Sync Your Hue Smart Lights with Videos, Music, and Games with the Philips Hue Sync App for the Mac

Signify released its Philips Hue Sync app for Mac and Windows on Thursday, giving Philips Hue smart light users a new way to control their lighting experience. The app uses Hue bulbs to add lighting and color effects in real time to music, videos, and games playing on your computer. It also works with televisions if you use AirPlay or connect via HDMI, which is great if your computer and TV aren’t in the same room. The Philips Hue Sync app is free and available for download at the Philips Hue website.

macOS: Check Your LaunchAgents for Malicious Software

Your Mac’s root-level LaunchAgents folder is a common location for adware to store files. Why is this bad? Well, it could mean that malicious software launches automatically when you log in to any user account on your Mac, which is certainly not great. In today’s Quick Tip, we’ll talk about how to get there and what to look for!

Apple at Cannes, Essential Reality, 2nd HomePod and AirPlay 2 vs. Soundbar - ACM 464

Apple Senior Vice President Angela Ahrendts is going to be interviewed at Cannes Lions, but the person interviewing her is an Apple employee. Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet think that’s a little weird. In hindsight, they also think it’s weird that Andy Rubin thought he could make money making Android hardware, an Essential(ly) bad idea. In the third segment, Jeff helps Bryan spend money when picking between a 2nd HomePod and a soundbar now that AirPlay 2 is here.

Adjustable Pet Selfie Smartphone Attachment: $12.99

Check out today’s deal, the Adjustable Pet Selfie Smartphone Attachment. It’s designed to hold a treat for your dog. You clip it onto your iPhone, where it holds the treat at an angle where your pet is then staring right at your camera lens for some next-level pet selfies. Well, you’re taking the photograph, so it’s not a selfie, per se, but heck yeah pet pics!

Oh Yeah, Sure. Time Crystals. Duh.

A funny thing happened on the way to the quantum computer: someone looked at the qubit. No, seriously. They looked at the qubit, and the data that had been stored there changed (and was thus lost) because [quantum computing]. TheNextWeb has a super cool piece on “time crystals,” a real thing that might be what quantum computing needs to be more reliable and not stored near absolute zero. If you’re interested in quantum computing, definitely check out this article. Here’s a snippet:

One of the strangest things about qubits is they act differently when observed. Without a certain amount of coherency, any data transmitted, created, or stored in a quantum system could simply vanish the moment we try to look at it. According to the research, the solution might be the generation of time crystals in quantum bits, so that they’ll “want” to be coherent.

TMO Background Mode Interview with Mobile Nations Editor Russell Holly

Russell Holly is a Contributing and Managing Editor at Android Central, under the Mobile Nations umbrella. Formerly, he was with geek.com. Over the years Russell has become an Android expert with focus on mobility, smartphones, tablets … and iOS as well. He also writes about Virtual and Augmented Reality. I took the opportunity to ask Russell about the security aspects of Android, and he had some unexpected answers that will be of interest to Apple-centric listeners. (Get the scoop on Android from a genuine expert.) We also discussed Android’s “notch envy.” Moving on to Chrome OS, Russell explained what Google is doing with Android app integration and how that fits in with Google’s education initiatives. We finished with a revealing discussion of Virtual Reality and the future of Oculus Rift and the less expensive, stand alone Oculus Go.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI: $29.99

We have a deal today on one of my favorite games: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI! This is a turn-based strategy/sim game where you guide your civilization from a city-state to the dominant power on Earth. The deal is for Civ VI on Mac or Linux on the Steam platform. It’s $29.99 through us. Check out the trailer.