Grain Audio OEHP On-Ear Headphones: $69.99

We have a deal for you today on the Grain Audio OEHP On-Ear Headphones. These minimalist, solid wood headphones feature proprietary drivers with Neodymium magnets and CCAW voice coils. They also don’t artificially boost the bass. You can get them through us for $69.99, some 64% off retail.

Neutron S iPhone and iPad Mount: $19.99

Check out the Neutron S Phone and tablet Mount. It consists of a shielded magnet you mount to your iPhone or iPad (or other device, if that’s your thing) via a special included tape. It’s an aviation tape designed to attach strongly and detach smoothly. The magnet then attaches to the included mount, allowing you to put your device where you want it. It’s $19.99 through our deal.

Ztylus Revolver Lens Camera Kit for iPhone 7: $84.95

We have a deal for you today on the Ztylus Revolver Lens Camera Kit for iPhone 7. This is a lens kit built into a revolving holder on the back of a case. It has four lenses, fisheye, wide angle, CPL, and macro. Just spin the holder to access the lens you need. It’s $84.95 through our deal.

Espionage 3 Encryption Software for Mac: $19.99

We have deal on Espionage 3, encryption software for your Mac. It allows you to create multiple master passwords, each protecting an isolated set of folders with a combination of AES-256 encryption and scrypt security. Our deal is for $19.99 on a lifetime license to Espionage 3, which includes all minor updates and major upgrades. Check out the deal listing for more details.

Lack of Products Means Absence of Product Vision by Apple

Soon after the first iPhone was launched, it was fairly easy to see that it would, by its design, eventually subsume the iPod. We watched it coming and expected iPod sales to wither. But in the case of the iPad and the Mac, the progression isn’t so clear. In these uncertain times, Apple could do a lot, with marketing and product rollouts, to provide warmer fuzzies about the roadmap (without spilling any secrets). Apple Has its Eye on the Ball, but Its a Different Ball set up the discussion, and page twocataloged some cases about how Apple’s lack of messaging, via product design, is creating customer angst.

Lightning Cable with Built-in Battery: $39.95

We have a deal today on the Nomad Ultra Rugged Battery Lightning Cable. It’s a lightning cable with a portable battery built right into the cable. It has a capacity of 2,350mAh, and the cable is designed to charge your phone first—from the battery if necessary. You can get it through us for $39.95.

TextExpander 1-Year Single User Plan: $19.98

TextExpander is one of our must-have Mac and iPhone utilities at TMO, and our friends at Stack Commerce have put together a deal on it. TextExpander expands snippets of text to much longer blocks of text. Your signature, a formula, addresses you have to type all the time, etc. It can also insert variables or things in your clipboard. Our deal is $19.98 for a one-year, single user license for macOS, iOS, and Windows. That’s half off regular price.

Cling Bling Window Solar Charger: $27.99

Check out the Cling Bling Window Solar Charger. It’s a portable battery that sticks to window and recharges itself with solar power. How cool is that? The battery’s capacity is 1,800mAh, and it’s about 6-inches square. It’s available in black or green, and they’re $27.99 each, which is 68% off retail.

Build-On Brick Mug: $19.99

Pssst! Don’t tell Jeff Gamet about today’s deal, at least not until you get your own. He’s likely to buy them all, otherwise. It’s the Build-On Brick Mug. This LEGO-compatible mug has pegs and holes that fit the iconic brick design. And lookit! You can put bricks on your coffee mug! That’s way too cool for school, in my book. It comes with the mug and 16 bricks, but feel free to mix and match your own. The Build-On Brick Mug is made from a food grade BPA-free plastic, and it’s $19.99 through us.

Apple, Ron Johnson, J.C. Penney and the Future

Ron Johnson was the Apple VP of retail sales, and sales were booming. Then, in 2011, he took the offer to be the CEO of J.C. Penney. He tried to bring the modern concepts he learned at Apple to JCP, but “people there were entrenched and resist[ed] him.” He was let go in 2013. Now, J.C. Penney is going to close 140 stores. Did Mr. Johnson push JCP too hard, too fast? Can the company ever commit the resources it needs to go toe-to-toe with modern online retailers? Will JCP survive? It’s all in Particle Debris page 2.

FRESHeBUDS Air Bluetooth 4.1 Earbuds

The FRESHeBUDS Pro Magnetic Bluetooth Earbuds have been updated to Bluetooth 4.1. They’re water and sweat resistant, and automatically pair to your phone when pulled apart so you don’t have to go through any setup. They fully charge in 90 minutes, and offer up to 10 hours of playback. In addition to improved Bluetooth, this new version is $5 less, at $24.95.

