People love their “minimal” computer setups, but everyone has a different idea of what that means. Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro setup is on the spare side — not to mention beautifully photographed — but it actually has a lot going on.
From the powerful laptop and 4K display to the big-time external storage, backup power and extensive smart lighting, the setup’s more than a match for its owner’s photo editing work.
Need more than your fingertip and a keyboard to get your point across on an iPad? An iPad stylus is an excellent option, and we’re currently offering one at a discounted price.
Much less expensive than an Apple Pencil, this one’s available for only $24.99 (regularly $39) with no coupon required. You can save almost 40% on a pen that’s perfect for designing, drawing and much more on any iPad produced since 2018.
★★★☆☆
In new Apple TV+ limited series The Last Thing He Told Me, a woman realizes she knows less about her husband than she thought after he goes missing. Together with her angry stepdaughter, she must figure out what went wrong — and what her husband actually did for a living.
Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Laura Daves, and starring Jennifer Garner (Alias, Dallas Buyers Club), the show certainly isn’t a failure. However, slack elements in the first two episodes, which premiered today on Apple’s streaming service, keep the mystery from realizing its potential.
You might ask yourself, “Do I need an external hard drive?” After all, you may be just like the average user — content with the 250GB or so capacity of your computer.
However, if you are a gamer, a movie buff or have a massive collection of downloaded material, consider adding more storage space. But even if you aren’t, there are other productive uses for having an external hard drive. For any of your storage needs, this sleek, portable hard drive can do the trick. It’s now on sale for $32.99 (regularly $39).
Amazon bargain site Woot! is selling a slew of Apple’s accessories at steep discounts through May 1. Sale items include Apple Watch bands, iPhone cases, an iPhone wallet, AirTag cases, and chargers and cables.
The discounts range from 21% off to an astounding 86% off (by Woot’s calculations), so don’t miss this one.
If you don’t shop at Costco, you don’t know what you’re missing. We’re talking big discounts on everything from Apple gear to those famous rotisserie chickens. And if you’re trying to cut food costs during these inflationary times, Costco is your ticket to eating well on a budget.
With a Costco Gold Star Membership, you’ll find shelves of enticing ingredients and premade delectables to help you create amazing meals. For a limited time, you can get a one-year Costco Gold Star Membership for just $60 — and it comes with a $30 Digital Shop Card you can use on your favorite Costco items.
As the old saying goes, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch — there’s usually a trick. And the same goes for phone charging sustains in airports. These can be used to hack your device, according to a recent warning from the FBI about “juice jacking.”
Here are six ways to safely charge up your iPhone when you’re on the go.
★★★☆☆
The Big Door Prize, the Apple TV+ sci-fi/comedy about a mysterious machine that reveals people’s potential, reaches deeper into despair and goofiness this week.
Dusty and Cass’ daughter Trina celebrates a depressing milestone and is acting out to make sure everyone knows it. Plus, Dusty and Cass try a romantic getaway and find nothing but surprises, both welcome and unwelcome, waiting for them.
In the episode, entitled “Trina,” The Big Door Prize flexes its tonal muscles.
★★★★☆
Apple TV+ musical comedy Schmigadoon! lets its hair down this week as Josh goes on the lam and Melissa goes on the hunt for clues. Plus, Jane Krakowski gets an MVP moment that caps a very fun outing for the cast and writers.
The musical numbers in this week’s episode, entitled “Bells and Whistles,” prove stellar. And Schmigadoon! delivers more laughs per minute than usual, which means the second season of the feather-light show totally found its groove.
The Cult of Mac Store’s Easter Sale is winding down. Before it ends, don’t miss your chance to get up to 60% off a variety of accessories, including Apple Watch bands, iPhone and AirPods cases and more.
Visit the Easter Savings collection for all the deals and see some cool highlights below.
New computer displays tend to get not just better over time, but bigger — within reason. Unlike TVs, they’re designed to be viewed from just a few feet away at most. But increasingly, we see people using smart TVs as external monitors to get that extra size into their desktop setups.
Today’s featured setup sports an M2 MacBook Pro driving a 42-inch LG OLED smart TV that the user describes as “perfect.”
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ smash hit Ted Lasso needs a win this week, as AFC Richmond’s losing streak makes the team a laughing stock.
Ted’s not thinking clearly. Rebecca is seeing evidence everywhere that a psychic prediction about her is coming true — and it’s freaking her out. Keeley handles an unruly employee and makes a new friend. Nate has a minor victory off the pitch.
The episode, entitled “Signs,” is a perfectly good outing of the perennially upbeat football show.
