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Victrola probably isn’t the first name that leaps to mind when you’re shopping for speakers – it’s a company that built its reputation on the phonograph. But great-grandpa would be amazed because the company is keeping up with the times and recently launched the Victrola Music Edition 2, a great-looking Bluetooth speaker suited for small parties or outdoor gatherings. Plus it has some nice extras, like a wireless charger.

I tested the speaker with my iPhone 13 Plus – here’s why I’m quite pleased with it.

Shopping on a budget is tough, and it doesn’t get easier when you’re planning to feed a fleet of holiday guests traveling to see you. Friends and family are on their way, and it’s time to find out how you will fill your table with tasty treats without breaking the bank.

With a Costco Gold Star Membership, you can find shelves of enticing ingredients and premade delectables to serve your guests. And for a limited time, you can get a one-year Costco Gold Star Membership for $60 — and it comes with a $30 Digital Costco Shop Card*.

The holidays mean gift exchanges, family time and priceless memories, but you’ll need ample storage to film, photograph and store those special moments. One of the best cloud storage solutions around is Koofr, and its 1TB lifetime subscription is on sale for $111.99 when you use code KOOFR at checkout by December 7.

This discount is part of our Last Chance event, where you can find markdowns on last-minute gift ideas. Cloud storage plans prove especially handy for last-minute shopping, as this type of gift involves no shipping time.

If you’re looking for a new podcast to addict yourself to, you’re in luck. Apple Podcasts unveiled the podcasts, episodes and channels its listeners paid the most attention to in 2022 (and in the case of subscriber shows and channels, paid the most money to, apparently).

Check out how Apple Podcasts sliced and diced its most popular content in the lists below. You might find a great new way to spend off-time during the holidays.

The stress of modern living can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule and thus your overall quality of life. Luckily, modern technology can help.

If you’d like to address your rest levels, and your resulting mental health, take a look at the Apollo wearable. It uses touch therapy and silent vibrations to help users calm down before bedtime, sleep better all night, and maintain focus during the daylight hours. And it’s on sale right now!

The Los Angeles-based company Azio successfully crowd-funded its Cascade 75 mechanical keyboard on Kickstarter last year. Now it’s back with the Cascade 98, a 98% layout keyboard with a full-sized number pad that comes in slim or regular profiles. It has surpassed its funding goal.

Keychron and others have led the way with low-profile mechanical keyboards that don’t stand as tall as the classics. Azio said their new version is the first one with a full-sized number pad.

Apple’s AirTag tracking device can be a lifesaver, whether you’ve lost something valuable or suffered theft. And what makes AirTag even better? A simple, secure device that protects it and attaches it to your valuable, whether that’s a suitcase or your pet dog.

That would be the Elkson AirTag Holder with Keychain, brand new to the Cult of Mac Store. And for a limited time, you can get the holder and keychain for 47% off the regular price. That’s a savings of $7.

Occasionally a computer setup crops up that just makes you say, “WTF?” That’s what a colleague said about a DIY extravaganza he came across in which three 30-inch Cinema Displays were mounted under glass inside a desk.

The Cinema Display imagery shows up on a mammoth 85-inch screen above — all in a huge, homemade desk assembly. WTF, indeed.

When it comes to ways to bring the family together over the holidays, good puzzles are always a go-to activity. One example is The 2 Million Dollar Puzzle, rated 4.5 out of 5 in our store.

This fiendish 500-piece monster will test even seasoned puzzlers, but that’s hardly the main appeal. This puzzle could earn you up to a million dollars, and you can get it for $14.99 with free shipping if you order by December 8.

Apple’s AR/VR headset might launch later than anticipated in 2023. Instead of a Q2 2023 debut, Apple might release the headset in the year’s second half.

The delay, reportedly due to “software-related issues,” will impact the AR/VR headset’s shipment numbers for the year.

Looking for a cool gift your loved ones will actually use? Look no further than the MagStack, a wireless portable charging dock. Usually $69, you can purchase it for $39.99 or 42% off — no coupon necessary. But you’ll have to be quick, as this deal is only available through December 6.

The brief price drop is part of our December Deal of the Day promotion. During this event, we’re releasing new, limited-time price drops lasting just one or two days.

Hiring in 2023 is no joke — but it’s not impossible. While every company faces challenges when it comes to staffing, there are ways to tackle those issues head-on such as using ZipRecruiter. Rated the No. 1 job site in the United States*, ZipRecruiter provides employers with weekly access to more than 10 million job seekers*.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: After new Twitter CEO Elon Musk began publicly questioning some of Apple’s policies, he went mano-a-mano with Tim Cook. Maybe Musk’s meme-y declaration of war was a bit premature …

Also on The CultCast:

• The sad state of iCloud storage.
• A Twitter phone? Really?!?
• 2023 MacBook Pro benchmarks reveal a big fat surprise.
• A totally weird tale about the dangers of walking the streets of New York City with hundreds of iPhones.

