Production of Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air -- along with the Apple Watch -- should enter mass production in the first quarter of 2014, supply chain sources tell Digitimes. Suppliers are allegedly beginning to accelerate work on related components. The new Air is expected to have an Intel Broadwell processor, and an even thinner and lighter design....

Apple's Russian online store is back online, following an almost week-long downtime. The store was taken down to review and change prices, and accordingly many products are now substantially more expensive. A 16GB iPhone 6 is 53,990 rubles, or about $988, far higher than the 34,990 rubles ($643) it sold for previously. A Retina iMac starts at 189,990 rubles, or $3,467. The same system is $2,499 in the US....

Everyone's familiar with current trend in photos that keep popping up across the Internet. One part indie-rock and one part Photoshop, their soft colors and multiple filters have become the new cool thing. Originally these images took time, effort, and at least a basic understanding of Photoshop. But now something like Calista, by THINKSUIT, gives users the ability to make these straight from the comfort of a handheld device....

Apple has released what it calls a "critical" patch for OS X, dubbed the NTP Security Update. The code is currently being pushed to users via the Mac App Store, and solves vulnerabilities within the Network Time Protocol. The update is available for Mountain Lion (10.8.x), Mavericks (10.9), and Yosemite (10.10). While no known attack exploits the now-patched vulnerabilities, the discovery appears to be serious enough to merit immediate attention....

Need access to otherwise restricted web content? Donât trust your WiFi connection? Need to ensure online security? You want to consider a virtual private network (VPN), and boom! We just happen to have a deal for three years of VPN Unlimited's Premium Plan for $19. With this package, your Internet data is encrypted between the VPN and you, greatly limiting your exposure to hackers, and for those who live in countries that block access, it can be the only way to get to some sites. There's a lot more information on our deal site.

Hereâs Dr. Mac's final batch of reasonably priced Apple related gadgets (and holders for Apple gadgets), all of which will be much appreciated by the geeks you love.

Last Friday, the Tor Project blog posted about a possible threat that some of its servers would be seized in an attempt to incapacitate or hijack the Tor network. Over the weekend, a group of "exit node" servers in a Dutch datacenter went down, and then came back online. The service, a volunteer network of relays aiming to provide anonymity and security, says it was warned of suspicious activity that may have been instigated by law enforcement....

North Korea has declared it will strike against the United States, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the rogue state as the origin of the Sony Pictures hack. However, alongside the sabre-rattling statement provided by the Korean Central News Agency of DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as it calls itself) are reports that the country's Internet connection has itself been the target of an attack over the weekend, with North Korea effectively being knocked offline....

North Korea's connection to the rest of the Internet, which had been knocked offline this weekend, has been restored according to a new report. Over the weekend, Internet service in the country dwindled to nothing, after DDoS attacks against its Internet infrastructure increased....

A new post from Apple Retail Senior Vice President (SVP) Dame Angela Ahrendts on her LinkedIn blog offers a simple holiday message and song with a theme of peace, saying her message for the season was simply "let peace begin with me." Ahrendts said she was inspired by a recent re-hearing of a song she used to play on piano, a rendition of "Let There Be Peace on Earth" by B.J. Thomas. The song, originally written by Jill Jackson Miller and Sy Miller in 1955, offers an inspirational message of unity....

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LG has revealed more details for new speakers joining its Music Flow networked speaker collection, competing against similar systems from Samsung and Sonos. Set to be shown off at CES, the new items consist of a portable speaker, two sound bars, and a streaming 3D Blu-ray player, all of which will be compatible with Android and iOS devices....

For today's Quick Tip, let's talk about how to change the default ringtone in Yosemite! We here at TMO really dig the idea of being able to answer calls on our computers, but we're not completely in love with the sound Apple picked as the default ringtone. So here's how you can switch it up if you want something different, too.

CNN has announced their pick for CEO of the year for 2014, and it's no surprise they went for Tim Cook. CNN chose Mr. Cook because he guided the company into a sharp increase in stock value, plus he managed to show Apple can continue to innovate without Steve Jobs.

The Mac Observer Spin: Considering Apple's leading position in the tech market and Tim Cook's strong leadership, it isn't any surprise CNN named him CEO of the year. It's also no surprise CNN called out Microsoft's Satya Nadella for his suggestion that women shouldn't push for better pay.

Merry Christmas, Apple Pay, you're going to Disney World. The world-destination theme park plans to start accepting Apple's mobile payment platform on December 24, just in time for the holiday.

The Mac Observer Spin: Disney promised to launch Apple Pay support before Christmas. Looks like they're keeping that promise even if it is within only a few hours of the holiday.

