Google is all about April Fools Day pranks, and this year they put one inside the Google Maps app. Instead of navigating your city, you can turn it into a Ms. Pac-Man game. Seriously. Just launch the Google Maps app on your iPhone and tap the Ms. Pac-Man button. The city streets turn into the game grid and you swipe to move around and avoid the ghosts. It’s 8-bit awesomeness that makes pretty much any city cooler. If you don’t already have the Google Maps app it’s a free download at Apple’s App Store.
The Alexa Assistant, OK Google, and Lots More in one Full-Featured Speaker
Say hello to the first standalone device to give you the Alexa assistant, OK Google, and plenty more. The folks at Indiegogo have more than funded the Clarity Speaker. Still, you can preorder yours until the end of April 2017. One great thing about Clarity is you get a portable Bluetooth and Wi-FI speaker with a seven-inch fully-featured touchscreen. Additionally, Clarity includes a built-in Alexa assistant and “OK Google” functionality. It’s also a fully functional Android tablet, running Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Clarity Speaker is extremely portable, weighing less than two pounds. The device is powered by a quad-core processor. Clarity includes two 5-watt speakers and a 2MP camera. Internally, you’ll have access to 16GB of memory. You can expand storage with a micro SD card. The speaker is available for preorder at US $149 until April 30, 2017. The regular retail price is $199, and the device begins shipping in June.
APFS Performance Lags HFS+, for Now
Apple is looking to replace HFS+ with a new file system, but is APFS really ready for prime time? Jeff Butts and Dave Hamilton have put the new file system through some tests, and report in on their findings.
Under the Hood with APFS - TMO Daily Observations 2017-03-31
APFS is part of macOS Sierra 10.12.4, but what does that mean for average users? Dave Hamilton and Jeff Butts join Jeff Gamet to talk about what’s working and what isn’t, APFS performance compared to HFS+, and more.
Verizon Ready to Launch its Own Streaming TV Service this Summer
AT&T offers streaming television through DirecTV Now, and soon Verizon will be on board with its own service this summer. The company has been hard at work lining up content deals and plans to offer its streaming service through set top boxes, smartphones, and tablets.
Apple Hires YouTube Exec to Refine Apple Music Video Strategy
Apple beefed up its original video content team by hiring former YouTube and Spotify executive Shiva Rajaraman. He will reportedly help refine the company’s video strategy for Apple Music.
MacX Media Management Bundle: $19.95
We have a deal for you on the MacX Media Management Bundle, a collection of Mac apps designed to help you encode and decode videos and move them to your iOS devices. It consists of MacX DVD Ripper Pro, MacX Video Converter Pro, and MacX MediaTrans, for $19.95
What Is A VPN, And How Can It Help You?
Now that Congress have chosen to allow ISPs to sell your data, many people are turning to VPNs to help. But you may not know how VPNs work, or how a VPN can help you browse the web safely. In this article Andrew Orr explores the technical details and gives you our VPN recommendations.
iOS: Close Running Apps All at Once
Even though Apple says this is unnecessary, sometimes when you have a lot of apps running, it can help boost your iPhone’s performance to shut them down. Doing that one by one is a pain, so Jeff Butts found a way to close running apps all at once.
Kove Commuter Wireless Speaker:
We have a deal for you on the Kove Commuter Wireless Speaker. It’s a Bluetooth 4.1 portable speaker with a large 4,000mAh battery capacity giving you 8-plus hours of playback time. It’s $89.99 through us.