Ungeniused #100: Beanie Babies

This time, on the 100th episode of Ungeniused:

Beanie Babies may be cute, floppy toys, but they became one of the Internet’s first fads, creating a mania for collectors and billions in profits for a reclusive business owner.

My thanks to our sponsor:

  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your website performance and availability today, and get instant alerts when an outage occurs or a site transaction fails. Use offer code UNGENIUSED to get 30% off. Offer expires on January 31, 2021.

Kbase Article of the Week: How to Clean Your Apple Products

Apple Support:

Apple products are made with a variety of materials, and each product might have specific cleaning requirements which vary by the part you’re cleaning. To get started, here are some tips that apply to all products:

  • Use only a soft, lint-free cloth. Avoid abrasive cloths, towels, paper towels, and similar items that might cause damage.
  • Unplug all external power sources, devices, and cables.
  • Keep liquids away from the product.
  • Don’t get moisture into any openings.
  • Don’t use aerosol sprays, solvents, or abrasives.
  • Don’t spray cleaners directly onto the item.

Don’t miss the separate article about how to clean your iPhone.

An Avalanche of Rumors

The crews at 9to5Mac and MacRumors have published a wide range of iOS 14 rumors this week. While we still don’t know if WWDC will take place in San Jose as normal, I think we’re getting a pretty good look at some of the things Apple is hoping to announce this summer.

NetNewsWire for iOS

After the return of NetNewsWire to the Mac, Brent Simmons and gang have re-released NetNewsWire for iOS and iPadOS, as he writes on the NNW blog:

Just as the Mac version looks like a Mac app, this is very much an iOS app. It supports Dark Mode, context menus, multiple windows, Siri Shortcuts, and other iOS features.

Other features include searching, starred items, Today and All Unread smart feeds, Reader view, multiple accounts, hiding read articles and feeds, background refreshing, and more.

The app is designed to be stable and fast. (But note that an initial sync might take a while because there’s a lot of data to download.)

Currently, it sync with Feedly and my RSS backend of choice, Feedbin. The app is super clean, supports a wide range of keyboard shortcuts on the iPad, and is free. Be sure to check out John Voorhees’ full review over on MacStories.

Sponsor: Upgrade Your Coffee Ritual with the Best Hand Grinders in the Market

Are you a coffee lover? You might already know that every little detail in the process of making a cup of coffee impacts the result. So to create the perfect cup of coffee every time, you need to make sure you got your coffee ritual right.

Freshness is key here. You want to get a fully flavor-filled experience with each sip. So how do you produce the freshest cup of coffee? Well, not surprisingly, the first thing you need to do is get fresh ground coffee beans. But beans are hard, very hard! So you need a coffee grinder that provides you with consistent coffee grinds. Grinding your coffee just before you brew it ensures a rich infusion of flavor and aroma.

Gear.Coffee brings to you high-quality Kinu manual coffee grinders that aid in releasing 100% of the exquisite flavor of specialty coffee. Kinu Grinders represent German engineering at work featuring precision and reliability. Check them out!

MPU #526: I Don’t Aspire to Anything Else

This week on Mac Power Users:

It’s feedback time! David celebrates his 5th year of being independent, while Stephen has settled on an application to manage his tech history research. Then, more on Do Not Disturb and a whole bunch of listener questions.

My thanks to our sponsors:

  • Kensington: The Professionals Choice. Find the right docking solutions for your organization today.
  • Setapp, from Macpaw: More than 170 powerful apps for your Mac. Try it free for a week.
  • Indeed: Post your job today and get a free sponsored job upgrade.
  • TextExpander from Smile: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander from Smile.

Apple Opens Repair Extension Program for 3rd Generation iPad Air

Apple:

Apple has determined that, under certain circumstances, the screen on a limited number of iPad Air (3rd generation) devices may go blank permanently. A brief flicker or flash may appear before the screen goes blank.

Affected devices were manufactured between March 2019 and October 2019. Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider will service eligible devices, free of charge.

Sundial

My thanks to Sundial for sponsoring the site this week. It provides essential sun and moon data, including a one-of-a-kind display of the sun and moon’s rise/set cycles, and be used to create alerts for 24 solar/lunar events including sunset, dusk, moonrise and full moon.

Vanishing Ports

I can’t believe I got Jason to make this chart:

This week’s chart once again originates from a request from Stephen Hackett, who asked me to measure the number of ports on the 15-inch Apple laptop through the years. This chart covers the era of 15-inch laptops, from the original Titanium PowerBook G4 in 2001, and also includes the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019). I chose the last top-of-the-line 15-inch laptop to be released in a given year, and no, I didn’t include any bigger or smaller laptops.

Connected #284: stevensmerch.com

This week on Connected:

Federico makes a change, Stephen buys a domain and Myke cancels a future live show, pending Apple’s decision on WWDC.

My thanks to our sponsors:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code CONNECTED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • Boll & Branch: The Softest Organic Sheets & Luxury Bedding. Save $50. Try them for 30 days in a risk free trial.
  • Sanebox: Clean up your inbox in minutes. Sign up for a two-week free trial and a $25 credit.