We value our Mac computers. Whether on a desk or in a lap, they help us complete many life tasks. But you and your machine wouldn’t make it without reliable accessories — especially now that we live in the USB-C era.

Storage drives, hubs with extra ports, a good pair of headphones, maybe a bag to carry your tech — all these Mac accessories play important roles. They often remain unsung, but sometimes come through to help us avoid a devastating loss of hardware or important work.

So if you are looking to bolster your Mac support team, look no further than this list of some of Cult of Mac’s favorites accessories from 2016 for iMacs, MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

We’re always keeping our heads up for the best new apps coming to our iOS devices and Apple TVs. We’re like prairie dogs that way, only we’re not as cute, and our homes are only metaphorical holes.

Every week, we round up the coolest new apps (or awesome updates to existing ones) that have hit Apple’s digital storefront in the past seven days. And if you’re spending your Valentine’s Day browsing the App Store for some new utilities, we have you covered. Also, we’re sorry that that is how you’re spending your Valentine’s Day.

Check out our weekly picks for apps of the week below.

Since revelations of NSA eavesdropping surfaced earlier this year with the Edward Snowden leaks, Apple has been at the forefront of a tech company push-back demanding reforms.

The company is joining a number of other industry giant — including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft, LinkedIn and AOL — in setting aside business rivalries to demand a scaling back of government surveillance.

With a new story concerning the extraordinary lengths the U.S. Government is seemingly taking to spy on its citizens’ digital lives hitting the news every day now, President Obama met Apple CEO Tim Cook and a number of other tech executives to discuss government surveillance.

Apple and some of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies have been under heavy fire ever since info on the National Security Administration’s PRISM program leaked to the public last month.

In response to the public’s outcry that tech companies are working with the NSA to pilfer personal info on targets of interest, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter and others have formed a broad alliance with civil liberties groups that will tomorrow demand for increased transparency regarding the U.S. government’s spy programs on citizens.

All Things D reports that the alliance will publish a letter Thursday, demanding President Obama and Congress allow tech companies to provide reports on information requests related to national security.

This time on a very patriotic CultCast: Apple starts trademarking “iWatch”; the back to school sale is back; Mac upgrades that are worth the money; Vine Vs. Instagram; PRISM takes Alex; we wish you a happy 4th; and sooo much more!

Have a few laughs and get caught up on this week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin.

Show notes up next.

You really had to hope that Apple would be more above board than other companies about who has access to our iData. We love them so much: half of all U.S. households own at least one Apple device. They’ve sold us on documenting our growing kids, cooking for our families and debuting new haircuts with iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Instead, Apple initially denied any involvement in PRISM, the National Security Agency’s massive e-spying program. Then, like Facebook and Microsoft, the Cupertino company issued a statement meant to clear things up but the numbers released by all three companies just confuse and minimize the issue.

So if they all did it, why am I seeing red about Apple? We deserve more from a publicly-traded company that has built its reputation on products that aspire to “enhance the life it touches” as in the above two-page ad timed to appear in the Wall Street Journal the day of the PRISM statement.That statement, headlined “Apple’s Commitment to Customer Privacy,” seems about as phony as this Android iPhone clone.

Apple has issued a statement which explains its commitment to customer privacy and how it handles government requests for data following the PRISM scandal. The Cupertino company has reiterated that it did not know about the PRISM program until June 6 when it was first contacted by the media, and that it does not provide government agencies with direct access to its servers.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Andrew Stone, an indie NeXT developer who worked with Steve Jobs for almost a quarter century, believes that Jobs would’ve never let Apple be a part of the United States National Security surveillance program PRISM.

Last week, a story about the NSA’s top-secret PRISM program broke. According to leaked documents, PRISM is a program in which the NSA is directly able to survey all data stored on the servers of pretty much every tech company under the sun, including Apple.

Apple has firmly denied even hearing about PRISM, but intriguingly, they might be required by law to do so.

Either way, it was only a matter of time when the first class-action lawsuit suing Apple for its participation in PRISM hit the courts.