If a player finds themselves longing for a game that requires both long-term planning and quick thinking, simulation games are often the way to go. If a player is looking for an in-depth resource-management game, they should check out RimWorld by Ludeon Studios. One part The Sims and one part Minecraft, RimWorld requires players to not only colonize the alien land around them, but also manage the health and happiness of their colonists. The game plays very similarly to older SimCity-esque games, and largely boils down to properly allocating resources and disaster control....

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Apple's Tim Cook has been chosen as CNN Money's CEO of the Year for 2014. The site explains this is because "Apple is the apple of Wall Street's eye again;" the company's shares are noted to be up 40 percent this year, and close to an all-time peak. CNN in turn links that stock performance to the success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and "excitement" about the Apple Watch, due to ship early next year....

Mac owners who just can't wait to get their hands on the latest updates for Yosemite can try out OS X 10.10.2 public beta. The latest public beta release rolled out over the weekend and is available to anyone who signed up to get at the releases.

The Mac Observer Spin: Public betas will give you an early look at what's coming next for OS X, but don't install the beta operating systems on mission critical Macs. There is a possibility you could lose data if something goes wrong.

We often get a photo with sub-par quality when we use a cellphone or tablet as our go-to camera. One of the main reasons for this, of course, is because users have minimal control over individual camera functions like focus, white balance, and ISO sensitivity. The iPhone's camera is far more akin to a point-and-shoot than a professional model, and frequently the automatic settings can leave a picture feeling a bit lacking. But there's still hope -- something like Manual Photo Camera, by Rego Korosi, allows a person to take maximum control over shooting....

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This week in the MacNN forums, members are plagued with songs that won't erase from their iPods, trackpad problems and more. "I can't erase songs from my iPod touch" says one frustrated Mac Elite, who is also baffled as to why there are random U2 songs on there that he never downloaded. After doing an update on an iPad 2, one Mac Enthusiast found that the unit is stuck on "searching" for cellular service....

Fidelity Media has released a new update for its professional DJ and radio automation software, MegaSeg. MegaSeg is available in Pro and DJ editions, with MegaSeg DJ focusing on live mixing features and visual beat syncing with Magic Trackpads, and more, and the Pro version adding video playback with ambient visuals, sound effect hot keys, and other advanced features. Now featuring optimizations for OS X Yosemite, MegaSeg's new sound engine includes higher quality pitch-locking, looping and swappable output devices. Controller presets for Denon MC2000 and MC3000 devices are now available, and...

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Back in July, five bank networks were hacked, the most notable of which was JP Morgan Chase, which resulted in more than 76 million households' information being leaked. At first, it was suspected that a "zero-day" exploit had been utilized to gain access, but an unidentified source has indicated the real story is somewhat more mundane....

Rockstar Consortium, Inc. announced a major patent sale to licensing firm RPX on Tuesday. The company, which is co-owned by Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony, will part with more than 4,000 patents, the bulk of its remaining patent portfolio. The move signals a further de-escalation of the patent wars in the mobile space, because RPX will license the patents to some 30 different groups of companies across the industry.

Last Friday, at President Barak Obama's year-end press conference, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico asked the first question. Her inquiry was whether Sony had done the right thing in canceling the release of the Seth Rogan comedy The Interview, and what a "proportional" US response to the North Korean-led cyber-attack on Sony would look like. While discussing the answers to those questions, President Obama called on Congress to help create stronger cyber-security laws....

The FCC has been petitioned by Marriott and an association of hotel owners to allow the jamming of Wi-Fi hotspots, usually set up by guests, on their premises for reasons of "managing Wi-Fi networks and security." The petition is possibly in response to when Marriott International and Marriott Hotel Services was fined $600,000 by the FCC for knocking guests off their own Wi-Fi networks (provided by hot spots and tethering to cell phones), forcing them to pay for the hotel's Wi-Fi access....

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We're some 40 years overdue for flying cars, teleportation and printers that can output copies of our dreams, but there are a few methods by which the chronic procrastinators of this world can still swoop in with a last-minute gift for someone at Christmas they'll actually like. While Amazon has closed the doors to physical delivery of any products at this point -- even for Prime members - by the 25th, you still have perhaps a few hours left to send a Boxing Day present, or get in now to ensure a timely New Year's gift. Or you can read on for more suggestions....

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Ever played around with PDF Services? Well, even if you have, you may not be aware that you can specify folders that appear in the menu. This'll let you save whatever you're looking at as a PDF right to a particular folder in just a couple of steps. We'll introduce PDF Services and teach you how to select which folders to save to, all in today's Quick Tip.

