPad artist in your life. Be sure to order by December 7 for on-time holiday delivery!

It’s common for Apple fans to get a ton of new tech around the holidays. And after about a month of heavy use, we find out exactly how far those iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods can go on a full charge. That’s when we all wish we’d gotten the same thing: a reliable battery pack for recharging on the go.

The ZeroLemon MagJuice+ wireless battery pack is that, and then some. And just in time for the holidays, it’s on sale for just $45.99 (regularly $59).

Did we mention that it’s small enough to fit into a pocket — or a stocking?!?

December 5, 2002: Cupertino says it served its millionth unique customer in the Apple Store online, marking a significant milestone for the company. It is a benchmark worth celebrating for Apple, which launched its online store just five years earlier.

“Reaching our 1 millionth customer is a major milestone, and is proof positive that our online shopping experience is second to none,” Tim Cook, Apple’s executive vice president of worldwide sales and operations at the time, said in a statement. “The Apple Store is a popular way for a growing number of consumers and businesses to buy Apple products, and with extensive build-to-order capabilities, easy 1-Click shopping and free shipping on orders, it’s never been easier to buy a Mac online.”

Believe it or not, a 16-year-old high school student may have been the first to fully reverse-engineer iMessage and turn green Android text bubbles blue on iPhones with the new Beeper Mini app, released Tuesday.

The text messaging world is buzzing over it, wondering how it may avoid security pitfalls like other recent attempts to merge the two texting worlds — and puzzling over whether Apple may put a stop to this incursion into its “walled garden.”

The number of iPhones running some version of iOS 17 passed a milestone. The total recently topped 60%, according to an analytics firm.

Users were initially slow to make the jump past iOS 16, but a solid majority have now done so.

Attention iPhone 14 owners: Don’t miss the SwitchEasy sale on all iPhone 14 cases and accessories in the Cult of Mac Store. You can save 20% on any of 10 different cases to protect and dress up your fabulous Apple handset.

The cases cover the bases from tough and functional to highly decorative. There are regular cases as well as MagSafe options. Check out some highlights below. And 20% off saves you about $6 on many of the cases.

We love everything about AirPods Pro except their price. If you, too, balk at spending $249 for Apple’s finest, give the incredibly affordable Flux 7 TWS noise-canceling earbuds a shot.

They’re waterproof and sweatproof, so they’re perfect for the gym. And they even boast a feature AirPods don’t: Their high-capacity charging case doubles as a power bank that can give your iPhone a boost.

They make a perfect stocking stuffer for anybody with an iPhone or Android device, and you can pick up a pair for less than $23 until December 17!

If you’re always on the go and always trying to close your rings, this wireless keychain charger for Apple Watch is a game-changer.

Small yet packed with power, this pocket-size Apple Watch charger is on sale for only $18.99, over half off its regular price of $49.

In Stray, you play as a cat wandering through a cyberpunk version of the Kowloon Walled City, the most densely populated city in the world (and a fascinating footnote of history). In this future, though, the city teems with robots who dream of visiting the outside world.

It’s been out for PC, Xbox and PlayStation for a while, but the Mac version is out now on the Mac App Store.

Stray is a gripping game in an exquisitely designed and immersive world that proves gaming on the Mac is on the rise once again.

A software engineer drives a Studio Display with an M2 Pro MacBook Pro in their enviable computer setup. And while some folks questioned the use of Apple’s pricey 5K display because of its relatively low refresh rate, the setup’s user praised the monitor highly.

Check out the advice the engineer got about setup improvements and see all their gear in the list below.

December 4, 1992: Apple engineers demonstrate a “proof of concept” of the Mac operating system running on an Intel computer.

More than a decade before Macs will switch to Intel processors, the astonishing feat is part of an aborted plan to make Apple’s software available on other manufacturers’ hardware. Apple ultimately chickens out, fearing (probably correctly) that such a move would hurt Macintosh sales.

There’s no shortage of iPhone accessories if you want to fill out a stocking. But before you think about AirPods or Bluetooth speakers, remember that all that tech isn’t worth much if you can’t use it comfortably. And that’s where touchscreen gloves come in.

If you or a loved one need to stay connected without suffering from frostbitten fingers this winter and beyond, these thermal touchscreen gloves are a lifesaver. And now they’re a steal at only $11.99 (regularly $29)!

December 3, 2012: News Corp pulls the plug on The Daily, the world’s first iPad-only newspaper, less than two years after launching the publication.

While the writing has been on the wall for some time, the closure is a blow for those who view the iPad as the savior of the traditional publishing industry.

With an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, you can record high-resolution video directly to an external SSD. And the latest version of the iPhone app LumaFusion lets you edit with the video still on the external drive, too. Don’t try that with any other video editor for iOS.

That’s on top of the many other features of the iPhone and iPad application, which offers multitrack video editing with a focus on controlling everything with touch.