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Odds of Apple TV+ film CODA winning Best Picture Oscar just increased

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Emilia Jones stars as a child of deaf adults (CODA) in the Apple TV+ film.
Emilia Jones stars as a child of deaf adults (CODA) in the Apple TV+ film.
Photo: Apple TV+

Taking the top film prize at Saturday’s Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards puts Apple TV+ drama CODA in good stead to win the Best Picture prize at the upcoming Academy Awards. The prize the movie took has been a major predictor of Best Picture winners for decades.

Along with CODA’s win at the PGA Awards, the hit Apple TV+ comedy series Ted Lasso took home a prize.

Apple TV app blocks purchases and rentals on Android TV and Google TV

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Sony TV with Apple TV+
And they probably won't be coming back.
Photo: Sony

 It’s no longer possible to purchase or rent new content through the Apple TV app on Android TV and Google TV. The block comes less than a year after Apple’s service made the leap to Google’s big screen platforms.

It is believed Apple removed purchasing after failing to strike a deal with Google over in-app commission rates. However, if you’re wondering how to watch Apple TV on Android, you can still use the Apple TV app to access content you’ve already purchased.

Add 3 HDMI or DisplayPort monitors to your Mac with this USB-C docking station [Review]

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Plugable UD-6950PDZ Docking Station review
Plugable’s latest USB-C hub lets you add a trio of monitors, and it sports six USB-A ports.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Plugable UD-6950PDZ Docking Station includes a trio 4K HDMI Ports and the same number of 4K DisplayPort ports. These allow users to mix and match up to three monitors. That includes M1 MacBooks that natively support only one.

The USB-C dock also includes half a dozen USB-A ports, Ethernet and more.

I put this powerful accessory through a battery of hands-on tests to see how it performed. And it lived up to my expectations.

Apple App Store, iCloud, other services go offline in major outage [Updated]

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Not just you: Several Apple online services are having ‘issues’
Many of Apple’s most-used services went offline early Monday, but things seem to be getting back to normal.
Photo: Cult of Mac/Mabel Amber/Pexels CC

Update: About two hours after various Apple services experienced widespread problems Monday, the company reported that things should be back online.

It’s not just you: Many Apple services are offline Monday. The outage affects 23 of Apple services, including many high-profile ones that users depend upon. The list of Apple services disrupted includes the App Store, iCloud, Apple Maps and Apple Music.

Mac Studio storage is removable but Apple blocks user upgrades

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Mac Studio storage is removable
Why, Apple?!
Photo: Luke Miani

Breaking open the new Mac Studio reveals that its solid-state storage modules are easily removable, but you can forget trying to upgrade them. Not only does Apple use a proprietary connector, but it also blocks user swaps in macOS.

YouTuber Luke Miani pulled apart two Mac Studio machines and discovered that even if you take an original SSD out of one and put it in another, it will simply refuse to boot up.

Here come the Mac Studio-powered workstations [Setups]

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A new Mac Studio desktop and Studio Display anchor this setup.
A new Mac Studio desktop and Studio Display anchor this setup.
Photo: [email protected]

With Apple’s big “Peek Performance” event only just past and deliveries of newly release products in progress, we see computer setups with new Mac Studio desktops and Studio Display monitors cropping up on social media sites.

Checking in with real people and their first impressions about the gear — and their answers to others’ questions about it — can be a pretty good early look at how things are going with Apple’s latest products.

Apple Watch Series 3 could finally get the boot this year

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Apple Watch Music
It's about time.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple might discontinue the Apple Watch Series 3 later this year, according to a new report.

The device stuck around this long — five years after its 2017 introduction — as a more-affordable alternative to newer Apple Watch models. But in recent years, performance and storage constraints caused all kinds of frustrations for Apple Watch Series 3 owners.

Apple could keep us waiting for MacBook Air’s big redesign

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A MacBook Air without a Touch Bar might be in the offing for later in 2021.
The new model is expected to look a little something like this.
Concept: Ian Zelbo

MacBook Air fans may have to wait longer than expected for the ultraportable’s next big redesign. It was predicted to come early this year, but a new report claims it won’t be ready until sometime during the second half of 2022.