Many of Dr. Mac's readers and friends had problems updating to iOS 8 over WiFi, reporting that their iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch complained that the update couldnât be installed because it requires at least 5.7GB of storage. If your iDevice only has 8 or 16GB of storage, chances are you saw a similar message. Here is Dr. Mac's advice to those whose iDevices are full or nearly full...

Scrolls has finally been released to the adulation of gamers everywhere. The game was created by Mojang, the developers behind Minecraft, and written by Jerry Holkins, the writer of Penny Arcade. Scrolls feels similar to a traditional two-player board game like checkers or chess, as well as a player versus player card game, like Magic the Gathering or Hearthstone. We spent a bit of time with Scrolls to see how it stacks up against similar titles....

The Federal Communication Commission is moving forward with its efforts to give Internet streaming services access to content, just like cable and satellite TV services. The change would prevent companies like Comcast and Time Warner from blocking streaming services from entering the market, and give potential cord cutters more options for watching the shows they want.

The Mac Observer Spin: The FCC's proposed changes are a nice step in the right direction for protecting companies trying to move into the online TV content space. Excluding Netflix, Hulu, and other on demand content providers, however, doesn't do much to help preserve net neutrality.

Google announced Wednesday that The Interview will be available to rent on YouTube starting at 1:00 PM EST. It will also be available for purchase through Google Play. In a blog post announcing the deal, Google even pointed out that it will be available to Xbox Video customers and at seetheinterview.com (that URL redirects to kernel.com as of this writing).

There are billions and billions of stars in the night sky, and most of us can identify at least a few of them. However, it isn't always easy. Those among us who have never been good at finding anything other than the Big Dipper or the North Star shouldn't worry. Starlight: Find Stars and Constellations allows anyone to become an expert stargazer, picking out every constellation from Andromeda to Virgo in no time....

Not only will "The Interview" be in theaters on Christmas Day, but it's available to watch online right now, unless you look at Apple's iTunes Store. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the deals Sony penned to get the movie North Korea wanted banned onto Google Play, YouTube Movies, and Xbox Video, and they talk about the obvious omission from Apple's iTunes Store.

The commercials are annoying, but the product is great: Nuance's Dragon Dictate for Mac, version 4. This voice recognition software allows you to transcribe, write, and edit on your Mac with your voice. You know it's good, because Apple licenses the underlying technology for Siri. It's regularly $199.99, but through our deal, you can get it for half that, $99.99.

Although we have mentioned some app bargains in our "beyond the last minute" gift guide this morning, the elves at MacNN and Electronista have been hunting up some additional discounts by shaking the App Store tree and seeing what falls out. We found a few more, so click through to save a bundle on some awesome app deals -- and don't forget to check back with us regularly for DealNN reports, Apple refurb store bargains, and our usual Friday Deals all year long!...

As was the case last year, Canadians are once again getting a sale on selected albums in iTunes as part of a "Boxing Day" event, part of a traditional observance throughout Canada and a number of other Commonwealth countries. The UK iTunes Store is also having a sale on hit albums, but doesn't label the event as a "Boxing Day" sale. US users don't get a sale, but are instead enjoying special holiday channels on iTunes Radio, which remains unavailable in the UK and Canada....

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Sometimes, people need to scan things, but having a computer at hand to do so isn't exactly feasible. Maybe it's the home of a relative that lives on the outskirts of civilization with no Internet, looking to organize family photos. Maybe it's an office filing room that's too small to set up shop. Maybe it's the cabin of an airplane and a traveler just wants to scan a page from Skymall. In this situation, the solution is generally to move items that need to be scanned to a location that has a scanner. With DoxieGo by Apparent, users don't have to worry about transportation; they can just throw...

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With the new year right around the corner it's time for Tigerdirect.com's End of the Year Clearance Event, featuring the Seiki 65-inch Class 2160p, Ultra LED HDTV. Currently priced at $999.99, this HDTV has dropped an impressive $2,500 off its once $3,499.99 list price, and includes a $100 mail-in-rebate that lowers the cost even more, down to $899.99. The Seiki HDTV comes with three HDMI ports, a 120Hz refresh rate, 4k signal compatibility, and a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160. Shipping rates start at only $30, and sales tax applies for residents of Florida, Illinois, Texas, and North Caro...

