The Kanex GoPower Plus Batter Space portable battery. What I like about it is that it has a built-in charging cable. The main cable is a microUSB cable for Android users. But it comes with a Lightning adapter that slips over that microUSB plug, and both just tuck away in the body of the battery. It comes in Space Gray or Gold and has a capacity of 8,000mAh. It’s $59.95.
Nomad Leather MFi-Certified Charging Wallet: $49.95
Check out the Nomad Leather MFi-Certifified Charging Wallet. It’s a wallet. A billfold, if you will. But in addition to holding credit cards and money, it has a built-in 2,400mAh battery in it for recharging your iPhone. It even has an integrated Lightning cable. Check the deal listing for more info and more pictures.
MacBook Pro USB-C Donglegate - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-07
People seem pretty uptight about Apple’s transition to dongle adapters for peripherals on our Macs, so Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on whether or not it’s a big deal. Spoiler: They can’t agree.
Amazon Go Shopping, iPhone as a Desktop Computer - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-06
First Amazon wanted to be your go-to online shopping destination, and now the company wants to be your local brick-and-mortar store, too. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at Amazon’s planned cashier-free grocery store, plus they dive into the possibility of our iPhones becoming our only computing device.
HyperDrive USB Type-C 5-in-1 Hub with SDXC, microSDXC, 2 USB 3.0 Ports: $39.95
Today I am pleased to tell you about a deal on a gadget I would have linked to as Cool Stuff Found if we didn’t have a deal. It’s the HyperDrive USB Type-C 5-in-1 Hub, a hub you can plug directly into your MacBook or MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. As you can see in the picture, the hub has an SDXC slot, a microSDXC slot, two USB 3.0 ports, and a USB-C port, too. The device is made from aluminum, and it’s priced at $39.95 through us, 20% off retail. Works with Chromebook Pixel, too.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Co-Founder of Brydge Technologies Nicholas Smith
Brydge Technologies makes outstanding aluminum, color matched keyboards for most iPads. Co-founder Nicholas Smith took over the original, failing company founded on Kickstarter and breathed new life into it. That was in the form of an outstanding customer relationship and order fulfillment systems. In this episode I chat with Nick about how he turned the product around, moved his company, with 15 people, from SIngapore to Park City, Utah (more consumer focus), decided not to use Apple’s Smart Connector and flourished in a market that now embraces iPads with keyboards. Nick also talks about what prepared him for this kind of venture, his turn-around artistry, and his vision for keyboards on our beloved iPads. He also provides a glimpse of his next new keyboard project. Bonus: we talk about skiing.
Apple's Brisk Moves to the Future Could Damage Important Revenues
Apple’s Mac business alone amounts to $23 billion annually. Jean-Louis Gassée reminds us that’s as much as the annual revenues of the Northrop Grumman Corp. That’s not something to take lightly. Also, a defocus from Apple branded displays and routers could simply drive customers into the arms of the competition in other closely related product areas. Even computers. Rene Ritche calls it the «Horn Effect.» Apple’s Brisk Moves to the Future Could Damage Important Revenues of Friday’s Particle Debris has the conversation.
The Black Friday Mac Bundle 2.0: $19.99 Today
We have a slightly different deal for you today. It’s called the Black Friday Mac Bundle 2.0, a collection of 9 Mac productivity apps. The bundle itself isn’t new, but it’s back for a limited time at $19.99. What’s new is that the price is going to go up a dollar every day until the end of this week. That means buy early if you’re interested. Check out the list of apps in the deal description.
Fake News and Snatched iPhones – TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-05
The UK police got unlocked access to a suspect’s iPhone but, unlike the FBI earlier this year, they didn’t have to ask Apple to hack it. Interestingly, though, the FBI did something very similar to the UK police a few years ago. Listen to hear more. Then it’s on to how Apple might just be our last hope to save the integrity of the internet. John Martellaro explains!
Amazon Snowmobile is a Giant Truck That Can Move 100PB to the Cloud
Amazon’s servers provide the backbone for much of the Web, and while upload speeds are improving, what happens when you need a few dozen petabytes backed up to the cloud? Enter Amazon Snowmobile, literally a giant truck with a mobile data center capable of physically moving up to 100 petabytes of your data to Amazon’s cloud servers. The concept is the evolution, both in name and function, of the company’s «Snowball» service, which ships customers data units with capacities up to 80TB. As for price, it’s in the «if you have to ask…» category, although Amazon says it aims to make the Snowmobile cheaper than any network-based data transfer which, even at gigabit speeds, would take a while.
