New Year's Eve 2015 Google Doodle

Google has once again has made a Google Doodle for the coming 2016 year on their homepage. This year, it shows several birds making up the Gs, Os, and the E of the Google Logo. As for the L, it is represented by an egg with "2016" on it. And to represent the coming new year, it is ready to hatch. The birds anxiously await its hatching. Anyways, I will see all of you guys on the other side of the new year. Have a happy 2016!

Google Glass 2.0

Google Glass 2
Image Credit: CNET

Remember Google Glass? It's finally back, but for enterprise. What? Well, while it is nice to see Glass getting some practical application, what about all the consumers who want to get their hands-- I mean faces on this product? And what about the "explorers" who paid $1500 for it? Do they get an upgrade? It doesn't seem like it, which is a shame because leaks show the device with a better processor and better battery. Not only that, but it only has half of a frame instead of a full frame (shown to the right). Probably the number one complaint from the device was that it would overheat and the battery was too small. Hopefully, these groups will get their chance. If you want to hear my impressions of the original Google Glass, check out my (really old) review below.

Batch Rename Files in OS X

If you need to rename multiple files in Mac OS X, then just follow this simple trick. First, open the folder containing the files. They must be in the same folder and it helps if they are already in some order. If they are already in the order you'd like them to be in, select the first one, hold the shift key, and select the last one. If they are scrambled throughout the folder, hold the command key, and select each one. Now that you've selected your files, right click on any one of them and select "Rename [Number Selected] Items..." You can now choose how you want to rename them. If you want to have them be named "IMG_[Index]" you would select "Format" from the first dropdown menu, select "Name and Index" for the name format, select "After Name" for where the number should be, type "IMG_" for custom format, and finally use either 0 or 1 for the "Start Numbers At" field. I hope this helps!

Apple Had Majority of Device Activations This Holiday Season

According to Flurry, Apple held the majority of device activations this holiday season. They held it at a whopping 49.1%. For scale, the second best, Samsung, had only 19.8% of device activations this holiday season. Nokia devices held a mere 2%. It should be noted that last year, Apple device activations were at 51.3%

One Minute For Steve Jobs

It's been four years since the death of Steve Jobs, however people still honor him in various ways. The Apple Museum I mentioned yesterday created a site that allows you to dedicate a minute of silence in remembrance of Steve Jobs and other cancer victims. Just go to the website, start the timer, do your minute of silence, and watch the amount of minutes contributed go up by one. Their goal is to reach 29,774,880 minutes, which is about how many minutes Steve lived. Please help reach the goal. They ask of no money, just a minute of your time. Not just for Steve, but for anyone suffering from cancer.

Apple Museum

An unofficial Apple Museum has been opened and it features the world's largest collection of Apple products. It's in Prague. It contains almost every Apple product from 1976 to 2012. There are 472 private exhibits, it is 767 square meters of exhibition space, and it has a vegan restaurant (in honor of Steve Jobs). If you'd like to learn more, check out their website.

Image Credit: Apple Museum

Merry Christmas! (2015)

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone had a great day today. I know I did. I also hope that everyone who received a tech gift will know all the tips and tricks of it. Be sure to activate any warranties. You never know... Anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed this special day.

Santa Tracker 2015

Once again, Google is letting you track Santa on his journey throughout the world, delivering toys to children. If you'd like to track him, go to the Google Santa Tracker. In addition, if you search something along the lines of "Google Santa Tracker," Google will give you his location (shown below). You can also play a variety of holiday themed games by going to the Google-sponsored Santa's Village! There's a lot of fun to be had here. Anyways, happy holidays and merry Christmas!

The Beatles Are Coming To Apple Music

If you are a Beatles fan, then you're in for a treat. The Beatles are coming to Apple Music on Christmas Eve (tomorrow). That means you can stream their full music collection with an Apple Music subscription for just $9.99/month. They will also be available on Google Play, Spotify, and more (not Pandora; Sorry Dad).

iTunes Connect Winter Shutdown

Today marks the beginning of the annual iTunes Connect Winter Shutdown. What does that mean for us consumers? Well, that means whatever content on the App Store will have the same price until the shutdown is over on December 29th. If an app went on sale, that price won't go back to its normal price at least until the shutdown is over. The iTunes Connect Winter Shutdown is to allow the App Store Team, including the team that reviews each app requesting for approval on the App Store, to have a break.

Siri and Christmas

Siri has some witty responses for Christmas. If you're looking to give your favorite personal-assistant on your iPhone a gift, don't get your hopes up. Siri will respectfully decline with a variety of responses. If you ask about Christmas, Siri will remind you what day it is: December 25th. Oh. Looks like it's early this year. Or at least it feels like it's starting sooner every year. Anyways, happy holidays!

Apple On 60 Minutes

Tonight, CBS aired a new edition of 60 Minutes. This week, a segment was dedicated to Apple. There were many topics discussed in the interview with Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and others. Some included the Apple Watch sales, Steve Jobs, and Apple Campus 2. Not only that, but there are some shots within some of the most elusive spots in the current Apple Campus. Please check it out below.

