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It doesn’t matter how well-equipped your team is if the data the business runs on is compromised. You could set up your salespeople with the best iPhones and iPads, your developers with top-of-the-line CPUs, and so on. But taking steps to address the rampant cybercrime out there can make the difference between survival and major struggle.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The M2 Pro-powered Mac mini is a dream machine for creative types, according to our reviewer D. Griffin Jones. He joins us to sing the praises of this pint-size powerhouse. (It’s quite an upgrade from the 2015 MacBook Pro he used before.)

Also on The CultCast:

• It’s just two months until we’ll see Apple’s mixed-reality headset. We can’t help thinking this pricey “star product” is gonna flop hard, even as it points the way toward the future.
• A free book coming next week will reveal Steve Jobs “in his own words.”
• Will the next version of watchOS really bring big changes?
• Erfon knows where you can find a steady supply of genuine Apple accessories at cut-rate prices.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Our sponsors: Hello Fresh and Mylio

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Considering how much time you spend online, are you doing enough to ensure complete privacy and safety? Cybersecurity threats continue to increase and evolve, leaving millions of internet users vulnerable. But, a strong VPN can provide protection.

For a limited time, you can pick up a lifetime subscription to Ivacy VPN for only $18.99 by using coupon code IVACY5 at checkout. This sub works with up to five devices. And it offers compatibility with macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, Linux, Roku, PS4, Xbox and more.

However, this deal lasts only through April 11.

Plenty of people dedicate serious time to gaming, but do you have what it takes to design a game yourself? If you’re curious about the process, or want to take a serious professional plunge, pick up this low-priced package of courses on game art development.

The 2023 Complete Blender Bundle is currently available for only $34.99 (regularly $655), with no coupon necessary. You’ll score enormous savings on instant access to five comprehensive courses on game art creation that total nearly 50 hours.

Extrapolations, the too-ambitious-in-all-the-wrong-ways Apple TV+ science fiction show “about” global climate change, revisits an old friend this week for a look at the courier job from hell.

The show’s focus this time around is not on the environment but rather on the personal toll of living in a future you can’t control or understand. The episode, entitled “2066: Lola,” is a laborious and overfamiliar story that is, for no good reason, longer than almost every other episode of Extrapolations.

No matter which AirPods you have, the Cult of Mac Easter Sale has something for you. Check out the selection of cool cases and stands in the Easter Savings collection.

See some highlights below, where the links go straight to the products. And if you think this sale is probably only for AirPods Pro, AirPods 3 and AirPods Max, guess again. Here’s six cases for AirPods 1 and 2, for example — all 25% off.

The first season of Hello Tomorrow!, the Apple TV+ show about men selling lunar dreams and lies, comes to a close this week in high style.

Jack needs to tie up some loose ends, and he has no plan for what happens when his clients finally get to the moon. His son Joey must figure out who to honor, his mother or his father. Eddie has butterfingers and Shirley has to pay for it. And someone is, at long last, awake.

The season finale, entitled “What Could Be Better?,” is a great conclusion to a great season.

We often see computer setups festooned with several big external monitors, Mission Control style. But some great setups get by with zero external displays, like today’s featured iMac setup.

The iMac provides the main screen, of course. And then “black magic” makes the iPad Pro levitate as a second screen. Or something like that. See below.

TL;DR: If you’re tired of forgetting passwords, a lifetime subscription to Sticky Password Premium can help. And it now costs only $23.97 until April 11.

New Apple TV+ docuseries Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker centers on a famous tennis player embroiled in a scandal. Directed by prolific but utterly predictable documentarian Alex Gibney, the two-part series charts the rise and fall of the youngest Wimbledon champion in history.

Debuting today on Apple TV+, the straight-ahead documentary goes from Boris Becker’s historic wins to his similarly historic losses on the world stage thanks to dicey financial decisions. And it does so in the most formulaic fashion possible. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s no ace, either.

The cybersecurity industry is enormous, and it’s only getting bigger. By 2029, the cybersecurity market is estimated to be worth just shy of $400 billion. Still, that doesn’t mean that those jobs will be easy grabs. Get ahead of competing job applicants with a comprehensive overview of the field and essential skills with this cybersecurity developer and IT skills bundle.

This comprehensive bundle of courses gives you more than 400 hours of training from iCollege professionals. And it’s on sale for $47.99 (regularly $7,774) if you use code SECURITY40.

USB-C is finally coming to the iPhone, but there are rumors and speculation that only Apple-approved cables will be able to charge the device. Realistically, though, there’s no way Apple would be allowed to get away with that.

The European Union is forcing Apple to drop the Lightning port, and would surely squash attempts to make USB-C into anything but a universal standard. That’s if Apple is even trying to do that, which is questionable.

The Easter Sale in the Cult of Mac Store features an array of iPhone cases and accessories at great discounts — up to 40% off!