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Right now at Apple's online store, save up to 22 percent on select iMac and Macbook computers, including the refurbished 3.2GHz, 27-inch iMac that's dropped an impressive $450 in price, and is available for only $1,549. Features range from 8GB of RAM to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX graphics card with 1GB of memory, and include a 1TB hard drive, as well as a quad-core Intel Core i5 processor. Priced significantly lower, at only $1,199, is the refurbished 21.5-inch, 2.9GHz iMac, which offers savings of up to $300, and comes complete with the same 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and quad-core Intel C...

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For years Iâve been searching for the perfect universal remote control, one that was easy to set up and manage, able to control all aspects of all of my audio and video components, and reliable enough that I could throw the deviceâs original remote in a drawer and never miss it.

I finally found one -- and it's awesome -- but you'll have to read the column if you want to know more...

To much fanfare, and terrible reviews, Sony Pictures finally released The Interview -- a contentious, and some say trite, light comedy vehicle where a pair of bumbling reporters are recruited by the CIA to assassinate the leader of North Korea. Conventional media, and governmental figures, have put this forth as a victory for the US' right to freedom of expression, and a defiant Sony agrees. However, viewing the picture isn't the act of defiance and patriotism that Sony wants you to think it is - in fact, viewers are now supporting a company that has called for censorship of journalists and US...

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This is a Mac troubleshooting app that once you've used it to track down one problem, you'll simply leave it running all the time. It gives you at-a-glance access to details about your Mac that vary from a little bit geeky to very geeky – but always useful. This is not something every user will need and it's not something that should come supplied on every Mac, but you'll wish it were. The latest iStat Menus is one utility that gives you immediate and constantly updated details of what your Mac is doing. It tells you how fast you're uploading to the internet and how much, it tells you how ve...

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Hand on heart, we were not certain what the point of Application Wizard was when we got started. Ostensibly, the app is meant to make it quicker for you to open applications, which is fine except we have Apple's own Spotlight to do that. It's intended to make it very fast switching between apps but if you've not yet discovered what happens when you hold down the Apple key and press Tab, do that now and you'll never forget how useful it is. Application Wizard by developer Mabasoft, seems to duplicate many features we have on our Macs or in some of the most popular utilities. However, with use,...

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When PopCap Games released the casual-puzzle game Peggle for the PC in 2007, it was an instant hit. Somewhere between pachinko and bagatelle, the game has seen success across a number of games in the series and multiple platforms. Now Peggle Blast has made its way to iOS. How does Peggle Blast stand up against the classic version?...

Every Sunday, Electronista and MacNN offer up a single article with some of the significant happenings in the video game industry for the previous week. In this edition of the Weekly Game Replay, we take a look at Nintendo winning two patent disputes, the catch with free game offer for Assassin's Creed Unity issues, new details on Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, Resident Evil HD cross-buy, and expansion of PlayStation Now to non-Sony devices....

China has blocked Gmail, preventing users in the country from accessing the email service, according to reports. Starting from December 26, Chinese authorities have reportedly added Gmail URLs to the "Great Firewall," in what is believed to be an attempt by the country's government to reduce Gmail and Google's prominence in the region, on top of earlier censorship efforts....

Apple is negotiating with UK banks to bring Apple Pay to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners in the country in the first half of 2015. At least one bank, however, is concerned about how much data Apple will collect and fears the company may be trying to take over the country's banking industry.

The Mac Observer Spin: Personal privacy is a serious concern when our data is collected, especially when it's related to what we buy. But for the UK banks, it looks like this is more about fears over whether or not Apple will take the credit card market from them.

Apple wants exclusive album releases from top artists for the iTunes Store, and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine is working at getting deals in place. Apple bought Beats Music in 2014 and Mr. Iovene has plenty of connections in the music industry, which makes him just the man to get those content deals in place.

The Mac Observer Spin: I've felt that when Apple bought Beats they more or less got Jimmy Iovine with a streaming music service and headphone maker thrown in. Assuming he can swing plenty of exclusive album releases for the iTunes Store, that'll go a long way towards making Apple the fist company people think of when they want to get the latest music from their favorite artists and bands.

European shoppers now have a definite 14-day window in which to claim refunds for iTunes Store purchases, according to updated support documents (PDF). Customers can ask for a refund "without giving any reason," the documents say, and in most cases simply need to find the "Report a Problem" tool. In other instances -- namely those involving iTunes Match, Season Pass, Multi-Pass, or unredeemed iTunes gifts -- a person has to contact iTunes Support. Refunds are unavailable to people who have redeemed an iTunes gift code. The company promises that approved refunds will be delivered no later than...

