The Mac Observer is on the ground at the Internation Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and we're already checking out some pretty cool products. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to talk about the new tech they saw at CES Unveiled, including fitness gear, wireless routers, and robots ready to help you shop.

At the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, Philips has unveiled a massive curved computer display. The new 34-inch Philips Brilliance Curved UltraWide LCD Display offers 3440 x 1440 resolution at 60Hz with panoramic 21:9 cinematic aspect....

There are only two kinds of Mac users: Those who have lost data, and those who will. Itâs sad that so many users still donât start backing up until after theyâve lost irreplaceable files. Youâve heard me say it year in and year out, but at least some of you (and you know who you are), are not paying attention. Read my first column of the year and resolve to back up your stuff and avoid heartache in 2015.

One can produce estimates of the Apple Watch sales. One can do surveys and discover what people think they're willing to pay. But the real prospects for the Apple Watch lie in Apple's unique ability to capture our heart and imagination.

Shoot 'em ups, often called shmups, are action-shooters that pit the player against hoards of oncoming enemies. Players are able to usually control their ships left and right motion and only get to rest between levels. These games originated in the 60s and have been incredibly popular ever since, and it's easy to see why once you begin playing them. Space Qube, by Owen Wu, is a shoot 'em up for iOS that's worth taking a look at....

LAS VEGAS - Evollve Inc. showed off Ozobot Bit Sunday night at CES Unveiled. This 1-inch robot can sense colored lines, detect patterns such as intersections, read flashing light codes, and play back up to 500 commands. It's also programmable using a color-based code language and a block-based programming editor. The company is aiming it at kids as an interactive tool that can teach them programming skills by allowing them to make their own courses for Ozobot Bit to follow, or by making their own games. The device also interacts with an Android and iOS app. In the included image, several Ozobot Bits are following paths that cross from tablets to hand-drawn paper and back again. Ozobot Bits are shipping now for US$49.99 for one, or a two-pack for $99.99.

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LAS VEGAS -- Fitness tracking smartwatches can log how far we walk, how we sleep, and now Zensorium is tracking how we feel. TMO checked out the company's new Being watch at CES. It tracks how you're feeling by monitoring heart rate and blood pressure then converts that into four mood states: distressed, excited, normal, and calm. If you're showing signs of stress, Being will offer tips on calming down, and all of the data it collects is sent wirelessly to your iOS or Android smartphone. The built-in battery runs for about three days on a charge, and the OLED display is easy to read in bright or dark light conditions. The Being will ship in March for US$199, or you can pre-order now for $169.

LAS VEGAS - Parrot showed off two new products in its Flower family called Parrot Pot and Parrot H2O. Where the original Parrot Flower monitors your plants and reports conditions to your iPhone or Android device, Pot and H2O both add automated watering. Pot is a self-contained pot for your plant that includes a separate reservoire for water, sensors for monitoring the the soil and exposure to light, and then a mechanism for delivering that water to your plant when it needs it. H2O does the same thing, but it's a standalone device you can use with any pot. H2O gives you three weeks of "autonomous waterimg," while Pot delivers a full month. Plus, it works with PArrot's database of more than 7,000 plants to get it exactly right. Pretty cool, right? Parrot hasn't announced pricing and said only that both devices will ship sometimes in 2015.

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Internet of Things (IoT) developer iDevices has debuted Switch, the company's first Apple HomeKit-enabled device at CES in Las Vegas. The device is a hubless home automation solution which plugs into a power outlet and gives the user control of anything plugged into it using an iOS app -- extending "smart home" capabilities to non-smart devices....

Entertainment streaming platform provider Roku made a number of announcements today at CES regarding Roku televisions and expanded HD content streaming. Roku will be partnering with television manufacturers Haier and Insignia to produce new HDTV models of Roku televisions, while NetFlix works on delivering 4K compatible content through Roku's platforms, and a previous Roku TV maker will focus on debuting a Roku 4K Ultra HD TV for the new year....

Today, Epson America announced a new compact digital projector in its PowerLite line at CES. The Home Cinema 600 can scale up its display to roughly 25 times larger than a 60-inch television screen. The projector is designed to be plugged into everything from a laptop to a gaming console, and uses Epson three-LCD projection and four pre-set color modes, including a game mode. This allows for watching in even a well-lit environment, from a conference room to a backyard side-of-the-house movie night....

