Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery problem isn’t going away and some replacement units are catching on fire, too. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss Samsung’s burning product failure, plus John schools Jeff on the perils of robot sex.
GeeFi Mobile Hotspot on Kickstarter Provides Unlimited 4G Data in 100 Countries
Check out the GeeFi on Kickstarter. It’s a mobile hotspot its makers say provides unlimited 4G data in 100-plus countries. It will support up to 10 devices at a time, and it does this without you having to change out SIM cards are worry about local contracts. When the device is turned on, it displays a local wireless network with a password. Plug that into your laptop, smartphone, or tablet, and you’re good to go. They also say it provides 150 megabits down and 50 megabits up—for $10 per day. The data plan is separate from the cost of the device. Funding options that get a GeeFi currently start at $120. They’ve already raised $141,000 dollars out of a $20,000 goal, with two weeks to go.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geefi/geefi-unlimited-4g-wi-fi-everywhere-you-travel
UK Prime Minister Bans Apple Watch from Cabinet Meetings
Wearing your Apple Watch to a UK Cabinet meeting is off the table over concerns Russians are hacking smartwatches to spy on foreign governments. The ban comes from UK Prime Minister Theresa May who is extending the scope of the smartphone ban put in place by her predecessor David Cameron, and most likely has banned other smartwatches, too.
SunVolt Water-Resistant Dual-USB Solar Charger: $19.99
It’s a portable charger that’s water resistant, charges via solar cells, and it has a built-in 5000mAh of reserve battery power. You can charge two devices at once. And we have it for $19.99. Get it.
MGG 626: Lightning Struck my Switches
Quick Tips start this episode, including topics like macOS Sierra’s picture-in-picture videos, auto-logout, Sierra upgrade hints, macerror, cleaning up your Keychain, printing to PDF on any iOS 10 device, Apple Watch battery life and more. Then it’s on to questions about macOS Sierra’s network login changes, running a mixed macOS and OS X household and, finally, a discussion about lightning strikes and how to recover. Enjoy!
Samsung Has to Pay $120M for Apple's Unlock Patent After All
Samsung’s on-again-off-again fine for infringing on Apple’s slide-to-unlock patent is back on again. A U.S. Federal Appeals Court overturned its own ruling on Friday that Samsung didn’t have to pay the fine, so now the smartphone maker owes Apple US$119.6 million for infringing on the unlock and autocorrect-related patents.
Phish's "Big Boat" Contains a Song Recorded Entirely on an iPhone
Today Phish released “Big Boat,” their 13th studio album, and it turns out one of the songs was recorded entirely on keyboardist Page McConnell’s iPhone. From Alan Paul, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
[Producer], Bob Ezrin gave the band members specific instructions: Learn and play 10 folk songs, then start writing, beginning with a folk song. Mr. McConnell’s effort, “Things People Do,” not only made the final cut, but the version included is his demo. Phish made multiple versions of the song before agreeing that nothing topped the original low-fi version, recorded on Mr. McConnell’s iPhone, sitting atop a Wurlitzer piano in his living room.
You can listen to “Big Boat” and, more specifically, “Things People Do” on Apple Music, of course.
Legit Jetpack Testflight Filmed with iPhone 6s
OK, we don’t have flying cars yet, but jetpacks seem to be closer than ever. Check out this video from JetPack Aviation showing CEO and Chief Test Pilot David Mayman testing out the company’s JB10 jetpack. The flight took place on October 1st in Monaco. Come on, how cool is that? The firm said it was filmed on an iPhone 6s, too.[Via Digg]
TMO's Apple AirPods Earbud Alternatives Roundup
Apple’s AirPods wireless are set to ship some time in October, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get your hands on—or ears in—fully wireless earbuds. The Mac Observer found some options worth checking out, and they’re all available today.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-07: DJ Remixes on Apple Music, Listener Comments
The streaming music market just changed because now Apple Music and Spotify can give us DJ remixes. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the implications bringing remixes to the two big music services will have on the market and on SoundCloud. They also respond to listener comments from Wednesday’s discussion on Yahoo helping intelligence agencies scan our email.