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Forensics finally prove who wrote those mysterious Apple 1 serial numbers

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Some old Apple-1 circuit boards have a handwritten serial number and some don't
Some old Apple-1 circuit boards have a handwritten serial number and some don't
Photo: Achim Baqué, Apple-1 Registry

From time to time you hear about Apple’s first computer, the Apple 1, selling to collectors at auction for big bucks. But did you know some of those surviving antiques carry an enduring mystery? For decades, no one could figure out who wrote the serial numbers on their circuit boards. Until now.

iPhone 14 Pro could be set for a major RAM upgrade

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iPhone 14 Pro with pill-shaped camera
A 48-megapixel camera needs more RAM.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

iPhone 14 Pro could be the first to match iPad Pro (and Samsung’s new Galaxy S22) in RAM capacity. A new rumor claims Apple’s next flagship is set for an upgrade to 8GB — up from the 6GB packed into last year’s iPhone 13 Pro.

The memory bump may be necessary to accommodate iPhone 14 Pro’s new cameras, which are expected to include its largest rear-facing sensor to date.

OtterBox will replace OtterSpot batteries for free due to potential swelling

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OtterBox OtterSpot
If you have an affected unit, you should stop using it immediately.
Photo: OtterBox

OtterBox this week launched a replacement program for its unique OtterSpot batteries after confirming that some are susceptible to swelling.

Earlier versions of the battery, which are designed to stack so that multiple units can be charged simultaneously, will be swapped at no cost for those who contact OtterBox support.

This powerful digital microscope magnifies up to 1,000 times on your iPhone

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Enjoy the finer things with this portable microscope.
It's the little things that matter, and you can see them all with this microscope.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

You don’t need a full lab setup to see the tiny details of the world. This WiFi Digital Microscope can magnify up to 1,000X and is on sale for just $55.95 (regularly $69).

Connect this powerful digital microscope directly to your smartphone and see a new side of the world around you. It can magnify 50 to 1,000 times. At the highest level, you can make out individual cells in everyday organisms. You could see microscopic bacteria, the cellular structure of organic specimens, or even your own blood cells!

Apple investors urged to fight Tim Cook’s $99 million pay package

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Tim Cook at Unleashed event
Apple's "Unleashed" event focused on music and Macs.
Photo: Apple

A shareholder advisory group is urging Apple investors to vote against a $99 million compensation package awarded to CEO Tim Cook last year.

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said it has “significant concerns” over the “design and magnitude” of the package — which is up $14.8 million from the year before. But it is Apple’s board, not investors, that make the final decision.

Safari stops saving passwords without user names in iOS and iPadOS 15.4

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lock
To save you from confusion later.
Photo: Chepe Nicoli/Unsplash

iOS and iPadOS 15.4 make a small but welcome change to the way in which Safari saves login information. As of the third beta release, which rolled out to developers on Tuesday, passwords without user names won’t be saved.

The change, which also applies to macOS 12.3 Monterey, means users will be prompted to add a user name before they can save a new password. It helps prevent a buildup of passwords you can’t remember the user names for.

Win a 100W GaN fast charger from Ugreen [Cult of Mac giveaway]

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Ugreen 100W USB C Multiport Charger: Three USB-C ports, a USB-A port and 100 watts of power mean you can charge multiple devices at once.
Three USB-C ports, a USB-A port and 100 watts of power mean you can charge multiple devices at once.
Photo: Ugreen

If you own a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro or any other power-hungry device, you are going to want to enter our latest giveaway. Cult of Mac is giving away 10 — count ’em, 10! — powerful GaN fast chargers from award-winning company Ugreen.

The 100W GaN fast charger packs three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, so it can charge up to four devices at once. If you want to stop using multiple charging blocks that take up all your power outlets, be sure to enter this giveaway.

Learn to code Java from pros who made a career of it

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Learn Java from the people who have used it for years.
Master Java and start making apps today.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Java is still one of the most useful coding languages in the world. You can master it with The Complete 2022 Java Coder Bundle.

On sale now for $39.99 (regularly $1,791), it’s a great way to learn Java — even for total beginners. (Don’t worry, advanced coders: This bundle offers plenty for you, too.)

Take spellbinding half-underwater photos with this specialty iPhone case

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Here's an example of a split photo the waterproof dome case will let you take with a smartphone.
Here's an example of a split photo the waterproof dome case will let you take with a smartphone.
Photo: SJPro

You know those cool photographs that are half underwater and half above water? They’re called split photos. And a new waterproof case on Kickstarter called the SJPro Smartphone Mobile Mini Dome will let you take them with your iPhone, or almost any smartphone, for a pledge of $45.

AirTag needs big changes to become less criminal-friendly

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Maybe Apple should just dump AirTag
Creeps love AirTag. But there are changes Apple could make so it would be much less useful for criminals.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

New York’s attorney general issued a warning Wednesday about AirTags being used to secretly track people. And this is only the latest in a growing controversy over misuse of Apple’s tracking tags.

Perhaps Apple should drop the item tracker completely. At the very least, the functionality needs to be scaled way back.

Maintain your bookworm cred with BookBook Cover for iPad [Review]

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Twelve South BookBook Cover review
Add old-world charm to your iPad and click-on keyboard with BookBook Cover.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

There’s no better case for giving your iPad a unique look than the Twelve South BookBook Cover — no one else is going to have a tablet that looks like something Isaac Newton might have carried. Plus, this new addition to the BookBook line has room inside for a click-on keyboard.

I tried out this tablet case to see how well it stands up in ordinary use. And to be sure there’s really room inside for an iPad keyboard.

Find the best text-editing program for your coding project

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UltraEdit: A good text editing program is crucial to working with code.
A good text editing program is crucial to working with code.
Photo: Christina Morillo/Pexels License

This text editor post is presented by UltraEdit. 

