For All Mankind, season 4, episode 7 — “Crossing the Line” — wastes no time getting into rancorous strike negotiations between Helios workers and NASA management at Happy Valley, Mars, as forecast by the previous episode.

That “line” in the episode title is a picket line, or maybe a reference to the disastrous result of management trying to bust a strike in space.

Santa Claus brings more than just wooden toys these days — he also brings techie holiday gifts. His sleigh is loaded with Microsoft software like Windows and Office. By which we mean you can seek out major bargains on those products and more in CdkeySales.com’s Merry Christmas Sale!

The ban on selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 affects Apple’s ability to replace broken units, too. Starting December 25, the company won’t be able to send customers replacement units for smashed Apple Watch models going back to Series 6.

Apple stands accused of patent infringement due to a health-related sensor in the smartwatches. The years-long dispute between Cupertino and a medical tech company finally reached the point of an Apple Watch sales and import ban.

The new Aztec Mystery Magic app for iPhone and iPad released Thursday dresses up artificial intelligence (AI) chat in a cool Aztec costume.

It doesn’t do a whole lot, but it looks cool and it’s free. It answers questions, makes predictions and offers ancient Aztec riddles you can solve to get amulets. And hey, you might learn something.

Laut’s Steel Loop Apple Watch Band boasts a stainless-steel-mesh look and feel that’s elegant enough for a festive gala but would not look out of place at a football game.

And you can get it in seven cool colors, now that the new green option is available in the Cult of Mac Store.

AnyTrans is a file-management app every Apple user should own. Users can effortlessly transfer and manage all their digital content between their Apple devices and accounts with this tool, whether they have every Apple device on the market or are simply trying to streamline their lives.

Through December 25, it’s on sale for only $19.97 (regularly $79).

Thursday is the last day you can order a gift from Apple and expect it to arrive before December 25 in the United States, according to the company’s holiday shipping guidelines.

But don’t despair. You can still order Apple products for pick-up or delivery from a local Apple Store.

A recent survey shows that what most kids want for Christmas is video games. Let me suggest you give the gift of Apple Arcade this holiday season.

Apple’s game service offers over 200 titles in a wide variety of genres at a single, low price, and it’s especially well suited for kids. But there’s fun for the whole family, too.

And it’s not too late!

If you want to do your downloads with all the security of a virtual private network and none of the slowdown, Offcloud might just be the solution. It’s a browser-based download manager that lets you grab files on sites like BitTorrent, back up your own data, and sync everything to your existing drive.

You can tap all those features for less than $40 through December 25 — and that’s just for starters.

 Money stored in Apple Card Savings accounts just started earning more interest. Goldman Sachs, the bank that backs these accounts, raised the interest rate to 4.25%.

This is a far higher rate than most savings accounts available to consumers. If you’re interested in learning more about the Apple Savings APY, check out the latest details on Apple Card’s savings interest rate.

Maccy is a fantastic macOS copy-paste manager that supercharges your clipboard history. It allows you to copy … and copy … and copy again, and still paste the first thing you copied. Of course, it works with cut-and-paste too. It’s super well-designed and very easy to use. With a simple keyboard shortcut, you can bring up a small menu to instantly paste something you cut or copied hours ago.

It’s a fantastic utility that will quickly become a must-have on every Mac you use. You can buy Maccy for just $9.99 on the Mac App Store, or build it from its open-source code yourself.

Content creators, small business owners, authors and others often need voiceovers but simply can’t pay a professional what they’re worth. But very affordable text-to-speech software Speechnow. lets anyone generate reliable voiceovers at minimal cost.

Through December 25, you can get a lifetime subscription to Speechnow for only $19.97 (regularly $299). Plus, since it’s digital, it requires no shipping. And that makes it the perfect last-minute gift for any content creator.

Apple promises that its Vision Pro will be out “early next year,” but a noted tipster has the release of the cutting-edge AR headset narrowed down to February.

The product is supposedly already in full production in China.

Collaborating with Apple, upscale carmakers Porsche and Aston Martin previewed next-generation, more fully integrated CarPlay interfaces for upcoming models Wednesday.

Apple announced next-gen CarPlay in 2022, set to start rolling out in vehicles from more than a dozen makers by the end of 2023 and in 2024.

