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This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After new Twitter CEO Elon Musk began publicly questioning some of Apple’s policies, he went mano-a-mano with Tim Cook. Maybe Musk’s meme-y declaration of war was a bit premature …
Also on The CultCast:
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.
Apple improves its iPhone cameras every year. However, until Cupertino’s geeks figure out how to make the device levitate, there are some things it simply cannot achieve, such as capturing aerial footage. That’s where a dual-camera drone like the Ninja Dragon Alpha Z Pro comes in handy.
During our December Deal of the Day event, you can get a Ninja Dragon Alpha Z Pro for $79.99, but this price drop is only available today.
This week’s giveaway will let five lucky winners get their hands on a sturdy Apple Watch Ultra Titanium Band from Lululook. The band matches the new Apple Watch Ultra perfectly, thanks to its sleek titanium finish.
Enter below for your chance to win this gorgeous titanium band, which retails for $33.99.
★★★★☆
Allie Fox finds himself in a tight corner this week on The Mosquito Coast, the absorbing Apple TV+ series about a family on the run from the U.S. government. His son Charlie’s been compromised, so Allie must do a local criminal kingpin a favor. And that puts him in a car with William Lee, the man who tried to kill him.
Also, daughter Dina learns something about her mom Margot that changes everything about their relationship. It’s a magnificently tense and very strong episode all around.
“In a world like this, you can have it all,” says actor Billy Crudup, from The Morning Show, at the top of a new Apple TV+ trailer. It’s called “Apple TV+ Winter 2022 & Beyond | Official Preview,” and it’s all about year-end fare on the streaming service and what you can look forward to in 2023.
It short YouTube video may not give you all, as the Crudup clip implies, but it shows a lot of quality entertainment on tap now and upcoming.
The 24-inch iMac is a beautiful bit of kit, but it comes with a hefty “chin.” A custom modified version shows what the all-in-one desktop would have looked like if Apple had made some other design decisions.
Take a look and judge for yourself if this is an improvement.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ comedy Acapulco heads as far into crowded crossroads as possible this week as people learn to be human again. The show about the hopeful staff of an exclusive Mexican resort finds Maximo faced with an important guest who will teach him there’s more to life than success.
Meanwhile, Nora misses Sara and has to stop fighting her heart. Diane has meddled with Chad for the last time. Memo tries to help Hector live for a day, and Julia needs to do some serious reconsidering. The episode, entitled “Money Changes Everything,” finds everyone in transition — and it’s better than we’ve gotten lately from this show.
You’ve got to love an Apple Watch band that looks like a million bucks but costs nothing near that. In fact, you can get Rilee & Lo’s stainless steel stretch-link bracelet and a matching stacking bracelet for well under $50 this week.
Through December 2, all Rilee & Lo Apple Watch bands are 30% off in the Cult of Mac Store.
Apple recently started selling the new Zens 4-in-1 Modular Wireless Charger, which you can modify to power either three or four devices at once, including an iPad.
You can set it up as a 4-in-1 charging station for iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods or a 3-in-1 that leaves out the Apple Watch charger.
Following Black Friday, the Cult of Mac Store added massive discounts over the weekend for Cyber Monday. So not only can you get a whopping 40% off SwitchEasy iPhone 12 series cases and accessories, you can get 30% a whole lineup of other great SwitchEasy gear.
See below for more details on all the great deals on many brands you can still get in the Cult of Mac Store. But if you like what you see, don’t hesitate. This deal ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Friday, December 2.
★★★★☆
Everyone’s confidence is shaken on this week’s episode of Mythic Quest, the Apple TV+ office comedy about a popular computer game.
Poppy realizes she has no idea what fun is, and that revelation is unraveling her world. Ian feels left out of the development of the Mythic Quest movie, and David is his only way in. To top it off, Carol thinks she’s getting fired for mismanagement of company funds, energy, and time.
It’s a strong episode of the funniest show Apple TV+ has to offer.
We enjoy seeing computer setups grow and change. We last looked at today’s featured setup when its user described it as “temporary” back in June. Since then it has metastasized into a monstrous beast with a maxed-out Mac Pro, a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, iPad mini and dual Pro Display XDRs.
And the custom-made desk with lights against a dramatic backdrop of 3D wall panels really enhances the setup, too.
★★☆☆☆
New Apple TV+ military thriller Echo 3 finds its heroes in desperate times this week, anxious and ready to take desperate measures. The kidnapped Amber has been put in a hellish South American prison camp, her brother Bambi is abandoned by his cohorts, her husband Prince is back in America recovering from multiple gunshot wounds — and nobody has a clue how to make this situation any better. But the writers sure know how to make it weirder.