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Gamebooks combine the enjoyment of reading a book with the interactivity of a text adventure. Similar to a choose-your-own adventure with quite a bit more control, gamebooks are becoming ever more popular. We checked out Necklace of Skulls, a Mayan action-adventure, by Cubus Games recently to see if it's earned it's place in the genre....

Flurry Analytics tracked device activations worldwide from December 19 to 25th and found that Apple accounted for over half. The runner-up was Samsung with 18 percent. In addition, Flurry also found that, at Christmas 2014, iPhone 6 Plus activations were cannibalizing iPads.

Apple's upcoming Campus 2 complex will preserve a historic structure, the Glendenning Barn, says the San Jose Mercury News. The barn was built in 1916, and is one of the few remnants of Cupertino's past as an orchard. The News writes that while tearing down the abandoned HP campus previously on the site, Apple dismantled the barn and made detailed notes on its construction, promising to restore it elsewhere....

The future, in the 1950s, was supposed to be all about flying cars. But they didn't come to pass except for some rare, early prototypes. But thanks to Aeromobil's co-founder Åtefan Klein, advanced technology may yet bring the dream to fruition. According to the website, "Mr. Klein has devoted the last twenty years into making his dream come true. It is a dream that only few people believed in-a flying car. Currently he works on prototype of AeroMobil 3.0 after he successfully tested concepts and pre-prototype." Version 3.0, shown here with wings extended, seats two, has a top speed in the air of 124 mph (200 km/h), and has a range 435 miles (700 km). The car's (ground) specs are similar to that of a small, economy car. The site's photos are phenomenal, and the prototype is said to be close to commercial availability, subject to each country's certification.

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Mobile analytics firm Flurry posted new data on the holiday buying season on Monday, and summarized its findings on global mobile devices purchases for Christmas in a single sentence: "It's clear that Santa is no longer into cookies -- he prefers Apples." On a worldwide scale, 51.3 percent of mobile activations between December 19 and Christmas Day were Apple devices, outstripping the combined might of all competitors and leaving each individual company -- even Samsung -- far behind....

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SyFy has updated their Sync app to expand the feature that controls Philips Hue lighting and coordinates it with what's on TV, now including all episodes of a new series that starts airing in January.

The Mac Observer Spin: This could be cool if it's subtle. However this is from the makers of Pirahnaconda so I'm reserving judgment until we actually get a good look at both the show and this effect.

Perhaps you're used to getting a BMP image from a Windows user, and having to convert it to JPEG to make it usable online. If you do that a lot, you immediately see the benefit of software like GraphicConverter 9, which is best known for its conversion abilities – though you can also use Photoshop if you're the sort that does this for a living. Both can do myriad conversions, and you can set them up to run in batches: drag a folder full of images onto Photoshop, and it chugs through converting the lot for you. GraphicConverter does this too, but as part of a rather dizzying number of options...

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As has become obvious, Apple has decided to end its six-year tradition of giving iTunes-based "gifts" to its customers as part of a "12 Days of Christmas" campaign that had been running since 2008 in Europe, the UK, Canada and -- finally, in 2013 -- the United States. No reason has been given for the ending of the promotion, which offered free apps, e-books, movies, music and other offerings starting on Boxing Day (December 26) and continuing until January 6, celebrated by Orthodox Christians as Jesus' birthday....

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The Verizon Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot has gone on sale in the United States. The XLTE-ready device is able to provide connectivity to Verizon's 4G LTE network for up to eight devices over Wi-Fi, with the 2.9-ounce unit also sporting a 0.9-inch OLED display to show signal strength, data usage, and remaining battery life. The Ellipsis Jetpack is priced at $150, or $1 on a two-year contract, and can be added to an existing More Everything plan for $20 per month....

Xiaomi, like Samsung, has a reputation for copying the look of Apple products, and its first effort at making a laptop outdoes even Samsung's efforts. Aside from an orange logo, Xiaomi's laptop is a dead ringer for the MacBook Air.

The Mac Observer Spin: Xiaomi is amazingly good at copying Apple designs, and their new laptop is no exception. Samsung could take notes from these guys.

The firmware on some Macs can be rewritten via a Thunderbolt device loaded with a special option ROM, according to Trammel Hudson, a security researcher who spoke at the 31st convention of the Chaos Computer Club, held in Hamburg. The hack is dubbed "Thunderstrike," and reportedly can't be detected once it's installed. More importantly it can't be removed by reinstalling OS X or replacing a hard drive, since it impacts the boot ROM (which is independent) and replaces Apple's public RSA key, blocking future firmware updates unless the attacker's key is used. It can even copy itself to option RO...