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Unlike its predecessor -- which only recently added support for Android devices (and then just the Galaxy Note 4) -- the iRig 2 guitar-to-phone interface, announced today, will support both iOS and Android right out of the gate, developer IK Multimedia says. Outputs on the device have been improved and added -- not only provide studio-quality sound from a smartphone, but to allow musicians to additionally plug into a traditional amplifier without an adapter....

At CES on Monday, the iBeek beacon by Bluvision was deployed today at the Texas Instruments (TI) booth. When a device with Bluvision's CMS platform, BluZone, comes into proximity, the beacons will provide information and an interactive experience for visitors. The system was designed to provide accurate tracking using minimal energy with large-scale deployments, such as equipment tracking in a warehouse, in mind. However, the beacons can be customized for home automation, wearables, and other applications, the company says....

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Nikon has introduced its consumer-grade follow-up to the D5300 DSLR camera, one which includes a touchscreen display on the back for the first time. The D5500's main upgrade compared to its predecessor, the rear 1037K-dot 3.2-inch display can be used to alter camera settings directly, with the screen still being able to flip out to the side and rotate around like in previous models....

App Store Bundles are a nice way to pick up apps and save a little cash. As nice as that is, they also include a bonus feature: A way for developers to offer long-awaited upgrade pricing. We explain this apparent loophole and speak to some veteran iOS and OS X developers to get their take.

Apple has added another eight banks to the list supporting Apple Pay, sources say. The collection includes Customers Bank -- based in Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey -- and seven credit unions. Those are Security Service Federal Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Virginia Credit Union, Cyprus Federal Credit Union, Fairwinds Credit Union, Mountain America Credit Union, and Partners Federal Credit Union....

Many Americans now own smartphones, and a large percentage of those smartphones are iPhones. So how much would the average American pay for a year's worth of enjoyment and utility from Apple's flagship device? Or, more interestingly, what do these The Price is Right contestants think the average American would pay?

In keeping with the goal of accelerating the adoption of 4K Ultra HD standard, 4K television manufacturer Seiki today announced its entry into the desktop monitor segment with 32- and 40-inch 4K Ultra HD displays. The new Seiki 4K displays will be branded Seiki Pro, and are on display at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show....

Toshiba launched four devices in its Canvio range at CES. The Canvio Connect II portable hard drive was joined at the trade show by a new addition to the Canvio Basics range, while the Canvio AeroCast and Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter are devices able to offer wireless sharing of content, to mobile devices as well as streaming to set-top boxes....

Device shipment numbers for 2014 are out, and Anroid unsurprisingly ruled the roost, accounting for more than 1.1 billion of the 2.3 billion total devices shipped during the year. But Apple controlled the high-end of the market, while Google, Microsoft, and others fought for an increasingly large low-cost segment.

Today in the MacNN Forums, one distressed Fresh-Faced Recruit was looking for help resolving a problem with installing Yosemite after something went wrong and the external hard drive they were trying to install it on died. Yesterday Moderator "P" started a discussion about the release timeline for Intel's latest Broadwell chips that were just announced at CES....

At B&H right now save $300 on the previous-generation 13.3-inch Retina MacBook Pro which has been slashed from $1,949 down to $1,649. That's around $100 less than the lowest price offered on this model anywhere else. This MBP features a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 dual-core Haswell processor, 8GB of RAM and 512GB of PCIe-based flash storage. As always it is backed by Apples standard one year limited warranty on parts and labor....

After the smoke cleared, strobe lights dimmed, and high-energy music stopped at Audi's morning press conference at CES on Tuesday, the German automaker promised evolutions of its in-car tech, going as far as to introduce a concept that would drive and park itself, with no occupants at all. To drive the point home, Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, the Board Member for Technical Development of AUDI AG, started the company's updated, 690-horsepower Prologue concept with an LG smartwatch, pressed another command, and the car drove itself onto the stage....

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There's a lot of content in the iTunes stores. If you want to improve your search, you need the Power Search. Kelly shows how to get there and use it to level up iTunes searches.

