I live in San Francisco where car crime in epidemic. Last year there were just under 30,000 reported break-ins — that’s about 85 a day! My car in particular seems to be a magnet for car thieves; it’s been broken into five times in the last couple of years, costing me thousands of dollars in repairs.

So I jumped at the chance to review the new Owl car cam, a combination dashboard cam and interior security device from one of the product design leads of the iPod and iPhone. The Owl combines two HD cameras — one pointing out, the other inwards — with bump-sensing accelerometers and an always-on LTE cellphone connection that sends alerts and live video to my iPhone.

It’s been great. Setup was the easiest of any gadget in recent memory and the video is surprisingly fantastic. Best of all, no one has broken in to steal it — yet!

Apple has reportedly suspended production at one of its iPhone manufacturing plants in China as the result of the use of unauthorized components.

The story concerns a Wistron plant in Kunshan, China, where the iPhone 8 Plus is manufactured. Production has allegedly been suspended for two weeks, although Wistron insists that this is not true and that, “operations remain completely normal.”

Best List: Speidel Twist-O-Flex stainless steel Apple Watch band

My grandfather, who fought in World War II, wore a beautiful mechanical watch. It had an eye-catching expansion band — a stainless steel link bracelet that stretched like elastic. He always took it off to play cricket, and I remember it dangled loosely around my skinny kid’s wrist when I tried it on. He loved that watch, and so did I.

Now I’m wearing a similar expansion bracelet on my Apple Watch courtesy of Speidel, the storied watch-band maker from Providence, Rhode Island. Introduced in the late 1950s, Speidel’s Twist-O-Flex Stainless bracelets are some of the most iconic bands in all of watchmaking. Now they’re available in three finishes for the Apple Watch.

Apple asked six filmmakers to create short videos that highlight the cababilities of the recently-released iMac Pro. The results debuted today: trippy, abstract films that are mesmerizing to watch.

All are quite short (under 30 seconds) and include a quick plug for the computer, and so could be turned into advertisements, either online on TV.

A major redesign of Twitter’s mobile app is rumored to be underway and it could spell bad news for Snapchat.

Rumors of Twitter’s camera-focused redesign have been swirling for months, but according to a new report, the redesign will also steal one of Snapchat’s best location-based features.

All the Yoga Flames, Dragon Punches and Sonic Booms of Street Fighter II spill out into the real world in a new demo that mixes classic gameplay with augmented reality.

Michigan-based software developer Abhishek Singh‘s “Real World Warrior” edition of Street Fighter II features all the familiar characters, moves and sounds of the original. But now, the game’s arena is the outside world.

“I loved playing [Street Fighter] as a kid with my sister on an actual arcade machine,” Singh told Cult of Mac. “I was thinking about multiplayer experiences and this kind of popped into my head.”

Siri is in trouble. Apple’s AI assistant is way behind the competition, and a new report indicates that Cupertino’s coders can’t agree on how to fix Siri — or even if it should be fixed.

Anonymous sources, supposedly from inside the Apple development team, say there’s no strong vision of what Siri should be.

On the Mac, you can quickly open up and edit any text file using TextEdit. And while there are a ton of great text-editing apps on the iPad and iPhone, none of them is quite as simple as the Mac’s built-in app. Until now, anyway: Textor combines the iOS 11 Files app with an ultra-simple text editor, making it possibly the quickest and easiest way to quickly view, edit and even create new text files on an iPhone or iPad.

Nearly a quarter of current iPhone users already plan to buy Apple’s next smartphone — even before they know what new features it will bring. That’s the most surprising finding from a new poll, which also shows demand for iPhone upgrades has stabilized at a high level.

Heavy demand for an unannounced product shows trust in Apple. That’s welcome, as the company’s reputation has slipped a bit.

The iPad has an amazing split-screen mode. It’s called Split View, and it lets you use two apps side-by-side. On certain iPads, you can even float a third app over the top. Split View lets you drag and drop text, pictures, links and almost anything else between apps, just like on a Mac or PC. It’s also super-easy to use. Let’s see how.

An Apple prototype of an early laptop, one of only four known to exist, sold on eBay Tuesday evening for more than $16,000.

