Linksys, a brand known for some of the earliest wireless routers, today joins the the market of mesh Wi-Fi providers with their own mesh offering called Velop. Shown here at the CES 2017 Unveiled event, Belkin’s Linksys Velop is a welcome entrant to the home mesh wireless market with a unique tri-band solution that allows for completely dynamic assignment of each unit’s three 2×2 radios. Velop can work in point-to-point, mesh, star, line or tree configurations, choosing whichever is best or most-appropriate for the current wireless environment. Each radio in the system is automatically mapped to the best configuration, and Ethernet backhaul is automatically detected and supported, as well. In a market that’s becoming quite crowded, I find the Velop an interesting contender, combining some of the better aspects of both the eero and NETGEAR Orbi platforms, priced exactly the same as the eero. Units are available for pre-order today in three ($499), two ($349) and one-unit ($199) packages and will start shipping on January 15th. We’ll be getting units to test and will report back with our findings, adding them to our existing mesh Wi-Fi coverage.
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TMO Background Mode: Interview with EdTech Specialist Phil Shapiro
Phil Shapiro is an EdTech specialist, a strong supporter of public libraries, children’s education, and the technology of learning. Currently he’s the “public geek” at the Tacoma Park, Maryland public library. The child of a UNICEF employee, Phil originally thought that the law might be a good tool to achieve social change, but not so much as he reached adulthood. Having finished law school, he turned his attention to his real passion, journalism and education as a better means of social change. A chance magazine article inspired him to pursue the synthesis of modern computer technology and learning. That evolved into a life-long career in the development of software for education, teaching teachers about tech, support of school Macs for students and the Virginia MUG. If you’re into EdTech, this is a must episode.
Apple Sued for Failing to Prevent the Use of FaceTime While Driving in Fatal Accident
A Texas family is suing Apple for failing to implement iPhone safety features that would prevent the use of apps like FaceTime by drivers behind the wheel, and potentially have prevented a traffic accident that claimed the life of the family’s five-year-old daughter.
Defy Apple and Add a Touchscreen to Your MacBook with AirBar
Apple recently doubled-down on its refusal to add a touchscreen to its MacBook line, but if you’re starting 2017 with a bit of Microsoft Surface envy, you’ll soon be able to turn your MacBook Air’s display into a touchscreen, regardless of what Jony Ive thinks. AirBar is a USB-powered sensor that attaches to the bottom of your screen and enables touch interactions right on the display thanks to the company’s “zForce AIR” light field technology. The company is launching support for the MacBook Air first with support for other models to follow. Interested users can sign up at the company’s website to be notified once pre-orders go live in March. There’s no word on pricing but AirBar already sells a version for Windows laptops for $69.
![Report: 3% of Super Mario Run Users Paid to Unlock the Game [Updated]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/super-mario-run-purchase.webp)
Report: 3% of Super Mario Run Users Paid to Unlock the Game [Updated]
Many hoped that Nintendo’s single in-app purchase approach for Super Mario Run would save us from the microtransaction free-to-play hell that is the iOS App Store. And while heavy marketing from Apple and the Nintendo brand gave it a boost, in the end only about 3% of users are estimated to have paid.
CES 2017 Expectations and Predictions- TMO Daily Observations 2017-01-03
CES 2017 is kicking off, so today Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet talk about what they expect to be the big product categories at this year’s events. Be sure to follow along all week for The Mac Observer’s on-location coverage.
Apple Watch 3 Rumored to Launch Q3 With Same Design But Better Battery Life
Supply chain data suggests that the next iteration of Apple Watch will hit the market in the third quarter this year. While it won’t feature any design or major feature changes, the “Series 3” Apple Watch is expected to bring improved battery life and performance to users’ wrists.
Rotting Apples: macOS Sierra PDF Bugs Get Worse in 10.12.2
PDF-related bugs have plagued macOS Sierra since its release last year, causing headaches for both users and developers. But while major bugs are nothing new for Apple’s operating system, developers are sounding a troubling alarm: things are getting even worse with the latest 10.12.2 update.
Happy New Year from Your Two Favorite Geeks – Mac Geek Gab 638
Need to use Mini DisplayPort monitor with your USB-C Mac? Need to make screen recordings? Need a Dropbox replacement? Your two favorite geeks have you covered with these questions and others. Cool Stuff Found segment includes a way to control your reboot sounds, your clipboard, and your unwanted robocalls. Plus, another AirPods alternative. Download and enjoy!
Happy 2017 from The Mac Observer!
With 2016 behind us and CES is only a couple days away, The Mac Observer is taking off Monday while we catch our breath before jumping neck deep into 2017. We’ll be back with our regular daily new coverage, analysis, and podcasts on Tuesday, January 3rd. We’ll also be on location at CES 2017 to bring you the latest on this year’s tech. Rest up, and get ready for another exciting year!
