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Happy Birthday Steve Jobs!

ARTICLE – Steve Jobs was born on February 24th, in 1955. He would have been 64 years old today. We’ve all heard and read the stories about Steve that describe him as complicated, gifted, cruel, creative, intense, and dozens of other adjectives both good and bad.

I remember being really sad when he died of pancreatic cancer in 2011. I think it hit me especially hard because I was going through my own adventure with cancer at that same time. I was also bummed because I worried about what it meant for Apple’s future.

Say what you will about Steve Jobs, but he and the designers at Apple changed the world with so many products. From the Apple II, the Mac, Newton, MacBooks, to the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, Apple’s products are iconic. Steve and company gave me several great gadget memories like the first time I ever stood in line to buy a smartphone with the very first iPhone back in 2007.

I’ve bought more than my share of Apple products over the years as can be seen in the image above which doesn’t include the 12-inch MacBook that I’m using to type this article. It also doesn’t include the 13-inch MacBook Pro that Jeanne is using to surf the web next to me right now, or the old iPad that she still uses as an eBook reader. I almost forgot, she still uses an iPod too!

Apple products have been a part of my life every day for many years and I’m sure they will continue to help me create content and enjoy content. Thanks Steve and Happy Birthday.

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Happy Birthday Steve Jobs! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 24, 2019 at 8:00 am.

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It’s a Christmas miracle, soon you’ll be able to play Apple Music on your Amazon Echo

NEWS – Well, this is an interesting bit of news. Apparently the long-standing riff, feud, or whatever you want to call it between the two largest tech industry power players Amazon and Apple may be softening. The news is that starting next month (December 17th, 2018), you’ll be able to play Apple Music on Amazon Echo smart speakers and devices. How’s that for an early Christmas present to Echo owners? Soon you’ll be able to say “Alexa, play Post Malone on Apple Music”.

If you’re not sure what Apple Music is, it’s Apple’s own paid streaming music service like Amazon’s Music Unlimited, Spotify, or Pandora. Yes, you have to pay for it. Prices start at $4.99 for students and goes up to $14.99 a month for families but you can get a free 3-month trial. Until now, or on December 17th to be exact, access to the Apple Music service hasn’t been possible through Echo devices.

If you don’t have an Amazon Echo device yet, you’re in luck because you can buy the 3rd generation Echo Dot for only $29.99 right now which would make a great stocking stuffer.

You can read more about this announcement on Amazon’s blog and thanks to Doug F. for the news tip!

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It’s a Christmas miracle, soon you’ll be able to play Apple Music on your Amazon Echo originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 30, 2018 at 5:11 pm.

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A cure for the common Apple AirPods color

NEWS – Are you interested in buying some Apple AirPods but don’t want the same white that everyone else has?  If so, ColorWare has the product you’re looking for.  They take various electronic devices and paint them to give you the unique device you want.  They add color to game controllers, microphones, computer mice, headphones, and AirPods.  If changing the color isn’t enough to pique your interest, ColorWare is offering two special, limited-time finishes for the AirPods.

The first finish is the AirPods Retro seen above.  The rainbow colored power button, faux vents, and the putty color harken back to the Apple IIe.  Changing the color doesn’t affect the functions of the AirPods – it just gives this set a cool 1980s vibe.  The AirPods Retro are $399.00.

If you want to match your AirPods to your Space Gray iPhone, iPad, or MacBook, you’ll need the AirPods Space Gray for $349.00.

And if you just want a change from white, you can choose from a variety of bright colors.  You can even choose different colors for the left and right pods and a third color for the case itself.  Custom ColorWare AirPods are $339.00.

Learn more about custom AirPods and the other products offered at the ColorWare site.

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A cure for the common Apple AirPods color originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 18, 2018 at 10:00 am.

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Oittm Apple Pencil Stand review


Lately, it seems that I have so much to do when I am at work, that I use several devices to accomplish my tasks. By the time I set up to get started, there are wires from power cords and devices running everywhere. What makes things easier for me, is having certain “tools’ at the ready and at my fingertips. I constantly use my Apple Pencil with my iPad Pro 12.9, and I was very happy when I got the chance to review this product.

What is it?

The Oittm Apple Pencil Stand is a weighted, nicely designed, wooden and metal charging stand for the Apple pencil.

What’s in the box


1 x Oittm Apple Pencil Stand
1 x Instruction Booklet
1 x Foreign language Leaflet

Design and features

The Oittm Apple Pencil Stand is an all-in-one stand and charger for the Apple Pencil. It is very sturdy and has a wooden base and what seems to be an aluminum top. On the top, there is the female lightning jack for charging the pencil and a holder for the pencil cap.

Underneath, there is a wooden base, and a rubber pad to prevent slipping.


On the front of the stand, there is a small LED on the lower half that indicates the charging/power status.


On the back of the stand, there is a lightning port for the lighting power adapter.


The picture below shows the power adapter attached, the pencil plugged in, and the pencil cap sitting in the pencil cap holder. The pencil cap can be placed in the pencil cap holder with either the open side up or the opposite.


When the charging stand is plugged in, and the pencil is not being charged, the LED on the front lights green. Once the pencil is plugged in to be charged, the LED lights orange and stays that color even after the pencil is fully charged,


What I like

I like the build quality and the weight of the stand. I also like that it has a rubber pad on the bottom that keeps it from sliding on my desk. It does the job.

What can be improved

The only improvement that I would like to see is maybe a USB output jack so that the one adapter can be used to charge both the pencil and maybe the phone at the same time.

Final thoughts

The Oittm Apple Pencil Stand is well built and a nice addition to the decor of my desk. It works exactly as it should and adds a nice level of convenience to my workflow. While some may think it is a bit pricey for what it is, in my opinion, the craftsmanship and materials used make it worthy of its price. I definitely recommend it.

Price: $19.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Oittm.

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Oittm Apple Pencil Stand review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 27, 2018 at 4:15 pm.

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Apple offers free month of larger iCloud storage plans

Apple offers free trials of larger iCloud accounts

Apple has begun promoting free 1-month trials of paid, higher storage iCloud subscriptions to customers currently on the standard free 5GB plan.

The promotion is limited to users who are on the entry-level (and rather paltry) 5GB storage plan. The 50GB, 200GB and 2TB tiers typically run $0.99, $2.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively.

Anyone who takes a lot of photos and/or has their iPhone set to back up to their iCloud storage will very quickly find themselves running out of storage, and those are exactly the kind of people that Apple hopes to snag with this free-for-a-month upgrade promotion.

As someone with multiple devices tied to my iCloud account, I was almost immediately forced to upgrade to the 50GB plan, which used to be only 20GB for the same price not so long ago. It’s an easy 99¢ to spend every month, and I’m sure there will be a lot of iPhone owners that would agree after trying out the larger storage options.

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Apple offers free month of larger iCloud storage plans originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 26, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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