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Google Chrome Brings Back RSS… Sort of

Charlotte Henry ·

Google Chrome is to get a new ‘Follow’ feature. As TechCrunch noted, it’s not quite an RSS reader… but it’s pretty close.

In Chrome, users will soon see a ‘Follow’ feature for sites that support RSS and the browser’s New Tab page will get what is essentially a (very) basic RSS reader — I guess you could almost call it a “Google Reader.” Now we’re not talking about a full-blown RSS reader here. The New Tab page will show you updates from the sites you follow in chronological order, but it doesn’t look like you can easily switch between feeds, for example. It’s a start, though.

Bombich Software Releases Carbon Copy Cloner 6
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Bombich Software Releases Carbon Copy Cloner 6

Andrew Orr ·

Bombich Software has recently released Carbon Copy Cloner 6, the latest update for its backup program. The team says: “It’s a major upgrade with a redesigned interface and dozens of new features. It’s been almost four years since our last major release and we’ve packed in a ton of new features.” CCC can now use the macOS FSEvents service for a list of folders modified on the source since the last backup rather than scanning every folder for changes. The UI has also been redesigned and includes dark mode and a more detailed progress indication when a task is running, and more.

TMO Deals

Play Golf Year Round with This Immersive Golf Simulator Package: $190

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on PhiGolf WGT Edition, a mobile and home smart golf simulator that comes with a Swing Stick. PhiGolf WGT Edition is an entertaining golf simulator where you control the gameplay with your real golf swing. It works with an iPhone or Android device, and comes with a Swing Stick and a Swings sensor. It’s $249, but coupon code GOLF10 brings it down to $190 at checkout.

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Lux Releases ‘Halide’ Camera App for the iPad

Andrew Orr ·

Lux, the company that makes the Halide and Specter camera apps, announced on Tuesday Halide for iPad.

We did bring all of the powerful features from iPhone, though: You can shoot RAW with your iPad, apply Instant RAW, view images and extensive metadata in detail in the reviewer, access our powerful Depth mode, and much more. Tons of refinements, design details and tidbits were added and changed to be great on the big screen, and we can’t wait for you to discover them all.

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LastPass Introduces Improved Multi-Factor Authenticator App

Andrew Orr ·

LastPass by LogMeIn announced on Wednesday that it enhanced its mobile authenticator app and integrates with VPN providers Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and OpenVPN for businesses. However, the authenticator app is available to all LastPass users.

With this update, the LastPass Authenticator will offer a refreshed user interface that now offers search functionality to reduce user complexity and streamline the authentication experience.

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Inside Apple’s Controversial Relationship With the Chinese Government

Andrew Orr ·

On Monday, the New York Times published an investigative piece about Apple’s relationship with the Chinese government, and how it has to comply with its laws there.

Internal Apple documents reviewed by The New York Times, interviews with 17 current and former Apple employees and four security experts, and new filings made in a court case in the United States last week provide rare insight into the compromises Mr. Cook has made to do business in China. They offer an extensive inside look — many aspects of which have never been reported before — at how Apple has given in to escalating demands from the Chinese authorities.

TMO Deals

Foldable Flat Metal Laptop Stand: $21.99

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on the Foldable Flat Metal Laptop Stand by Fescony. It comes with 6 adjustable handles and soft pads for finding the right viewing angle for you. It’s $21.99 through our deal, and as you can see in the photo, it works with laptops and iPads, too.

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How Music and Sound Influence the Endel App

Charlotte Henry ·

Endel is an app that is meant to help users focus, sleep, and relax. Apple published an interview with one of its co-founders, CEO Oleg Stavitsky, in which he described the importance of music and art to the company and its products.

The unexpected makeup of Endel’s founding team — which Stavitsky emphasizes is more of an artist collective than a traditional app development team — provided a certain synergy around the power of sound. The collective’s first foray into app development was BUBL, a suite of digital art apps for kids blending abstract design, sound, and a carefully crafted user interface, launched on the App Store in 2013. “They almost looked like Wassily Kandinsky’s paintings that sort of came to life,” he says. “I was always fascinated with the correlation of color, form, and sound,” Stavitsky says. “That has everything to do with Kandinsky, who is one of my favorite painters, and then at the same time, with the minimalist composers of the ’70s, like Brian Eno, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich. And so even for our BUBL apps, we built a lot of technology that would generate musical composition in real time, depending on what someone was doing in the app.”