There’s also bad news for MacBook Pro fans. It seems updates to the 14- and 16-inch models, which could bring next-generation “M2 Pro” and “M2 Max” chipsets, won’t appear until 2023.

Skip bottlenecks and borders with this hardware VPN

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This decentralized VPN gives you total control over your network.
Protect you and your family with this plug-and-play VPN.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Strong cybersecurity is as important as the lock on your door. One of the best moves you can make is getting a strong virtual private network and firewall to keep your digital footprint hidden from the people who would steal your data and use it to make a profit.

Protect yourself with the Deeper Connect Nano Decentralized VPN Cybersecurity Hardware for $289.

Last chance to get amazing photo editing app Luminar AI for only $40

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Luminar AI Photo Editor is on sale until March 22.
Easily turn your photos into stunning works of art with this AI-powered photo editor.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Luminar AI lets you make professional-quality edits to photos without any professional experience. If you want to transform an ordinary shot into an eye-grabbing image, this artificial intelligence-powered software can do the tedious work for you.

However, if you’re ready to produce better pictures the easy way, this is your last chance to get this easy-to-use software — plus some serious extras — at a heavily discounted price. The Complete Award-Winning Luminar AI Bundle is on sale now for just $39.99 (regularly $235), but this deal ends on March 22.

Apple Watch saves Florida woman’s life by calling 911 after hard fall

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Apple Watch fall detection works on Series 4 and Series 5.
Apple Watch fall detection can save you if you’re knocked unconscious.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Raylene Hackenwerth received an Apple Watch as a gift.. a gift that she says saved her life. The wearable called 911 for her after it detected she had taken a very bad fall. And that’s just the start.

Fall detection is a feature of every model since Apple Watch Series 4.

Get unbeatable airfare deals with Dollar Flight Club

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Save big on this Dollar Flight Club subscription.
Score great airline deals with this discounted subscription.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

The internet is filled with amazing travel deals. If you “suffer” from wanderlust, however, spending all your time scrolling and waiting probably isn’t so appealing. So, it’s time to seek a modern solution.

Dollar Flight Club is a subscription service that shows you the cheapest flights to get to destinations you’d normally spend months saving for. For a limited time, you can get a lifetime subscription to Dollar Flight Club Premium for $49 (regularly $690), or a Premium Plus plan for just $99 (regularly $1,690).

Severance’s corporate conspiracy gets even creepier [Apple TV+ recap]

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Severance recap: Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder at Lumon Industries ...
Just when you thought things couldn't get any weirder at Lumon Industries ...
Photo: Apple TV+

The plot thickens on this week’s tense and exciting episode of Severance, the show about a creeping conspiracy at a shady organization.

Mark is finally ready to start asking questions about what his employer Lumon Industries is up to, even though he knows the company will do everything in its power to stop him. He’s going to have to watch himself on two fronts because his outside world self is starting to dig into Lumon, too. And if he keeps making a spectacle of himself at work, they’ll be watching him extra-closely outside.

This rollable electronic chessboard is on sale for a limited time

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Play online or face-to-face with this e-Chessboard.
This electronic chessboard, which lets you face off against online opponents, also can teach you to play better.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Square Off Pro is an interactive electronic chessboard that lets you play in person or online with the same physical pieces. Dubbed “the world’s first rollable tournament e-chessboard,” the Square Off Pro is on sale now for $225 (regularly $249).

Why Mac Studio looks odd, and what Apple should have done instead

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Here's how Apple should have made Mac Studio’s front ports
This isn’t what the Mac Studio looks like. But it should be.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Mac Studio looks just a bit… off. It’s the three front-facing ports. They aren‘t arranged like they should be. The SD card slot makes a horizontal line, but the two USB-C ports are vertical.

It’s an unusual miss for a company that’s typically obsessed with tiny design details.

Leanne strikes again in another shocking episode of Servant [Apple TV+ recap]

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Servant recap: Leanne is full of surprises.
Leanne is full of surprises.
Photo: Apple TV+

Dorothy is fed up on this week’s Servant, the Apple TV+’s show about a witchy nanny named Leanne who takes over the lives of a rich Philadelphia family.

