Cult of Mac

Swagger closes out its brilliant second season in style this week, as the young basketball players prep for their futures and their most important game yet.

Jace needs to play his best to regain his sterling reputation in time to win over college recruiters — and that’s not all he’s worried about. Plus, Ike and Naim must patch things up in order to be there for the team ahead of a very important game. Entitled “Journey and Destination,” the Swagger season two finale is a very moving sendoff that only this team could provide.

You no longer need to blow up your bank account in order to improve your personal computer situation. Rather than spending too much money for a brand-new MacBook Pro with all the bells and whistles you’ll likely never use, refurbished Apple laptops deliver the reliable performance you require at an outstanding value.

For a limited time, an 11-inch MacBook Air from 2015 is available for only $247.99 with no coupon required. That’s a fraction of the standard price for a laptop of that quality. That’s nearly 70% savings, but it won’t last long.

Artificial intelligence became a buzz-worthy topic in almost every industry seemingly overnight. One thing is certain — AI is going to change the way you work, so you may as well make it work for you.

“Introduction to ChatGPT” is a comprehensive course that aims to dispel some of the myths around this powerful tool and give workers practical tips on how to use it.

macOS Ventura 13.5 users report a problem with Location Services. The bug apparently prevents users from giving or denying applications permission to gather and use information based on the current location of the Mac.

Reports of the bug date back weeks but Apple has yet to issue a fix.

Baseus Technology unveiled its Red Dot Design-awarded Baseus Metal Gleam 7-in-1 Docking Station Thursday. It supports ultra-high-def 4K@60Hz resolution for content output.

The company touted an absurdly low-sounding price of $19.99. “It has no match in its tier with a competitive price of $19.99 since the passkey to access such a high-resolution hub is way higher,” the company said.

iPhone’s Emergency SOS via Satellite got credit for saving lives Wednesday when it was the only way a family trapped in a van amid raging wildfires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, could call for help.

The service has brought aid to plenty of people in need so far in its short life, since launch in 2022. This emergency seemed even more fraught than many, as you can see from the frantic texts shown in a post on X below.

Mac maven and designer Basic Apple Guy pumps out intriguing desktop wallpaper you can put on your Apple devices like Mac, iPad and iPhone.

But the latest one, “Flow,” which he put out Wednesday, came from a truly surprising place — his obsession with cable management in his home office and computer setup.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday that the entertainment behemoth is exploring ways to prevent subscribers of its video streaming service from sharing passwords. Rival Netflix saw a surge in subscribers after it did its own crackdown.

The ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu are also getting a price increase this autumn.

If you’ve ever suffered hand or wrist discomfort from long sessions at the computer, you probably wished you could switch mousing hands, or maybe use a trackball device. Now Targus has addressed that very issue in ingenious fashion with its new ErgoFlip wireless mouse.

With a magnetic top and a stationary base, the mouse lets you “flip” it anytime you want, using a comfortable, ergonomic grip with either hand, with no need to adjust for right- and left-clicking.

Camera products maker Miops unveiled a Kickstarter campaign Tuesday for Spark, a new camera companion designed to help iPhone users capture photos and video like professionals.

The handheld attachment provides DSLR-camera-like buttons that help you control your iPhone’s cameras.

Apple is making significant improvements to its Stage Manager multitasking system so iPads can work even more like Macs. The iPadOS 17 version offers additional freedom in window sizing and position.

I’ve been testing the update since Apple began releasing beta versions of iPadOS 17 in June. I already liked the original version of Stage Manager — but the new one is even better.

Apple’s upcoming A17 Bionic, the 3nm chip that reportedly will power iPhone 15 Pro, could feature a six-core CPU and six GPU cores. For comparison, the iPhone 15 Pro’s A16 Bionic uses a five-core GPU.

Based on TSMC’s advanced 3nm node, which increases transistor density to boost processing power while simultaneously reducing power consumption, the A17 Bionic reportedly will ship with 6GB LPDDR5 RAM. (That’s the same as the iPhone 14 Pro series.)

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Epic Games that would have required Apple to immediately get rid of its “anti-steering” rule for third-party applications — a major change. Instead, the Mac-maker can wait until there’s a final decision by the high court.

