It seems it’s not that difficult to make millions of dollars on the App Store if you’re willing to charge people for a “free” service and you have money to spend on blatantly fake but seemingly effective reviews.

That’s how one developer, which offers an app that claims to make your music louder, has collected a cool $13 million — and somehow been featured by Apple multiple times in various countries — in under four years.

Reader and technologist Andrew (last name redacted, so to speak) runs a “boutique AV, IT [and] cyber systems integration company from a home office” in London — though he supports sites worldwide. Clearly, he has a lot to do.

And he does it using a late-2013 Mac Pro he fondly said should be on the Death Star from Star Wars, plus a 2017 MacBook Pro he described to Cult of Mac as “perhaps the worst-constructed laptop I have ever owned.”

In 2021, Jason Sudeikis won the first-ever Golden Globe for Apple TV+. On Sunday night he repeated, again winning the Best Television Actor in a musical or comedy award for his leading role in the streaming service’s comedy hit Ted Lasso.

And just like in 2021, Sudeikis’ win was the only one for Apple TV+, despite a handful of other nominations.

It’s OK to admit it: Our love of the latest tech is essentially spurred by our desire to have a cabinet full of James Bond-worthy spy gadgets. But did you know that those awesome super-spy inventions aren’t just the stuff of fiction?

You can grab a two-pack of these iSpyPen Pros — which look like a normal writing implement but give you 007-style capabilities on sale for just $114.99. That’s a 10% discount off the regular price of $129.

There is a lot to get HomeKit fans excited at this year’s CES tech showcase in Las Vegas. Quite a few companies announced products that will support Apple’s home-automation system, including lights, door cameras and more.

Glitzy projects like concept cars get more attention, but HomeKit accessories are more likely to make people’s lives better.

In recent years, CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics confab, has become quite the major auto show. After all, consumer tech and automotive tech keep blending more and more. For CES 2022, automakers like BMW, Cadillac, Hyundai, Mercedes and Sony — wait, who? — really put some crazy futuristic concepts into high gear.

Overall, the mix of ideas ranged from mildly interesting to jaw-dropping. You had the prosaic news, like Amazon Fire TV integrating with Ford and Lincoln vehicles and YouTube video appearing in Volvos. But you also had the wild stories, like some concept cars that look like they belong elsewhere in the galaxy and others that change colors by themselves.

Meanwhile, the projected year when Apple might release an autonomous car through Project Titan keeps getting pushed back despite keen interest in the project.

The Aura Air cleanses and disinfects indoor air, getting rid of viruses, bacteria and mold. And the professional system will soon be upgraded to support Apple’s HomeKit automation system.

Building on other versions of ANC earbuds released in 2021, Belkin rolled out its new SoundForm Immerse Noise Cancelling Earbuds in Las Vegas this week — and they promptly became a CES Innovation Award 2022 Honoree.

The new buds challenge aging champ AirPods Pro, due for a revamp, not only with hybrid active noise cancellation (ANC) with Hear-Thru mode, but they work with Apple’s vast Find My network. And they flaunt a number of premium features.

Belkin introduced other products at CES, too, of course.

Some iPhone and iPad users are being plagued by a Messages bug that causes read receipts to be sent even when they are disabled. The problem seems to affect devices running iOS 15 or later.

There is no permanent fix for the issue yet, but there is one thing you can do that may eliminate the problem for a short time.

Fitness tracker company Garmin showed a new version of its Venu 2 Plus GPS smartwatch at CES 2022 — and this one let’s you talk to Apple’s voice-activated assistant, Siri. If you’re into that sort of thing.

Or, if you’re among the many folks who seem to prefer other helpers on their devices, you could talk to Google Assistant or Samsung’s Bixby. Previous Garmin smartwatches didn’t allow that. Plus the Venu 2 Plus works with both iOS and Android devices, Garmin said.