Apple Music's First Six Months

Apple has been advertising Apple Music pretty vigorously, and for good reason. When Apple wants to make their product synonymous with the market it's in, that's what they do. It's been about six months (June 30th, 2015) since Apple Music was released to the public. They are expected to have 8 million paying customers by the year's end. In addition, they should have 20 million customers by the end of 2016, according to Mark Mulligan. Apple Music subscriptions are $9.99/month for individual plans and $14.99/month for family plans for up to six people.

Target Working On QR Code Mobile Wallet

If you remember, Target had this security problem with their REDcard credit card line that put many people's information at risk. This gave a lot of bad press toward the company, but you may have noticed that Target stores now use the EMV chip in credit cards to improve the security. In fact, Target REDcard members are required to use this method. Target said that they delayed Apple Pay support in-store for this reason, to implement EMV chips in their point-of-sale system. However, now they're working on a QR code based mobile wallet. What? Why? That's the exact opposite of more secure! That's less secure. The vulnerability and inconvenience of a QR code is an awful idea, which is one of the reasons why I have little respect for CurrentC and any of its retail partners. I hope they implement Apple Pay into their system soon, but at the same time, I really don't want them to create this QR code wallet. They already have Cartwheel, a similar concept that requires scanning the screen of a phone, so why make things more complicated?!

Apple Offers For Procrastinators

If you wait until December 23rd, you can get free next day shipping. Please note, that you'll have until 2:00 PM to place your order on that day. If you miss that order window, Apple still has you covered. In-store pickup orders can be made and picked up for any Apple Retail Store two hours before closing on Christmas Eve (December 24th). Be sure to check your local Apple Retail Store's holiday hours before waiting.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Cortana's Origin

You may know Cortana, Microsoft Window's Siri-like assistant. Although she isn't everyone's preferred assistant, she does have an interesting backstory. Anyone who has played Halo knows where I'm going with this. Cortana is actually a character in Halo. Not only that, but she is also an AI in the games. Cortana was also the codename for the assistant's final product. Since Halo is published by Microsoft, it wouldn't be hard to believe that some developers of Cortana for Windows had some inspiration from the game team... But hey, that's just a theory... A Tech Theory! Thanks for reading!

MacKeeper Information Data Breach

MacKeeper is anti-virus software for OS X. You may remember it from many pop-up ads. What remotely professional company resorts to pop-up ads these days?! Well, MacKeeper might not be so professional. Chris Vickery, a white-hat hacker, was able to download the personal information of 13 million customers... without a password. That's right. This database had no password and used MD5 hashes, one of the most vulnerable security algorithms today. He just used an IP address. Lucky for MacKeeper, Vickery was a white-hat. Vickery immediately alerted MacKeeper to secure the database. He was luckily the only person who accessed this information.

"Here are some details (now that it's secured): The search engine at Shodan.io had indexed their IPs as running publicly accessible MongoDB instances (as some have already guessed). I had never even heard of MacKeeper or Kromtech until last night. I just happened upon it after being bored and doing a random "port:27017" search on Shodan."

- Chris Vickery 

Samsung Galaxy S7 Will Feature 3D Touch-Like Display

The iPhone 6s introduced a new feature called 3D Touch. It's a very handy feature that I often find myself using. According to The Wall Street Journal, Samsung is going to "implement" the same technology in their next flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S7, which hasn't been announced yet. If you remember, the Samsung Galaxy S5 (5s backwards), "implemented" the iPhone 5s' Touch ID feature. The Samsung Galaxy S7 is expected to be announced in February, so we'll see how this plays out then.

Mercedes-Benz CarPlay Lineup 2016

I don't usually talk about lineups for CarPlay, but Apple and Mercedes-Benz have an interesting relationship. For one, Steve Jobs drove around a Mercedes-Benz without any license plates. Also, Apple is also often called the Mercedes-Benz of technology. Now with Apple CarPlay coming to Mercedes-Benz, there's sure to be a very refined in-car system that bridges the gap between your car's computer and your iPhone. As you can see in the picture below, CarPlay in a Mercedes-Benz looks reminiscent of an iPhone. The screen looks awesome, as if it's being levitated in midair. So, here's the lineup for which cars are compatible.

December 1, 2015 and later

2016 B-Class 

2016 CLA 

2016 CLS400 

2016 CLS550 

2016 CLS63 S 

2016 E400 Coupe 

2016 E550 Coupe 

2016 E400 Cabriolet 

2016 E550 Cabriolet 

2016 GLA

January 8, 2016 and later

2016 GLE300d 

2016 GLE350 

2016 GLE400 

2016 GLE450 

2016 GLE63 

2016 GLE63 S

BOGO Free AT&T iPhone 6s

AT&T is currently offering until the end of the year a buy one get one free promotion for the iPhone 6s. This is only for AT&T Next customers. So, if you get an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus on AT&T Next, you'll receive a second iPhone 6s with 16 GB of storage. To learn more, go to the official AT&T site (Note: The link goes to the Samsung S6 Promotion, but it works with iPhone 6s as well.).