LAS VEGAS - When Apple changed the form factor for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, that means olloclip's add-on camera lenses and cases wouldn't fit any more. The company took care of the lenses, and now it's almost ready to release updated cases, too. The olloclip case has a special cutout to fit its camera lenses, has a hard plastic body for durability, and rubberized edges for grip action. The cases are sleek and good looking, plus they do away with the flip-out panel the previous version needed to give you access to your iPhone's cameras. Final pricing hasn't been set yet, but the company did tell us at CES 2015 it's very close to shipping.

The Apple Watch will miss a previously-rumored launch date and instead ship by the end of March, sources say. Although Apple has only ever officially stated an "early 2015" window, some rumors had suggested Apple was aiming for a February date, possibly by Valentine's Day. Even then, it was often believed that Apple was likely to overshoot its goal....

Sources said to be within Apple have leaked details about the company's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air. Based on prototypes, the laptop is said to be even narrower than the current 11-inch model, albeit a quarter of an inch taller in order to fit a bigger display. To shrink the computer as a whole, Apple has reportedly trimmed the bezels to a minimum not only on the display but around the keyboard and trackpad....

Among a number of new Lightning-connected iPhone 6 battery cases unveiled at CES this week, AppleInsider found a more affordable option in My uNu's lineup, which starts at $59.99 for the company's forthcoming extended battery case.

Sakar International and Eastman Kodak today announced a variety of new mobile and DSLR photography accessories at CES in Las Vegas. The partnership has produced a new Smartphone Cradle, All-in-one HDMI Smartphone Cable, and Selfie Tripod with Remote Shutter Release, aimed at those who use their smartphone for the majority of their photo taking. In respects to DSLR users, Sakar and Kodak are launching a professional-grade Rig Stabilizer, for supporting a camera while capturing a shot. The Rolling DSLR Bag and Knapsack aim to simplify transporting gear, and the OTG/USB Card Reader for SD and mic...

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Apple's Beats is once again being sued, this time on assertions that cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre committed fraud by stealing the Beats by Dr. Dre headphone lineup from audio company Monster and its CEO Noel Lee -- who claim to have invented the popular headphones -- in a "sham" sale to HTC.

Otterbox and Incipio announced today at CES new cases for the iPhone 6 with built in batteries to boost up time. The new offerings, which join today's announcement of the Mophie's Juice Pack series are the Otterbox Resurgence and the four-model Incipio offGrid series....

The iDrive online backup service company today revealed a local network backup peripheral. Presented at the Consumer Electronics Show, the iDrive Wi-Fi local backup drive allows users to backup and restore up to 2 TB of their data between devices over a local connection, with data protected by encryption....

At CES on Tuesday, Thermal imaging pioneers FLIR debuted a next-generation FLIR ONE consumer-level thermal camera that one-ups its predecessor by trading in the large semi-permanent iPhone case form factor for a small plug-and-play dongle with higher resolution sensors.

IK Multimedia, a leader in iOS-enabled audio production hardware and software, hit the CES show floor with an all-new lineup of products for 2015, including the new iRig 2 mobile guitar interface, iRig microphones and more.

This year's ShowStoppers @ CES event was chock-full of new and novel products marketed across a range of tech segments, but the main theme centered around smart home products, with startups showing off everything from LED light bulbs to ambitious "Internet of Things" solutions.

LAS VEGAS - Netatmo has expanded beyond weather tracking with its new Welcome camera that identifies friends and family, and knows when someone is a stranger. As the Welcome snaps more photos it gets better at identifying people you know, and it announces who it sees. The images it captures are stored in an encrypted format so data you want to keep private stays that way, and it includes an iPhone app you can use to set alerts for specific people or receive notifications when you're away from home. Netatmo hasn't set their final pricing yet for Welcome, but the company does plan on shipping the device in the next few months. TMO checked it out at CES 2015, and it looks pretty cool.

