Standalone 5K Monitors no Longer Available From Apple

Standalone 5K monitors are currently unavailable via Apple in various countries. 9to5 Mac noticed this and offered some explanations why.

We have verified Apple’s website from different countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, and in all of these, the LG UltraFine 5K Display is not available. Apple doesn’t clarify whether the unavailability is temporary due to a new model arriving or supply constraints. The same thing happened last year, with LG UltraFine 5K disappearing from Apple Stores in May. Two months later, LG announced a new generation of the monitor — which is the model that was being sold until now. Now with Pro Display XDR, Apple could simply remove the LG monitor from its stores. But since the LG UltraFine 5K Display is still listed in the Apple Online Store, that’s less likely. However, it’s hard to imagine that Apple will continue to work with LG to launch a new monitor.

Marangoni Electromagnetic Light: $79.95

We have a deal on a lamp, a Marangoni lamp, to be more specific. The two spheres in the middle of the lamp shown in the image are electromagnetic. The lamp turns on when you bring the two spheres close to each other. the light is produced by LEDs, too. Cool, yeah? The Marangoni electromagnetic light is $79.95 through our deal.

Spotify Premium Lets Users Host Six-Person Listening Party

Spotify Premium users can listen to the same playlist or podcast simultaneously with friends and family, wherever they are. The company announced the next beta of its Group Session tool on Tuesday.

In our latest innovation, we’re taking Group Session one step further with brand-new functionality that allows Spotify Premium users around the world to tune into the same playlist or podcast simultaneously. So no matter the distance—whether six feet apart or a thousand miles away—you and the members of your squad can now each listen to the same content at the same time on your own devices (as well as control playback). Groups of two to five people can use this feature at once by sharing a “join” link via messaging apps or social media with each other.

Steve Jobs Signed 'Fortune' Magazine Cover to be Auctioned

A rare copy of Fortune magazine signed by Steve Jobs is set to be auctioned. It will go on sale on July 30 with a minimum bid of $11,000, AppleInsider reported.

The magazine, Fortune’s 9 October 1989 issue, features Steve Jobs on the cover and was published shortly after the launch of his company, NeXT. According to the listing with Nate D. Sanders Auctions, the magazine going up for sale is signed in black ink “To Terry, steve jobs” in a lower-case signature. The recipient of the signature was one of the chauffeurs who drove for Jobs, and asked for the autograph after driving the company chief for several years. Despite the familiarity and length of time working for Jobs, the CEO still called the limousine company to complain about the autograph request. 

Introducing ‘Facetune Video’ for Video Retouching

Facetune Video is the latest app from Lightricks. It’s a video retouching tool that lets you edit your selfie videos to smooth skin, whiten teeth, reshape facial features, change eye color, and apply lipstick. Of course, the standard video editing tools are there to control aspects like contrast and brightness. Just apply these edits to one frame of the video and the app will apply it to the rest of the video automatically. App Store: Free (Offers In-App Purchases)

CES 2021 Will be an All-Digital Event

The Consumer Technology Association has (finally) confirmed that CES 2021 will be a digital event. It accepted that given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it would not be possible to safely hold the event in person. There will still be keynotes, product showcases, and opportunities to network, a blog post published Wednesday said.

With the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person. An all-digital CES 2021 will allow the entire tech community to safely share ideas and introduce the products that will shape our future. You’ll be able to participate in all the awe-inspiring moments of CES wherever you are in the world. We are designing a unique experience for the tech industry.

IT Security Manager, NIST, Bob Gendler - BGM Interview

Bob Gendler is an IT Specialist in the Apple world and a Jamf guru. He holds a B.S. degree in Information Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is now part of the Mac Management team at NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in Washington, D.C.

From a very early age, Bob fell into the world of Apple starting with an Apple IIgs and, as a teenager, a Power Mac 6100. Quickly, as an undergraduate, his specialty became system administration, and, later, that served him well landing the job at NIST. Bob filled me in on his latest project, the “macOS Security Compliance Project,” and the security problem the community faced with macOS. Basically, the new GitHub project leverages a library of scriptable actions which are mapped to compliance requirements in existing security guides or used to develop customized guidance. Bob nicely explains this crucial tool, his team, and who would benefit.