Apple SIM Now Supports AlwaysOnline Wireless

For those with a cellular iPad Air 2 with Apple SIM, you can now use AlwaysOnline Wireless as a carrier option. AlwaysOnline Wireless is a carrier that sells short-term data plans. Like, really short. As in, why would you use this little data in 2015? Plans start a $0.99 an hour for 15 MB. Wow. I mean, hey, whatever works for you. If you want to learn more about Apple SIM, check out the official website.

tvOS App Stats After One Month

After about a month since tvOS launched with the new Apple TV, we have some tvOS App Store statistics. As of December 6, these stats are accurate. There are 2,621 tvOS apps available on the App Store. Paid apps most often cost $0.99 and least often cost $59.99. Most interestingly, the most amount of apps on the tvOS App Store are games, however the most popular apps are entertainment apps, like Netflix. At the 6-month mark, we'll probably have a better idea of how Apple TV is doing and how it is doing against the iOS App Store, which launched in 2008, during its first 6 months.

iPhone 6s Battery Case

Yesterday, Apple quietly debuted their new iPhone 6s Battery Case. It's a silicone case that has a built in battery to charge iPhone 6s. It is charged with a Lightning cable. It also can also show you the case's battery life in Notification Center and in the lock screen. Unfortunately, you can't actually choose when it charges your phone, it just charges your phone when you plug it in. It comes in White and Charcoal Gray and costs $99 [Direct Link].

'The Simpsons' Apple TV Billboard Ad

A new Apple TV billboard ad was spotted recently. In previous advertisements, the new Apple TV is advertised with a SMPTE test pattern with the Apple TV logo and usually some popular TV or movie icon. This time, that icon is none other than Homer Simpson. The Simpsons is definitely one of my (and Steve Jobs') favorite shows with over 500 episodes and 27 seasons and counting. You can stream any of those episodes with the FXNOW app for Apple TV. You can also stream more recent episodes of The Simpsons with the FOX NOW app for Apple TV.

Image Credit: Jordan Schau

Apple Maps Is 3x As Popular As Google Maps On iOS

Although criticized at its launch, Apple Maps has put its awkward past behind it. It was plagued with some bad directions for some people which gave it a bad impression on users, caused Scott Forstall to lose his job, and spawned a joke on the HBO tech-comedy, Silicon Valley. Google Maps even poked fun at Apple by making as big a deal as possible about their Google Maps app for iOS. Now, these issues have been worked out and Apple had a good talk with their data providers in the back room of their headquarters where many people seem to go into, but few come out. Apple Maps is now used three times as much as Google Maps on iOS devices. It should be noted that there is no Apple Maps for Android and there is no Apple Maps user base for Android devices, but there is a Mac app.

"Apple says its mapping service is now used more than three times as often as its next leading competitor on iPhones and iPads, with more than 5 billion map-related requests each week. Research firm comScore says Apple has a modest lead over Google on iPhones in the U.S., though comScore measures how many people use a service in a given month rather than how often."

Verizon's WiFi Calling Will Hit iPhone In Early 2016

A while back, I wrote about how Verizon announced how they will implement WiFi calling. Verizon now has a clear game plan on how they will role this out to customers. Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones will get WiFi calling next week. However, iOS devices and other Android phones will get it early next year. Unfortunately, it looks like most of us are in for the long-haul, but at least people using their phones as actual phones isn't really a thing anymore.

iTunes Match Increases Song Limit

Since the launch of iTunes Match in 2011, iTunes Match had a song matching limit of 25,000. What does that mean? iTunes Match is a paid service that lets you take your CDs and have them in iTunes and iCloud. Instead of just importing them, these songs are converted to 256 kbps audio quality and sent to iCloud. Anyways, previously you could only do this with up to 25,000 songs. Now, you can do it with 100,000 songs. I think that's pretty impressive, but some people still complain because they have, somehow, over 100,000 songs on CD. I think the real issue is how long that's going to take to put in that many CDs into a computer, especially considering most computers in 2015 don't have CD drives anymore...

Google Will Fix Incorrect Rating System for App Store Results

Recently, a bug has appeared in Google Search that cause iOS and OS X apps to display erroneous one-star ratings. Obviously, this is bad for app developers as Google is a popular search engine and is a popular alternative to looking up an app using the native App Store. Google has stated that they will fix this problem in the next week. This bug only seems to affect apps with less than 5 reviews (the amount to display an average on the App Store). Unfortunately, this means it's more likely to affect small and indie developers.