LAS VEGAS - French company Devialet was showing off its Phantom Implosive Sound Center Tuesday night at Pepcom. This powered speaker system looks amazing and sounds even better. There's a caveat, though: listening to any speakers or headphones on a convention show floor is a terrible idea. It's just too noisy, but I was impressed with this device. The company designed them so that you can use from 1 to 24 of them together. They sync using Wi-Fi, and they're priced at $1,999 [price corrected] per unit. I have a lot of questions about the Phantom Implosive Sound Center, and I can't wait to test them out. In the video I posted to Instagram, the iPhone did a remarkable job of capturing the sound. Plus, you can see the subwoofers moving. Check it out.

Amazing Phantom Implosion speaker. $199. Looking forward to testing. #CES2015

A video posted by Bryan Chaffin (@geektells) on Jan 1, 2015 at 8:10pm PST

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With the first official day of CES in the books, AppleInsider offers a roundup of the best new products we spotted at the annual consumer electronics event that tap into the Apple ecosystem.

Say you need to share something with a group of people, either in a meeting or on campus, but you don't have a document camera to project the image. Instead of passing around documents, photos, or items for people to look at one-by-one, what if you could simply broadcast the images over LAN? It's a surprisingly simple solution to a common problem. That's exactly what Air Scanner, by Qrayon, does....

In the midst of a major retail expansion across China, Apple continues to make progress on its latest flagship outlet in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, recently breaking down the scaffolding surrounding the new store's dramatic cylindrical entrance.

Recent Apple acquisition Beats is facing another lawsuit, this time from Monster. The suit alleges that Beats executives Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre orchestrated a 'sham' transaction to cut Monster, the original manufacturer of the headphoens, out of millions in profits when Apple aquired the company.

Otterbox-owned LifeProof has announced the fre Power, a battery case for the iPhone 6. The product supplies 2,600mAh of power, said to double an iPhone's regular life. More significantly, however, the case safeguards against water, drops, and dust/snow, partly through its shell but also via a built-in screen protector....

A company called Antenna79 has launched the Reach79, a case claimed to boost cellular signals for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The key is an embedded gold-plated antenna layer, allegedly CETECOM-tested to improve signal strength by an average of 1.6 times, peaking at twice normal levels. Antenna79 suggests this can result not only in better coverage but faster downloads and improved battery life, since a phone doesn't have to struggle as much to find a connection....

The latest research from UBS has prompted the firm to advise investors that it believes Apple sold a massive 69 million iPhones in the just-concluded December quarter -- a sum that would obliterate the company's previous all-time record.

Over at TekRevue, Jim Tanous has revisited the use of a RAM disk on two new Macs, a 2013 Mac Pro and a 2014 MacBook Pro. He reports that, "The 2013 Mac Pro features extremely fast PCIe-based flash storage, but itâs no competition for the speed of a 32GB RAM Disk. The internal flash storage hits around 1,200MB/s reads and just shy of 800MB/s writes, but the RAM Disk peaks at 4,800MB/s reads and 5,100MB/s writes. 5.1 Gigabytes per second. Nice." Of course, the RAM disk eats into the available RAM so it's geard for specialized applications that can really use the boost. But it's also volatile, so reboot or lose power and it goes poof. Even so, check out TekRevue's tantalizing tutorial and amazing benchmark tests.

It's probably a sign that we are just one bad decision away from being evil crime lords but we looked at this and all thought exactly the same thing. You could use this software to change the dates on contracts to 90 years ago and claim to have invented Boeing. Or, on a slightly smaller scale, we could've told our college professors that of course we started this report at the start of the semester. That really is the kind of thing we can do with A Better Finder Attributes 5 -- ABFA from now on, please -- but it's intended more for the kind of fine and morally upstanding person that you are....

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Apple has hired three more executives, apparently with the aim of helping Apple Watch development. One of these is Jacob Jordan, formerly the director of Louis Vuitton's ready-to-wear collection for men. Jordan quietly joined Apple in October, and is now said to be the company's director of Product Merchandising for the Special Projects team, which has been working on the Watch for years. Apple has picked up a number of people from the fashion industry in the run-up to the Watch's launch -- most notably former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who has taken over as Apple's latest retail head....

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Owners of the Yves Behar-designed August Smart Lock now have the option to control the device from their iPhone even when they're out of the house thanks to the new August Connect accessory announced by the company at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.

