There’s nothing like a major upgrade. Today we return to one of the most magnificent computer setups we’ve seen lately, as it somehow found a way to top itself. When you’ve already got a loaded Mac Pro, two Pro Display XDRs and a top Apple laptop and tablet, where do you go from there?
You thank the HomePod mini for its service and welcome new $1,250 speakers to the party.
Sure, you only need a MacBook Air or Pro to get things done almost anywhere. Or maybe an iPad with a stand and keyboard. But if you want to be more comfortable (and productive), wouldn’t you want a fuller computer setup? Today’s incredibly spare featured setup gets the job done.
The user is a journalist who takes their work on the road, like the fast-food joint in the photo above. They use just an M1 MacBook Air on a stand, a mini mechanical wireless keyboard and mouse, and sometimes a clamp-on light and iPhone mount to handle quality video calls via Continuity Camera.
The Cult of Mac Store opened up a new sale Thursday, offering a discount of 20% off purchases of any two SwitchEasy accessories. With 98 products to choose from, that covers a wide variety of needs any Apple user might have.
Check out the SwitchEasy collection as a whole, and read more about some product highlights for iPad, iPhone and more below. The sale goes through Thursday, February 16.
★★★☆☆
SwitchEasy’s MagEasy MagLink Magnetic iPhone Mount for MacBooks provides a handy way to stick your iPhone on your MacBook to use the handset, via Continuity Camera, as a webcam. Recent iPhones have superior optics and solid microphones. Not only that, but the mount can serve as an iPhone stand or a grip for other uses, too.
While the clever little mount’s stability worried me at times, it works and it won’t break the bank at $29.99.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, lovebirds are racking their brains to find more creative gifts than traditional flowers or chocolate to express themselves.
See the goods and examples of sale pricing below.
Best-known for its smartphones, OnePlus broadened its horizons Tuesday by rolling out the new OnePlus Featuring Keyboard 81 Pro wireless mechanical keyboard, among other products.
The keeb’s name may be off-kilter, but its design and functionality, co-engineered by well-known keyboard maker Keychron, look right on target for Mac users.
Calling it “perfect for use anywhere in the world,” accessories maker Ugreen unveiled its new 65W Nexode GaN USB-C three-port wall charger Wednesday.
Not sure about “anywhere,” but the new gallium nitride (GaN) charger comes with US, UK and EU plugs that you can easily swap in or out for use in many countries. And its two USB-C ports and one USB-A port make it handy for charging up to three devices at once.
The Cult of Mac Store has another sale going — through Saturday you can take 15% off a variety of cool accessories from Mifa and Elkson. This one’s especially good for Apple Watch fans.
Mifa is known for its assortment of high-quality Apple Watch bands. Elkson does great bands too, but also rugged cases for Apple Watch, AirPods Pro and AirTags.
The guy who made headlines in 2021 for replacing an iPhone X’s Lighting port with a USB-C port — and then selling the handset for big bucks on eBay — is back. This time he’s modding AirPods Pro cases with USB-C instead of Lightning ports, and he’s selling them as well as 3D-printed parts.
Engineering consultant Ken Pillonel said he’s doing it to highlight Apple products’ repairability issues and the unfortunate fact that items like AirPods are meant to be discarded rather than fixed.
A room is what you make of it, and today’s featured computer setup finds a home in a room only a computer science student could make. He may have to live in a windowless attic, but he brings a lot of computing power and light to it, making it look and feel larger than it is.
Check out all the gear in the M1 Max MacBook, custom PC and triple-display outfit below.
Aqara began rolling out beta firmware designed to bring many of its devices already in smart homes in line with the new Matter connectivity protocol. Matter makes it easier for devices from different makers to work together.
The update works via Aqara’s M2 Hub with more than 40 of the company’s Zigbee-controlled devices. But it might not roll out to all users until March, however, and the company cautioned HomeKit users about it.
Keyboard and mouse maker Logitech, whose Logitech G brand has made gaming headsets for the past couple of years, launched its first set of wireless gaming earbuds last week.
Logitech G Fits True Wireless Gaming Earbuds are not only the first buds to use Lightspeed technology for strong, low-latency connectivity, they add Lightform technology for a custom fit that isolates sound and cancels external noise, the company said.