Image Credit: MacRumors

iPhone: Still Flickr's Most Popular Camera

Flickr released their Year in Review page for 2015 and on it are the most popular cameras used. In third, the Nikon D DSLR. Second, the Canon EOS series of DSLR cameras, which I actually used to use to make videos on. My dark past in a nutshell. And of course in first place, we have the iPhone as the most popular camera that posts photos on Flickr at 42% of photos. iPhone has been first place for a number of years. It just shows how a quality camera doesn't have to be bulky.

Apple Celebrates World AIDS Day With Red Logo

The other day, I talked about how Supercell and Apple teamed up for World AIDS Day. Yesterday, Apple also, once again, changed the color of their logo at Apple Retail Stores to red to celebrate the day. I saw it at my local Apple Store yesterday, but I'm not sure if it will still be there today. If you get a chance, be sure to check out the logo change. It will probably change today or in the coming days.

Image Credit: WJPM

Microsoft Ad Celebrates Holiday Peace

Microsoft has released an ad that calls for peace between them and Apple. In the ad, Microsoft employees from the Microsoft Fifth Avenue store go to the Apple Fifth Avenue store and sing "Let There Be Peace On Earth." A longer 2 minute version will be available on December 3rd.

Apple and World AIDS Day 2015

Apple is no stranger to letting app developers celebrate World AIDS Day by featuring apps that theme their apps the color red for the day and donate some of their proceeds from that day. This year, Apple teamed up with popular developer Supercell to celebrate the day. Supercell's apps are themed red and have special in-app purchases that benefit AIDS research. So the next time you open up Clash of Clans, be sure to buy a "(Pile of Gems)RED" for $4.99 before the offer expires on December 4th. There's no shame in buying in-app purchases if it's for a good cause...

Image Credit: MacRumors

New MacBook Airs Coming in 2016?

After the announcement of the new MacBooks earlier this year, I figured that they would replace the current MacBook Airs, as the MacBooks are much thinner than the MacBook Airs. This seems redundant. With Apple's term "air" meaning thin, light, and simple, some continuity should be present among the naming of its products. There's the MacBook Air, iPad Air, and AirDrop. MacBook Air doesn't really fit into this anymore. However, a new design for it may be in next years WWDC event. Perhaps it will be even thinner than the MacBook? Probably not, since the MacBook ditched almost all ports except a USB-C port and, ironically, the headphone jack. This is an early rumor, but more will probably surface around late Spring next year. Stay tuned!

iPhone 7 Won't Have A Headphone Jack

Mac Otakara, a reliable rumor source (unfortunately), says that the iPhone 7, the next iPhone, will not have a headphone jack. Instead, it will use the Lightning connector as a port for wired audio. This probably means that we will see Lightning EarPods and Beats when the iPhone 7 comes out next year. While this is a let down to many, there is a slight upside. The iPhone 7 could potentially be 1mm thinner, about 6.1mm instead of 7.1mm (iPhone 6s).

Amazon Prime Video Coming To The New Apple TV

A while back, I talked about how Amazon stopped selling the Apple TV on their site because it didn't have the Amazon Prime Video app. This may change soon. Thanks to Dan Bostonweeks, we now know that an Amazon Prime Video app is in development for tvOS. It could potentially be out in the coming weeks according to the tweet. The tweet is embedded below.

I sent feedback to Amazon via the Amazon Instant Video iOS app about supporting tvOS. They say it’s in development. pic.twitter.com/52fYUgtgNs

— Dan Bostonweeks (@danimal) November 28, 2015

Apple Holiday Ad 2015

Every year, Apple releases a holiday ad to celebrate the Winter season. This year, the ad features Stevie Wonder and Andra Day. They were playing the holiday classic, "Someday At Christmas." It shows GarageBand being used to record the song. Andra Day is also seen wearing an Apple Watch. The video is embedded below.

UberEVENTS

Uber has a new cool feature that's called UberEVENTS. It lets party hosts send out coupons for Uber rides to the event. The host can pay a certain amount of the ticket (for example, $20 of the ticket price). One of the cool things about this is that if there is an open bar, there will be a designated Uber driver to drive guests home, removing the worry of drunk driving. To learn more about UberEVENTS, go to its website.

Quizlet Long-Term Learning

Quizlet announced and released a new feature for their Plus users called Long-Term Learning today. It lets users learn terms by having them study 10 terms a day by using a simple "know/don't know" system. Every day, the user will receive a notification on their iOS device to study 10 more terms. This feature is exclusive to Quizlet Plus users with iOS devices. It should also be noted that the CEO of Quizlet reposted my (amateur) tutorial on the official Quizlet blog.

A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Google created a new Easter Egg in their search engine. If you type into Google, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," the results will be displayed in the way the opening sequence for the Star Wars movies. It's pretty cool. The only drawback is that it only shows the first 10 results. But overall, it's a pretty awesome Easter Egg. Be sure to check it out.

