Looks like you’ll still be able to get some work done or play games on your flight from Europe to the U.S. because the plan to ban anything larger than a smartphone from the passenger cabin has been dropped.
New Macs at WWDC, Apple vs Diabetes, Lattice Data - ACM 411
This could be the year Apple breaks form and introduces new hardware at WWDC, and Bryan and Jeff explain why. They also discuss Apple’s big bets on an even bigger future and the importance of AI, neural nets, and machine learning.
Siri the Cyber Security Guard - TMO Daily Observations 2017-05-17
As artificial intelligence systems improve, voice assistants like Siri make take a more active role in protecting our computers and our online activity. John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at how Siri may play a bigger part in our personal cyber security, and whether or not that’s something we want.
SainSmart UNO for Arduino: $53.99
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
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
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!
iPad mini on Life Support, Michael Lombardo at Apple - TMO Daily Observations 2017-05-16
A new report is in line with our belief that the iPad mini is in its final days. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on the pending demise of Apple’s smallest iPad model, and on the company’s tablet strategy in general. They also look at what Michael Lombardo potentially joining the company could mean for its original TV show and movie plans.
Disconnect 1-Year Premium Subscription: $19
We have a deal on Disconnect, a VPN service that specializes in tracker blocking. Our deal is for a one year subscription for $19 (regular price is $50), and it’s good for use on up to three devices. Check out the details on the deal listing.
iBooks Offers 30 Edgar Award Winning Mysteries for $3.99 or Less
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.
The New Meme: All Out Mac Speed is Now a Thing
Now that Apple has committed to a new Mac Pro, prosumers are salivating at the thought of what Apple might deliver. And the thinking also seems to be bleeding over into the iMacs (with Xeon CPUs) and MacBook Pros, high-end Macs that’ll have to carry our most demanding computational loads for awhile. Particle Debris points to two articles by Mac experts. One asks how the competition is doing against Apple’s laptops and the other has a focus on raw laptop speed.