Control and Culture Clash in Iran over Mobile MMO 'Clash of Clans'
Iran is in the process of banning Clash of Clans, a move that epitomizes that country’s attempts to control culture clash and behavior. According to TechCrunch, the game has been pulled from a popular third party app store in Iran called Cafe Bazaar and will soon be pulled from its other legitimate source. Here’s what’s interesting to me: Clash of Clans has only officially been available for a month in Iran, and it’s being played by two-thirds of the mobile gaming community. Iran’s religious leaders have deemed it to too addictive and promotes both violence and tribal conflict. At the same time, the game was being played on the black market before its release, where it will still be available. It will be interesting to see if there’s any kind of backlash from the country’s mobile gamers. I’m far from an expert on Iran, but it’s hard to see how the country could possibly stop the world at its borders forever. Don’t get me wrong. Clash of Clans—like Game of War and every other successful MMO—are addictive. But I’ve yet to see a successful attempt to legislate addictive behavior. Below is the SuperBowl 2015 commercial for the game that is pretty darned amusing.
Tip: Fix The Vincedes3 iMessage-Crashing Bug With One Tap
A new bug has been found that can disable Apple’s Messages app on the iPhone. All it takes is one text message, but luckily there’s a solution. Andrew Orr walks us through the bug and how to fix it.
My 3 Favorite iOS Apps From 2016
As 2016 comes to an end, it’s nice to look back and reflect upon the year. I’d like to share my three favorite apps that I’ve used this year, and why I liked them: Cryptomator, RNI Flashback, and Curiosity.
Apple's Unused Patent Lawsuit, Twitter Features We Want - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-30
Apple has a patent for blocking iPhone features while driving, but isn’t using it. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet look at how that landed Apple in a lawsuit related to a tragic car wreck, plus they share their most wanted Twitter feature.
Want to Edit Your Tweets? Let Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Know
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey wants to know what features you’d like to see added to the social networking and microblogging service. The ability to edit tweets is at the top of our list, and it looks like that’s what most everyone else wants, too.
AirPods Production in Overtime to Cut Shipping Delays
It may be easier to get ahold of AirPods soon because Inventec, the company manufacturing them for Apple, is expanding its production. That’s good news for impatient consumers who are currently waiting upwards of six weeks for theirs to arrive.
Clip and Snap Smartphone Camera Lenses 5-Pack: $23.99
We have a deal for you today on a set of Clip & Snap Smartphone Camera Lenses. There are five lenses, a wide angle lens, macro closeup lens, fish eye lens, 2x telephoto lens, and a polarizing lens. They’re also available in Red, Blue, and Black, with a price of $23.99.
Did You Know You Can Order Personalized Sharpies?
Quick show of hands: who here is a Sharpie fanatic? OK, that’s what I thought. We’re all Sharpie fanatics! Did you know you can order personalized Sharpies? It’s Kelly Guimont’s fault. She told me about this. And now I’m telling you. And now we’re all going to be spending all our disposable income not already being sent to Apple on personalized Sharpies…anyway. There’s a list of things you can’t do, and personalized colors are limited to black, red, green, blue, magenta, turquoise, purple and lime green. You can preview your personalizations, and each pen will also have the Sharpie logo. There are a variety of fonts you can choose from, and you also have the option of adding clipart, as shown below, in addition to your personalized message. Warning: the personalization engine uses Flash.
Want to Know if You'd Survive a Nuclear Bomb? There's a Site for That
“I wonder if I live in a place that’ll survive a nuclear bomb” is something we used to ask in the 1960s and 70s, and it seems to have come back into vogue. Back then, we had to do things like go to the library and do research. But now, we can sit in the comfort of our potentially safe homes and check the Would I Survive a Nuke website. Spoiler: I probably won’t in Boulder, but you might be more lucky. The site is getting hit pretty hard, so you may have to try a few times. Seems a lot of people are really interested in knowing their potential fate.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Brick Update Starts Rolling Out
The last few Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners won’t be able to use their fire-phones much longer because carriers are starting to push out an update that bricks the devices. T-Mobile is already remotely updating Note 7 phones, AT&T and Sprint are planning to start in the next few days, and even Verizon has reversed course and is going to push out the update, too.
5.8-inch iPhones, Apple's Original Crew - TMO Daily Observations 2016-12-29
We’re seeing more reports about a new iPhone screen size for 2017, so Bryan Chaffin and Mac Geek Gab’s John F. Braun join Jeff Gamet weigh in on what may be coming next year. They also look back on Apple’s first ten employees, and note the update of death for Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone-of-fire.
Samsung Reportedly Supplying Apple with 5.8-inch Displays for Next iPhone
Samsung is making 5.8-inch AMOLED displays for next year’s iPhone, according to supply chain sources. If true, that makes rumors of a larger screen iPhone in 2017 more likely—and that next year Apple plans to add yet another screen size to its smartphone lineup.
iOS 10: How to Prioritize Downloads
If you’ve ever been stuck waiting for an important app to download when you’re doing a bunch at once, then you need to know about iOS 10’s “Prioritize Download” feature. It’ll let you tell your iPhone or iPad to push the one you need to the front of the line, pronto!
Disk Drill PRO 3 for Mac: $34.99
We have a deal for you today on Disk Drill PRO 3, a data recovery utility for the Mac. According to the company, you can “scan and recover data from virtually any storage device with just the click of a button.” Our deal is for a lifetime license for $34.99. You can find more information about the software on the deal listing.