We have a deal on Focus for Mac, a website and application blocker designed to help you stay on task. Focus sits in your menu-bar and helps you block distracting websites, domains, or apps. It also features schedules and timers, password protection, productivity stats, BASH scripting support, and more. An Unlimited Plan is $29.99 through our deal, but there are also less expensive plans called Productivity and Professional.
R.E.M. 'It's The End of the World' Enters iTunes Top 100
The R.E.M classic It’s End of the World As We Know It has entered the iTunes top 100 for the first time, 33 years after it was released, according to data from Pop Vortex. When the New York Daily News reported on the data on Friday the track was at number 73 in the chart. On Monday, it was up at number 39.
The spike in the 1987 song’s popularity likely comes in the wake of the World Health Organization declaring that the menacing coronavirus spread has reached pandemic levels. The tune, which name-checks the likes of cultural icons Lenny Bruce, Leonid Brezhnev, rock critic Lester Bangs and conductor Leonard Bernstein, was positioned at No. 73 Friday evening — just a shade below its Billboard Hot 100 peak of No. 69 in 1987. The single was downloaded more times than Lizzo’s “Good as Hell,” “Lose You to Love Me” by Selena Gomez and even Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” according to Pop Vortex.
Apple Fined by France, Powerbeats 4 – TMO Daily Observations 2020-03-16
Bryan Chaffin and Charlotte Henry join host Kelly Guimont to discuss a French authority fining Apple over inventory, and the new Powerbeats 4 appealing to Charlotte for, frankly, not being AirPods.
TikTok Censors Posts by People it Deems Ugly or Poor
Chinese app TikTok told its moderators to censor posts from users deemed too ugly, poor, or disabled.
…according to internal documents obtained by The Intercept. These same documents show moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok livestreams, punishing those who harmed “national honor” or broadcast streams about “state organs such as police” with bans from the platform.
Apple Dominates Greatest Designs of Modern Times List
Apple featuress heavily a new 100 greatest designs of modern times list recently released by Fortune. The iPhone came out on top, with the Mac and iPod also in the top 10.
With regards to No. 1 on our list, Apple’s iPhone, respondents did not speak so much to its physical design—as handsome as its various iterations have been—but to the way in which the device has transformed human communication and nearly every aspect of how we live. “Not only an instant way to be constantly connected,” said Kathleen Brandenburg of design consultancy IA Collaborative, of the device, “but a flexible, ever-evolving design that becomes whatever each user wants it to be.”
Apple Extends Device Return Period Over Store Closures
Apple published an FAQ that answers questions customers may have after Apple closed all retail stores due to the coronavirus.
Powerbeats 4 Coming Soon for $149
Beats made it official: New Powerbeats 4 headphones are coming soon for US$149 with an increase in battery life and the H1 chip.
Apple Receives €1.1 Billion Fine From French Competition Authority
Apple received a €1.1 billion fine from the French competition authority, the largest it has ever handed out to one firm.
‘The Uncensored Library’ Bypasses Censorship in Minecraft
Reporters Without Borders created The Uncensored Library inside of Minecraft as a way to bypass censorship.
Anyone can download the necessary map, and Minecraft‘s nature makes it easy to host another server if an oppressive country tries to take one down.
Hopefully all of us sharing news about it doesn’t kill it faster.
Catalina Nonplussed By HFS – Mac Geek Gab 806
Do you want a dock with more USB-C ports? If so, why? John and Dave have some ideas for you. How should you best manage your USB-C-powered devices? Or what if you need a backup internet connection with your cell phone? These questions, plus more questions, plus some Cool Stuff Found, plus your Quick Tips round out the episode. We know… it’s a lot! That’s what it takes to learn five new things each week together, isn’t it?