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.

Apple improves its iPhone cameras every year. However, until Cupertino’s geeks figure out how to make the device levitate, there are some things it simply cannot achieve, such as capturing aerial footage. That’s where a dual-camera drone like the Ninja Dragon Alpha Z Pro comes in handy.

During our December Deal of the Day event, you can get a Ninja Dragon Alpha Z Pro for $79.99, but this price drop is only available today.

This week’s giveaway will let five lucky winners get their hands on a sturdy Apple Watch Ultra Titanium Band from Lululook. The band matches the new Apple Watch Ultra perfectly, thanks to its sleek titanium finish.

Enter below for your chance to win this gorgeous titanium band, which retails for $33.99.

Allie Fox finds himself in a tight corner this week on The Mosquito Coast, the absorbing Apple TV+ series about a family on the run from the U.S. government. His son Charlie’s been compromised, so Allie must do a local criminal kingpin a favor. And that puts him in a car with William Lee, the man who tried to kill him.

Also, daughter Dina learns something about her mom Margot that changes everything about their relationship. It’s a magnificently tense and very strong episode all around.

“In a world like this, you can have it all,” says actor Billy Crudup, from The Morning Show, at the top of a new Apple TV+ trailer. It’s called “Apple TV+ Winter 2022 & Beyond | Official Preview,” and it’s all about year-end fare on the streaming service and what you can look forward to in 2023.

It short YouTube video may not give you all, as the Crudup clip implies, but it shows a lot of quality entertainment on tap now and upcoming.

Apple TV+ comedy Acapulco heads as far into crowded crossroads as possible this week as people learn to be human again. The show about the hopeful staff of an exclusive Mexican resort finds Maximo faced with an important guest who will teach him there’s more to life than success.

Meanwhile, Nora misses Sara and has to stop fighting her heart. Diane has meddled with Chad for the last time. Memo tries to help Hector live for a day, and Julia needs to do some serious reconsidering. The episode, entitled “Money Changes Everything,” finds everyone in transition — and it’s better than we’ve gotten lately from this show.

You’ve got to love an Apple Watch band that looks like a million bucks but costs nothing near that. In fact, you can get Rilee & Lo’s stainless steel stretch-link bracelet and a matching stacking bracelet for well under $50 this week.

Through December 2, all Rilee & Lo Apple Watch bands are 30% off in the Cult of Mac Store.

Apple recently started selling the new Zens 4-in-1 Modular Wireless Charger, which you can modify to power either three or four devices at once, including an iPad.

You can set it up as a 4-in-1 charging station for iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods or a 3-in-1 that leaves out the Apple Watch charger.

Everyone’s confidence is shaken on this week’s episode of Mythic Quest, the Apple TV+ office comedy about a popular computer game.

Poppy realizes she has no idea what fun is, and that revelation is unraveling her world. Ian feels left out of the development of the Mythic Quest movie, and David is his only way in. To top it off, Carol thinks she’s getting fired for mismanagement of company funds, energy, and time.

It’s a strong episode of the funniest show Apple TV+ has to offer.

We enjoy seeing computer setups grow and change. We last looked at today’s featured setup when its user described it as “temporary” back in June. Since then it has metastasized into a monstrous beast with a maxed-out Mac Pro, a 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, iPad mini and dual Pro Display XDRs.

And the custom-made desk with lights against a dramatic backdrop of 3D wall panels really enhances the setup, too.

New Apple TV+ military thriller Echo 3 finds its heroes in desperate times this week, anxious and ready to take desperate measures. The kidnapped Amber has been put in a hellish South American prison camp, her brother Bambi is abandoned by his cohorts, her husband Prince is back in America recovering from multiple gunshot wounds — and nobody has a clue how to make this situation any better. But the writers sure know how to make it weirder.

The show, about what happens when an American with clandestine government ties stumbles into a private war, gets good mileage out of mechanics over message in this week’s episode, entitled “Upriver.” The bizarro sexual subtext of intervention gets quite the workout in this show.

Creative recently unveiled a new addition to its distinctively round and tilted Pebble line of USB desktop speakers — Creative Pebble Pro.

With overhauled full-range drivers and digital amplifiers — plus flashy new RGB lighting — the new speakers jack up volume and bass so no subwoofer is needed, the company said.

This week on Shantaram, Lin is ready to flee except for one big thing: He wants revenge. The Apple TV+ limited series about a benevolent fugitive on the run from his past is coming to a bloody head as Lin tries to square accounts, Karla runs around town preparing the double-cross of a lifetime, the grim specter of death arrives in Bombay, and everyone else is caught in the middle.

Though this episode is well-played, it focuses on Shantaram’s least-interesting characters.