From Apple: "The James Bond films have given us five decades of explosive action and captivating international intrigue. For the first time digitally, you can now own the entire iconic series - from Dr. No to Skyfall - in Bond 50: The Complete 23 Film Collection. This essential bundle is available for a limited-time price until January 12." The average price here is US$4.35 per movie. Moneypenny would be very pleased. Again ... January 12 is the drop dead date for this offer. Plus, see Kelly Guimont's CSF for more on the upcoming Bond movie (#24) "SPECTRE" due to be released in November this year.

According to the latest statistics from Apple, distribution of company's iOS 8 mobile operating continues to plod along and is now installed on 68 percent of iPhones and iPads registered to the iOS App Store.

Virtually everyone plays a game on their iPhone. And those of a particular vintage appreciate how different games are today than when you played in fear of being eaten by a Grue. We have now arrived at the perfect intersection of both these things: Mayday! Deep Space, a new game much in the style of the old-school text adventure, but this time you control the character using voice commands. It's US$2.99 from iTunes And so far it's the most fun I've had playing a game since Monument Valley. Via Silicon Florist we find out more about the creation of this game, including interviews with the creators. I haven't played for very long yet, but I am completely hooked. I should point out that unless you're known for randomly shouting out directions, this may not be the best choice for killing time in line at the grocery store.

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The Mac Observer is on the ground at the Internation Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and we found even more cool and interesting products to talk about. Bryan Chaffin joins Jeff Gamet to talk about seeing Tenacious D, fitness tech gear, foodie tech, robot dinosaurs, and more.

Apple on Wednesday issued a new beta build of its upcoming OS X 10.10.2 maintenance update, once again asking developers to focus on Wi-Fi, Mail and VoiceOver alongside general system compatibility testing.

The Automated Device for Asthma Management, or ADAM, by Health Care Originals is a unique iOS-connected medical device that aims to provide users with a complete solution for managing their asthma.

Intel's mobile chip division has lost $7 billion over the last two years while heavily subsidizing the manufacturing costs of Android tablet makers agreeing to use the chipmaker's Atom mobile x86 processors. Microsoft's new Office for Android won't run on any of them.

Unveiled at CES, SenseHUD is portable device that promises to transform your smartphone into an automotive heads-up display, offering an aftermarket alternative to expensive preinstalled car navigation systems.

Apple kept its Mac mini fans waiting around two years between updates, and recently it finally gave the mini a refresh. While not a full redesign as some had hoped, the new model finally brought with it Intel's fourth generation "Haswell" Core-series processors. Apple also took the opportunity to introduce a new cheaper low-end model, but opted to drop the server option that was powered by a quad-core chip, and make some other less welcome changes including soldering the RAM and making the hard drive almost impossible to access. Despite these changes, is it still worth considering the Mac mini...

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Yesterday at CES, ViewSonic released its newest line-up of products. On hand for demonstrations at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas are new 4K displays, "price-competitive" digital projectors, Virtual Desktop Interface (VDI) solutions, and commercial-grade digital signage displays. Included in the announcements was a new 3,200-lumen projector; 27- and 28-inch 4K monitors; a curved 34-inch LED and 27-inch gaming monitor, and some large-format signage displays....

Today at CES in Las Vegas, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President Gary Shapiro sat down for a "Super Session" with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and asked what had changed in his world since they spoke at the conference in 2013. "Oh, nothing," deadpanned Wheeler, prompting laughter from the audience, "it's all exactly the same." As the discussion went on, Wheeler's responses to questions seem to be confirming earlier reports that the Commission is strongly leaning towards adopting some level of Communications Act Title II as a base for ensuring Net Neutrality, as urged by President Obama...

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Last November, the Internet Archive debuted their new service, The Internet Arcade, where over 900 arcade titles from the 1980's and 90's were hosted for free play over a web browser. Today the service topped itself, expanding the the Software Library to include 2,300 MS-DOS-era games, available through the EM-DOSbox in-browser emulator....

