We have a deal on a manufacturer-refurbished Mophie Powerstation XL External Battery. This beefy battery holds 12,000mAh, and delivers current in either 500mAh, 1A, or 2.1A, depending on the device you’re charging. It has two USB ports for simultaneous charging, and is itself charged with a standard Micro-USB port. You can get this device through our deal for $39.95.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Managing Editor of the Backblaze Blog Peter Cohen
Peter Cohen is the managing editor of the Backblaze blog. Previously, he’s written for Macworld, The Loop and iMore. Peter talked about how, as a kid, he had a TI-99/4A with bit-mapped graphics. He drew images on graph paper, converted the patterns to Hexadecimal codes and wrote to the display with Basic. The result was color graphics of spaceships shooting at each other. When he first saw the 1984 Macintosh with MacPaint, “it was like the top of my head blew off.” In the second segment, Peter and I chat about how Tim Cook is doing, Apple and its desktop Macs, whether the iPad Pros can replace the Mac and robotics. Peter is very much tuned in and speaks with wisdom on all these subjects. You’ll want to tune in too.
There Ain't No Such Thing as Free TV (TANSTAFTV)
The science fiction writer Robert Heinlein reminded us that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. (TANSTAFL). The same applies to TV. If you watch TV over the air, there will be commercials. Lots. If you subscribe to cable, most channels will also have commercials. If you stream or buy content that doesn’t have commercials (Blu-ray or the OTT services) you will pay what the industry sees fit for you. While cord cutting looks to be appealing cost-wise, for now, the industry is never going to settle for decreased revenues in the long run. A recent Hulu decision proves that.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-08-15: Apple Pay's Failing Competitors, Augmented Reality
Contactless mobile payment platforms are pretty much a mess right now. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of Apple Pay and its competitors, and who may be the real winner in the contactless payment game. They also look at Apple’s push into augmented reality.
Apple: We're Seriously into Augmented Reality
Apparently it’s big news that Apple is working on augmented reality projectsâor more accurately, Apple CEO Tim Cook stripped away enough of his code-speak and made it very clear his company is seriously pursuing AR technology.
MGG 618: Quick Tips, iCloud Music and Resistant Clients
Quick Tips are back with a vengeance! Keyboard shortcuts, calculator corrections, audio sync, offline dictation, email archiving and more. Then it’s time to answer your questions, including migrating Notes between accounts, sizing up the Terminal and dealing with resistant clients. Download and enjoy!
Google Working on 'Fuchsia' OS, Could Replace Android and Chrome OS
Google is working on a new operating system called Fuchsia. AndroidPolice found the project on Gtihub with the description “Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System).” The OS is being built on the Magenta kernel, the first Google operating system not based on Linux. Magenta is derived from LittleKernel, a project aimed at Internet of Things and embedded OS devices. But, AndroidPolice found documentation that suggests it could be scaled up for smartphones and even desktop computers. That could make it an eventual replacement for Android and Chrome OS. It will definitely be interesting to see what Google does with Fuchsia.
'Dual Band System' Let's You Hide Your Apple Watch
Check out the “The Dual Band System” from Sinn (via The Next Web), and it’s a way of having your mechanical watch cake while eating like a poser, too. With this $210 strap ($120 when purchased with a Sinn watch), you can wear your mechanical watch on top of your wrist. But hidden underneath your wrist is your Apple Watch, all on the down low. Listen, I love a mechanical watch as much as the next horological wingnut. And I’ll be honest, I am often torn on whether to wear my Zenith timepiece or my Apple Watch. But this, dear folks, is not the solution. Be that as it may, I wanted to share. đ
ROME: Total War Coming to iPad
Feral Interactive announced Friday it was bringing ROME: Total War to the iPad! This classic game mixes turn-based play and real-time strategy battles in a way that kept me glued to my Mac for ages. Your cities matter, and commanders count. They have different strengths and weaknesses, and not only affect your economy, they can make or break a battle. Even the way you deploy your troops matters. It will be released this fall and pricing hadn’t been announced. Two of the games expansions have been pre-announced for iPad, too: ROME: Total War â Barbarian Invasion and ROME: Total War â Alexander.  Check out the trailer.
Featured Articles
iOS 10: How to use Stickers in Messages
iOS 10’s Messages app lets you add stickers to your text chats, just like you can do in conversations in social media services such as Facebook. You won’t see any stickers you can use at first because there aren’t any installed by default. Follow along with this TMO Video Tip to learn how to install stickers and use them in your Messages chats.