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Today in the MacNN Forums Fresh-Faced Recruit "Ryan700" was asking if it was possible to move a battery from one 13-inch MBP to another 13-inch MBP after the battery in his wife's computer needed to be replaced. A frustrated "jeff k" has turned to the forums hoping someone will be able to help him figure out why it is that the Notes app on his new iPhone keeps deleting notes at the end of the day....

The Belkin Portable Tablet Stage is an ideal accessory for anyone who teaches or makes frequent presentations using their iPad. It folds flat for easy carry and has a nice little feature that lets you instantly include paper images during your presentation by using the iPad's camera.

Taiwan's National Communications Commission has issued a report clearing a variety of companies of breaking local data privacy laws, according to Reuters. The organization says that all 12 of the previously implicated cellphone brands -- including Apple, Huawei, Samsung, LG, Sony, ZTE, and Xiaomi -- are in the clear, despite Xiaomi being the impetus for the investigation. In August Xiaomi apologized and promised to make changes after a Finnish security firm discovered Xiaomi software was collecting address book data without permission....

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So far, major banks have been running TV ads promoting Apple Pay, and that's great. But why is Apple being so shy about its own technology and not running its own ads? John Martellaro has wondered about that too.

There's a famous Charlie Brown cartoon where he writes out the title "What I Did On My Summer Holiday" and then counts the words. Seven. He has to write some impossibly high number of words, something like a whole hundred, and it is going to be agony. With WordTarget by Kickcode, he wouldn't even have the hopeful delay while he counted: WordTarget displays the number of words constantly....

In a move sure to be opposed by the myriad companies it owes money to, former Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies is currently asking a bankruptcy court judge for permission to hand out over two million dollars in "executive bonuses" designed to help motivate and retain "key" employees -- largely the same group of senior executives who ran the company into the ground. In total, the company expects to apply for nearly $6 million in total bonuses and incentives to various levels of employees....

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As great as the cameras are on our iPhones, the only reason to use them as document scanners is when you have no other choice. There are just too many inherent problems -- from the difficulty of focusing evenly, to how hard it is to just line up the paper edges consistently. Then, of course, if you do get it perfectly straight and perfectly lit, the instant you tap the iPhone screen you introduce a judder. Scanner 2 PDF aims to be that best scanner, and specifically to do one particularly important job well, but if it's got the features then it falls down on the execution....

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Is it our typing speed, or just our attention span? Back in the olden days, we would copy out a telephone number, and type it into our cell phones. Mind you, back in the even more olden days, we would just remember the numbers and, let's be fair, that's completely unreasonable. Now that we all tend to have Macs and iPhones or iPads, we are forever going between the two -- and sometimes, that means the information we need is on the other one. Scribe is a clipboard utility for, well, copying anything from your Mac. If you can select it, you can copy it, and Scribe will send it on over to your iO...

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A number of iPhone 6 owners are complaining that they have been unable to add their cards back to Apple Pay after restoring iOS. The problem -- described in Apple's support forums -- can manifest whether restoring from a backup or starting fresh, and so far the only solution involves getting a replacement phone from Apple. Genius Bar technicians appear to be offering replacements to most affected people, whether in the form of a refurbished or genuinely new device....

Apple employees hoping to get back pay for the time they spend undergoing bag checks with their work shifts are in for a disappointment. U.S. District Court Judge William Alsop dismissed employee lawsuits following a Supreme Court ruling in a similar case that says the security checks don't fall under paid time requirements.

The Mac Observer Spin: Regardless of what Apple's employees think they're owed, it makes sense that Judge Alsop dismissed their case. The circumstances in the Supreme Court's ruling in the Amazon employee case are similar enough to apply here, too. Apple's employees will have to get pretty creative to convince Judge Alsop to change his mind.

A new lawsuit, filed in a federal court in California on Tuesday, accuses Apple of failing to inform people how much space iOS 8 will consume on a device, while simultaneously prompting them to buy online storage via iCloud. Specifically the suit claims that iOS 8 can occupy as much as 23.1 percent of device memory, but that not many people realize this when making a purchase. The plaintiffs are seeking damages, as well as changes by Apple to comply with state law. The case is being pursued as a class action....

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Word on the Internet is that it's pretty easy to trick Touch ID and get into someone's iPhone. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet explain why hacking Touch ID isn't nearly as simple as the media would have you believe, plus they offer up some iPhone security tips, and take a look at the Apple employee pay class action lawsuit that was just dismissed.

