Caviar, a Russian luxury boutique, is at it again. Their latest product, after the Tyrannosaurus rex iPhone, involves melting down a Tesla Model 3. The company has taken one of the electric cars, melted it down, and used the materials to craft a new iPhone 13 Pro design, the iPhone 13 Tesla Electro. The body is manufactured from titanium with black PVD coating, and the central aluminum insert comes from the Tesla Model 3. An artistic collage, etched into the aluminum insert, features a portrait of Elon Musk, the outline of an electric car, and the Tesla Motors logo. This run is limited to 99 pieces, and you can choose either an iPhone 13 Pro or an iPhone 13 Pro Max with any memory configuration. It’ll set you back $6,760. If you’d prefer to spend a bit less, you could also get an Elon Musk bust made from the same materials, for $3,220.
TwelveSouth Offers Up to 75% Off for Black Friday
Whether you want a wireless charger, Apple Watch ActionBand, or a new iPhone case, TwelveSouth’s Black Friday sale has a deal for you.
MobyFox Apple Watch Bands Black Friday Sale
MobyFox, which holds official licenses to just about every geek favorite brand you can imagine, has a site-wide sale. Using the promo code “BF2021,” you can score 20% off any Apple Watch band plus get free shipping. You’ll find officially-licensed Star Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics watch bands, plus plenty more. The company also features Hello Kitty, Power Puff Girls, Stranger Things, Arsenal, and Willy Wonka. There’s plenty more, so check it out for yourself. The nicest thing about MobyFox isn’t just the amount of geekery you can find. Their Watch bands all come with connectors for all series and sizes of Apple Watch, along with 22mm pins for many Android smart watches. On top of that, they provide a number of free Watch faces to match your chosen band. I’m looking forward to the Beskar Armor band, from The Mandalorian, that I’ve got coming my way.
Lessons Learned on a Recent Road Trip
Dr. Mac discovered a few things on a recent road trip that he thinks you may find useful (or at least thought-provoking).
Security Tips for Holiday Visits – TMO Daily Observations 2021-11-24
Andrew Orr joins host Kelly Guimont to discuss security tips for traveling, and some good things to check when you get to your Turkey Day Destination.
MagSafe Wallets from Sinjimoru
Check out this review on some awesome MagSafe Wallets from Sinjimoru in this segment from Mac Geek Gab 900.
'Apple Should Have Bought Tesla' Says High-Profile Money Manager
Cathie Wood, a high-profile money manager at Ark Invest, said “Apple should have bought Tesla” when they had an opportunity to do so.
Ex-Apple Staffer Discusses Shortcuts on macOS Monterey
In a new AppleInsider podcast, former Apple employee Matthew Cassinelli to discusses the integration of Shortcuts in macOS Monterey. For those of us still getting used to the addition, it’s a conversation worth listening to.
Since the public release of macOS Monterey, users can now create, edit, and sync their iOS Shortcuts directly on a Mac. Announced earlier this year at WWDC, Shortcuts on macOS will also slowly replace the previous automation tool, Automator, bringing one system to the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Matthew Cassinelli previously worked on the original Workflow app, which was acquired by Apple in 2017 and evolved into the Shortcuts app. After staying on the team at Apple for a short time, Matthew became an independent creator, helping others learn Shortcuts, and reporting on new actions available with every update.
[Headline corrected November 26 to clarify that Mr. Cassinelli was not an engineer at Apple.]
Apple Begins to Alert Victims of NSO Group's Pegasus Spyware
On Tuesday Apple revealed it is suing NSO Group for its Pegasus spyware that attacks iPhone users. TechCrunch writes that the company has begun alerting victims.
The alerts — which Apple says are designed to inform and assist users who may have been targeted by state-sponsored attackers — were also sent to a number of users in El Salvador. This includes 12 employees from El Faro, an online digital newspaper that has been notoriously critical of the government, as well as two leaders of civil society organizations and two opposition politicians.
Cast of 'The Office' Reveal How The iPod Video Helped Save The Show
Mashable writes how cast members of hit TV show The Office say that Apple, along with the iPod video, helped propel the show to stardom.
“It was young people with their iPods who knew how to set up an iTunes account because their parents didn’t,” Rainn Wilson said. “I think that blindsided everybody, including NBC, that we would be so popular with young people. The fact that we’re most popular with 22 to 25 year olds is really astonishing…”
Tim Cook Talks New 'The Grove' Retail Store in Los Angeles
Apple’s latest retail store at The Grove in Los Angeles opened recently, and Tim Cook briefly spoke of the update in an interview.
