Bryan Chaffin joins host Kelly Guimont to chat about cryptocurrency. Learn a little something even though it’s winter break. 🙂
Buy Knock-Off Solo Loop Watch Bands for 80% Off Apple's Pricing
Every time Apple comes out with a new style of watch band, FOMO tells me to order one. Unfortunately, my wallet often disagrees (and wins that argument), as was the case with Apple’s US$49 Solo Loop and $99 Braided Solo Loop bands introduced this fall. Never fear, though, Amazon to the rescue! There are plenty of companies who sell knockoffs of Apple’s Watch band designs, many of which have proven to be of spectacular quality over the years. The $12 Solo Loop and $20 Braided Solo Loop clones my family found in our Christmas stockings last week were no exception. First, download (and print) Apple’s Solo Loop Watch Band Size Guide, then check ’em out and place your orders. Final step: enjoy!
Cherry? Check? 8herk? No, a Mistakenly Shared Apple TV+ Poster
Prior to Christmas Apple TV+ launched a ‘for you consideration’ campaign for its film, ‘Cherry,’ but a poster shared online was unreadable.
That Video of an Apple Car Parking is Fake
There was a video making the rounds on social media recently showing an Apple Car with bizarre, round wheels. As The Drive points out, such wheels are physically impossible. The car is a 3D model of a Mercedes concept vehicle.
If you take a hard look at one about the imaginary Apple Car, you’ll see the shadows don’t match up and it’s low resolution, which camouflages the CGI seams you might spot otherwise. But still, you can bet that right now, someone is searching “Apple car” and trying to figure out a way to get on the waiting list. They’ll stand outside of the Apple store all night if they have to.
Mariah Carey in Discussions About Further Apple TV+ Specials
Mariah Carey is said to be in talks to make specials for Apple TV+, following the apparent success of her recent Christmas show.
Time Capsule Replacements, Quick Tips, & Cool Stuff Found — Mac Geek Gab 850
Apple’s Time Machine lets you backup to a network drive… but which network drive should you use now that Apple no longer sells a Time Capsule? John and Dave are here to answer this question and many, many more! Listen as your two favorite geeks answer all the questions YOU sent in this week, plus sharing Quick Tips and Cool Stuff Found to give you lots to think about… and to get! Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things about your Mac, iPhone, and other tech.
Happy Holidays 2020 from The Mac Observer!
Whether you’re into Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, Solstice, or any end-of-the-year holiday, The Mac Observer hopes this is a wonderful time for you. We’re taking Thursday and Friday off this year, but we’ll be back on Monday, December 28th, with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Media, and probably even car coverage, along with a fresh TMO Daily Observations episode.
Fashion App ‘21 Buttons’ Exposes Data of European Influencers
An e-commerce app called 21 Buttons has exposed the private data of hundreds of people across Europe.
Among the millions of photos and videos, we also viewed hundreds of invoices detailing payments to users in the 21 Buttons Rewards program, covering the last few months. Some of these invoices appear to be test data, but many of them were definitely legitimate invoices detailing real records of payments made.
Cellebrite Has Not Broken Signal’s Encryption
On Tuesday, security company Cellebrite claimed to have broken the encryption that Signal uses to keep user communication safe. The blog post has since been removed, but the BBC has an archived version here. But Signal says that claim isn’t true.
It is important to understand that any story about Cellebrite Physical Analyzer starts with someone other than you physically holding your device, with the screen unlocked, in their hands. Cellebrite does not even try to intercept messages, voice/video, or live communication, much less “break the encryption” of that communication. They don’t do live surveillance of any kind.
How Apple Thrived After Not Buying Tesla
A while back, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed that he had “reached out to Tim Cook” about buying his company. Obviously, that never happened. A missed opportunity for Apple? Liam Denning, writing for Bloomberg News, doesn’t think so.
Is Cook kicking himself for not buying Tesla when he had the chance? I suspect that, in some well-appointed office deep inside the Apple Park donut, the soft thud of self-kicking is not to be heard. Musk may well have “reached out.” On the other hand, the gossamer-veiled dig at Cook’s apparent short-sightedness contained in the Tesla CEO’s tweet suggests this may be more about taking the shine off Apple’s rumored vehicle ambitions. Musk has been known to lash out on Twitter. There is also some history here, given Musk once dissed Apple as a “graveyard” for defecting Tesla employees. That was a few years before he apparently reached out to the chief gravedigger.