Check out the Plugies Magnetic Charging Cables, Lightning charging cables with a magnetic connector. They’re designed to work like Apple’s on-the-way-out MagSafe, but for your iPhone. It has two pieces, one a Lightning plug that sits in your iPhone. The other is a cable that connects to that plug with a magnet. They’re $27.99 through our deal. There are also versions with Micro-USB and one with both Micro-USB and Lightning. Check out the details on the deal listing.
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.
Articles by Bryan Chaffin
Flux 6 Lifetime License: $49.99
We have a deal for you on Flux 6, a WYSIWYG HTML and CSS design tool. It features the ability to write and edit code, or use drag and drop controls. Our deal is for lifetime access and future updates on one computer for $49.99, 83% off retail.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Trump's Muslim Ban 'Is Not a Policy We Support'
Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees Saturday that President Trump’s Muslim ban, “is not a policy we support.” Echoing his many previous comments on diversity, Mr. Cook said, “Apple would not exist without immigration.”
Apple's December Earnings Report Set for January 31st
Apple announced Friday that it will announce earnings for the December quarter—the company’s first fiscal quarter of 2017—on Tuesday, January 31st. Apple’s quarterly conference call with analysts will start at 2:00 PM PST/5:00 EST.
MultiPoint Bluetooth Car Speaker Phone: $42.95
We have a deal on an interesting device called MultiPoint Bluetooth Car Speaker Phone. It’s a Bluetooth speaker, but it’s designed to be used in your car and attaches to your visor. It allows you to make hands-free calls, even if your car doesn’t have a built-in hands-free system. You can get it through us for $42.95, more than half off retail.
FaceApp Uses Neural Net to Add Smiles, Make You Old or Young, Change Gender
OK, folks, I honestly don’t know how I feel about this, but it’s definitely interesting. A company called Wireless Lab has a new app called FaceApp. It uses the power of a neural net to modify photographs. They can add a smile to a portrait where the subject wasn’t smiling. Other filters make a face young or old, or change the gender from male to female or vice versa. In a statement, the company said, “Prisma changes the style of a photo, but keeps the content. FaceApp changes the content, but keeps the style.” Wireless Lab is using a neural net, meaning your image is uploaded to their servers where a bunch of computers apply the filters. In my quick tests, I found the Smile filter works stunningly well. You’ll see me and Jeff Gamet below both look like women with the Female filter, but it doesn’t handle our facial hair very well. And—much to my chagrin—neither of us look any older with the “Old” filter, but their own examples are markedly different. The short version is that FaceApp isn’t perfect, and it’s little more than a novelty at this stage, but humans are getting really, really good at altering images in stunning ways. FaceApp is free. [Update: I reached out to Yaroslav Goncharov, the founder and CEO of Wireless Lab, who told me the underlying technology with use. He said, “Users already sent us photos some of our filters struggle with and it helps us to fine tune our neural nets.”]
FitBit Flex (Third-Party Refurbished): $29.99
Our friends at Stack Commerce have put together a deal on refurbished FitBit Flex tracking bands. These dedicated fitness trackers let you track steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, hourly activity, stationary time, and sleep. Set up goals, sync your data (but they don’t sync to Apple’s HealthKit), and more. They’re just $29.99 through our deal.
The Goodies in iOS 10.3, Net Neutrality on the Chopping Block - ACM 395
iOS 10.3 is out in beta, and it has some fun new goodies. Bryan and Jeff look at what they think is most interesting. Net Neutrality is also on the chopping block, one of those situations where politics and technology intersect in annoying ways.
The Swift 3 Master Coder Bundle: $44
We have a deal for developers today on the Swift 3 Master Coder Bundle. You get lifetime access to 143 courses and 19 hours of content designed to teach you how to make apps for iOS 10. Check out the deal listing for more information. It’s priced at $44 through our deal, 92% off the regular price.
Apple Patches 8 Security Flaws in Apple TV with tvOS 10.1.1
Apple released tvOS 10.1.1 for Apple TV (4th Generation) on Monday. Apple’s general release notes specify only that, “This update includes general performance and stability improvements.” The Security Content document for the update details eight security flaws that were patched.
Apple Releases Sierra 10.12.3 Update with Fixes for PDF, MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Security, More
Apple shipped macOS Sierra 10.12.3 on Monday. The update includes some relatively minor bug fixes, an issue with Adobe Premiere Pro on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, a PDF encryption fix, and more. The update also includes fixes for eight security flaws.
Apple releases iOS 10.2.1 and watchOS 3.1.3 with Security Updates
Apple released iOS 10.2.1 Monday, as well as watchOS 3.1.3. The patch notes for both updates say they include, “bug fixes and improves the security” of your devices. There are no other features or improvements specified.
MailButler Professional 1-Year Subscription: $14.99
We have a deal for you today on MailButler Professional, a collection of plugins for Apple’s Mail.app. With these plugins, you can mark your emails as to-do items, snooze emails, track emails to find out if recipients have actually opened them, schedule emails to be sent at specific dates and times, and more. You can get a one year subscription to MailButler Professional through our deal for $14.99.
Easily Capture Your Screen, Burn Digital Media & Edit Videos Seamlessly: $49
We have a deal for you on Roxio Toast Titanium for $49. This software lets you capture video directly from your screen, portable devices, or the web. It also has video editing tools and the ability to create a DVD. It will convert videos, rip DVDs and CDs, and much more. Check out the details on the deal listing.
