Get into the holiday spirit with our iPhone 16 Pro Max giveaway! Don’t miss your chance to win a brand-new iPhone 16 Pro Max.
CleanShot: Capture Your Screen in a Superior Way: $10.62
We have a deal on CleanShot, a screengrab and recording app for your Mac. It helps you swiftly capture Mac’s screen without desktop icons in the background, annotate or blur specific parts, set a custom wallpaper for your screenshots, and lots more. It’s $12.50 through our deal, but coupon code MERRYSAVE15 brings the checkout price down to $10.62.
An Interview With the COO of the Recently Acquired Private Internet Access VPN
Popular VPN Private Internet Access (PIA) was recently acquired by a company called KAPE, now called Private Internet. PIA COO did an interview.
Private Internet is positioned to lead the movement for a private and secure online experience for all. The internet as we now know it is a place where data is harvested and identities do not belong to the users but are traded by privileged few. Private Internet changes that. The new name also reflects the fact that we will now be offering four new privacy products to our product suite.
I’m interested, and wary, of the future of PIA. I’ve seen accusations of KAPE that include malware, but Mr. Sagi does say the app will be open-sourced. Although this quote sounds odd to me: “We’re building an internal roadmap to create a transparent and verifiable infrastructure, in which no one, including ourselves, is permitted access to the servers through which VPN traffic flows.” They had shown in court they can’t produce information regarding user data, so they already shouldn’t be able to access server traffic.
MusicBot is the Shortcuts Companion to Apple Music
Federico Viticci recently announced his shortcut called MusicBot, which he says is the all-in-one assistant to Apple Music.
I created MusicBot for two reasons: I wanted to speed up common interactions with the Music app by using custom actions in the Shortcuts app; and I also wanted to build a series of “utilities” for Apple Music that could be bundled in a single, all-in-one shortcut instead of dozens of smaller, standalone ones.
I haven’t used this yet but Mr. Viticci is a master of shortcuts so I’m confident it’s a great tool to use.
amplify Hi-Fi Wireless Headphone Amplifier: $60.35
We have a deal on the amplify Hi-Fi Wireless Headphone Amplifier. This device offers up to 12 hours of playback and supports current Bluetooth audio codecs such as LDAC, aptX HD, aptX, aptX Low Latency, AAC, and SBC. It’s $71 through our deal, but coupon code MERRYSAVE15 brings the checkout price down to $60.35. I’m linking to the black model, but there’s a silver option available in a pulldown menu in the deal listing.
Notability 9.2 Changes the Highlighter and Supports the Files App
Notability 9.2 didn’t bring a lot of changes, but the changes it did bring are important. Here are three things that were changed: Highlighter color now appears more vivid and behind text, making the text pop; Added ability to identify and troubleshoot unsearchable notes that have not been indexed properly; Can now import documents from the Files app.
Notability is among the best note-taking apps for the iPad, especially if you like handwriting your notes with an Apple Pencil. This update should be a welcome one for users.
Home Automation Standards, Ring "Security" Measures – TMO Daily Observations 2019-12-18
Bryan Chaffin and Andrew Orr join host Kelly Guimont to discuss Apple joining a standards group for smart home devices, and Ring’s security.
You Could Get up to 6 Months of Free Apple Music This Christmas
Apple is running a promotion for Apple Music. From now until December 31 you can get free Apple Music depending on your subscription level.
Foxconn Investigating Alleged $43 Million iPhone Fraud
Apple manufacturer Foxconn has launched an investigation into allegations that staff and a Taiwanese businessman sold defective iPhones.
A Look at The Inside And Outside of the New Mac Pro
Everyone is intrigued at the engineering of the new Mac Pro. AppleInsider looked at the insides, and the outsides, of the device.
Apple’s new Mac Pro arrives in a massive box, copiously covered in warning stickers due to the overall weight. Even at this scale, Apple’s unboxing experience is wonderful. Velcro straps hold together the paper packaging which lifts free, revealing the tower inside. The largest Apple logo we’ve seen on a product is stamped on either side of the aluminum housing, sitting between the two polished stainless steel handles that make up the frame. Much has already been said about the unique lattice grille on the front of the machine. Behind the 3D mesh is a matte black grille, to prevent objects or large debris from getting into the interior.
Twelve South Launches AirPods Pro Case ‘AirSnap Pro’
Available for US$39.99, Twelve South announced pre-orders will begin for its AirPods Pro case called AirSnap Pro. It’s expected to start shipping the week of December 30, 2019. The case is made of leather and comes with a removable clip to attach it to your backpack, purse, or attack keys to it.
Meticulously made of premium top-grain leather, this little leather AirPods cocoon has a metal snap to keep the case closed and your expensive AirPods Pro Wireless Charger safely inside. AirSnap Pro gives you three ways to keep your coveted AirPods Pro within reach. Use the included S-clip to attach AirSnap Pro to a backpack, purse or keychain. Remove the S-clip and carry AirSnap Pro in your pocket. Or, use the included wrist strap to hold your AirPods Pro Wireless Charging Case on walks or runs.
Publishers Say ‘Jury is Out’ on Apple News+
A new report on Apple News+ shows that while some publishers don’t make a lot of money from Apple’s service, they plan to stick around.
