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Draw the line with this affordable digital pen for iPads

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Transform your iPad into an art tablet with this $40 gadget.
Break away from your desk but not your art with the Digi Pen.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Doing digital art on your tablet can be a relaxing change if you’re used to doing it hunched over a desk. With the right tools, you can turn your iPad or other tablet into your favorite art station

While Apple Pencil is great, the Digi Pen is an affordable option. This smooth, smart digital pen for tablets is on sale for $39.99 (regularly $99).

Celebrate Earth Day the Apple Pay way, auto-donating $1 at a time

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Use Apple Pay to donate to a good cause this year around Earth Day.
Use Apple Pay to donate to a good cause this year around Earth Day.
Photo: Apple

If you care about environmental causes, Apple just gave you a pretty painless way to give. Starting Thursday and running through Earth Day on April 22, Apple will donate $1 to the World Wildlife Fund for every Apple Pay transaction in Apple stores, on the store app or on Apple.com.

So start buying stuff and join the fight to save the planet’s beleaguered species.

M1 MacBook Pro is a total steal after a $249 discount

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MacBook Pro Black Friday deals
This deal gives you the perfect excuse to buy the M1 MacBook Pro
Photo: Apple

Apple’s excellent M1 MacBook Pro is discounted by as much as $249 on Amazon. The base model with 256GB storage is down to its lowest price of $1,099 in the last 30 days, down from 1,299.

The deal on the 512GB variant is even better — it is available for $1,249 after a $249 discount, with the last $50 off automatically applied at checkout.

Get inspired by trailer for The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball on Apple TV+

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Get inspired by trailer for ‘The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball’ on Apple TV+
Makur Maker is the focus of in The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball on Apple TV+.
Photo: Apple TV+

A docuseries about an NBA hopeful determined to take control of his journey premieres on Apple TV+ on April 22. The Long Game: Bigger Than Basketball tells the story of how Makur Maker, a five-star NBA prospect, ended up at Howard University.

A new trailer for the upcoming series gives an early look at his inspirational story.

WhatsApp finally adds emoji reactions and features for groups

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At first, WhatsApp users will have just six emojis to choose from.
At first, WhatsApp users will have just six emojis to choose from.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Looks like secure chat client WhatsApp just got a little livelier. Its long-promised emoji-based Reactions and newly developed Communities features for organizations rolled out on Thursday.

Users will have six emojis to play with to start. And in addition to new Communities, WhatsApp’s Groups functionality gets a revamp, too.

New signs point to periscope lens coming to iPhone 15

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Apple may have found a new periscope lens supplier for iPhone 15.
Apple may have found a new periscope lens supplier for iPhone 15.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

It looks like the rumored periscope lens in iPhone 15 just took a step closer to reality. Jahwa Electronics in South Korea said it plans to expand production on new models and invest $155.7 million in new facilities. A new report suggested the company’s new customer is Apple, for whom it will supply periscope lens components.

Jahwa currently supplies such tech — optical image stabilization (OIS) actuators — for Samsung’s Galaxy S22 lineup.

Jack up efficiency with Satechi’s slick new laptop accessories

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You can get Satechi's speedy new HDMI 2.1 cable and dual vertical laptop stand at a 20% off discount for launch.
You can get Satechi's speedy new HDMI 2.1 cable and dual vertical laptop stand at a 20% off discount for launch.
Photo: Satechi

If you make your MacBook Pro or other laptop the center of your office, Satechi rolled out new accessories Thursday that can help increase your efficiency factor.

The company launched its new 8K Ultra HD High Speed HDMI 2.1 Cable for fast display connections and Dual Vertical Laptop Stand to keep your gear neatly housed out of the way while you work.

Apple accuses Meta of ‘hypocrisy’ for nearly 50% commission on metaverse sales

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Apple accuses Meta of ‘hypocrisy’ for nearly 50% commission on metaverse sales
Selling anything in Meta’s VR metaverse will cost developers quite a bit.
Photo: Meta

Facebook’s parent company Meta will claim almost half of the money third-party developers earn from sales in Horizon Worlds, the VR platform for Quest headsets. An Apple executive says that “lays bare Meta’s hypocrisy,” considering it has criticized Apple in the past for its 30% App Store fee.

