Whether you rely on a consistent internet connection for professional purposes or spend your nights camped on the couch gaming, we all have the motivation to maximize our online experience. From the standpoint of ensuring personal security and unlimited access, the right VPN service can provide a considerable boost.

For a limited time, you can pick up a subscription to a Windscribe Pro plan for only a fraction of the normal cost of this highly rated VPN. And you’ve got three incredible options: Choose from a one-year plan for $39 (regularly $69), a two-year plan for $59 (regularly $138) or a three-year plan for $69 (regularly $207).

These are the best prices online, but you’ll have to act fast. The price drops only last until April 22.

Tom Holland is coming back to Apple TV+ with The Crowded Room, a 10-part limited series about a very unusual murder investigation.

It was created and written by Akiva Goldsman, best known as the screenwriter of A Beautiful Mind.

Kids inspired by famous primatologist Jane Goodall go on epic quests to help protect wild animals in the upcoming Apple TV+ show Jane.

The first Jane trailer, which Apple released Monday, offers a glimpse of the new “live action/CGI blended” series. In it, 9-year-old character Jane Garcia says, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Jane Goodall said that.”

“I know,” her mother replies, drily, at her bedside. “You recite it every morning.”

Owning a copy of Microsoft Office is simply essential in today’s world. Set yourself up to work from home or anywhere with a lifetime license for Microsoft Office for Mac or Windows, on sale now for just $39.99 (regularly $349).

This deal, part of our Spring Digital Blowout sale, ends tonight!

Apple CEO Tim Cook sounds very upbeat about the potential for augmented reality in a new interview. He says the technology “could greatly enhance people’s communication, people’s connection.”

Cook stayed mum about a related tech, virtual reality, though.

Last week we asked if you were lucky enough to have about $65,000 to spend on an iPhone that can’t connect to anything. Now we know you didn’t need that much money after all.

The original, sealed iPhone (1st generation) that went up for auction Thursday sported a rare “Lucky you” sticker on the box. But that wasn’t enough to vault the handset into the record books ($63,356). Bidding started at $32,000.

Update: And … bidding ended at $40,320, the low end of the projected range of $40,000 – $60,000. Too many old iPhones up for auction lately? Maybe.

The Apple Watch Ultra is again down to its lowest price after a substantial $69 discount. Take advantage of Amazon’s latest deal, and you can get the Apple Watch Ultra for just $729.99.

Amazon’s listing page only shows a $19.01 discount, with the additional $50 off automatically applied at checkout.

Some of the best features of iPhone 14 Pro screens won’t trickle down to future non-Pro versions until the iPhone 17 series, according to a reliable source for Apple information.

If correct, the prediction means we shouldn’t expect the iPhone 14 Plus or basic iPhone 14 to come with a 120Hz ProMotion display or an always-on screen. Apple will reserve these features for iPhone Pro models until 2025.

As the old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” And if “it” refers to cool old Apple gear, you should reconsider replacing it, too — especially if it’s still going strong. Today’s featured setup boasts a “trash can” Mac Pro from 2013. It drives not one, not two but three Cinema Displays of yesteryear.

And that’s not all for the workstation’s retro wares. It also features Apple’s old iSight webcam, a Mighty Mouse and a Thunderbolt 2 hard drive for Time Machine backups. And how often do you see a solar-powered keyboard? It has one of those, too.

The Steve Jobs Archive’s first major release — a digital book titled Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words — will arrive April 11.

Despite the announcement coming in an email from the archive on April Fools’ Day, the news appears to be genuine. And that includes the part about the e-book, which is filled with Jobs’ emails, conversations, photos and more, being free online for all.

As much as we love our Apple products, whether that’s our iPhones for calls, Apple Watch for keeping track of our health or AirPods for constant jamming out on the go, there’s an age-old problem: How to charge them all without the problem of head-inducing, tangled cords? But what if we told you there’s a solution?

This 3-in-1 retractable charging cable gives you three standard tips in one compact package. You won’t have to pick and choose which of your devices gets the battery it needs when you can charge up to three at once. Even better, it’s now on sale for only $17.99 (regularly $39).

There’s much more to iCloud Keychain than meets the eye. Apple’s password-management system suggests strong passwords, autofills them whenever you need to sign in later, and syncs across all your devices. But you also can use iCloud Keychain to keep two-factor authentication codes (instead of relying on Google Authenticator) and access your passwords on Windows.

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about how Apple should make a standalone Passwords app. That’s because a lot of the more advanced features in iCloud Keychain are pretty hard to find. You have to dig into Settings to locate them.

There’s a workaround: I have a Shortcut that will add a convenient Passwords icon to your iPhone’s Home Screen. Using iCloud Keychain becomes a lot easier.

Artificial intelligence is the future of photo editing, allowing you to create the beautiful images you’ve always dreamed of more quickly and easily than ever before. Luminar Neo’s AI-powered photo-editing software empowers you to edit photos like a pro, and even better, it’s now on sale.

As part of the Spring Digital Blowout, this award-winning photo editor is only $79 (regularly $400), but you can now grab it for just $71.10 with code TAKE10NOW (which gives you an additional 10% discount). This is an exclusive Cult of Mac discount and the best price on the web.