It was the second time the owner of the Apple Macintosh Portable M5126 – fully functional and with a rare-for-its-time backlit screen – tried selling the test device on the auction site. Last month, bidding closed at just over $10,000 but the buyer backed out.

If you own an AmazonBasics portable battery pack, you should stop using it now. Amazon has recalled more than 260,000 units following 53 reports of overheating in the U.S. alone.

Six different models, sold between December 2014 and July 2017, have been condemned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this week.

It’s easy to imagine the screenwriter as someone slaving away at a typewriter, staring out a cabin window. But it’s 2018, and writers for stage and screen use a common digital platform.

Earlier today, Tim Cook posted a tribute to the late professor Stephen Hawking, who passed away on March 14, aged 76. “We will always be inspired by his life and ideas. RIP,” Cook wrote.

As one of the world’s most visionary physicists and popular science writers, it’s no surprise to hear that Hawking inspired folks at Apple — just as he did people all around the planet.

But Apple and Hawking share an interesting connection: It was an Apple machine that first gave him the ability to verbally communicate using a computer.

The French government plans to take both Apple and Google to court for what French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire classes as “abusive trade practices.”

This relates to the way that both companies reportedly treat startups and developers. In particular, Le Maire singles out the way that Apple and Google unilaterally impose prices and contractual terms on software devs.

How seriously are people taking password security in your city?

Password management service Dashlane today published its 2018 City Security Rankings, revealing the state of password security in America’s most populous cities — and those that are home to some of the biggest companies and government agencies.

Apple’s home city of Cupertino ranks highly, right behind Fort Meade, MD, home of the National Security Agency (NSA).

WWDC will have an extra set of helping hands this year, thanks to Apple’s hiring of a brand new events director. New recruit Gail Hunter previously served as president of public affairs and event management for the Golden State Warriors, a.k.a. Eddy Cue’s favorite NBA basketball team.

She will officially leave her current job this Friday, and join Apple on Monday, March 19. Just in time to help Apple’s preparations for its annual developer showcase event in June!

Tim Cook visited Washington D.C. on Tuesday, having lunch with Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who has shown considerable interest in the subject of digital encryption and privacy.

Tim Cook won’t be at AltConf 2018, but then attendees of this alternative Apple developer conference will pay a wee bit less. The official WWDC is $1,599, while AltConf is free.

It will be held in San Jose near the official conference, and on the same dates as the WWDC: June 4-7.

ecobee began taking pre-orders for the Switch+ today. This smart-home light switch includes HomeKit support so it can be remotely controlled with an iPhone.

But it goes beyond that: with Amazon’s Alexa built in, this wall switch acts as a smart speaker all on its own.

Apple continues to improve the iPad Pro design, with a nearly bezel-less version reportedly in development. This could mean an 11-inch iPad the same overall size as the company’s current 10.5-inch tablet.

This will supposedly be the first iPad with Apple’s Face ID as the technology expands beyond the iPhone X.

Fitbit is stepping up to compete better with the Apple Watch with the Versa smartwatch. The new wearable looks similar to Apple’s watch, and offers music playback and other capabilities. Plus, it arrives at a lower price point — just under $200.

The Versa’s unveiling comes just after Apple surpassed Fitbit in the wearables market. Apparently, people want much more from their devices than just counting steps.

Podcasters, musicians, and haters of annoying noises rejoice. Blue Designs has come up with the Compass, a microphone boom that keeps your mic fixed right over your desk, your computer, your countertop, or even your ghetto ironing-board podcasting desk. Paired with Blue’s Radius shock mount, you need never worry about mic noise ever again.

YouTube’s dark mode, introduced just under a year ago, has finally landed on iPhone and iPad. It was the most requested feature among mobile users, YouTube says — and it makes late-night video binges even more enjoyable.

Venturing online can be like an urban safari into the sketchiest, most crime-ridden part of town. The internet is full of scumbags, scalawags and scambots.

That’s why it’s absolutely essential that you use good, strong passwords. And that means you need a good password manager. This is non-debatable. If you do anything at all online — shop, bank or socialize — you need a good password manager. Here at Cult of Mac, we use Dashlane. And in this video, I’ll tell you why.