Rose Gold Beats

When the iPhone 6s came out in Apple's newest trademark color, Rose Gold, I was curious if Apple would update their Beats line to add the new color. After all, Beats come in Space Gray, Silver, and Gold. Well, now Beats Solo2 Wireless (headphones) and urBeats (earphones) come in Rose Gold. So now you On-Ear can have matching Beats for your iPhone 6s, even if you have Rose Gold! The Beats Solo2 Wireless Headphones cost $299.95 [Direct Link] and the urBeats In-Ear Headphones cost $99.95 [Direct Link].

Loot Crate November 2015 Unboxing

This Month's Pin

TMNT Shredder Sunglasses

Today, I got my first Loot Crate. This month's theme was combat. It had a lot of cool stuff inside of it. I actually didn't know how much bang you get for your buck with these Loot Crates. For example, each Loot Crate box transforms into a diorama with the month's theme. Also, each Loot Crate has a pin with the theme and month on it. Pictures of each item and a brief description of them are in this post. My personal favorite was definitely the Vault Boy Bobblehead. I was really hoping they would have new ones for Fallout 4. If you want to get your own Loot Crate, be sure to use my link to save $3 and to support the blog. They cost about $20 with shipping, depending on where you live. Be sure to order by the 20th of the month to get that month's Loot Crate! (P.S. Blogger photo formatting is weird, so sorry in advance if the arrangement of photos look weird.)

Hunger Games Mockingjay Pin

Street Fighter Comic Book

Cute But Deadly Mystery Figurine

This Month's Loot Crate Magazine

My Personal Favorite: Vault Boy Bobblehead

Apple Support App Coming Soon

According to Sonny Dickson's leaked images, it appears that an Apple Support app is in development. This will be useful for people who need help with their iOS devices and for those who purchased AppleCare+. It also lets you chat with an advisor and schedule an in-store visit.

100 Million iPhones In Use

According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, 100 million iPhones are currently in use. Not just sold, but in use. About two-thirds of these iPhones are composed of iPhone 6 models and later. This means that two-thirds of current iPhone users have a larger screen, have access to Apple Pay, and have the lock button on the side of the phone. The chart is below and shows data as of September 2015.

Image Credit: CIRP

Official Apple Watch Dock

Apple has released an official Apple Watch Dock, posing a competition to 99% of Apple Watch related Kickstarters. It looks pretty cool. The dock is a circular pad with an Apple Watch magnetic charger in the center. It connects to power via an included Lightning cable. The Apple Watch charger can flip out so that you can charge your Apple Watch in Nightstand mode (pictured below). If you don't flip it out, the Apple Watch will charge flat down. The Apple Watch Dock costs $79 and will be delivered to customers as soon as this Friday when ordered from the Apple Online Store. It should be available in Apple Retail Stores Friday as well.

Apple Pencil Shipping and Retail Update

The first customers who ordered their Apple Pencils online have found that the status of their shipments to change to "Preparing for Shipment" earlier this week. These people should expect to get their Apple Pencils November 20-24. In retail, certain Apple Stores are receiving limited quantities of the stylus. You should call your local Apple Store to check Apple Pencil stock before going there. The Apple Pencil costs $99 and works with iPad Pro.

App Store Displaying Incorrect Rankings for Top Free Apps

After Apple changed its search algorithm for the App Store, app rankings for free apps seem to be displaying incorrectly on some devices. For example, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers are displayed in the top free apps section. These apps are automatically given to people who have purchased an iOS device for free, but are not technically free. Hopefully, this issue will be fixed in the near future.

Verizon Will Implement Wi-Fi Calling

Here's something I'm excited about. Well, it's as excited as I'm going to get about phone calls in this date and age. Verizon will implement Wi-Fi calling. Verizon is actually the only carrier to not have this service deployed to the public yet. As a Verizon customer, I'm looking forward to this. Wi-Fi calling allows for Wi-Fi to take over when cellular coverage is low. This is very useful for people who live in areas with low cell coverage or in a metropolis, assuming they're connected to a Wi-Fi network. It also doesn't use minutes, even though most plans don't have minutes anymore. Verizon just got the FCC's approval a few days ago. They say it's coming "in the future." AT&T had the feature up and running days after they got approval. Let's hope sooner than later.

New App Store Search Algorithms

The Apple App Store is famous for its bad search. At least it was famous for it. Apple has vastly improved it's algorithms, preventing random apps (like gambling apps) from showing in the later results. It takes into account information outside of the name and keywords in an app. A notable example is how if one searches Twitter, they will now get Twitter and Tweetbot. Previously, only Twitter would return. Hopefully, this will make app searching much easier.

Paris Attacks

Today, acts of violence occurred that should have never happened. My prayers and condolences go out to all who were affected by this. As of the publishing of this post, I couldn't find any donation links with the exception of this statement by The American Red Cross. If any are posted, I'll try to post it on the blog. Remember, if you do it through iTunes, 100% of the proceeds go to the cause AND you won't be contacted after donating, which can be useful. I give my deepest sympathies to the victims of this. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Damaged Mac App Store Apps

People have been reporting that apps from the Mac App Store have been "damaged" and unable to open. This was because the security certificates for Mac App Store expired on November 11, 2015. This could cause this message to appear. It is fixed now, but you'll have to be connected to the internet for the certificates to be fixed. Rebooting can help as well. I hope this helps.