Back up and protect cherished family photos and data with pCloud

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pCloud's Easter promotion gives you a great deal on a family plan.
pCloud's Easter promotion gives you a great deal on a family plan with strong security.
Photo: pCloud

This cloud storage post is brought to you by pCloud.

There’s nothing like breaking out family photo albums and reliving memories with the clan. Or looking back at treasured mementos like holiday cards, diplomas and wedding invitations. And this is true even if it’s all digital rather than physical.

But just as a family can lose photos and papers to fires and floods, it can lose digital items, too. And that’s why it’s crucial to have a backup, like secure cloud data storage from pCloud. The company’s Family Plan, which lets everyone share in the fun, is deeply discounted for a short time. Plus, it comes with extra security in a special Easter promotion campaign.

Apple helps suppliers more than double their use of clean power

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Apple helps suppliers more than double their use of clean power
Apple invested in the IP Radian Solar project to help offset the electricity used to charge iPhones, Macs, iPads, etc.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s suppliers have more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year. There’s over 10 gigawatts operational today.  In 2021, these projects avoided 13.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

And the iPhone-maker itself is investing in green energy projects.

See an invisible world with this 1,000x digital microscope

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This Wi-Fi Microscope is on sale & perfect for kids.
Appreciate the little things with this Wi-Fi microscope.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s hard to appreciate the little things when you can’t see them. It’s also hard to study the little things on the fly when you don’t have your own mobile lab.

The WiFi Digital Microscope is a compact, portable microscope that can magnify up to 1,000 times. It can connect to your iPhone, iPad or Mac, and it’s on sale for just $55.95 (regularly $69).

Elon Musk wants to take over Twitter by spending $41 billion

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Elon Musk
Elon Musk now wants to acquire the whole of Twitter
Photo: NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affair/Wikipedia CC

Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has offered $41 billion in cash to take over Twitter. He wants to take the social media company private to ensure it is able to thrive and “be the platform for free speech around the globe.”

The move comes less than two weeks after Musk spent $3 billion to become Twitter’s largest shareholder.

Improved iPhone privacy protections could cost Facebook $20.9 billion and counting

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Facebook vs. iPhone App Tracking Transparency
Turns out the answer to this question was “do not track” 80% of the time.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

A tweak to iOS privacy settings made in 2021 has already cost Facebook $8.1 billion, and the social-networking company’s losses will increase by another $12.8 billion in 2022, according to an industry report.

Forcing applications to ask permission before tracking their users’ online activity hurt other companies, too. But nowhere near as much as Facebook.

Protect your email with this awesome WordPress plugin

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This WordPress plugin hides your email from malware.
If you operate a WordPress site, you can hide your email address from bots with this plugin.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Posting your email on your own website shouldn’t lead to an inbox full of spam. Luckily, there’s a middle ground between giving your audience no way to reach you and handing bots and malware everything to use against you.

The Email Protection WordPress Plugin hides your email from web crawlers that log and use your information, but still makes it easy for your readers to contact you. For a limited time, this one-time purchase is on sale for just $9.99 (regularly $37).

Nomad’s swanky new MagSafe charger makes room for Apple Watch

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At the price, the new Nomad Base One Max had better be this good looking.
At the price, the new Nomad Base One Max had better be this good looking.
Photo: Nomad

Maybe you thought about snapping up the exceedingly nice-looking Nomad Base One MagSafe charger for iPhone when it came out in March. But what about charging my Apple Watch, too, you asked.

Well, Nomad must’ve been listening, because it launched the Nomad Base One Max on Tuesday. It adds an Apple Watch stand to the Base One’s wireless charging pad.

Wait for high-end MacBook Pro stretches into June amidst China lockdown

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2021 MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips
It could be summertime before your MacBook Pro with an M1 Max is delivered. Blame COVID.
Photo: Apple

Order a MacBook Pro with an M1 Max processor and you’ll wait until June for a delivery. Wait times have grown to 7+ weeks because the company that assembles the notebook for Apple is caught in a COVID lockdown.

The same lockdown caught one of the major iPhone assemblers, and also two iPad assemblers. But it’s not affecting handset or tablet deliveries. Not to the same extent, anyway.