Whether you’re a blogger, a web editor or a software developer, automatic formatting can mess with your writing. That’s why you need a text editor, which is similar to a word processing program but lets you work with nothing but plain text and symbols.

If you write code, a text editor is the most important thing to have (after expertise in your coding language, of course). That’s true whether you use HTML or a more complex and powerful tool, like C++ or Python. But how do you pick a suitable text editor?

New Pokémon card game hits iOS and macOS in beta next week

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Pokémon Trading Card Game Live
But only for those who live in Canada.
Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, the newest game from The Pokémon Company, enters beta testing on iOS and macOS next week before it makes its official debut. But there is a rather large catch (excuse the pun).

If you want to be one of the first to play Pokémon TCG Live, you must be Canadian.

Apple Podcasts app gets new filtering options in iOS 15.4

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Apple Podcasts filtering in iOS 15.4
It's not easier to navigate long-running shows.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple is making a number of nice design improvements to its Podcasts app in iOS 15.4. The biggest is the ability to filter podcast episodes by season.

That particular change undoubtedly will prove handy as users navigate their way through long-running shows. But it’s not the only new option for podcast filtering in Apple’s latest beta.

Unlock internet freedom, and lock down your personal data, with this highly rated VPN

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Grab three years of this Forbes-approved VPN.
Protect your privacy (and boost your entertainment) online with Atlas VPN.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

If you don’t have a solid virtual private network in place, you need one for safe surfing. Atlas VPN comes highly rated — and right now, you can grab a three-year subscription to the service for just $49.99.

That’s an 87% discount off the regular price of $395.

Twitter expands Safety Mode beta in a whole bunch of countries

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Apple's Twitter account and other high-profile accounts hacked in massive Bitcoin scam.
Making Twitter a better place.
Photo: Ravi Sharma/Unsplash CC

Twitter’s upcoming Safety Mode feature, which is designed to automatically detect and block trolls from your timeline, was this week expanded to more users in many English speaking countries before it rolls out to everyone.

Safety Mode first entered beta with a limited number of testers last September. It is now available to around half of all users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and more as Twitter looks to “collect more insights” on how well it’s working.

Would you pay $178 for Sony’s strange new earbuds?

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The new Sony LinkBuds feature an unusual, perhaps even unique, open design.
The new Sony LinkBuds feature an unusual, perhaps even unique, open design.
Photo: Sony

For some time now, the wireless earbud market has grown toward the bursting point, with all sorts of options for active noise canceling buds with wireless charging, long battery life, solid waterproofing and other features for prices between $75 and $150.

But if you’re sick and tired of paying less for more, Sony has something new for you. You can pay $178 for earbuds without ANC or wireless charging, plus pedestrian battery life and minimal waterproofing. Meet the all-new Sony LinkBuds Truly Wireless Earbuds!

What do you get for that price? Sony’s reputation, plus an interesting new compact, lightweight, open-style design that might work great for at least some people.

Don’t lose your crypto gains to the IRS

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Accointing automatically does your Crypto taxes.
Take control of your crypto with Accointing tax software.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

It’s tax time, and that can be a stressful thing for cryptocurrency investors. But it really doesn’t need to be. Accointing crypto tax software generates a tax report and helps you manage your crypto finances. And that can help you avoid costly errors that the IRS might pounce upon to penalize you.

Avoid that kind of nasty situation with this crypto-centric tax software. Bonus: Accointing is on sale so you don’t have to cash out to afford it.

Chrome OS Flex turns 2009 MacBook into a useful computer again

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Chrome OS Flex turns 2009 MacBook into a useful computer again
Transform your old Mac into a Chromebook with Chrome OS Flex
Photo: Google

If you have an elderly Mac that’s not up to the demands of the latest macOS version, you can turn it into a Chromebook. All you need is Chrome OS Flex, an operating system Google created for older Macs and PCs.

The OS is still in beta, and targeted at businesses and schools. Nevertheless, it might become a way to bring some new life to your obsolete Mac.

Intelli’s stylish new CarryOn case protects AirPods Max on the fly

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A magnetic divider in Intelli's CarryOn case puts AirPods Max to sleep when not in use.
A magnetic divider in Intelli's CarryOn case puts AirPods Max to sleep when not in use.
Photo: Intelli

It’s safe to say not everyone loves Apple’s stock carrying case for its flagship headphones, AirPods Max. You might even say some people hate the case. So it’s worth noting when an alternative comes along, like Intelli’s stylish new CarryOn case, released Tuesday.

And they look like a solid choice to carry AirPods Max whether or not you’re traveling at 30,000 feet.

Tidy up with Twelve South’s updated BackPack shelf for 24-inch iMac

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The Twelve South BackPack for 24-inch iMac is a handy storage rack for your Mac's back.
The Twelve South BackPack for 24-inch iMac is a handy storage rack for your Mac's back.
Photo: Twelve South

If your computer setup tends to get cluttered — and whose doesn’t? — you have a new tool. That is, if you own a 24-inch iMac or plan to get one, anyway. On Tuesday Twelve South rolled out an updated version of its popular BackPack shelf just for the latest M1 desktop Macs.

Using the BackPack shelf, you can stash all sorts of stuff, like USB-C hubs, hard drives and other devices, out of sight behind your computer.

Microsoft Teams emoji gets a cute 3D makeover

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Microsoft Teams 3D emoji
A sweet emoji upgrade.
Image: Microsoft

How do you make your emoji stand out in a sea of similar designs? You give them an awesome 3D makeover, of course! That’s exactly what Microsoft is doing with more than 1,800 emoji characters inside Microsoft Teams.

The redesign, which starts rolling out today in an early preview, will be available all platforms — including macOS, iOS and the web.