Image Credit: Graham

Wonder if the receipt now being SHA256 is causing problems with old OS versions? pic.twitter.com/ozOssXWlBR

— Paul Haddad (@tapbot_paul) November 12, 2015

iPad Pro Now Available To Order

Today, the iPad Pro is available for order on the Apple Online Store and retail stores. It costs $799 for the base model (32 GB of storage; Wi-Fi only), $949 for 128 GB of storage (Wi-Fi only), and $1,079 for 128 GB of storage with cellular. Yeah, that'll cost you quite the pretty penny. Like, really pretty. Also, Apple Pencil ($99) and Smart Keyboard ($169) are available today. If you order now, you'll probably get them Friday.

Request Desktop Site: iOS 9

Earlier this year, I talked about how you can request a desktop site from an iOS device. This would let you view the desktop version of a site on your iOS device for many sites. In iOS 9, that's changed. To do it now, you'll have to hold the refresh button down until the option appears to "Request Desktop Site." I hope this helps!

First iPad Pro Ad

With the iPad Pro coming this Wednesday, Apple has debuted an advertisement tonight during Monday Night Football. It shows various planets in extensive detail, eventually revealing that those images are displayed on the new iPad Pro. The iPad Pro is available this Wednesday and will cost $799 for 32 GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity and $949 for 128 GB and Wi-Fi connectivity. There is also a $1079 cellular model with Apple SIM with 128 GB of storage.

Instagram Will Add Apple Pay and More 3D Touch Support

As many have noticed, Instagram has ads. As far as ads go, these aren't very annoying, unlike a lot of ads. Instagram actually has some pretty big plans for these ads. Soon, you'll be able to use a 3D Touch on an ad to see different variations of a product. You will also be able to use Apple Pay to buy a product directly from Instagram without leaving the app. For those who don't know, Apple Pay is also used in apps. This allows users to buy products from apps without having to type in a credit card number or creating an account. It's like PayPal, but better and more underused. Instagram is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Loot Crate Promotion

I first talked about Loot Crate about a year and a half ago. However, I never actually subscribed. I've finally succumbed to the hype train of the idea of monthly geek gear and I'm pretty hyped for this month's crate. I mean, I already gave into amiibos, so this is the equivalent of having a bed of spikes break your fall.

Getting back on topic, why am I telling you this? This month's Loot Crate is Fallout 4 themed, and let's be honest, Bethesda (creator of the Fallout series) totally rocked E3 2015. Needless to say, I am excited for it. I assume if I do any form of an "unboxing" it would be in the form of a blog post and not a video. And if it's something people like (because everyone just loves Loot Crate unboxing videos), maybe I'll continue it. We'll see.

By the way, if you want to help support the blog, you can get your own Loot Crate and save $3 by using my link. If geek stuff isn't your thing, Loot Crates make a great stocking stuffer! Speaking of stocking stuffer, I gotta go update the Holiday Gift List 4 Geeks. Happy holidays!

User-Created tvOS Browser

The new Apple TV has no internet browser, which is understandable because the living room isn't really the right setting for a browser. However, developer jvanakker wants to prove that wrong. They have created an internet browser for tvOS. You can scroll through pages with the Siri Remote's touch pad. Click the touch pad for a mouse-like cursor to use. Check out the video below for a demonstration.

Siri Remote vs. Apple TV Remote

Here's a neat little tidbit on the new Apple TV. The remote included with it has two different names. We silly Americans call it the Siri Remote. However, outside of Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, and the United States, it's called the Apple TV Remote. Why? Those countries don't support Siri for the new Apple TV yet because movie names and actors have to still be translated for those regions. They're identical remotes, both with the Siri button. I just thought that was an interesting thing to point out.

iPhone 7 Could Have 3 GB of RAM

For the first rumor for the iPhone 7, we have a hardware rumor. Yes, we already have a rumor for the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7, which would be the next iPhone's supposed name, will have 3 GB of RAM according to the rumor from Ming-Chi Kuo. To put that into perspective, the iPhone 6s and iPad Air 2 have 2 GB of RAM. The iPhone 6 had 1 GB of RAM. The iPad Pro will have 4 GB of RAM. Definitely a nice bump in memory.

Provenance

Back when tvOS was available to developers, James Addyman created a video game emulator for the new Apple TV. It's called Provenance. It's pretty solid. It's just a shame that it can't get on the App Store because it violates some rules for obvious reasons. Check it out on GitHub and in the picture below.