Walmart Now Sells AirPods Pro But They’re Currently Out of Stock
Although they’re currently listed as “out of stock” you can now buy AirPods Pro at Walmart, along with AppleCare+ to protect them.
Apple Works With Group to Develop Open Standards for Smart Home Devices
Apple, Google, and others announced today a working group to develop and promote an open connectivity standard for smart home devices.
Google And Facebook ad Dominance Faces Scrutiny in UK
The UK competition regulator may impose tougher regulations on Google and Facebook over concerns about their dominance of online advertising.
Ex-Vox Media Man Will Lead Apple Podcast PR
Ex-Vox Media PR man Zach Kahn will lead for Apple podcast from early next year, and Apple has also hired Emily Ochsenschlager as a producer.
Facebook Thinks California Privacy Law Doesn’t Apply To It
The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) goes into effect January 1. Despite it being state-created it’s expected to affect all Americans. Some companies have been following Microsoft’s example and plan to voluntarily apply it to all states. Facebook however, disagrees (to no one’s surprise).
Facebook is taking a different tack for its web tracker, Pixel. Pixel’s name comes from its physical appearance on a website that installs it: literally, one square pixel. But behind that pixel is a code that that installs cookies on your browser, allowing it to track your activity across the internet.
Facebook provides this code to businesses free of charge, and those businesses can then purchase ads based off the information that Pixel collects…According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook will claim that it doesn’t sell the data that its web trackers collect; it simply provides a service to businesses and websites that install Pixel on their sites. Because of this, it believes its web trackers are exempt from CCPA’s regulations…
How an iPad And a Laser Uncovered a Way to Hack Smart Home Devices
In spring 2018, cybersecurity researcher Takeshi Sugawara found that point a laser at an iPad’s Microphone converted the light into sound. Then, according to Wired, he discovered the same technique could hack smart home devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home.
Sugawara pointed a high-powered laser at the microphone of his iPad—all inside of a black metal box, to avoid burning or blinding anyone—and had Fu put on a pair of earbuds to listen to the sound the iPad’s mic picked up. As Sugawara varied the laser’s intensity over time in the shape of a sine wave, fluctuating at about 1,000 times a second, Fu picked up a distinct high-pitched tone. The iPad’s microphone had inexplicably converted the laser’s light into an electrical signal, just as it would with sound. Six months later Sugawara—visiting from the Tokyo-based University of Electro-Communications—along with Fu and a group of University of Michigan researchers have honed that curious photoacoustic quirk into something far more disturbing.
These Apple Watch Straps Are Helping The Planet
Icon Days has a new Apple Watch strap. Not only does it look stylish, but it is also helping protect the planet. The Navy Flame strap is made of premium of leather but it is also plastic free. That includes the packaging. Furthermore, 10% of profits go to environmental charities. The strap is compatible with all Apple Watch models. It costs £39 ($52) and there is free UK shipping in time for Christmas.
VICE Tests Amazon Ring’s Security, and it’s Not Good
Journalists at VICE tested the security of Amazon Ring security cameras, and they call it “awful.”
Ring is not offering basic security precautions, such as double-checking whether someone logging in from an unknown IP address is the legitimate user, or providing a way to see how many users are currently logged in—entirely common security measures across a wealth of online services.
Apple Removes ‘Rewound’ App That Made Your iPhone Look Like an iPod
Apple has removed the music app called Rewound that let people download skins to make the app look like old iPods.
To be fair, the iPod skins didn’t come pre-installed with the Rewound app—users had to download them separately once the app was installed. Though, you only have to look at tweets from users to see that the skins did in fact, look very much like the iPod Classic. However, Apple also reportedly took issue with the fact Rewound charged users for Apple Music features. Rewound says this was “less unreasonable” but noted that Apple had already approved in-app purchases before click wheel skins became popular.
”Less unreasonable.” I’d say that charging people for another company’s service is a big NO NO.
Apple Announces LGBT Documentary ‘Visible: Out on Television’
Today Apple announced that an LGBT documentary called Visible: Out on Television will premiere on its service February 14, 2020.
Walt Mossberg Looks Back on a Decade of Tim Cook
Apple journalist Walt Mossberg looks back at the past decade of Apple and how it fares under the leadership of Tim Cook.
Apple remains what it has been for many years: the single most important consumer tech hardware company, a major force not only in its industry but in society at large. And now, it is huge and rich to boot. But it’s still unclear if it can be anybody’s favorite music provider, TV network, or news service.
Or if it can launch another blockbuster device.
Power Up 3 Devices at Once with this 8,000mAh Hyper Charging Power Pack: $21.24
We have a deal on the HyperCharger PRO V.2 All-in-One Charger, an 8,000mAh portable battery with built-in Lightning and micro-USB cables, plus a USB-C adapter for charging those devices. It also has a USB charging port for plugging in a third device at the same time. It’s $24.99 through our deal, but coupon code MERRYSAVE15 brings it down to $21.24 at checkout.
AAPL Shareholders to Vote on its Human Rights Policies
At Apple’s annual shareholder meeting next year it faces shareholders who want the company to define how it handles certain demands.