Bryan Chaffin is the cofounder of The Mac Observer and currently serves as Afternoon Editor. He has contributed to MacAddict and MacFormat magazines, and co-authored the last two updates of iPad and iPad Pro for Dummies with Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and Ed Baig. You can find out more about Bryan at his personal site, GeekTells, or find his Twitter link below.
With 2018 behind us and CES is only a couple days away, The Mac Observer is taking off Monday and Tuesday off to catch our breath and get ready for 2019. We’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Wednesday, January 2nd. We’ll also be on location at CES 2019 to bring you the latest on this year’s tech. Rest up, and get ready for another exciting year!
Bryan Chaffin is joined by John Kheit to discuss what Mr. Kheit calls the pornification of software. They also look back at and grade Apple’s new product releases in 2018. It being these two, they are surprisingly upbeat, while still being cranky as can be.
We have a deal on a powerful portable battery, the 20,000mAh (Practically) Crush-Proof Portable Power Bank. In addition to massive capacity, this device features passthrough charging via USB-0C or microUSB, and it has USB-C and regular USB out. It also features a very durable enclosure. I’m linking to the silver option, but there’s also a black option available on the deal listing. It’s $79.95 through our deal, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout will take 15% off to bring it down to
We have an interesting device for our deal of the day: the HAVEN Connect Lock. This app-controlled lock was designed by U.S. Special Ops veterans and mounts at the base of your door. According to the company, it reinforces your door with a flexible locking wedge that pushes back and uses an attacker’s energy against them. You can operate it with your foot or the companion app. This device is $349 through our deal, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout takes 15% off, to bring it down to $296.65.
Regardless of the holiday you’re celebrating, The Mac Observer hopes this weekend is a wonderful time for you, and that you get to take a day or two off to relax. We’re taking Tuesday off, but we’ll be back on Wednesday, December 26th, with our iPhone, iPad, and Mac coverage, along with a fresh TMO Daily Observations episode, too.
We have a deal on the Vilros Uno Ultimate Starter Kit and course bundle. In addition to the starter kit (board, components, and more), you also get 11 hours of training content with hundreds of lectures. This deal is $51.99 through us, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout brings it down to $44.19.
Apple announced Thursday that John Giannandrea was being promoted to the company’s executive team as senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
We have a deal on CoinKeeper, a finance tracking app for iOS (or Android). You can create and track budgets, manage your income, set reminders, and much more. A 1-year subscription is $19.99 through our deal, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout brings it down to $16.99. There are longer subscriptions available in the deal listing, too.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-host Peter Cohen to discuss Apple’s cloud services, including the ones they do really well and the ones that suck. They also talk about password management and practices, and look at Apple’s leadership team 8 years after Steve Jobs’s passing.
Our deal of the day is an interesting one: the Flexiroam Data Roaming Microchip, an ultra-thin microchip sticker for your SIM card that lets you access data roaming in over 140 countries. Our deal includes 2GB of data, and you can manage your data from a companion app. It’s $49 through us, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout brings it down to $41.65.
We have a deal on the Ziistle Triangle Foldable Wireless Qi-Certified Charger. This is an interesting take on a Qi charger, where the charging disk is designed to work with a flexible folder that can be set up with multiple angles for different use cases. Check out the video for a good demonstration. It’s $34.99 through our deal, but coupon code MERRY15 at checkout saves 15%, for a final price of $29.74.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by guest-host John Martellaro to discuss how Apple might be looking at the medical industry, of which CEO Tim Cook has said he wants a piece. They also talk about the privacy bill making the rounds in Washington, and the future of artificial intelligence.
We’ve got an interesting gizmo for our deal of the day, a portable Bluetooth 4.2 receiver that turns your wired devices into wireless devices. It works with speakers, headphones, and even your car’s stereo system. You can also connect to up to two Bluetooth devices at the same time with just one receiver. Our deal is for $14, but coupon code GREENMONDAY20 takes 20% off, for a final price of $11.20.
We have a deal for you on the Storyteller’s Essential Mac Bundle, a collection of apps aimed at storytellers from Mariner Software. It includes Mariner Write, Contour 2, Narrator, Persona, StoryMill, and Montage. Our deal is for $19.99, but coupon code GREENMONDAY20 at checkout brings it down to $15.99.
This is one of those deals I just love to be able to offer! It’s for Keyboard Maestro, a Mac utility most of us use at TMO. Keyboard Maestro lets you set up and run macros, control apps, complete long passages with a few keystrokes, and more. Our deal is for $19, but coupon code GREENMONDAY20 at checkout brings it down to $15.20.
We have a deal on a 2-year subscription for CuriosityStream, the streaming and on-demand service with more than 2,000 documentaries and shows. It works in a browser, iOS, Apple TV 4 and above, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One, and more. It’s $29.99 through our deal, but coupon code GREENMONDAY20 at checkout brings it down to $23.99.
We have a deal on a 1-year subscription to WhiteSmoke, a software writing assistant. WhiteSmoke checks your work for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors. Our deal is for $19, but coupon code GREENMONDAY20 takes 20% off for a checkout price of $15.20. There’s a lifetime subscription offer on our deal listing, too.
Bryan Chaffin is joined by Chuck Joiner from MacVoices to discuss Facebook’s ongoing crisis of blunders and mistakes, and whether or not CEO Mark Zuckerberg should go. They also look at what seems to be Tumblr’s real-time death spiral, and debate whether or not Wall Street is punishing Apple for not reporting iPhone sales and whether or not that’s OK.
We have a deal on the Ultraloq UL3 Bluetooth Fingerprint and Touchscreen Smart Lock. This smart lock allows you to program the lock to use your fingerprint, code, or smartphone to unlock the door. You can assign different users, use your iPhone app to unlock it over Bluetooth, and there’s a mechanical key backup. Our deal is for $168.99, but coupon code SAVEGREEN25 at checkout take $25 off, for a final price of $143.99.
We have a deal on the the Ultimate Mobile App Development Certification Bundle. It’s designed to be a complete 63-hour track for mastering the most up-to-date tools in mobile app development and design. It includes six different training courses covering iOS and Android, and it’s $41 through our deal.
Shortcuts 2.1.2 for iOS includes the ability to post directly to Tumblr, a new way of calculating time for your Shortcuts, and a lot of bug fixes.
macOS Mojave 10.14.2 includes support for RTT (real-time text) for Wi-Fi calling, makes it easier to move a story from the Apple News app to Safari, and fixes an AirPlay bug involving third-party speakers.
As is often the case, there are no real patch notes for this Apple TV update.
The update includes support for both Mainland and Hong Kong for the devices, and it causes HomePod’s LEDs to light up during FaceTime calls.