Image Credit: James Addyman

Multitasking On The New Apple TV

To open up multitasking (a.k.a. the App Switcher) on a new Apple TV, double click the Home button. The Home button is the button with a TV icon on it. To close an app from the multitasking menu, swipe up on the Siri Remote's touch surface. Press the Home button again to return to the Home screen. I hope this helps!

iPad Pro Release Date

The iPad Pro, Apple's long-awaited, large tablet, will be released on November 11th. No plans for a pre-order have been announced yet. As of now, all we know is that on November 11th, you can walk in an Apple St- I mean, wait in a long line for hours at an Apple Store and walk out with a shiny new iPad Pro. You can probably order it online that day too. The base model iPad Pro (32 GB with Wi-Fi) costs $799 while the top model (128 GB with Wi-Fi and Apple SIM) costs $1,079. The Smart Keyboard costs $169 and the Apple Pencil costs $99.

Beats 1 Replays Require Paid Subscription

Earlier this year, I talked about how you could listen to a replay of Beats 1. However, it now appears that you need a paid subscription to listen to past shows. Thanks to Adam (@adrow) on Twitter for the tip!

@adrow You are correct. Beats 1 replays do require that you have an active subscription with Apple Music.

— Apple Music Help (@AppleMusicHelp) October 30, 2015

New Apple TV Now Available at Apple Retail Stores

Today, you can buy a new Apple TV from an Apple Retail Store. Best Buy is also selling it today. Those who preordered it on Monday also received their Apple TVs today. A 32 GB Apple TV will cost $149 and a 64 GB Apple TV will cost $199.

UberKittens

Today was National Cat Day and Uber got in on it in a really cool way. Between 11 AM and 3 PM in select cities, you could order a vehicle with 3 kittens in it that you can play with for 15 minutes. The car (as far as I know) won't take you anywhere. It costs $30 for the 15 minutes and the proceeds go to a local animal fund.

Walgreens Becomes First Apple Pay Loyalty Program

Implementing one of my most anticipated features for iOS 9, Walgreens is now supporting Apple Pay's new loyalty program. Although not fully implemented, it will essentially let you walk into a Walgreens, use Apple Pay to pay, and your Walgreens card will be sent with your credit card. No barcode scanning required. As for how this will work with Walgreen's acquisition of Rite Aid, I have no idea what will happen, but I assume Rite Aid will carry this over into their stores.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Apple Releases iPhone 6s Ad Starring Bill Hader

Apple released another ad for the iPhone 6s today. This time starring Bill Hader. It shows him using the "Hey Siri" feature to have Siri read his unread emails. Siri reads him a spam email sent to his inbox asking for an investment from Prince Oseph (Don't try this at home kids!). He then replies with "Sign me up!" The video is embedded below.

New Apple TV Available to Order

You can now order a new Apple TV from the Apple Online Store. With paid shipping, customers can expect to see them anywhere between October 30th to November 3rd. With free shipping, they can expect to see them between November 2nd and November 4th. It costs $149 with 32 GB of storage and $199 GB of storage. I personally recommend buying the 64 GB model because Apple says that the 32 GB model can only hold "few apps and games" in addition to streaming. Accessories to the new Apple TV are also now being sold.

Support Me On Instagram

Hi all. I don't normally do something like this, but I need your help. My chemistry teacher took a selfie with me saying that if the photo reached 100 likes, my class would get extra credit. Please help me accomplish this goal by liking the photo below (using Instagram). If it doesn't show up below, click here. There isn't a specific deadline for this, but the sooner the better. If you could spread the word, that'd be great too. Thanks for your support!

Huge thanks to Mr. Fieberg for letting me take a selfie with him and for pretending to pick my nose. Remember, if this photo gets 100 likes, we get extra credit! #FiebsIsBack

A photo posted by Alex Baratti (@alexsmbaratti) on Oct 23, 2015 at 2:35pm PDT

Facebook Updates App With Fix For Major Battery Drain

Earlier this month, users complained that the Facebook app uses too much battery life. This affected many users, often being the most battery intensive app installed on their iOS devices (for a social networking app). Facebook has updated their app to fix this problem. If you've experienced any of these issues, they should be behind you.

"The first issue we found was a 'CPU spin' in our network code. A CPU spin is like a child in a car asking, 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?' with the question not resulting in any progress to reaching the destination. This repeated processing causes our app to use more battery than intended. The version released today has some improvements that should start making this better.

The second issue is with how we manage audio sessions. If you leave the Facebook app after watching a video, the audio session sometimes stays open as if the app was playing audio silently. This is similar to when you close a music app and want to keep listening to the music while you do other things, except in this case it was unintentional and nothing kept playing. The app isn't actually doing anything while awake in the background, but it does use more battery simply by being awake. Our fixes will solve this audio issue and remove background audio completely."

- Ari Grant, Facebook Engineering Manager 

Apple Watch Available At Target

After months of promises, Target has finally started to sell the Apple Watch. They will be sold at the same price as that of Apple. Currently, Apple Watch Sport and the regular Apple Watch are available. I don't expect them to sell the Apple Watch Edition anytime soon. They are available online or in-store.

