The Devil Box Enables Solid Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Expansion

· · Cool Stuff Found

The promise of Thunderbolt has always been to eliminate the need for internal expansion slots. But it wasn’t until Thunderbolt 3 and its 40 Gbps speed that having a second, external, high end graphics card would become a practical reality. For example, if you’d like to augment your new 2016 MacBook Pro with a Radeon RX400 series or an Nvidia Geforce GTX 10, now you can do that with this $379 TB3 expansion box from PowerColor called the Devil Box. Here’s a review to whet your appetite for some serious graphics power.

The Devil Box Enables Solid Thunderbolt 3 Graphics Expansion

Apple's Underappreciated Technical Evolution

· · Particle Debris

TextExpander 6.1.3 with MacBook Pro Touch Bar support

Apple periodically comes out with The Next Big Thing. Along the way, however, the company makes incremental changes that also make our lives better. How those many advancements accumulate to positively affect our lives depends on how often we upgrade. Meanwhile, the punctuation of big product events keeps us coming back for more. It’s all in a delicate balance, perceived in our flow of time.

Jeff's 4 Must-have Touch Bar MacBook Pro Adapters

· · News

Touch Bar MacBook Pro dongle list

After spending a month with Apple’s 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro I’ve found there are only four must-have Thunderbolt 3 adapters I need to attach everything I use with my computer. I don’t need all of them all the time, but they’re my go-to set for all of my wired connection needs.

Apple Finds Bug after Consumer Reports MacBook Pro Battery Test

· · Analysis

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Consumer Reports said in a blog post Tuesday that Apple has a fix for a bug uncovered in CR testing. According to statements from both CR and Apple, there was a bug in Safari that caused battery life issues on Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and Apple has released a fix for that bug to its beta program, and said it will release it to the public in the coming weeks.

Speck's Presidio CLEAR for MacBook Pro Has 4-Feet Drop Protection

· · Cool Stuff Found

LAS VEGAS – Speck announced a new case for MacBook Pro (13-inch) that features 4-feet drop protection. Considering the lack of a MagSafe connector for charging on Apple’s new MacBook Pro models, drop protection may be on the minds of lots of folks. Speck said the case is made from its Impactium Clear material originally used for iPhone cases. As the name suggests, Presidio CLEAR is see-through, and it has a “no-slip grip” feel to it. It ships in later in the first quarter of 2017 and is priced at US$99.95—it hasn’t yet been added to the Speck website. I’ve never been a fan of cases on MacBooks, but drop protection? Come on, that’s cool.

Speck’s Presidio CLEAR for MacBook Pro Has 4-Feet Drop Protection

The OWC DEC Promises to Make Your MacBook "Pro" Again

· · Product News

owc dec macbook pro side

Do you find the 2016 MacBook Pro’s lack of ports a bit limiting? OWC may have the solution for you with the DEC, an upcoming accessory that attaches flush to the bottom of your MacBook Pro and adds external storage and a full array of ports including USB Type A, SD Card, and Ethernet.

Apple Trying to Beef Up Battery Engineering Team

· · News

Stylized car battery with Apple logo

In the wake of ongoing complaints about battery performance and reporting on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Apple is looking to beef up its battery-engineering team. 9to5Mac noted the company just added two positions related to batteries, Battery Algorithm Analysis Engineer and System Power and Control Architect.

Apple's TV App Reveals its Plight with Television Industry

· · Particle Debris

CW app on Apple TV doesn't require cable subscription

From time to time, we’ve seem articles that explain Apple’s plight with its TV business. But John has found a splendidly complete diagnosis at The Verge  for this week’s focus. It examines the deepest motivations of Apple, it’s clash with the entertainment industry, its successes and failures, and how that has, in turn, affected Apple TV software design and customer perceptions.