Get Jim Dalrymple and Bryan Chaffin iMessage Stickers
OK, get this. Nodconcept made this custom emoji of me for the company’s Facebook emoji app for iOS. They made one for my friend Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, too. Facebook emoji apps are so 2009, but the Emoti emoji are available as an iMessage sticker pack. And—more importantly—Nodconcept told me they added the emojis for me and Jim to that sticker pack.
Kult of Ktulu : Olympic, a Textual Narrative Lovecraftian Video Game
Check out Kult of Ktulu: Olympic. It’s a textual narrative game, but what hit me were the gorgeous graphics backing up the narrative. Players take on the avatar of a young girl named Elena on a ship crossing the Atlantic in the early 20th century. Elena is investigating the Kult in a world built from H.P. Lovecraft imagery. I haven’t played it yet, but it looks lush and delicious. It’s currently in the App Store as a free download with in-app purchases. It’s in Google Play, too, if that’s your poison.
FRESHeBUDS Pro Magnetic Bluetooth Earbuds: $29.95
Check out the FRESHeBUDS Pro Magnetic Bluetooth Earbuds. They’re water and sweat resistant, and automatically pair to your phone when pulled apart so you don’t have to go through any setup. They fully charge in 90 minutes, and offer up to 10 hours of playback. You can get them for $29.95 through our deal.
Civilization VI Gets Viking and Poland Expansions, Other Improvements
Civilization Vi got its first expansions Wednesday with the release of the Poland Civilization & Scenario Pack and Vikings Scenario Pack. The Polish pack includes the full Poland civilization, which includes the ability to take over tiles by fortifying their borders. The Poland scenario is a 60-Turn game where you defend Poland, Prague, and Vienna from Teutonic Knights and Ottoman Turks! Sounds awesome. The Viking Scenario includes new City-States with new benefits, and a 100-Turn game where you invade England, take Paris, find Vinland, or raid the Mediterranean. I’m slacking off from work just thinking about it. Each pack is $4.99, and is available through both Steam and the Mac App Store version of the game. Civilization VI itself was released in October for $59.99, and Wednesday’s update includes a variety of bug fixes, balance changes, AI tuning, and a new Earth map (standard size).
FCC Net Neutrality, Backdoor Hacks, and New Apple Products - ACM 394
Outgoing FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler made a plea for the incoming administration to protect Net Neutrality. Bryan and Jeff discuss whether that plea is likely to fall on deaf ears [spoiler: yes, it will]. They also discuss the implications of the Cellebrite hack, and the fact that Apple released two product updates this week.
Apple Offers 'Major Updates' to Logic Pro X and GarageBand
Apple announced “major updates” to GarageBand for iOS and Logic Pro X on Wednesday (for NAMM), going so far as to issue a press release for the updates. The consumer-oriented GarageBand is getting the Alchemy synthesizer and a new browser for finding and using sounds. Apple’s professional DAW—Logic Pro X—gets support for Touch Bar, Track Alternatives, an updated interface, and other changes. Both updates are free.
SelectTV by FreeCast 1-Year Subscription: $24
Our friends at Stack Commerce have put together a deal on a one-year subscription to SelectTV. This internet-streaming service gives you browser access to some 300,000 TV episodes, 200,000 movies, 50,000 radio stations, and 5,000 live channels. The price for a one-year subscription through our deal is $24. There are more details on the deal listing.
Former Apple Engineer Claims Tim Cook Made Apple Boring
Former Apple engineer Bob Burrough has been arguing that CEO Tim Cook has made Apple boring. In a combination of tweet storm and an interview with CNBC stemming from said tweetstorm, the engineer said Mr. Cook has eliminated conflict within Apple, sapping its vitality in the process. Mr. Burrough argued that Steve Jobs ruled with ever-shifting chaos, where product triumphed over hierarchy. Under Tim Cook, he said, Apple is siloed, smooth, and essentially complacent. Former Apple wunderkind Tony Fadell coincidentally tweeted just last week that Steve Jobs did not manage through conflict, and others have taken issue with Mr. Burrough, too. The reality is that any one person’s perspective never tells the whole tale, but his opinions make for an interesting read. You can see the whole tweetstorm in this tweet and in the CNBC story.
@JohnKirk @asymco The very first thing Tim did as CEO was convert Apple from a dynamic change-maker into a boring operations company.
— ᴮᵒᵇ ᴮᵘʳʳᵒᵘᵍʰ (@bob_burrough) January 16, 2017
Kinkoo 3-Outlet Surge Protecting Smart Power Strip
You folks probably know how much I love clever devices—we have a deal on one called Kinkoo 3-Outlet Surge Protecting Smart Power Strip. It’s a power strip with three AC outlets, but it also has four USB charging ports. That’s three standard USB charging ports and one USB-C charging port, making it good for new and legacy USB charging. It’s $24.99 through us.
Next FlipBook Maker Pro for Mac: $39.99
We have a deal today on Next Flipbook Maker Pro for Mac. This software helps you make PDFs and images into HTML5 flipbooks. It does Flash, too, but seriously, HTML5. You can embed YouTube, local video, music, images, buttons, charts, and hyperlinks, and it has batch conversion abilities, too. It’s priced at $39.99, which is 86% off retail. Check out the details on the deal listing.