You can find a huge selection of Laut cases to fit any taste and almost any recent iPhone (not just iPhone 14 series). And if you want a screen or lens protector, the sale has you covered with various options.

Check out the Easter Savings collection! And see below for some sale highlights for iPhone. The links below go directly to products.

The new Mac mini is the best value in the entire computer industry, point blank. It’s a $700 computer that won’t break a sweat editing high-resolution video, exhaustively long podcasts or giant graphic design projects — all at the same time. The M2 Pro model takes it even further.

Because of my job here at Cult of Mac, I wear a lot of hats. In a typical week, I edit videos, record a podcast, dabble in graphic design, compile open-source projects in Xcode and research topics for my writing. I’m basically all the creative professional stereotypes Apple loves to put in their promotional videos rolled into one.

After living with the new Mac mini for over a month, I can confidently say this is a fantastically powerful machine within the reach of independent creators, small businesses and schools.

It’s time to part ways with low-storage warnings. A good cloud drive can help you free up your devices’ local storage. And if you need a lot of room for a long time, here’s your chance to get a 10TB lifetime subscription to Prism Drive for the best price online. It’s going for just $69.97 (regularly $2,490) until April 11 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. No coupon needed.

We could all use more space on our devices and a bit more fun and flair for said storage. The Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive combines a massive 2TB of storage with RGB LED lighting, and it’s now on sale for only $69.99 (regularly $104).

Don’t be jealous of Microsoft Bing’s new AI capabilities: A new Shortcut called S-GPT integrates OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into Apple devices. It works as a conversational search engine but can do much more, including summarizing a webpage and creating an Apple Music playlist from a list of suggested songs.

It’s a Shortcut rather than an app, and it’s free to download. There’s a very small fee for using it.

Apple TV+’s high-concept existential comedy The Big Door Prize tackles the big questions this week. A small town has been invaded by something called the Morpho machine, a device that prints out cards based on people’s identities and tells them what they’re meant to be in life.

Some people love the Morpho machine and the big changes it triggers. Others, like our hero Dusty and a local priest, have issues with it. A strong showing from The Big Door Prize cast helps this week’s episode, entitled, “Father Reuben,” go down easy.

It’s payback time this week on Ted Lasso. Nate and Ted are due to face off after their acrimonious split at the end of last season. As usual, Ted doesn’t want to go negative. And, though Nate has unequivocally already gone negative, he feels bad about it.

Meanwhile, Keeley’s having second thoughts about Jamie and Shandy, Rebecca’s in an awkward position, an important financier shows up to the game, and Ted’s got the blues. Entitled “Big Week,” it’s a pretty solid episode of the biggest hit on Apple TV+, all things considered.

In the Cult of Mac Store’s Easter Sale, you can slash up to 25% off regular prices on a variety of cool Apple Watch bands. Bands by Mifa and Elkson are 20% off while bands from Rilee & Lo and Laut are 25% off.

Check out the Easter Savings collection to browse the sale, and see some great highlights below.

Are two Macs better than one in a computer setup? People’s opinions differ. What’s overkill to one person could be a perfectly sensible use of resources to another.

Until recently, today’s featured setup ran just an M1 MacBook Air. But then the user added an M2 Mac mini. To discover all the reasons why — especially if you need an excuse to add a desktop machine to your laptop setup or vice versa — read on. If you’re looking for ways to streamline your workflow, you might also want to explore how to control MacBook with iPhone, which can enhance productivity and device integration.

In a world increasingly cluttered with discarded hardware, buying refurbished gear is starting to look like the responsible choice in more ways than one. That goes double when it comes to MacBooks, which are known for their durability and reliability.

Case in point? This refurbished MacBook Air from 2015 comes ready to go for only $247.99.

Apple TV+ musical Schmigadoon! is whistling a brand-new tune. Our heroes find themselves not in the 1950s musical world of Schmigadoon, but in the bleaker, ’70s-style Schmicago.

The whimsy of the show’s first season is replaced with a sarcastic darkness in its second season, which debuts today. The songs get racier, but the show remains much the same. Schmigadoon! is still one of the better shows on Apple’s streaming service.

Cybersecurity jobs are some of the most sought-after careers in the tech sector, but they’re also some of the hardest to train for. But here’s the good news. If you’re a self-starter serious about learning the ropes, you can now get a lifetime of training from one of the most trusted cybersecurity training providers for only $49.97 (regularly $999).

A utilitarian and professional-looking keyboard by day, the 3inus Kebohub EE01 turns into a light show for streaming Fall Guys or whatever on Twitch by night.  Live now on Kickstarter, it’s a full RGB-backlit customizable mechanical keyboard with a handy-dandy hub for your USB accessories and HDMI display.

To put it in car terms, it’s like the BMW X5 M, a practical, midsize luxury SUV that’s also trying to be a performance car. Or, in a less generous metaphor, a mullet.

I’ve had a few weeks with the Kebohub EE01; here’s why it’s a good mechanical keyboard plus a good desktop dock for a MacBook.