Mind maps are those doodles when you scribble down the name of a topic, then write down anything you can think of to do with it, then start making connections. It is amazing how you can sometimes only spot that this idea and that problem go together when you see them both on the page. If you're the sort of person who prefers to think and plan in lists, you've probably ignored mind maps entirely. You may be right: mind maps do not suit everyone, but give them a go -- and in particular try MindNode for iOS. While it's also on the Mac, MindNode is particularly good on iPads and its new release ha...

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Stock of the iPod shuffle is drying up at both Apple's online store and its retail outlets, sources say, something backed up by checks. The company is reportedly warning retail workers that Shuffle supplies will be low for an unspecified amount of time, such that shoppers looking to buy the product should be redirected to the online store. Even then, the US site is listing Shuffles as shipping in seven to 10 days, well beyond the 24-hour window quoted for the iPod touch or nano....

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Those looking to spend Christmas money on a new iPod shuffle may have to wait a few days to pick one up. Appleâs diminutive iPod is out of stock at many Apple Retail Stores, and shows a 7-10 business day shipping delay at Appleâs online store, with no word on when supply will improve.

Following a somewhat rocky, high-profile debut, the makers of Duet Display --?an app that allows users to press their iPad into service as a secondary display for their Mac --?have rolled out an impressive update that narrows the gap between a Duet-connected iPad and a traditional monitor.

Via its official list, Apple has confirmed this week's addition of eight new banks to Apple Pay. The new institutions include Security Service Federal Credit Union, Customers Bank, Consumers Credit Union, Virginia Credit Union, Cyprus Federal Credit Union, Fairwinds Credit Union, Mountain America Credit Union, and Partners Federal Credit Union. Of those, the most important may be SSFCU, Partners, and Customers....

Low margins and increasingly stiff competition have finally caught up with Samsung, the largest Android-based device producer in terms of shipments. The Korean firm Thursday released âpreliminary earnings guidanceâ for its December quarter, warning investors of a significant decline in profits and revenue year-over-year.

Apple has released some updated statistics for the App Store, revealing that billings rose 50 percent in 2014, generating over $10 billion in revenue for developers. The store has produced roughly $25 billion for developers since its inception in 2008. Apple adds that the first week of January set a new record for billings, totaling almost half a billion dollars in combined app and in-app purchase numbers; New Year's Day in particular is said to have Apple's best day ever for app sales....

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An image circling the Web on Thursday purports to show a piece of production tooling for Apple's rumored "iPad Pro," though there is scant evidence to back up the assertions. In fact, the part depicted appears more likely to be designed for Apple's Smart Cover than a forthcoming iPad.

Pella Windows and Doors is at CES this week, showing off its new Insynctive family of smart home products, bringing iOS connectivity to sensors for doors, shades, blinds, garages and more.

Ion Audio has announced its new Air LP Bluetooth turntable, currently being showcased at CES this week. Capable of converting analog records into digital files on one's computer, Air LP connects to a Mac or PC with its included USB cable. The turntable streams audio wirelessly to Bluetooth compatible speakers, and includes "EZ Vinyl and Tape Converter" software for the audio conversion via USB. The player includes an Auto-Stop button, and can play (as well as convert) 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM records. Available RCA outputs include connection for stereo and headphones. Expected to ship in March,...

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Apple has sent an email to developers notifying them of App Store price hikes in Canada, Norway, and the European Union, according to the Vancouver Sun. The company blames the change on foreign exchange rates. It has not, however, said by how much prices will go up....

The Mac Observer is on the ground at the Internation Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, and we found some more interesting products to talk about. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to offer their perspective from the outside on the show, plus Jeff shares some more fun stuff he found, and they take a look at home automation, too.

Apple has a long and sometimes unpleasant history of hiring sales executives from other companies in the hopes that the new guy will have the magic mojo to make everything right. Now Apple has brought in a new HP veteran to sell to large corporations. Things will probably go as they have in the past: not very well.

LAS VEGAS -- It's easy to find Bluetooth products that turn solid surfaces-like your desk-into a speaker. Finding one that sounds really good is a harder task, but Bass Egg thinks it has that covered with its new Verb. The Verb vibrates to bounce air off hard surfaces that converts to sound waves, making your wood, metal, stone, or glass surfaces act as omnidirectional speakers. It's anodized aluminum body holds up under abuse, the audio range it offers goes beyond what we've heard from competing products. The Bass Egg Verb is priced at US$99.95, and the crew we spoke with at CES 2015 told us that soon you'll be able to gang them up for stereo audio, too.