Disk Drill PRO 3 for Mac for $34.99

We have a deal today on Disk Drill PRO 3, a data recovery utility for the Mac. According to the company, you can “scan and recover data from virtually any storage device with just the click of a button.” Our deal is for a lifetime license—which includes all minor and major upgrades to the app— for $34.99. You can find more information about the software on the deal listing.

BK SPORT Bluetooth 4.0 Headphones: $16.99

Check out the BK SPORT Bluetooth 4.0 Headphones. Their wireless, but they connect to each other via a cable that keeps them together. They feature a talk time of 5 hours and music playback time of 4.5 hours. They charge in 2 hours and can be in standby mode for up to 150 hours. You can get them through our deal for $16.99, or 66% off retail.

PDFConverterOCR 4: $19.99

We have a deal today on PDFConverterOCR 4. It’s a “lifetime license,” which means you’ll get all minor and major updates to the software. PDFConverterOCR 4 converts native and scanned PDF files to almost any file format, retaining their original layouts. It features advanced character accuracy and recognizes 49 languages. You can get it through our deal for $19.99.

Stress Blocks: $14.99

Check out Stress Blocks, a stress-relief toy designed to help burn off stress by giving you something to play with. It has six sides, each one unique, and according to the company, “You’ll never get bored of turning, pressing or spinning.” Two of the buttons being silent for those times you need to be quiet. You can get one of these little doodads for $14.99 through our deal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYW2jYjAkq8

Returning to U.S. With iPhone? What Are Your Rights?

When returning to the U.S. from travel, border agents may select you for various reasons for a more detailed questioning. Your smartphone may be requested. You may be asked to unlock it for agents to inspect. What are your rights in this case?  Two interesting articles at The New York Times and ars technica go into considerable legal detail about what might happen if you refuse to cooperate. The links and more are on page 2 ofFridays Particle Debris.

iOS 10 and Swift 3 Starter Bundle: $45

We have a deal on a training bundle for developers called the iOS 10 and Swift 3 Starter Bundle. It includes five different courses, including: The Complete iOS 10 Developer, iOS 10 Projects: Build Amazing Apps with Apple’s Newest iOS, Swift 3 Fundamentals & Essential Training, iOS 10, Swift 3 Hands On Features. and Master iOS 10 + Swift 3 & Create Apps. That hundreds of lessons and more than 81 hours of video training, all for $45. Note that coupon code “LEARN50” will allow TMO readers to get 50% of this course, making it $22.50.

MailButler Professional 1-Year Subscription: $14.99

Our friends at Stack Commerce said this is the last chance to get our deal on MailButler Professional, a collection of plugins for Apple’s Mail.app. With these plugins, you can mark your emails as to-do items, snooze emails, track emails to find out if recipients have actually opened them, schedule emails to be sent at specific dates and times, and more. You can get a one year subscription to MailButler Professional through us for $14.99.

Hype 3.5 for Mac: $24.99

We have a deal for you today on Hype 3.5 for Mac, software that allows you to add animations to web pages, infographics, presentations, digital mags, ads, e-books, GIFs, videos, and more to webpages. It outputs HTML5, too. You can get this software for $24.99 through us.

DEVONthink Pro: $39.95

We have a deal for you today on DEVONthink Pro for the Mac. This software allows you to view and edit many documents inline, read webpages as if they were local documents, and file your information. You can also store your documents in a self-contained database and sync your data directly on the local network or on any USB stick or SD card w/ AES 256-bit encryption. It’s US$39.95 through us, half off retail.

Oodles of Money to be Made Confusing the Consumer

At least one TV maker collected and sold your viewing habits. The secure operation of a modern smartphone baffles many. Secret assaults on our systems are cloaked in deception.  It’s a full-time job keeping up with the latest invasions of privacy. One way to perpetuate that process is to keep people busy with videos and fully distracted while staying under regulatory radar.  Friday’s Particle Debris opens with Vizio’s collection of viewing data and continues with links on Oodles of Money to be Made Confusing the Consumer about how ignorant people are of browser tracking.

iDelete Cleaner Pro for iOS 3-Year Subscription: $19

We have a deal for you on a Mac utility for cleaning temp files and caches from your iOS device called iDelete Cleaner Pro. According to the company, its, “search and collection algorithm detects and effectively cleans up useless junk data, caches, log files, and more.” You can get a three year subscription to the software for $19.