LAS VEGAS – Polk Audio’s new MagniFi Mini soundbar is small, but it can fill a surprisingly large space. Michael Greco shows Jeff Gamet its features at Pepcom at CES 2017.
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
CES 2017 Wireless Charging, Sober Sensors, and More - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-05
Pepcom at CES 2017 was packed with cool tech gear, so Dave Hamilton, Bryan Chaffin, and John F. Braun join Jeff Gamet look at some of the products they liked. There’s an Apple Watch band that knows if you’re drunk, ubiquitous wireless charging, and more.
myEarlySense Sleep Monitor Explained at CES 2017
LAS VEGAS – The myEarlySense sleep monitor aims to help improve your time in bed without impacting your comfort. Arvin Halperin tells Jeff Gamet how it works at CES Unveiled 2017.
First Alert HomeKit-ready OneLink Environment Monitors at CES 2017
LAS VEGAS – First Alert is ready to join your HomeKit network with their OneLink Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector and Environment Monitor. Tarsila Wey shows them off to Jeff Gamet at CES Unveiled 2017.
Sevenhugs Smart Remote Wants to be Your Go-to Entertainment and Smart Home Remote
LAS VEGAS – The Sevenhugs smart remote dynamically changes to be the only remote you need, no matter what you’re doing at home. Simon Tchedikian shows Jeff Gamet how it intelligently controls your home entertainment system, smart home devices, and online services at CES Unveiled 2017.
CES 2017 Smart Remotes, Mesh Networks, and More - TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-04
CES 2017’s Unveiled event was last night and we saw loads of interesting new products. Dave Hamilton, Bryan Chaffin, and John F. Braun join Jeff Gamet share some of the cool tech gear they found ranging from smart remotes for home entertainment systems to new wireless mesh network basestations.
CES 2017 Expectations and Predictions- TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-03
CES 2017 is kicking off, so today Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet talk about what they expect to be the big product categories at this year’s events. Be sure to follow along all week for The Mac Observer’s on-location coverage.
Happy 2017 from The Mac Observer!
With 2016 behind us and CES is only a couple days away, The Mac Observer is taking off Monday while we catch our breath before jumping neck deep into 2017. We’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Tuesday, January 3rd. We’ll also be on location at CES 2017 to bring you the latest on this year’s tech. Rest up, and get ready for another exciting year!
Apple's Unused Patent Lawsuit, Twitter Features We Want - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-30
Apple has a patent for blocking iPhone features while driving, but isn’t using it. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet look at how that landed Apple in a lawsuit related to a tragic car wreck, plus they share their most wanted Twitter feature.
Want to Edit Your Tweets? Let Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Know
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wants to know what features you’d like to see added to the social networking and microblogging service. The ability to edit tweets is at the top of our list, and it looks like that’s what most everyone else wants, too.
AirPods Production in Overtime to Cut Shipping Delays
It may be easier to get ahold of AirPods soon because Inventec, the company manufacturing them for Apple, is expanding its production. That’s good news for impatient consumers who are currently waiting upwards of six weeks for theirs to arrive.
Want to Know if You'd Survive a Nuclear Bomb? There's a Site for That
“I wonder if I live in a place that’ll survive a nuclear bomb” is something we used to ask in the 1960s and 70s, and it seems to have come back into vogue. Back then, we had to do things like go to the library and do research. But now, we can sit in the comfort of our potentially safe homes and check the Would I Survive a Nuke website. Spoiler: I probably won’t in Boulder, but you might be more lucky. The site is getting hit pretty hard, so you may have to try a few times. Seems a lot of people are really interested in knowing their potential fate.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Brick Update Starts Rolling Out
The last few Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners won’t be able to use their fire-phones much longer because carriers are starting to push out an update that bricks the devices. T-Mobile is already remotely updating Note 7 phones, AT&T and Sprint are planning to start in the next few days, and even Verizon has reversed course and is going to push out the update, too.
5.8-inch iPhones, Apple's Original Crew - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-29
We’re seeing more reports about a new iPhone screen size for 2017, so Bryan Chaffin and Mac Geek Gab’s John F. Braun join Jeff Gamet weigh in on what may be coming next year. They also look back on Apple’s first ten employees, and note the update of death for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone-of-fire.
Samsung Reportedly Supplying Apple with 5.8-inch Displays for Next iPhone
Samsung is making 5.8-inch AMOLED displays for next year’s iPhone, according to supply chain sources. If true, that makes rumors of a larger screen iPhone in 2017 more likely—and that next year Apple plans to add yet another screen size to its smartphone lineup.
Police Turn to Amazon Echo in Homicide Showing How Smarthome Devices Can Spy on Us
Police in Bentonville, Arkansas, obtained a search warrant for the audio captured by an Amazon Echo as part of a homicide investigation, raising concerns over just how much smarthome devices know about us. In the case of the Echo, Amazon says little is being recorded and stored, but that’s not much of a consolation for IoT device owners who’re worried their tech might be used against them by the government.
Amazon Echo, Police, and Privacy - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-28
With police getting search warrants for Amazon Echo recordings questions about personal privacy are on the rise. Dave Hamilton and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at what Amazon’s Echo hears and records, what our other smarthome devices may be logging, and what that means for our privacy and police investigations.
Sorry, New Video Isn't Proof of a White iPhone 7
A video showing the rumored Jet White iPhone 7 is making the rounds on the internet. iPhone fans hoping for an all white model shouldn’t, however, get their hopes up because these are most likely after market replacement parts.
Apple May Add 5-inch Screen to the 2017 iPhone Lineup
Apple is adding a 5-inch model to its iPhone lineup in 2017, or so the latest supply chain report claims. Assuming the sources are right, that would give Apple four different smartphone screen sizes starting at 4-inches for the iPhone SE, and topping out at 5.5-inches for the iPhone 7 Plus.
Apple Opens Up to AI Community with Research White Paper
Apple’s artificial intelligence efforts are starting to come to light thanks to a just published white paper. The document describes a way to use artificial images to train computers to recognize real world objects, and is also a bit of a good faith gesture towards the open research philosophy in the AI community.
Apple's AirTunes Trademark, AI White Paper - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-27
Apple is reviving its AirTunes trademark, which has some thinking there’s a new product in the works. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share what they think is in store for the AirTunes name, plus they look at Apple’s first artificial intelligence white paper.
HandBrake Video Converter App Leaves Beta After 13 Years
It only took about 13 years, but HandBrake is finally out of beta. Version 1.0 was released on December 24th, and is the go-to tool for video transcoding. In layman’s terms, HandBrake is what you use to convert DVDs into video files you can play on your Mac. Version 1.0 improves audio and video syncing for difficult sources, adds new device presets, adds new MKV and JSON presets, improves performance Skylake-based Macs, and more. HandBrake isn’t, however, completely leaving the beta world behind thanks to its new less technical documentation that’s tagged beta. You can download HandBrake at the HandBrake website for free.
Happy Holidays from The Mac Observer to You!
Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Solstice…It doesn’t matter what you celebrate this time of year—or if you celebrate at all. 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 Monday off, but we’ll be back on Tuesday, December 27th, with our iPhone, iPad, and Mac coverage, along with a fresh TMO Daily Observations episode, too.
Uber Location Privacy, AirPods Followup - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-23
Uber is in the spotlight again over privacy concerns. Bryan Chaffin and the Maccast’s Adam Christianson join Jeff Gamet to look at how Uber is collecting location data and how we can block that, plus Adam shares his AirPods experience.