Dorothy wants Leanne out of the house by any means necessary, heedless of just how crazed her determination makes her look. She’s going to need all the help she can get to best Leanne, who she should know by now is nigh-impossible to outflank.

This week’s typically strong episode comes courtesy of Austrian directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, who take to the world of Servant like fish to water.

Apple ‘Election’ ad promotes the power of the new iPad Air

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In Apple's new ad, student battle for electoral supremacy using the powerful new iPad Air.
In Apple's new ad, student battle for electoral supremacy using the powerful new iPad Air.
Photo: Apple

With Friday being the official launch day for sales of Apple’s new iPad Air (and the 5G iPhone SE), Apple has rolled out a new ad depicting high school students battling to become class president. The powerful new tablet is their primary weapon.

Suspicion sticks the landing in audaciously ambiguous season finale [Apple TV+ recap]

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Kunal Nayyar, Tom Rhys-Harries, Georgina Campbell and Elizabeth Henstridge in Suspicion
A satisfying conclusion? Now that's thrilling.
Photo: Apple TV+

The five kidnapping suspects finally meet their tormentor in the gripping season finale of Apple TV+ thriller series Suspicion. All the information will be revealed about these perfect strangers this week. And they can decide for themselves, along with the rest of the world, whether they’ve been doing the right things for the wrong reasons.

This ecoterrorism lark has proven exciting so far. The first season of Suspicion closes on a satisfying note of audacious ambiguity about what happens next and who gets away.

Clever iPad stylus defends itself against germs [Review]

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Targus Antimicrobial Active Stylus for iPad review
The Targus Antimicrobial Active Stylus for iPad makes a great addition to an iPad, no matter where you take it.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Targus Antimicrobial Active Stylus for iPad resists up to 99.9% of bacterial growth for the life of the product. That’s one less thing to worry about while you’re taking notes or sketching on your tablet.

I tested this stylus with my iPad Pro to be sure it’s up to the job. Here’s why the extra features Targus built in make me quite pleased with it.

Dreams haunt The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey [Apple TV+ recap]

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Last Days of Ptolemy Gray recap: Sensia (played by Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) lives on in Ptolemy's dreams.
Sensia (played by Cynthia Kaye McWilliams) lives on in Ptolemy's dreams.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, the Apple TV+ series based on the book of the same name by Walter Mosley, unwinds more of its central mysteries this week.

Ptolemy (played by the excellent Samuel L. Jackson) learns a little more about the deal he’s made with the doctors to get his memory back — and what it will cost him in the long run. However, he’s got too much to do with the extra capacity the operation gave him to stop now. If he can’t solve the many problems and questions swirling around him before he loses his memory, it will be too late. He’ll die not even realizing how close he came to peace.

Apple Books releases ‘tell-all’ tome about sinister company behind Severance

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Apple Books has a
Apple Books has a "tell-all" about Lumon Industries and the "Severance" procedure.
Photo: Apple TV+

Don’t tell Lumon Industries I’m saying this — and later I may not even remember writing it — but Apple Books may be about to blow the lid off this whole “severance” thing.

On Friday it plans to release a “tell-all” book about the sinister company at the center of the chilling drama series Severance on Apple TV+.

Let’s take our workstation outside today [Setups]

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Working al fresco can be refreshing. Except for the downpours. And the lizards.
Working al fresco can be refreshing. Except for the downpours. And the lizards.
Photo: [email protected]

There’s nothing like taking your work outside on a nice day, especially if it’s a Friday — if you live somewhere that allows it, weather-wise. The sounds of the birds. The feel of the breeze. The smell of exhaust fumes from nearby traffic.

But sometimes it’s not about half-playing hooky while working on your tan and pretending to work. Today’s featured setup, looking quite complete and perfectly productive, was driven out of the house by renovations.

Apple plans ‘lock adapter’ to stop Mac Studio thieves

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Apple plans lock adapter for Mac Studio
Mac Studio's small design makes it too easy to steal.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to sell a “lock adapter” for Mac Studio that will prevent would-be thieves from swiping the machine from users’ desks, according to one report.

Mac Studio already has a small hole on its base where a lock can be fitted, but it seems there’s not enough room for a standard Kensington option. Apple looks to be working with a third-party on a better solution that will come soon.