Digital Marketing Agency 'Cronin' Leaks 92 Million Employee, Client Records
Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler in cooperation with the WebsitePlanet research team found an unprotected database from Cronin. It exposed 92 million database records from employees and clients.
The exposed server was named “Cronin-Main” and many of the records contained references to Cronin. These records included internal data such as employee and client information. Also included in the dataset was a “Master Mailing List” with direct physical names, addresses, Salesforce IDs, phone numbers, and references to where the leads came from.
Brydge Offers 20% Off its MacBook Vertical Docks
Brydge says you can save 20% off its MacBook Vertical Docks. It aims to tighten up your desktop and leave room for your other devices.
iFixit's Pro Tech Toolkit and Mako Driver Kit are now Carbon Neutral
On Wednesday, iFixit announced that its Pro Tech Toolkit and Mako Driver Kit are now registered carbon neutral products.
Black Friday 2021: Readdle Slashes Prices on 'PDF Expert', Calendars
From November 25 to November 30, Readdle is offering up to 50% off its most popular apps: PDF Expert and Calendars.
Eve Black Friday Deals to Up Your HomeKit Game
If you want to up your smart home game, this is the time to do it. These Eve Black Friday deals can save you up to 30% off retail prices.
France Seeks Removal of 'Wish' From App Stores, Search Engines
The French administration wants app stores and search engines to remove Wish after an investigation of its products. They found that many of the products listed in Wish don’t meet European standards.
When Wish is notified that it is selling a dangerous good, those products are removed from the marketplace within 24 hours as expected. And yet, “in most cases, those products remain available under a different name, and sometimes even from the same seller. The company doesn’t keep any log related to transactions of non-compliant and dangerous products,” France’s Ministry of the Economy says in its statement.
Apple Temporarily Halts Sales in Turkey
Apple temporarily halted sales in Turkey following a currency crash in the country, MacRumors reported. While the site was functional, customers could not add items to an online basket or check-out. The move occurred on Tuesday, but remained true at the time of this writing.
Right now, Apple’s Turkey storefront is up and operational, but no devices are able to be added to a virtual cart or purchased at this time because of the volatility. A Turkish lira is equivalent to approximately 0.078 U.S. dollars at the current time, and its value has been steadily falling since last week. Over the course of the last year, the Lira has dropped 45 percent vs. the dollar. There is no word on when Apple might resume sales in Turkey, but inflation is close to 20 percent and with Erdogan continuing to refuse to raise interest rates, the downward slide may continue.
Why Apple's Polishing Cloth Costs US$19
There was much derision when Apple’s polishing cloth, costing US$19, was unveiled, but there is a theory behind the price point.
Animoog Z Available Now on iOS and macOS
Animoog Z improves on the best features of Moog’s original app, and then brings them not just to the iPad, but to your Mac and iPhone too.
Receive Signal Messenger Notifications Just From Certain People
Little known fact: you can allow Signal Messenger notifications from specific contacts in Focus Mode. You add the person, not the app.
WhatsApp Working on Audio Message Playback Speed Controls
WhatsApp is seemingly working on a feature that will allow users to control the playback speed of audio messages, something that already exists for voice notes. iMore spotted the development on a WABetaInfo post. Audio messages seem to be becoming increasingly popular, so I imagine this feature will be a welcome addition on the widely used app.
Audio messages are essentially forwarded voice notes, but while the latter can have its playback speed manipulated by the user, that isn’t the case with the former. According to a WABetaInfo post, that’s going to change — and has already done so for those who are testing the WhatsApp beta release. “The feature to play voice notes using different playback speeds was a huge success. After releasing the feature on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.9.10 and WhatsApp Messenger beta for iOS 2.21.90.11 updates, WhatsApp is now working on a new version of the feature, making it compatible with audio messages.”
Spotify and Netflix Combine on New Hub For Shows Like 'Squid Game' and Money Heist'
Spotify and Netflix are collaborating on a new hub providing access to official soundtracks, playlists, podcasts, and exclusive content.
Apple and Amazon Hit With US$225 Million Antirust Fines in Italy
Italy’s antitrust authority has handed out fines worth a combined total of over US$225 million to Apple and Amazon, who intend to appeal.