If there’s one thing you can tell from the trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for its first French- and English-language series — the thriller Liaison — it’s that a shadowy Frenchman (Vincent Cassel) and an English operative (Eva Green) have a thing for each other.
Almost every time you see the international stars onscreen, both of whom are actually French, they’re staring into each other’s eyes. Meanwhile, London endures assault after assault, and it’s only getting worse.
Amazon-owned discount site Woot! is back with another Apple bargain-fest. We spotted it Monday. It’ll let you grab a variety of iPhones and Apple Watches at discounted prices through February 11.
A bunch of items are already sold out, like Apple Watch 7 and most of the iPhone series 12 handsets, unfortunately. But you can still find some great deals.
Among the everlasting truths about computer setups, first comes “a setup is never finished.” And the second might be, “A setup can always be improved.” The user behind today’s featured setup certainly found out about No. 2 when he asked for advice on how to improve his M1 Max MacBook Pro and dual-Studio Display workstation.
Find all the advice below — jokes ‘n’ all — as well as all of the setup’s excellent gear.
Consumer electronics maker LG added Apple TV, Apple Music, AirPlay and HomeKit to its webOS Hub Tuesday, making Apple’s core services available to smart TVs from 200 brands that use the custom software.
The update starts rolling out Friday in more than 100 countries and regions. It could provide quite a boost to Apple globally as new users try the features.
Edifier rolled out a new wireless over-ear set of headphones Tuesday — the WH950NB headset — providing another affordable alternative to high-end cans like Apple’s AirPods Max and products from the likes of Sony and Sennheiser.
Featuring active noise cancellation (ANC) and hi-res audio, Edifier’s premium headphones go for $180, a pretty low price for the feature set.
If you’re young or just young-at-heart, here’s your chance to nab an adorably expressive case and keychain for your AirTag tracking device. The colorful cases, inspired by K-Pop boy band BTS, represent seven fanciful characters from the Universtar BT21 universe. You can read a little bit more about it below.
Don’t miss your chance to get a cool AirTag case from K-Pop culture in the Cult of Mac Store — they’re just $12.99!
“How many external displays can I easily run with my Mac and how” is a common question, and some Macs make it much easier to run more than one external monitor than others.
In today’s featured computer setup, a software developer went out and bought a new M2 Mac mini specifically for its generosity in that regard. It really helped his highly portable setup, which features a Studio Display and an LG 4K screen.
If you like a touch of “soft and comfy” with your style, Elago’s fiber-fill sleeves for MacBook and iPad could be for you. They’re a soft cases for your devices that are also environmentally friendly because the material in them is recycled.
And these sleeves won’t break the bank, either. You can choose from different sizes and colors and pay less than $30 in some cases. Check out the collection in the Cult of Mac Store.
Legendary Apple design chief Jony Ive, responsible for the look and feel of iconic products like iPhone, grabbed headlines Wednesday for a new creation — a big, red paper nose. That may sound odd, but it’s for a good cause.
Ive and his team came up with the nose to go along with Red Nose Day, March 17. That’s charity Comic Relief’s day of giving in the U.K. and around the world to help end poverty, particularly among children.
Best-known for keyboards, Keychron rolled out its new ultra-lightweight M3 wireless mouse Tuesday, touting its strong build and robust features for Mac users and others.
“To accompany it, we have designed the smallest Type-C 2.4 GHz receiver for M3, which is compatible with MacBook and other laptops,” Keychron said.
And at $49, the svelte new optical mouse is affordable, too.
Legendary in rock’n’roll history for its Marshall stacks of amplifiers, the English company recently added a rugged Bluetooth speaker to the top of its growing lineup — the Middleton.
Like Marshall’s other portable wireless speakers — which all have proper English names, by the way — it looks like a guitar amp.
And this top-of-the-line number not only “goes to 11,” but it’s weatherproof and features multidirectional sound, too.
Wouldn’t it be great if the right job opened the door to building a killer computer setup? It happened for design and product lead Jaime Creixems.
Today’s featured setup is his M1 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display-driven wonderland, complete with excellent audio equipment and fun sidelights like Lego sets.
Most people must deal with PDF files online at some point, like when they fill out forms, sign documents or save files they don’t want others to easily modify. But if you think your only choices for easy-to-use, feature-rich PDF editing software are big, expensive products, you haven’t met UPDF yet.