When it comes to mobile music products, IK Multimedia has positioned itself as one of the top suppliers. Right from the early days of iOS, IK Multimedia has remained at the forefront of the iOS music creation market with products like the original iRig and iRig Mic. As iOS has developed and become more powerful, so has the line-up of iRig products - its latest introduction, iRig Pads, brings music ......

A fun one to put up on the Apple TV during New Year's Eve festivities, here's YouTuber Samurai Guitarist using an iPad (he notes in the comments that it's borrowed) to cover Blue Oyster Cult's classic Don't Fear The Reaper. Sadly he doesn't mention the apps involved, because I'd love a good cowbell app. Anyway, aside from the digitized vocals and the lack of "needle to the record" noise, it sounds really close to the original. I love videos like this, partly because of the novelty of it, and partly because it might introduce this song to someone who hasn't heard it before. And let's be honest when it comes down to it, we all need a little more cowbell. Check out the full video below.

(via Melissa Davis)

If you haven't heard of the August Smart Lock, here's the scoop-it's a Bluetooth device that unlocks your door when you approach with your iPhone and relocks it a set number of minutes after you come home. It also lets you issue temporary electronic keys, so you can allow the cleaning lady in for a couple of hours and receive a notification when she leaves. Come on in for the whole review of this spiffy little gadget!

Having started a new ad campaign in Japan, Apple has expanded its "Start Something New" online art gallery to many of its international sites, including the US -- offering a curated collection of photos, illustrations and other pieces created using iOS or Mac hardware and software. As is typical for the company, the aim of the campaign isn't to blatantly push hardware as it is to provide inspiration to action, and showcase how people use the products rather than the products themselves. Apps such as VSCO Cam, Waterlogue, Final Cut Pro and Brushes 3 are among the apps featured....

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The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finally finalized its settlement with Snapchat over privacy issues. Initially settled in May but only finalized by the FTC on December 23, the settlement requires the messaging service to allow itself to be subjected to independent privacy monitoring for a 20-year period, among other items....

NewerTech has released a new adapter that allows a 2012 or newer model iMac (including the latest Retina 5K iMac) to be hung with a universal VESA mounting system. Since 2012, Apple has made it so that iMacs must be ordered with a VESA mount at the time of ordering, which means four screw holes would be drilled into the back -- if the original purchaser did not order the custom VESA fitting, there was no option to remove the stand, or add the option to mount it later....

If you're like most of us, chances are you've got at least one cloud service -- probably more. And if you're like most of us, chances are you've probably loaded up your phone or tablet with individual apps for every single one. Instead of installing separate apps for every cloud service, why not check out Files United by developer Zuhanden GmbH?...

GT Advanced Technologies wants to pay out US$6 million in bonuses to company executives in the midst of its bankruptcy proceedings, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Jeff and Bryan look at the pros and cons of GTAT's bonus plan, plus they rant on Twitter's sponsored links in our Following lists, and they share their favorite Apple-related stories for 2014.

Apple was slapped with a potential class action lawsuit this week alleging the company intentionally misled customers as to how much storage their iPhone has after installing iOS 8, and then tries to sell more through iCloud subscriptions. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Federal Court in San Francisco by the law firm Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca.

The Mac Observer Spin: Complaints about stated versus actual storage space aren't anything new. The twist in this case is that the plaintiffs are claiming Apple used that as a bait-and-switch tool to pressure customers into paying for iCloud subscriptions. Still, the case feels an awful lot like a money grab.

We'd like to wish everyone a wonderful 2015, and we look forward to the best year Apple has yet had. Click through for a short walk down Memory Lane.

Some Twitter users woke up this morning to find that they were unexpectedly following @MasterCard, perhaps an implied endorsement that was unwanted. William Shatner was the first to notice this, according to Marketing Land. This appears to be a troublesome effort by Twitter to monetize what has become, in essence, a public utility.

Turns out smart home devices can be part of our home entertainment systems, too. John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at SyFy's plans to control Hue LED lights as part of the 12 Monkeys series, plus they dive into why it's time for Jeff to get on the Hue bandwagon, look at the popularity of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus over the holidays, and talk about the distrust in Apple Pay some people are showing.

Apple has run the 2015 edition of its annual "Lucky Bag" promotion, in which its Japanese stores sell bags containing surprise goods worth more than their initial price tag. This year's bags cost 36,000 yen (about $300) each, but held products worth anywhere between $640 and $1,280. Each one had a "big" surprise, along with an Apple TV, Beats Powerbeats2 wireless earbuds, a New Year's edition of a Mophie powerstation, and a 1,000-yen iTunes gift card. All of the items were secured in Incase ICON Slim Pack backpacks....