If you constantly struggle with a spaghetti tangle of wires taking up space on desks, kitchen counters and bedside tables, there’s a better way to charge you and your family’s precious devices.
This seven-in-one charging station can power up an entire household’s worth of gadgets in a compact hub that takes up less than 8 inches of space. Even better, it’s now on sale for only $59.99 (regularly $89).
You don’t need to shell out for a piano teacher if you want to learn to play a tune on the ivory keys. With Skoove Premium, you can get hundreds of lessons and thousands of instructional videos to help you learn everything from the basics to improv and chart hits. Get a lifetime subscription to Skoove Premium Piano Lessons for only $139.97. That’s over 50% in savings and the best price online.
★★★★☆
The just-released Plugable AMS-5IN1E is a USB-C hub that attaches to the side of a MacBook and adds ports that Apple won’t, including USB-A and Ethernet. And it does so without blocking one of the USB-C/Thunderbolt ports and MagSafe charging.
I tested the five ports in this affordable hub to see how well they perform in the real world.
The Steve Jobs Archive released its first book Tuesday, Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words. It’s a memoir of sorts because almost everything in it comes directly from Jobs, from major speeches and interviews to emails he sent to himself. It covers the Apple co-founder’s life from a young age until he passed away in 2011.
The new book includes never-before-seen content, the archive said, and it’s free from multiple sources.
Looking for your next science fiction binge? Apple TV+ offers some excellent sci-fi series to keep your eyes popping and (more importantly) your brain humming.
From mythic procedurals to New Testament space operas, Apple TV+ gives viewers a number of exciting science fiction series worthy of a watch. Some seem hilariously literal, while others prove truly fantastical. No matter your tastes, there’s something for every sci-fi fan.
Here are our picks for the best science fiction shows on Apple TV+.
MacWhisper is a great way to get text transcriptions for podcasts, live streams, meetings, videos — whatever you may need. Just drag a file onto the Mac app’s window and you’ll get a transcription generated on the fly. You can even use the microphone to make transcriptions live as you’re talking.
You can easily edit the transcription like a Word document and export it as a subtitle file for a video, a text file for reference or an HTML file for publishing online.
Soundcore unveiled its elegant new Motion X600 Portable High Fidelity Speaker Monday. The compact speaker offers hi-res, spatial audio in a handsome package with a metal grille and a choice of gray, green or blue colors.
When it becomes available in early May, it’ll go for $200. But you can get an early-bird discount. See below.
Another week, another set of active-noise-cancelling (ANC) wireless earbuds. The latest buds vying to take a piece of the AirPods pie are the updated OnePlus Nord Buds 2. They add ANC and improved sound quality over their super-affordable predecessor.
Nord Buds made a splash with good sound quality at a bargain-basement price of $39 when they came out. Now Nord Buds 2 piles on more features and boosts quality at a still-low $59 price point.
Accessories maker ESR unveiled its new HaloLock Power Bank Wallet on Wednesday. Now on Amazon, the magnetic 3-in-1 device charges your phone, keep your cards in order and lets you “enjoy hands-free viewing in a sleek, pocket-friendly package,” the company said.
Not every computer setup flaunted and much-admired on social media is an Apple silicon powerhouse with an ultra-fast M1 or M2 chip. Today’s featured setup leans on a 6-year-old iMac and a MacBook Air almost twice as old as that.
But with the help of an impressive-yet-affordable audio gear list and a trio of gaming systems, the rig gets the work and play done. And don’t miss the beefed up iPod classic in the mix.
PDFs are still the best way to send and share documents, contracts and invoices, whether you work from your office or run a small business at home. However, Apple users know it can be a nightmare to properly edit PDFs on standard Mac software.
But with a lifetime license to PDF Expert, you can create and convert beautifully readable documents and never have to struggle with trying to edit PDFs on macOS again. You can get it on sale for $69.99 (regularly $139), the best price online.
External screens for MacBook or iPad aren’t just convenient in the office — they’re also great to use on the go. There are a range of portable external displays on the market, including some with touchscreens.
Here are my recommendations for the best screens ready to go with you to a coffee shop or Paris.
Whether you’re moving important work files or pictures of your cat, transferring files from one device to another can be a bit tedious. There are plenty of ways to get the job done, but many file-transfer methods require an internet connection, which isn’t always an option.
Instead, you could try a more direct method and get a flash drive that works with almost anything. The 4-in-1 Smart Flash Drive has four ways to connect and is compatible with most smart devices. Even better, there are two storage options for this accessory. 64G of storage is on sale for only $18.99 (regularly $29), while the 128GB version is going for just $28.99 (regularly $39).
You’ll have to act fast, though, since these price drops only last until April 11.