Get ready for Bluetooth 5 because the Bluetooth Special Interest Group officially ratified the specification for the wireless protocol this week. Bluetooth 5 promises twice the speed and four times the range compared to the current Bluetooth standard, and will start showing up in devices soon.
Apple Shares AI Research, Listener Comments - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-09
Apple is changing course and letting its engineers publish their research into artificial intelligence. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on why Apple would do that, plus they respond to a listener comment questioning why Jeff is critical of HomeKit.
Shigeru Miyamoto Playing Super Mario Bros Theme is the Coolest Thing this Week
If you don’t know the Super Mario Bros. theme, odds are you’re in one of those South American tribes that hasn’t ever had contact with modern man, which also means you’re missing out on one of the most awesome thing of this week: Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto playing the game’s theme song. He teamed up with The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’s band, The Roots, and it’s more fun than a bag full of Koopas. Check it out, and if you aren’t smiling along with Shigeru then you’ll probably fail the Voight-Kampff test, too.
Apple Watch: Editing Your Workout Screen
Today’s Quick Tip is about working out with your Apple Watch. You can make your workout view look any way you’d like, so whether you’re a statistics person or a “one thing at a time” type, you’ll get what you want. We’ll also show you how to customize each kind of workout!
True Key by Intel Security: $15.99
We have a deal for you today on True Key by Intel Security, This software is a password keeper that lets you use unique features, like your face, fingerprint, or devices you’ve approved to unlock apps and websites. You can get one year of access to this software for $15.99 through us. There are also deals for three years and five years available.
Colin Furze Built a Giant Star Wars AT-ACT in His Backyard
YouTuber colinfurze did what any Star Wars fan would do: he built a 5.5 meter (18 feet) high AT-ACT in his back yard. I love all the projects this nut job builds—he’s awesome—and this one is truly spectacular. It’s a scale model of a scale model on the outside, and on the inside it’s a Star Wars fan club house. In the video below he gives us a great tour, and he also has a behind-the-scenes video of how he built it.
Smarthome Automation for the Holidays - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-08
The holidays are a great time for showing off your smarthome skills, so Kelly Guimont and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share some tips. They talk about Siri, Amazon Echo, IFTTT, and more.
Find Everything You Want to Read on NPR's Book Concierge List
Staying on top of all the great books coming out is pretty hard, which is why we’re glad when NPR’s Book Concierge list comes out each year. The 2016 list is out with more than 300 titles worth checking out. The book suggestions are divided into categories such as Biography & Memoir, Eye-Opening Reads, Kids Books, Funny Stuff, and more. Be sure to check out Staff Picks for a great go-to list of book suggestions. Each title includes iBooks and Amazon, local library, and independent book store links so you don’t have to go hunting. Links to previous Book Concierge lists are there, too, in case you want even more suggestions.
Apple's Single Sign-on Adds ABC, Disney Support
Apple TV’s single sign-on feature went public yesterday with several channels on board, and today Watch Disney and Watch ABC are joining the list. Single sign-on lets users enter their cable and satellite credentials once instead of individually for each channel.
Super Mario Run Demo in Apple's Stores Today
Super Mario Run launches next week on December 15, but you can try it out in Apple’s retail stores now. A demo version is running on iPhones and iPads in the stores starting Thursday morning so you can get a sneak peek before it hits the App Store. Nintendo made the announcement on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and he got to play a level on the show. Super Mario Run is the first mobile game to feature Mario. It’ll cost US$9.99 and you can sign up on the App Store to be notified when it’s available.