New Eufy smart scale could be your closest health adviser

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It does more than weigh you.
It does more than weigh you.
Photo: Dufy

A smart scale sitting on the bathroom floor is never going to replace your doctor — or at least, not yet. But devices like the new Eufy Smart Scale P2 Pro do more in the realm of health than just weigh you.

You may not be in a big hurry to find out about things like your bone mass, but at least you can if you want or need to. And you can do it in the comfort of your own home.

Go off-grid with Anker’s new portable power station

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Need to live in the woods for a while? This could help.
Need to live in the woods for a while? This could help.
Photo: Anker

Whether you’ve suffered a power outage, decided to go on a camping trip or finally realized you need to ditch civilization once and for all, Anker’s burly new 757 PowerHouse portable power station can help.

With a powerful battery and loads of ports, it’s for anytime you go off-grid.

Glenn Close makes her Tehran debut in new Apple TV+ trailer

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Glenn Close makes her ‘Tehran’ season two debut in new Apple TV+ trailer
Espionage thriller Tehran returns to Apple TV+ on May 6 with Glenn Close in a prominent role.
Photo: Apple TV+

Mossad hacker-agent Tamar remains undercover in Iran in Tehran season two. But this time she has Glenn Close to help. But is she really there to help?

Watch the trailer for the upcoming season for more hints of what’s to come. And the wait won’t be long — new episodes of the spy-vs-spy thriller premier May 6 on Apple TV+.

Graphic designer runs racy dual-monitor MacBook Pro rig [Setups]

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Look at that wallpaper! Oh, and there's also a computer setup.
Look at that wallpaper! Oh, and there's also a computer setup.
Photo: [email protected]

Ever show off your painstakingly constructed computer setup only to have everybody race past the gear just to ogle what’s showing on the screen(s)? The desktop wallpaper.

It’s kind of like that with today’s featured setup, the brainchild of a graphic designer.

He put together the dual-monitor setup around a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with a lineup of nice touches. And he also made the neato race-car wallpaper that got most of the attention.

How a Washington lawyer helps vets with Mac-based Daylite CRM

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Lawyer Michael Eisenberg
Washington DC Lawyer Michael D.J. Eisenberg uses the Daylite CRM to track complex cases.
Photo: Michael D.J. Eisenberg

Daylite case studyMichael D.J. Eisenberg is a Washington, D.C., lawyer who frequently deals with the dreaded federal bureaucracy, which has never been quick or easy to deal with.

Sometimes cases can take a decade or more, and he wouldn’t be able to manage it without the help of Daylite, a comprehensive, Mac-based customer relationship management app.

“Specifically, because it’s a Mac-native program, it integrates incredibly well with Apple Mail,” said Eisenberg. “The Daylite Mail Assistant is fantastic. I don’t have to be worried about having access to my email as long as I have access to my Daylite database whether it’s on my iPhone, iPad, iMac or the MacBook Pro I use when I travel. I can very easily look up a case history or see what Tasks I have in relation to it as well as all past communications.”

Ready for your close-ups? See the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge winners.

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“Hidden Gem” (water bead in leaf) by Jirasak Panpiansin (@joez19). Shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
“Hidden Gem” (water bead in leaf) by Jirasak Panpiansin (@joez19). Shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Photo: Apple

Apple unveiled its top 10 extreme-close-up photo selections Wednesday from the Shot on iPhone Macro Challenge, in which photographers from all over the world submitted epic miniatures over several weeks starting January 25.

All the shooters used iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max to take their pics. Photographers hailed from China, Hungary, India, Italy, Spain, Thailand and the U.S. Apple plans to feature their images on apple.com, on Instagram (@apple) and on billboards in select cities.

Check out the stunning shots — captured with iPhone’s most-advanced cameras ever — below.

This iOS golf simulator is a hole-in-fun gift for 25% off

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Swing at home with this amazing golf simulator.
See how this golf simulator can improve your short game.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

No matter how much you love golf, you probably can’t hit the course every day. Even professional golfers have to head home sometime, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop playing and practicing.

The TruGolf Mini golf simulator is a remarkably realistic tool that lets you hit the green 2 feet from your couch. And for a limited time, it’s on sale for $299 (regularly $399).