Well, that didn’t take long. Apple’s AirPods went from a December 21st delivery to a four week delay in about an hour. Apple can say AirPods shipped before the Christmas holiday, but at the expense of loads of angry customers who have to wait until some time in 2017 to see theirs.
Play Pac-Man on your MacBook Pro Touch Bar
The Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro may be functional, but it can be fun, too. Henry Franks makes that point perfectly with his Pac-Man clone, called Pac-Bar, for the Touch Bar. It’s just like the classic arcade game, complete with Pac-Man and his “wokka-wokka” munching sound, ghosts, and music. The maze is a little limited since you can only go left or right, although the intersections do jump you to either end of the Touch Bar. You’ll need to use your MacBook Pro’s arrow keys to play—sorry, no touch controls here. Click the Clone or download button on Henry’s Github page get Pac-Bar.
Apple AirPods Finally Available, Delivering Dec 21
Apple’s AirPods are finally available for order and will start delivering to customers on December 21st, just in time for the Christmas holiday. The wireless earbuds were originally scheduled for an October release, but were delayed until now.
![How To Use Email Aliases In Apple Mail [Update]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/macbook_apple-mail02.webp)
How To Use Email Aliases In Apple Mail [Update]
At some point in your life, you might find yourself juggling multiple email addresses. Maybe you have several personal addresses, or a personal address and a work address. In any case, it can be a bit of a hassle to manage all of them. A way to solve this is to use an email alias. [Updated for clarity when setting up aliases in the web version of Mail on iCloud.com]
Rosetta Stone Language Box Set (Levels 1-4): $139.99
Our friends at Stack Commerce have wrangled a new deal on the Rosetta Stone Box Set (Levels 1-4). Rosetta Stone uses natural learning techniques to take you from beginner to intermediate and higher language skills. I like this software. I’m studying French with it now. And I’m pleased we get to offer it as a deal. You can get the boxed set for $139.99, which is 38% off retail. Today’s link is for Spanish, but there are boxed for French, Italian, and English, too.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Attorney & Mac Power Users Co-Host Katie Floyd
Katie Floyd is an attorney by day. By night, she’s the co-founder and co-host of the Mac Power Users podcast. Katie tells the story of her original passion to be a journalist. She edited the high school yearbook and newspaper on a Mac and, later, majored in journalism in college. Then, in a magical turn of events, she took a political science class from an attorney. It was an both terrifying and exhilarating. September 11, 2001 happened just after graduation, and Katie decided that she wanted to do more. That led eventually to law school. We cover a lot of ground, including her new law firm, the creation of her MPU podcast with David Sparks and a discussion of her new 2016 MacBook Pro. Join me and Katie to hear her inspirational journey.
Here's How to Set the Apple TV Remote to Not Launch the TV App
Apple released iOS 10.2 for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on Monday with support for the new TV app, and a matching update rolled out for the fourth generation Apple TV, too. That’s pretty cool, unless you aren’t watching any channels the TV app supports. If that’s you, then tapping the Home button on your Apple TV remote doesn’t need to take you right to the TV app. If that’s you, here’s how to change the remote back so it takes you to the Home screen.
Trump Tech Summit to Include Tim Cook, Larry Page, More
President-elect Donald Trump is hosting an invitation-only technology summit on December 14th and Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with Alphabet CEO Larry Page, are reportedly attending. The event will be hosted at Trump Tower in Manhattan and will include several other tech industry leaders, although exactly what will be discussed is still unclear.
Building Apple's Ecosystem and Milking the iPhone
What are the proper metrics for evaluating Tim Cook’s performance? Should he be graded as a product visionary? Should he be graded as a salesman for the Apple life? Neil Cybart argues that neither of these is correct. Instead, Tim Cook should be judged on how well he’s built up the Apple ecosystem with products and services. That necessarily means milking the iPhone for all it’s worth. Building Apple’s Ecosystem and Milking the iPhone has the discussion.
Apple Squashes 11 Security Holes in iOS 10.2
Apple released iOS 10.2 on Monday, and the company was much quicker than normal in releasing the security patch notes for the release. According to those notes, there are 11 security holes fixed in the release. Most of those holes are serious, and some allowed access to various aspects of a device when it should be locked.