The show, about what happens when an American with clandestine government ties stumbles into a private war, gets good mileage out of mechanics over message in this week’s episode, entitled “Upriver.” The bizarro sexual subtext of intervention gets quite the workout in this show.
Creative recently unveiled a new addition to its distinctively round and tilted Pebble line of USB desktop speakers — Creative Pebble Pro.
With overhauled full-range drivers and digital amplifiers — plus flashy new RGB lighting — the new speakers jack up volume and bass so no subwoofer is needed, the company said.
While Black Friday sales are synonymous with savings on holiday shopping, they don’t last through the whole holiday season. But you can still get super deals on Microsoft software when you visit the extended Black Friday Sale at software activation keys provider CdkeySales.com.
As a Cult of Mac reader, just click on the links below to get a great deal on Windows 10 that comes with a great bonus: a free upgrade to Windows 11. CdkeySales offers big savings on plenty of other Microsoft software, too.
To get the most savings, enter promo code CULT at CdkeySales.com. That will slash an extra 35% off the site’s already-low prices on keys for Windows 10 Pro Global, Microsoft Office 2021 Pro and more.
★★★☆☆
This week on Shantaram, Lin is ready to flee except for one big thing: He wants revenge. The Apple TV+ limited series about a benevolent fugitive on the run from his past is coming to a bloody head as Lin tries to square accounts, Karla runs around town preparing the double-cross of a lifetime, the grim specter of death arrives in Bombay, and everyone else is caught in the middle.
Though this episode is well-played, it focuses on Shantaram’s least-interesting characters.
Apple’s new Emergency SOS via satellite service built into the iPhone 14 helped Alaska State Troopers rescue a man near the Arctic Circle.
As the satellite SOS service just launched in mid-November, this may be the first time it has been used in real crisis.
It may be the season to be jolly, but in too many parts of the world, it’s definitely not the season for golf. We all have that friend who can’t wait for the snow to stop falling so they can hit the links (that “friend” might even be us!). But, thanks to some cutting-edge sports tech, waiting for spring to swing isn’t necessary.
The SwingLogic SLX MicroSim golfing simulator lets anyone sharpen their game, no matter the weather. And if you order by December 8, you can get it for $189.99 (regularly $249) with guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas — free shipping included.
★★★★☆
Apple TV+ spy thriller Slow Horses returns this week for a slick second season of low-brow high tension.
Grotesque super spy Jackson Lamb (played by Gary Oldman) is on a personal crusade in the wake of a friend’s death. And the rest of his “slow horses” are desperately looking for work — even the ones who are still behind their desks at Slough House, the London HQ for MI5’s misfit spies.
Season two of Slow Horses starts at a good clip and just keeps galloping. The show, based on the Slough House series by British crime novelist Mick Herron, remains one of the most consistent secret pleasures of the Apple TV+ lineup.
Apple reportedly changed the name of the operating system that will power its upcoming mixed-reality headset. Previously referred to as “realityOS,” Apple now calls the operating system “xrOS.”
This internal change is another sign of Apple ramping up work on the headset ahead of its official launch.
Apple’s decision to introduce ProRes to Pro iPhones gave average consumers the ability to capture lossless video without investing in proper camera gear. But those large files can eat up your storage quickly, even if you purchased an iPhone with the maxium storage capacity.
Alternatively, you can offload those large video files to a cloud storage service like Degoo, which earned 4.4 out of 5 in our store. Premium 10TB Lifetime Plans are on sale for $99 for a limited time.
Lots of people love all things Lego. Now they can use Lego bricks to create whatever design they want on the front and back of a new mechanical keyboard, the tenkeyless (TKL) MelGeek Pixel.
The Lego-friendly keyboard has surpassed its funding goal on Kickstarter, so if you buy one, it will probably ship.
OtterBox merged a power bank, an Apple Watch wireless charger and a stand for the wearable into a single product. Just place the accessory on it end and it becomes a stand that juices up the Watch.
In addition, OtterBox also released on Thursday a MagSafe iPhone power bank that comes with a clip-on stand plus a car vent mount. This is joined by a foldable power bank with a built-in iPhone stand and Apple Watch charger.
All three new accessories are now available from the Apple store.
Apple-owned Beats hooked up with Japanese fashion brand Wacko Maria to release a new special-edition set of Beats Flex earbuds Friday featuring a leopard print, the companies said Thursday.
Beats Flex are the brand’s most affordable wireless earbuds. But now they pack a little more street cred.