Cool Stuff Found

Jonathan Morrison Reviews the Mac Pro With Music Professionals

Andrew Orr · · 1 Comment

This is a great review to me because it puts it in the hands of professionals who can make the most out of a machine this powerful. Although it is about the power, it’s less of a “speeds and feeds” review (or at least less rote listing of specs) and more of how much work you can throw at it.

This covers 28-Core performance in Logic Pro X with over a hundred tracks, hundreds of plugins and casually creating a song from start to finish in 2 hours. There was a lot of doubt with the state of audio with the Mac Pro including Catalina stability but the results surprised me.

Link

Apple Arcade’s Sayonara Wild Hearts Arrives on Steam

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

One of Apple Arcade’s headlining games was stylish rhythm game Sayonara Wild Hearts. It also spread to other platforms like PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. And today it’s on Steam for Macs and PCs.

“As the heart of a young woman breaks, the balance of the universe is disturbed. A diamond butterfly appears in her dreams and leads her through a highway in the sky, where she finds her other self: the masked biker called The Fool,” it says.

“Journey through a custom-written pop soundtrack, chase scores, and set out to find the harmony of the universe, hidden away in the hearts of Little Death and her star-crossed allies: Dancing Devils, Howling Moons, Stereo Lovers and Hermit 64.”

TMO Deals

SlimJuicer 4,500mAh Wireless Charging Case for iPhone 11/Pro/Max: $21.25

Bryan Chaffin · · Add Comment

We have a deal on the SlimJuicer 4,500mAh Wireless Charging Case for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. It’s a charging case with built-in Qi charging, meaning your iPhone charges from the case wirelessly, and the case can also charge through a Chi charger, or through a Lightning cable. It’s $24.99 through our deal, but coupon code MERRYSAVE15 brings it down to $21.25 at checkout. The deal link goes directly to the iPhone 11 model. There’s a pulldown menu if you want to get one for either pro model, and the coupon code works on all three models.

LuminAID’s Bloomio Twist is a Collapsible Lamp
Cool Stuff Found

LuminAID’s Bloomio Twist is a Collapsible Lamp

Andrew Orr · · Add Comment

LuminAID sent me a Bloomio Twist lamp, and I think it’s a cool product. It’s great for camping because it collapses via an air valve on the bottom for easy storage. The valve does make it a bit wobbly though. It’s waterproof and dustproof, and it connects via Bluetooth to an app on your phone. You can change the LED light to different colors, and it also has strobe effects. It charges with its solar panel on the top, about 12 hours to charge. But it also has a USB-port to charge it with an electrical outlet or power bank. Each charge lasts about 8 hours. US$50

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Apple Defends Encryption in Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

Charlotte Henry · · Add Comment

Apple representatives appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers quizzed the firm on encryption, on which Apple defended its position. Ars Technica has a good rundown of what happened.

Vance, for his part, called Apple’s and Google’s introduction of device encryption “the single most important challenge to law enforcement over the last 10 years… Apple and Google upended centuries of American jurisprudence”… Apple Manager of User Privacy Erik Neuenschwander responded that Apple will continue to work with law enforcement, citing the 127,000 requests from law enforcement for assistance Apple’s team—which includes former law enforcement officials—has responded to over the past seven years, in addition to thousands of emergency requests that Apple has responded to usually within 20 minutes. “We’re going to continue to work with law enforcement as we have to find ways through this,” Neuenschwander said. “We have a team of dedicated professionals that is working on a daily basis with law enforcement.” Feinstein interrupted Neuenschwander: “My understanding is that even a court order won’t convince you to open the device.”