This means Apple doesn’t have to change its policy that prevents developers from sending customers from their applications to their websites to pay for subscriptions or services … yet.

Most Nintendo Switch users love that they can bring gameplay just about anywhere, and the right accessory can enhance that feature. For a limited time, you can pick up a discounted plug-and-play upgrade for your Nintendo Switch setup.

Grab a mini docking station for Nintendo Switch at the low price of $18.99 (regularly $24) with no coupon required. For the cost of a few energy drinks, you’ll be primed to pursue gaming adventures on a variety of monitors no matter where you roam.

Apple’s chip-maker TSMC does not absorb the cost of defective processors created in the production process, according to a trusted analyst. That contradicts a recent report that TSMC “eats the cost of the defects.”

Which isn’t to say that Apple and the Taiwanese company don’t have a very close working relationship.

Gaming brand Razer birthed a new litter of Kraken Kitty headsets Tuesday in recognition of International Cat Day, “so gamers, streamers, and cosplayers alike can celebrate in style.”

It said its original Kraken Kitty headset is one its most popular models.

“When we first released the Kraken Kitty, it really scratched an itch in the market, as there was nothing like it before.” said Alvin Cheung, senior vice president, Hardware Business Unit.

As legacy studios like Disney face formidable problems, a new report suggests CEO Bob Iger might revisit a “once-unthinkable option” — that Apple might buy the company, or at least a stripped-down version of it.

After all, in a near-future of even greater tech-company dominance over entertainment, Disney may need deep-pocketed protection. And its longstanding connection with Apple could come into play.

With summer on the wane and the new school year looming, peripherals giant Logitech — a mainstay in our computer setups coverage, especially for the MX Master 3S mouse and MX series keyboards — is running a site-wide sale through August 16.

Logitech’s back-to-school sale is “filled with cutting-edge technology and exclusive deals to help you embark on your academic journey with confidence and success,” the company said.

Obviously, you don’t need to be a student to get the deals. Anybody can do it. See below.

Still Up will follow the romantic hijinks of a pair of insomniacs. The comedy series will debut on Apple TV+ in September.

Apple gave its first look at the upcoming show on Wednesday.

Today’s featured Mac Studio setup found an interesting way to arrange its four displays — three little ones in a row and one huge one broadcasting the Bat-Signal on top.

With Batman undoubtedly on his way (OK, maybe it’s just the logo, not the actual signal), the workstation also boasts a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Apple’s Smart Folio and a remarkably affordable mechanical keyboard for use with the desktop machine.

Design tools are the digital artist’s brush, the web designer’s grid paper, and the UX/UI designer’s blueprint. They transmute raw ideas into visually captivating content that can engage, inspire and influence.

In a world of ever-more-compact-and-potent chargers, Mobfree launched a surprising and innovative entrant Wednesday on Kickstarter. It’s XuperCable, a three-in-one gadget with three retractable connectors to fast-charge a variety of devices at up to a 100 watts

It’s a funny-looking critter with its tentacles (cables), but it’s quite useful. It sticks to surfaces, it rotates and its three cables unspool and retract — what could possibly go wrong? Not much, as it turns out. The company sent me a XuperCable to try out.

Even in the digital era, papers can pile up and become scattered or lost if you’re not careful. So we’re serving up a solution to keep all those important items accessible.

During our Back-to-School Sale, a lifetime subscription to the iScanner app is marked down to only $39.99 (regularly $59) with no coupon required through Aug. 13. That’s 33% savings on a service that will make digitizing and tracking documents much more manageable for years to come.

Nomad added a new limited-edition Sport Band for Apple Watch Tuesday, and this one glows in the dark. That’s why it’s called Glow.

By day the waterproof bands appears off-white, but in the dark in glows bright green. It will be tough to misplace it, even at night.

A fresh school year is suddenly upon us and there is plenty to stock up on, from classroom necessities to lunch supplies. You can avoid becoming overwhelmed financially with discounted shopping on a variety of essential items.

You can claim a one-year membership to Sam’s Club for only $24.99 (regularly $50) during our Back-to-School Sale, which runs through August 13. Featuring nearly 600 locations nationwide, this popular warehouse store implements a limited-item business model that prioritizes high-quality products rather than loading up on as many brands as possible. And that means unique opportunities for shoppers to find value.