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The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off next week, and The Mac Observer will be on location to check out the latest tech products and trends for 2015. The trade show runs from January 6 through January 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and there'll be plenty of Apple-related gear for us to look at.

Watch manufacturer Montblanc has created a way to add smartwatch functionality to traditional wristwatches, by replacing the strap with one housing an extra screen. The e-Strap band introduces a secondary face to the watch on the inside of the wrist, with the extra module offering smartphone notifications via a 0.9-inch monochrome OLED display....

Apple has increased the costs for developers and products in a range of countries across Europe, reports say. German developers note that the cost of an annual Developer Program membership has jumped from €80 ($96) to €99 ($119). The change is presumably affecting all European Union countries, since Apple rarely makes changes in one euro market to the exclusion of others. In the UK, developer registration fees have been hiked from from £60 ($92) a year to £79 ($121)....

Today in the MacNN forums, one Dedicated MacNNer was asking if it was possible to run two different operating systems on the same Mac as they are planning on replacing their original drive with a solid state drive. Grizzled Veteran "PHoynak" is looking for a way to use their old white MacBook as a second display with a 27-inch iMac and wonders if anyone has any advice on how this could be accomplished....

Welcome to Friday Deals, the first installment in 2015 of the money-saving post where we find offers on hardware, gadgets, and software for you, the discerning MacNN and Electronista reader. Just like last year, the offers are correct at the time of writing, but may change, so check before purchasing. Also, come back to this post later, as we will be adding more deals to it throughout the weekend....

Montblanc announced Thursday a wearable computing option for mechanical watch owners. Being launched initially for the Montblanc Timewalker Urban Speed line of watches for 2015, the eStrap includes an OLED screen and various fitness-related sensors.

The Mac Observer Spin: The smartwars in the watch industry are just starting, all thanks to Apple Watch. I personally expect a lot of smartstraps to be introduced throughout 2015, from startups and established watch brands alike.

Networking hardware maker Peraso of Toronto, Canada focuses its efforts on designing integrated circuits but doesn't fabricate its own designs, instead outsourcing them to "foundries" -- as such, Peraso refers to itself as a "fabless semiconductor company." Next week at CES, however, it will be demonstrating a new USB 3.0 adaptor for the 802.11ad standard also known as "WiGig." The standard offers LAN speeds up to 10 times that of conventional Wi-Fi, and the adapter is expected to help home equipment take advantage of the increased speed as 802.11ad becomes more commonly used....

On Friday, US President Barack Obama placed new sanctions on North Korea as a "first measure" of retaliation against the country's cyber-attacks on Sony Pictures through an executive order that targets individuals and companies or other entities affiliated with the North Korean government. Obama referred to the North Korean government as "destructive and coercive," and painted the incident as an attack on both a US company and at attack on the right of free expression. The movie that North Korea objected to, The Interview, has since been released and sailed to the top of the iTunes movie chart...

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If you're a writer or do any kind of long and complex work, then you're typically either a planner or you're not. You work out every detail of what you're going to do or you're a pantser: you do everything by the seat of your pants. Traditionally, the only difference between the two that mattered was that planners find it easier to get paid because they can show what they're going to end up with. Otherwise, it was down to you which you were and not even raging arguments would change a pantser into a planner. So as an outlining and planning tool, OmniOutliner is clearly for the planner type of...

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Most of us still have computers, but they're not always convenient given the average person's fast-paced life. If you have a laptop or desktop, there have probably been a few times when you've wished you could check up on your computer, only to find yourself at the store, or stuck somewhere far away from your desk. But what if there was a way for you to easily check your computer while you're out and about? Remoter VNC by Remoter Labs, allows you to take control of your computer from anywhere right from the palm of your hand....

As part of its pre-CES announcements, Acer has released a pair of gaming monitors. The Acer XB270HU is the world's first Nvidia G-Sync gaming monitor equipped with IPS technology, and the Acer XG270HU is the world's first gaming monitor with an edge-to-edge frameless display. Both of these 27-inch displays come with WQHD (2560x1440) resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate....

The Om/One Levitating Bluetooth Speaker. It's a speaker that's a globe and it levitates. It floats in mid-air while it plays music or acts as your speaker phone, or whatever. Magnets are frakking cool. Check out the video in the deal listing to see it in action. It connects to an audio source via Bluetooth, plus it levitates. Drop in Luke Skywalker with a helmet over this eyes, and you can have yourself a proper SciFi shindig. The Om/One Levitating Bluetooth Speaker ships in January for $199. Stack Social has it on preorder for $179.99.