Apple has hired on a former HP executive, John Solomon, to help with enterprise sales, sources say. The people note that his exact position and duties are unclear, but the hiring is said to be core to the company's newfound rush to reach enterprise customers. Solomon may also allegedly be involved in international Apple Watch sales -- specifically in the Asia-Pacific market -- but some of the sources say this is unlikely....

Apple on Thursday updated its French website with a black "armband" and the phrase "Je suis Charlie" in sympathy over the terrorist attack and murder of cartoonists from the satiric magazine Charlie Hebdo, which also killed at least one police officer. The attackers were allegedly offended by the publication's routine attacks on extremist elements of the Islamic faith, although the publications also regularly exposed hypocrisy and provoked offense among other religious followers as well....

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Earlier this week, Elgato announced a new smart home product ecosystem called Eve. The company brought a few Eve modules, as well as other devices, set for imminent release to CES, offering AppleInsider a first-hand look.

Our friends at Stack Social have put together a deal called the 10-For-$10 Mac App Bundle. As the name suggests, you get ten Mac apps and it's going to cose you ten bucks. It includes, Disk Map, MenuTab Pro for Facebook, NotesTab Pro, CopyClip 2, Privacy Protector, Share Bucket, StatsBar, StockTab, Slerts for Gmail, and InstaReel for Instagram. There's additional information on all of these apps on the deal list, and it's good for another 5 days.

Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus ended his last column with words that couldnât have been more prescient: âI sleep better knowing that my data will survive almost any eventuality. So will you.â A few days after that he walked into my office to find an alarming onscreen alert: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." Thank heaven for Data Rescue.

A California judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit claiming Apple sold MacBooks to customers knowing the laptops contained defective logic boards and would fail within two years.

At its CES booth this year, Philips showed off its Fidelio M2L headphones, which hold the title as the world's first the world's first Lightning-connected headphones.

Normally a commercial wouldn't be a big deal around TMO Towers, but I've applied for an exception so I can tell you guys about this one. It's a State Farm Insurance ad, and it is a bit different than the ones that feature classic Saturday Night Live characters. This ad was released today, Elvis Presley's 80th birthday, and features a variety of Elvises including my younger brother. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just tell you that he's the one who brings it home. It's a 30 second ad, so click on through and amuse yourself. Maybe if it's popular enough my brother will have a steady gig Elvising for State Farm ads. Enjoy!

After unveiling its upcoming NuBryte cloud-connected smart home console last year, Lucis Technologies brought a working model to the showroom floor at CES, demoing the console's automated lighting and security features.

Evernote has released a new scanning app today, including the ability to scan a document automatically upon launching the app. The app will locate the document in the camera's field of view, and sharpen the image of contents in view of the iOS device. Scans can be uploaded to iCloud or shared via AirDrop, text message or email. Business cards scanned by Evernote Scramble, the app can associate the information with the contact's LinkedIn account. Evernote Scramble is free to download....

While long-time accessory maker Griffin Technology had a few items to show off at this year's Consumer Electronics show, one of the most popular with onlookers there was one of its smallest -- a new Lightning-to-USB cable that featured a redesigned Type A plug that could be inserted in either orientation, just like Apple's Lightning connectors. The company says the new cable will be marketed as officially Made for iPhone (MFi) devices, but the new USB connector has not yet been certified as authorized....

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Consumers in the United States will no longer face a backlog when purchasing an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus from Apple's online store, as supplies of the popular smartphones appear to have reached parity with demand nearly four months after their release.

When Apple first announced it would be bringing game controller support to iOS 8, the news was met with much excitement. However, months started to pass and no one seemed to really be interested in creating a quality controller. Wikipad is hoping to change that with Gamevice, designed specifically for the iPad Air and iPad mini. We got a chance to get an early look at the upcoming iPad controller at a private suite during CES and went away with a very positive opinion....

Today, Melissa Holt is going to tell us how to change up which contacts appear when we double-click the Home button on an iPhone running iOS 8. Wanna see folks you've recently contacted? Would you prefer your favorite people to show up there? Come read this Quick Tip, and you'll be getting in touch with your friends and family even more efficiently.

