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Bryan Chaffin

Bryan Chaffin is the cofounder of The Mac Observer and currently serves as Afternoon Editor. He has contributed to MacAddict and MacFormat magazines, and co-authored the last two updates of iPad and iPad Pro for Dummies with Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus and Ed Baig. You can find out more about Bryan at his personal site, GeekTells, or find his Twitter link below.

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Articles by Bryan Chaffin

Cool Stuff Found

Stevie Wonder Plays Apple's Beer Bash, Here's Tim Cook's Tweet

Danny Burton ·

Apple brought Stevie Wonder in to play the company’s Beer Bash this week, and Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted an image of him hugging the artist onstage. The concert capped a week of activities highlighting Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Mr. Wonder, who is blind, has long endorsed Apple because of the company’s extensive accessibility features in macOS and iOS. Apple often brings in big names for its Beer Bash, a long tradition for the company. This is likely to be of the Beer Bashes is held at Infinite Loop, as the company begins moving into Apple Park in the next few weeks. 9to5Mac rounded up some additional tweeted imaged from the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsaA1s7oCKA
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How to shoot with zoom on iPhone 7 Plus (Apple Video)

vegas188ss2 ·

Apple published another new video in its “Shoot with iPhone” series. This one is called “How to shoot with zoom on iPhone 7 Plus.” It offers two methods I don’t know you could use. The first is to single-tap your display for a 2x optical zoom. The second method is to touch and hold your display to scroll through your zoom until you get it where you want it. There are now 20 videos in this series, and they’re great resources for making the most of your iPhone’s camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4miX5CNATEI
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How to shoot a one-handed selfie on iPhone 7 (Apple Video)

agenangka01 ·

Apple posted a new video in its “Shoot with iPhone” series called “How to shoot a one-handed selfie on iPhone 7.” It offers the three steps needed to take a quick selfie with your iPhone (works with all iPhones running iOS 10). 1.) Swipe left from the lock screen. 2.) Switch to front-facing camera. 3.) Press either volume button to snap your selfie. There are now 20 videos in this series, and they’re great resources for making the most of your iPhone’s camera.

Link

Tim Cook Spotted Testing Glucose Monitor on Apple Campus

streamlinemyrei ·

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been spotted testing a glucose monitor connected to his Apple Watch, according to unnamed sources at CNBC:

Tim Cook has been spotted at the Apple campus test-driving a device that tracks blood sugar, which was connected to his Apple Watch. A source said that Cook was wearing a prototype glucose-tracker on the Apple Watch, which points to future applications that would make the device a “must have” for millions of people with diabetes — or at risk for the disease.

We already knew Apple was working on this technology, and Mr. Cook himself said earlier this year he’s been testing one. But the new report suggests whatever Apple is working on is advanced enough to be tested in the wild, or at least the wild confines of 1 Infinite Loop.

TMO Deals

XXL Shower Speaker: $19.99

thc-ocarts ·

We have a deal for you today on the XXL Shower Speaker. It’s a 3-watt Bluetooth 4.0 shower speaker that can also make and receive phone calls with its built-in microphone. It’s $19.99 through our deal.

TMO Deals

SainSmart UNO for Arduino: $53.99

rsamborsky ·

We have a deal on the SainSmart UNO microcontroller board for Arduino. This device is based on the ATmega328 microcontroller, and you can read about its capabilities on the deal listing. It’s $53.99 through us.

Bloomberg Says Apple Will Announce New MacBooks at WWDC
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Bloomberg Says Apple Will Announce New MacBooks at WWDC

david0912 ·

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Alex Webb said on Tuesday that Apple will launch new MacBooks at its annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. Unnamed sources said Apple will bump the processor in its MacBook Pro to Intel’s Kaby Lake. The company will also introduce a faster MacBook and maybe even a faster MacBook Air. Mr. Gurman is almost always right, and I hope he nailed it with this one. Updated MacBook Pros just 10 months after they were introduced would go a long ways to convincing us that Apple is as committed to the Mac as it says it is. The same goes for the other two models.

Tim Cook Charity Auction Raises Record $688K
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Tim Cook Charity Auction Raises Record $688K

BryanJDuarte ·

Tim Cook’s 2017 charity auction for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights set a record Tuesday when it closed at $688,999. That’s more than the $605,00 a coffee date with Mr. Cook fetched in 2013, and well north of the $515,000 Mr. Cook’s auction raised in 2016. Charitybuzz, which conducted the auction, shows the “lot” of Mr. Cook closed, but MacRumors caught the action at the end, when it hit $688,999 with 30 bids. Mr. Cook has used his fame as Apple CEO to raise money for the RFK Center since 2013, but this is the first year the resulting hour with Mr. Cook will take place in the brand new Apple Park. Congrats to the winner!

News

Apple Goes 'Beyond WWDC' with Third Party Events

Joe_Abbott ·

Apple has posted some of the third party events that take place during its own World Wide Developer Conference. The Apple Developer Connection has a new Beyond WWDC list that includes events like AltConf 2017, The Talk Show with John Gruber Live, CocoaConf Next Door, Layers, the App Camp for Girls benefit with James Dempsey and the Breakpoints. and one of our favorites, Jim Dalrymple’s Beard Bash.

News

Apple Seeds First Developer Release of macOS Sierra 10.12.6

Hetherington Anne Laura ·

Apple released the first developer release of macOS Sierra 10.12.6 on Tuesday, just one day after shipping macOS Sierra 10.12.5. The company didn’t announce any new features in the release, and it’s likely to be another maintenance release ahead of Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference in June.

iBooks Offers 30 Edgar Award Winning Mysteries for $3.99 or Less
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iBooks Offers 30 Edgar Award Winning Mysteries for $3.99 or Less

Anca ·

Apple’s iBooks is offering 30 mystery novels for $3.99 or less, all of them past winners of the Edgar Awards. The Edgars—short for the Edgar Allan Poe Awards—are handed out by the Mystery Writers of America, an author’s guild. The sale is promoting eight 2017 Edgar winners (from $2.99 to $20.99) and 21 nominees (from $3.99 to $14.99), but the 30 past winners are all on sale. Authors in the sale catalog include Eliot Pattison, Otto Penzier, Allison Gaylin, S.J. Rozan, Melanie Rehak, James Patterson, and some fellow named Michael Crichton (A Case of Need), and many more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcMSrKi8hZA
Cool Stuff Found

Watch Apple's 'iPhone 7 Plus — Barbers' Video

Karina_ ·

Apple published a new iPhone 7 Plus video to its YouTube channel on Monday. The spot shows a barber shop using iPhone 7 Plus’s Portrait Mode camera to promote its business. It’s a charming pitch directly demonstrating a practical way for someone to use the feature in their business. The imagery is compelling and the message is accessible. The soundtrack is  “Fantastic Man” by William Onyeabor, an artist who recorded in the ’70s and early ’80s.

TMO Deals

Charge & Sync Dock: $19.99

bob8338 ·

We have a deal for you today on the Charge & Sync Dock. This simple, S-shaped dock is designed to hold any Lightning iPhone. It features anti-slide TPU on the bottom, and it’s priced at $19.99 through us.