Here’s a look at the Apple-branded merchandise you can get at the company’s new Apple Park Visitor Center.
Bryan Chaffin
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.
Articles by Bryan Chaffin
Join Our Apple Context Machine Facebook Group
Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet launched a Facebook Group for The Apple Context Machine, their weekly podcast for in-depth discussions about Apple and the tech world.
Disk Drill PRO Lifetime License: $34.99
We have a deal on a lifetime license for Disk Drill PRO for Mac. This data recovery software can recover 200 different file types, and more. The lifetime license gives you access to all future updates and major upgrades, and it’s $34.99 through us.
Denise Young Smith Will Leave as Head of Apple's Inclusion & Diversity
Ms. Young Smith moved to the position in May after a three year stint as head of Apple’s Human Resources, and she will be replaced by Christie Smith, a 17 year veteran of consulting firm Delloite.
Tim Berners-Lee Wants Your Help in Protecting Net Neutrality from Ajit Pai's FCC
Internet-inventor Tim Berners-Lee has written an editorial for USA Today asking Americans to help save the Internet from an irresponsible vote on Net Neutrality expected from the FCC.
Apple Fixes iPhone X Live Photos and Video Distortion Bug with iOS 11.1.2
Apple released iOS 11.1.2 on Thursday, a bug fix release for two iPhone X problems.
Apple Accelerates macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Cycle with Release of Developer Beta 4
This marks an acceleration of the release cycle, which in the past has meant Apple is nearing release.
BauBax Travel Windbreaker: $109.99
Check out the BauBax travel windbreaker. In addition to being water-repellant, it has 15 features including built-in neck pillow, eye mask, gloves, iPad pocket, drink pocket, and many more. That was enough to help the company raise US$9 million on Kickstarter, and now it’s shipping. You can get it for $109.99 through us, less than half retail. [Link corrected below. – Bryan]
Wearable Market Breakdown, Harry Potter AR, iPhone X Camera - ACM 437
Bryan and Jeff argue that the wearables market is breaking down into three competitors, Apple, Xiaomi, and Fitbit. All others are lolwannabes. They also think Harry Potter Wizards Unite will be way bigger than Pokémon Go, and talk about just how good the camera is on iPhone X.
Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 44
This release enables Payment Requests by default, and it includes 38 other improvements and bug fixes, too.
Goodbye Pokémon, Harry Potter Wizards Unite is Coming to iPhone AR
Niantic, the makers of Pokémon Go, and WB Games have pre-announced Harry Potter Wizards Unite, an augmented reality world based on JK Rowling’s enduringly popular books.
Sphereo X2 Wireless Bluetooth Speakers: $29.99
We have a deal on a pair of Sphero X2 Speakers. These wireless Bluetooth speakers come with a charging dock, but allow you to place the speakers wherever you want. They’re $29.99 through us.
Apple's Lisa Jackson Joins Execs from JetBlue and Others to Discuss Sustainability in Open Forum
The Washington Post is organizing a forum called A World in Balance for business execs, policy makers, and experts to discuss sustainability, including Apple’s Lisa Jackson.
Mozilla Launches Firefox Quantum for Mac, Twice as Fast and More Customizable
Quantum is being seen as a major effort to gain back market share from Google’s Chrome with a new “Photon” user interface and a new, speedier engine.
Black Friday Mac Bundle, Featuring PDF Expert and Roxio Toast Titanium: $33.15
We have a new Mac app deal called the Black Friday Mac Bundle. It has eight Mac apps, including: PDF Expert 2.2 for Mac, Roxio Toast 16 Titanium, Default Folder X 5, WALTR 2 for Mac, Flux, Stylizer 7, Art Text 3, and MacReviver. the bundle is $39, but Coupon Code GIFTSHOP15 gets you another 15% off, for a final price of $33.15. Considering that ODF Expert alone is $59, that’s a screaming deal.
Wiped-out Kitesurfer Calls Coastguard with Apple Watch Series 3 a Mile Out
John Willes told an interesting tale to The Daily Mail of London. Mr. Willes is a kitesurfer who recently wiped out a mile from the shore. In waters known for Great White Shark sightings. Which, you know, sucks. A half hour into his two-hour swim back to shore, he remembered he was wearing his Apple Watch Series 3, the one with a cellular radio. Being a considerate dad, first he called his family. Then he called back asking for the Coastguard number, just in case. Then, when a kick-in-the-water scared the bejesus out of him, he did call the Coast Guard. And better yet, when he saw the Coast Guard ship, he was able to call them to tell them to hang a left. Pretty cool, right? Personally, I wouldn’t expect to have much of a signal that far from shore, but his carrier apparently had him covered. “‘I’ve seen people put phones in waterproof cases but, didn’t want to risk it,” he said. “So when the Watch came out I thought this is awesome, I should do it. My wife was giving me a hard time, for buying more technology, but I leave my phone at home a lot now – I think it’s freeing us from the addiction of phones.” Which, Mr. Willes may have known, is one reason Apple executives have said motivated them to create Apple Watch to begin with. Read the full article in The Daily Mail for more.
Amazon Buys Lord of the Rings TV Series with Pre-Fellowship Stories
The show will focus on “new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring,” and includes rights for possible spin-offs.
Apple Seeds watchOS 4.2 Developer Beta 3
No feature changes have been announced with this release, making it a bug fix and improvement cycle that also keeps up with iOS 11.2 DB3, macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 DB3, and tvOS 11.2 DB3.
Apple Seeds tvOS 11.2 Developer Beta 3
This tvOS release cycle adds a developer API called AVDisplayManager for automatic display mode switching and brings back support for the Unwatched category in Home Sharing.
Apple Seeds macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Developer Beta 3
macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Developer Beta 3 is a bug fix and performance-centric update in the Apple Developer Connection.
Apple Seeds iOS 11.2 Developer Beta 3
Included in this release cycle is a Now Playing control for Apple TV in Control Center, a bug fix for Calculator, and Apple Pay Cash.
TREBLAB X11 Wireless Earphones: $36.99
We have a deal on a pair of TREBLAB X11 wireless earphones. They have a play time of up to 6 hours with a charging time of 2 hours, and they use Bluetooth 4.1. They’re $36.99, a significant discount of 81% off retail.
This Wallpaper Hides the iPhone X Notch
Worry over the iPhone X Notch is much ado about nothing—IMNHO—but Kelly Guimont just pointed me to some wallpaper that hides it. Any wallpaper can made with some black in the right place, but heck, that’s work. Amiright? Here you can just download it with the work already done. The image below is just the demo—use the Denotchify link to directly download the actual wallpaper.
Apple Park Architect Credits Jony Ive's Design Team as Cocreators of Steve Jobs Theater
Stefan Behling, a Foster + Partners partner and one of the lead architects on Apple Park, told Wallpaper, a design magazine, that the Steve Jobs Theater was the product of a deep collaboration between Foster + Partners and sir Jony’s team.