Our hearts just skipped a beat! #AppleWatch is here. In stores and online. 💗💓💗 https://t.co/g4tkLB0P0e https://t.co/t2mpjyIlPD

— Target (@Target) October 22, 2015

Backwards Tab

If you use tab on a Mac to go through different text boxes, you can also go backwards through text boxes. Just hit shift and tab. For example, if you accidentally hit tab and want to go back to the previous tab, just use shift and tab. You'll go back to the previous text box. Try it out as it's kind of hard to describe without showing it directly. I hope this helps.

Back to the Future Day!

Happy Back to the Future Day! If you don't know, in the movie Back to the Future: Part 2, Marty McFly, the main protagonist of the trilogy, travels 30 years into the future with a DeLorean time machine. That day in the future was (Is? Will be?) October 21st, 2015 at 4:29 PM. That's today! Many fans have dubbed today as Back to the Future Day. There are many things the movie got right (Google Glass, hover boards, distracted humans, etc.) and many things it got wrong (Cubs winning World Series). Now, try telling Siri, "Happy Back to the Future Day." She'll respond with a variety of responses about the day.

New Apple TV Orders and Shipping Info

Tim Cook revealed yesterday that the new Apple TV will start shipping by the end of next week. Apple will start taking orders for it Monday of next week. Mark your calendars, that's October 26th. The new Apple TV will cost $149 for 32 GB of storage and $199 for 64 GB of storage.

Steam Link and Mac OS X

The other day, I received a Steam Link, a device that streams Steam games to a TV, a few weeks ahead of its release date. This was part of a promotion for pre-order months in advance. I was pretty hyped to get it, but little did I know that OS X wasn't supported when I got it. According to the website, it was supposed to work with OS X, so I was confused. I don't own a PC (that works well anyways), so I was stuck here. At this point, I was ready to return it. Here's where things got interesting. Valve, creator of the Steam Link, is compensating early adopters who were affected with a copy of the Valve Complete Pack, a $99 value, for free! This consists of every game Valve has made since the late 1990's if I'm not mistaken. Here's the real kicker: affected users will also receive every game made by Valve in the future for free! Half-Life 3 confirmed! In addition, if you still choose to return the Steam Link, you can still keep the games! If only Nintendo did this whenever they screwed up (amiibos, N64 controller, Wii U in general, Mario Party 10, etc.). I'd be drowning in free stuff. So, the next time a Windows user makes fun of a Mac user for the Mac's inferior game library (No, not specs. That's a completely different paradigm.), make sure you show them your massively increased Steam library. Affected users should contact Steam support or check their emails and Steam libraries.

"Ok Google" Knows More Than You Think

People who use Google's voice controlled "Ok Google" feature might be disturbed how Google saves these searches. Google actually has every voice search from "Ok Google" in the form of a recording. That's right, "Ok Google" keeps recordings of your voice when used for searching. Are we Google's senpai or something?

But don't worry, you can remove these recordings from your history. Whether Google will still have that recording in their servers after deletion is a mystery. After all, nothing on the internet is ever truly removed. Here's how to remove them. Go to the Voice & Audio Activity page. To delete them individually, check the boxes next to recordings you'd like to delete. Then, click delete at the top of the screen. To delete them all at once, click the three dots (menu icon) in the top right corner of the page, click Delete Options, select Advanced, select All Time from the dropdown menu, and click Delete. I hope this helps!

Quality Program for MacBook Pro Display Issue

Apple has just launched a new quality program for MacBook Pros with Retina Displays affected by the delaminating of the anti-reflective coating found in MacBook Pro displays. Affected models would resemble the display shown below. Apple will replace the display of affected models at no cost within three years of the MacBook's original purchase date. To begin the process of getting the display replaced by Apple, either check your email for an email from Apple notifying that you're eligible, go to an Apple Store, or contact Apple directly.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Apple Store 3D Touch Table

In only the flagship San Francisco and New York Apple Stores, Apple has a new 3D Touch table. It basically shows an image of a surface of water, while the iPhones on it show an interactive fish. Force touching the screen creates ripple effects on the water. To see what I mean, check out the video below (Credit Grate App).

iPhone 6s Ad - 3D Touch

Today, Apple released a new ad for the iPhone 6s centered around the 3D Touch feature. It shows how you can use Peek and Pop to preview links, flight information, and more. The video is embedded below.

"This is iPhone 6s. Not much has changed, except it feels different. Now you press lightly to peek and deeper to pop. It changes how easily you can peek a flight, check a post, search for dinner - ooh, you guys are going to love that place. You can find a getaway easier - Yeah, go there. And find music easier - wait, are you listening to your own song? So pretty much everything you do feels different and that's what's changed."

Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2, and Magic Keyboard

Apple has released new "Magic Accessories" that are now rechargeable via Lightning cable (fully charged in two hours; fast charge in two minutes). They can also paired via a Lightning cable, similar to accessories with a small USB dongle. They all have a subtle redesign in some way. You can buy them from the Apple Store.