It's not often that software makes you laugh -- at least, not for good reasons. The new Evernote Scannable, however, is so fast at scanning documents that on our very first go, we failed to get our thumb out of the way quickly enough, and it scanned that. We really did laugh at this big, fuzzy thumb -- and were then delighted, and surprised, and genuinely impressed with what happened next. Evernote Scannable removed our thumb from the image. Automatically....

Pixelmator for Mac is not Photoshop -- but it might as well be, for how those image editing features that it does have are powerful, and easy to use. It also might as well be for the majority of people who aren't full-time PS professionals. If your work needs Adobe Photoshop, then you know it -- and can make the decision about paying the modest subscription cost to use it. Pixelmator handles an ever-growing number of the most common image tasks that most people need, and we are particularly fans of the separate iPad version, which has recently been updated. Today, we're taking a look at that i...

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Apple will reportedly turn to longtime supplier and sometimes-rival Samsung to fabricate the application processor for the forthcoming Apple Watch, while Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering is said to have been chosen to package the new device's S1 processing module.

LAS VEGAS -- Cocoon already has several stylish products for on the go tech, and the company is expanding its lineup to include even more, like its new waxed canvas laptop organizer bag. Along with a padded laptop sleeve and built-in Grid-It gear organizer, the bag also includes a padded back and a padded lumbar compartment to hold your Beats headphones. TMO checked it out at CES 2015 and it lives up to Cocoon's well-earned design quality. Cocoon plans to ship the new bag in blue, black, and green soon for under US$80.

Bang & Olufsen is known for its expensive yet beautiful industrial design-like audio gear, and the latest piece is no different. Basically a really expensive home network and Internet radio streamer, the BeoSound Moment will set wealthy buyers back a not-insignificant $2,800. While at CES, Electronista got a chance to check it out....

Samsung is set to build the processor for the S1 chips in the Apple Watch, which should ship in March, say sources for DigiTimes -- a Taiwanese trade paper with a mixed track record on predictions. The company has reportedly received orders for 3,000 to 4,000 12-inch wafers per month, manufactured using its 28nm process (how many S1 chips are included on a wafer has not been revealed). Another firm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, is slated to provide system-in-package modules....

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Before the Apple Watch hits the market early this year, a Chinese company was at this week's CES selling a knock-off version of the highly anticipated wearable for less than one-tenth of the price.

Apple's upcoming iOS 8.1.3 update should arrive next week, reports suggest. Sources say that some sort of iOS 8 update, whether beta or public, will go live on Tuesday or Wednesday. Web tracking data at MacRumors, however, shows a sudden spike this week in iOS 8.1.3 devices visiting from Apple's internal networks....

Accessories producer Satechi has announced the upcoming release of its new Premium Aluminum Monitor Stand product. Introduced this week at CES, the stand is designed to compliment the Mac Pro, iMac and Macbook's aesthetic, raising monitors to prevent eye and neck strain. Aside from providing height, the stand also features four USB 3.0 ports for connecting applicable devices, offering transfer rates of up to 5GB per second. Its aluminum alloy composition supports a range of devices weighing up to 200 pounds. Priced at $70, Satechi's new monitor stand will be available by the end of the month....

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In the long and storied history of They Might Be Giants we've seen quirky songs, a couple of TV show themes and even further back, there was the "always free, often busy" Dial-A-Song. Sadly Dial-A-Song starting having physical issues with the actual answering machine, and eventually got disconnected in 2008. However it's back now, having made its triumphant return in the first full week of 2015. Every Tuesday in 2015 songs will be posted at DialASong.com and even videos on YouTube. There's also a network of radio shows that will be playing them each week. If you can't wait till Tuesday, you can hear it on Slate's The Gist with Mike Pesca, released Monday nights. If what you loved about Dial A Song was making a phone call and hearing music, you still have Callin Oates to fill that need.

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The last time Apple updated its in-house external display line was 2011's Thunderbolt Display, but with no clear signs that a refresh is imminent, AppleInsider has put together a list of the latest and greatest monitors.