Maybe your eyes aren’t as good as they used be. You can increase the text size on your iPhone or iPad so don’t have to put on reading glasses.

The process is easy. And a new video from Apple walks users through the process of enabling even larger text size on these devices.

Aside from a certain high-profile football game, it’s hard to think of a time when anyone is happy to see an ad. Companies like Apple know how much you hate those pop-ups and intrusive banners, but you can’t expect big tech to get proactive about curbing them, especially when they’re the internet’s bread and butter.

Luckily, there are ways you can take matters into your own hands. AdGuard is one of the best ad blockers around, and thanks to our Spring Digital Blowout, you can see how big a difference it makes on your own devices. With code SPRING15, you can get the AdGuard lifetime family plan for only $26.49 through April 3.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The invites for WWDC23 just went out, so maybe … just maybe … we have a date certain upon which we will cast our eyes upon Apple’s mixed-reality headset. The more we hear about it, the more intrigued we are. And at least part of that is who in the devil will buy one of these things if they cost $3,000?!?

Also on The CultCast:

• New features arrive in iOS 16.4, including Voice Isolation for iPhone calls.
• This AI crap is getting creepier by the minute — even Woz and Elon Musk are spooked!
• How to spot AI deepfakes.
• We’ve got a nice magnetic iPad stand for this week’s giveaway.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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Having a side income that generates extra cash each month can be the key to unlocking greater financial stability, exploring your creativity and, ultimately, finding the freedom to do the things you’re passionate about. One of the best ways to do that is through online selling on Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) and by dropshipping on Shopify. And you can learn exactly how to do both with this 2023 Business Model & Strategies course bundle.

Even better, you can now grab this course pack for only $24.97 (regularly $597) during our Spring Digital Blowout. You’ll have to act fast, though, as this limited-time deal only lasts until April 3.

Apple TV+ climate disaster show Extrapolations takes a road trip this week to the sweltering underbelly of a continent in crisis. Across two long days, unlikely allies will transport a secret package that many other interested parties are gunning for.

Extrapolations is essentially an omnibus series about the future, as seen through the eyes of people affected by climate change. That means every episode bears a distinct identity. In this week’s installment, entitled “2059 Part II: Nightbirds,” the creative team hits upon something partly neo-realist, partly Bourne-inspired action and party speculative fiction. It’s the most consistent and engrossing episode of the very patchy show so far.

In this week’s giveaway, one lucky winner will get their hands on a magnetic iPad stand with a built-in wireless charger from Kuxiu. The X27 Pro was specifically designed for iPad users. With 88 magnets built into the back of the iPad, this stand mirrors that to ensure the most secure grip when your iPad is in place.

Thanks to the stand’s unique structure, you can use your iPad at nearly every angle, rotating vertically a full 360 degrees and 180 degrees horizontally. You can even set your iPad at a negative angle with confidence, which isn’t possible normally with this type of stand.

Apple TV+ espionage thriller Liaison comes to its breakneck conclusion this week. Alison and Gabriel get Samir and his information to England, but can they make it to the right authorities in time to save the continent from terrorism and extortion? And just who is the right authority, anyway?

Samir and Sabine have an appointment with Antropa, Bob and Didier must pay the piper, and Gabriel has one last trial in which to prove himself. All things considered, the Liaison finale brings a pretty decent conclusion to a star-studded limited series.

Here’s the bad news for students, and the good news for writers of any other kind: Despite the hype, ChatGPT isn’t going to do your job for you. There’s always going to be a need for journalists, novelists, screenwriters — and yes, essays that prove you know your subject.

However, while tech can’t replace your creativity, it can make your job a lot easier. Scrivener 3, the latest update to the software that professional writers have been using since 2007, is on sale now at a 50% discount. And Cult of Mac readers can get lifetime access to it for an extra 10% off.

New Apple TV+ movie Tetris is part of a trend I hope goes away — making movies about advances in capitalist innovation. Perhaps the least-interesting subject possible, it’s been done justice precisely once in David Fincher’s The Social Network, because it understood that behind every “genius” is a shell game played by a feckless coward. And trust me, Tetris never reaches the highs of that particular example.

A movie too interested in the destination to enjoy the journey, Tetris tells the tale of the sale of the world’s most ubiquitous video game. The movie, which premieres today on Apple’s streaming service, possesses some small virtues but suffers from big problems.

Several companies, including Samsung and Western Digital, have cut prices on SSDs and memory cards for World Backup Day. Save up to $80 on the rugged Samsung T7 Shield, while the SSD that’s WD’s closest rival is also on sale.

A 1TB SanDisk microSD card is surprisingly affordable. And the JetDriveLite specially made for MacBooks card readers is available at a discount, too.

Some of the deals are only available on March 31, so don’t procrastinate.

Backing up your iPhone to iCloud is the best way to keep its data safe and secure. You can always be at peace knowing your data is always recoverable, even if something happens to your phone.

What better day than World Backup Day to set up and enable iCloud backups for your iPhone then? Read our guide to see what iCloud backups entail and how to get started.

PlayStudios launched a Rewards Store Friday for the classic puzzle game Tetris. The program will let millions of mobile players earn rewards, including a free one-month subscription to Apple TV+.

Of course, this comes “just in time for the premiere of Apple Original Film Tetris, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.”

Because of course it does.