Minix NEO C Mini USB-C to HDMI: Low Cost, Low Weight

· · Quick Look Review

Minix NEO C Mini

The Minix NEO C Mini is the little brother of the USB-C NEO C Multiport Adapter Dock previously reviewed. This smaller, less expensive model supports only pass-through power, HDMI (UHD) and two USB-A ports. It’s also half the price. John liked it a lot and highly recommends it for the Apple MacBook and new 2016 MacBook Pro.

Play Pac-Man on your MacBook Pro Touch Bar

· · Cool Stuff Found

The Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro may be functional, but it can be fun, too. Henry Franks makes that point perfectly with his Pac-Man clone, called Pac-Bar, for the Touch Bar. It’s just like the classic arcade game, complete with Pac-Man and his “wokka-wokka” munching sound, ghosts, and music. The maze is a little limited since you can only go left or right, although the intersections do jump you to either end of the Touch Bar. You’ll need to use your MacBook Pro’s arrow keys to play—sorry, no touch controls here. Click the Clone or download button on Henry’s Github page get Pac-Bar.

Play Pac-Man on your MacBook Pro Touch Bar

Turn Your MacBook Pro Touch Bar into a Piano

· · Cool Stuff Found

Turning your new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar into a piano may not be practical but it is pretty cool, and that’s exactly what Touch Bar Piano does. The app lets you choose between 128 different instruments, and you can play chords, too. Touch Bar Piano is a free download, and while it isn’t the same as using an actual piano, it’s a cool example of the creative ideas developers are finding for the Touch Bar.

HyperDrive USB-C Hub for MacBook Pro Raises $341K on Kickstarter

· · Cool Stuff Found

There’s a project on Kickstarter called HyperDrive that raised more than $341,000 in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. It’s a USB-C hub from Sanho for MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. It’s similar to the 5-in-1 HyperDrive from the same company we had a deal on a few days ago, but this new one in development has even more ports. All told, it has HDMI, USB 3.1 x 2, microSD/SD, Thunderbolt 3, and USB-C. It’s designed to plug into both your MacBook Pro USB-C ports and take the place of any dongles you might need. As of this writing, there are still a few pledge slots for $69 that will net you one, but those are going fast. Sanho has blown by its funding goal of $100,000 by 3X, and there’s still 39 days to go on the campaign. Clearly, there’s a demand for this product in the Mac community. Check out the promo video.

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hypershop/hyperdrivetm-compact-thunderbolt-3-usb-c-hub-for-m

PDFpen 8.3 gets MacBook Pro Touch Bar Support

· · Cool Stuff Found

Smile’s PDFpen and PDFpen Pro gained Retina MacBook Pro Touch Bar support on Tuesday so users can edit documents with finger taps, and PDFpen Pro users can edit Table of Contents, too. PDFpen and PDFpen Pro are PDF document editing and creation apps. Users can add and remove pages from documents, edit text, and and remove images, create PDF forms, OCR scanned text, sync files via iCloud and Dropbox, and more. PDFpen 8.3 costs US$74.95 and PDFpen Pro 8.3 is priced at $124.95. The updates are free for version 8.x users.

PDFpen 8.3 gets MacBook Pro Touch Bar Support

2016 MacBook Pro vs. 1989 Macintosh Portable: FIGHT

· · Cool Stuff Found

Think the 2016 MacBook Pro is overpriced and underpowered? Check out this comparison video of Apple’s latest laptop with the company’s first portable computer, 1989’s Macintosh Portable. While far from an in-depth technical analysis, the video offers some nice HD shots of how design at Apple has changed over the past 27 years. Bonus points for the Jean-Louis Gassée archival footage.

Why Is There So Much Pain Extracting Truth From Apple?

· · Particle Debris

Apple Media Invitation

Astonishingly, Apple creates unnecessary problems for itself. Locked in the old era, modern Apple executive thinking continues to focus on drama while excising important elements of its vision. That leads to pain, criticism, and disaffection with Apple.  It wouldn’t be hard to avoid all that these days. John explains.