YouTuber and tech influencer Marques Browlee recognized iPhone 15 Pro as the smartphone with the best cameras of the year in his MKBHD Smartphone Awards 2023 on Tuesday, offering his highest praise for the handset’s exceptional video chops.

And that’s not all. He also named iPhone 15 Plus as the handset with the best battery experience. Watch his video below.

Sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from Apple’s website will stop on December 21. So Wednesday is the last day to purchase these wearables from Apple.com.

Apple retail stores will continue to sell them until December 24, but then those also will halt because of a patent dispute over an important feature in the devices. Apple, which previously appealed the U.S. International Trade Commission’s ruling on the matter, asked for a stay on the ban on U.S. imports and sales of the smartwatches. But in a Wednesday filing, the ITC denied Apple’s request (.pdf).

Few people would dispute that the extra screen real estate of a second display can be a huge help in a computer setup. But let’s say you have two Studio Displays in landcape (horizontal) mode. Do you place them side by side perfectly straight or do you angle them in some way?

Today’s MacBook Pro workstation brought up the debate and surfaced a cool tip for getting wallpaper to appear half on one display and half on the other.

Beeper Mini will soon require you to have access to a Mac for using iMessage on Android. Or you will have to use your friend’s Mac to set up Beeper Cloud.

Beeper’s latest workaround comes after Apple’s crackdown. The service has experienced multiple outages this week, with the company claiming its latest fix will address them and deliver a reliable experience.

If you’re in the market for Apple earbuds, second-gen AirPods Pro with a USB-C case are the earbuds to beat. And this hot new AirPods Pro sale slashes the $249 list price down to just $199.99 … and it comes with AppleCare+!

Plus, if you order by 11:59 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, December 20, you can take delivery by Christmas.

The only (potential) drawback is that this AirPods Pro deal is for Costco members only. But never fear: If you’re not already a member, Cult of Mac Deals offers a great deal on a Costco membership that will let you save money on Apple gear every day of the year.

iPhone users can now install iOS 17.2.1. And macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 is out as well. These are minor bug fix updates, though. The changes are so small Apple didn’t bother to describe them.

These are the only updates introduced Tuesday. There’s no iPadOS version, nor one for Apple Watch. And no new betas, either.

Apple TV+ took home four wins over the weekend in the second annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, notching victories for Apple Originals Pinecone & Pony, Life By Ella, Jane and Best Foot Forward.

And Apple’s Tara Sorensen and Ellen Coons were honored for Individual Achievement in Animation — Character Animation for Shape Island.

Eve Systems introduced the first Matter-over-Thread smart electrical outlet along with a Matter-enabled smart light switch and window blinds on Monday, the company said.

Eve Energy Outlet, Eve Blinds Collection and Eve Light Switch all work with HomeKit. The outlet and blinds go on sale in early February 2024 and the light switch arrives a bit later.

The TikTok application just got a major revamp for iPad users. And that includes both portrait and landscape orientations.

It’s a significant change for an app that previously emphasized handsets well ahead of every other device.

Apple News+ subscribers now get access to The Athletic‘s sports journalism and will see Wirecutter‘s in-depth product ratings in the feed early in 2024, Apple said Tuesday.

“Like so many lifelong sports fans, I am a devoted reader of The Athletic and their fantastic sports reporting and local coverage,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services.

“We’re so proud to now bring sports fans The Athletic in Apple News+ — which millions of News+ subscribers are going to love,” he added.

Apple engineers reportedly are racing to create a software workaround ahead of a potential Apple Watch import ban in the United States over a patent claim. Apple reportedly hopes to make changes to the algorithm that measures a user’s blood oxygen saturation.

The move comes amid an ongoing patent dispute between Apple and Masimo, a medical devices company that says the Apple Watch’s blood oxygen feature breaches its patents. The International Trade Commission ruled earlier this year that Apple infringed on patents held by Masimo Corp., which could result in a ban on the import and sales of certain Apple Watches next week.

As a preemptive measure, Apple says it will pause Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales starting December 21. The company also began sending new marketing materials to its retail stores, promoting the Apple Watch without mentioning the Series 9 or Ultra 2. Apple’s decision to pause smartwatch sales does not affect the Apple Watch SE model, as it lacks a blood oxygen sensor.