512 Pixels

Mississippi Approves 41 Natural Gas Turbines for Southaven Site - 512 Pixels Yesterday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board (MDEQ) unanimously granted xAI a permit for an expanded power plant in Southaven, Mississippi. The plant will be powered by 41 natural gas turbines. Some of those turbines are already in place, with questions surrounding their legality now finalized. The way in which MDEQ went about […]

Mississippi Approves 41 Natural Gas Turbines for Southaven Site

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/mississippi-approves-41-natural-gas-turbines-for-southaven-site/

HyperCard Changed Everything - 512 Pixels dreamwieber’s video on Hypercard is one of the best things I’ve seen on the topic: via Kottke

HyperCard Changed Everything

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/hypercard-changed-everything/

More on Lil Finder Guy - 512 Pixels Basic Apple Guy: All I know about Lil Finder Guy is that it’s freakin’ adorable, assuming it means me no harm. And instead of doing literally anything productive or tending to my adult responsibilities like bills, taxes, or work, I have spent my weekend tumbling down the rabbit hole trying to build a life for […]

More on Lil Finder Guy

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/more-on-lil-finder-guy/

What's in a (Super) Name - 512 Pixels In the midst of the whirlwind of news this week, Apple renamed its CPU cores. At Six Colors, Jason Snell has the details: Here’s what happened: Apple renamed its most powerful CPU cores, which had previously been called performance cores. As of the M5 Pro and Max, those cores are now called “super cores.” Surprise! […]

What’s in a (Super) Name

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/whats-in-a-super-name/

Apple is on TikTok, Posting Unhinged Videos About the MacBook Neo - 512 Pixels There are a handful of fun videos on Apple’s page, but these citrus ones are fun: @apple i love limes ♬ original sound – apple @apple pop pop pop pop ♬ original sound – apple @apple hello? ♬ original sound – apple Then there’s this little Finder character, as pointed out by Basic Apple Guy: […]

Apple is on TikTok, Posting Unhinged Videos About the MacBook Neo

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/apple-tiktok-finder-guy/

Connected #593: John Ternus Was Deployed Tactically - 512 Pixels Apple has released an avalanche of new and updated products, and on this episode of the podcast, we come up for air to judge our predictions.

Connected #593: John Ternus Was Deployed Tactically

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/connected-593/

At $599, Is the MacBook Neo the One? - 512 Pixels After years of rumors, Apple has finally taken the wraps off its new entry-level notebook. In some ways, the MacBook Neo is exactly what we expected, but in others, it’s not. I’ve been excited about this rumor for a long time, since it’s been a while Apple has done anything new and unusual in the […]

At $599, Is the MacBook Neo the One?

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/at-599-is-the-macbook-neo-the-one/

The Differences Between the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air - 512 Pixels With a price point of $599 (or $499 for students!) Apple had to make some cuts when designing the MacBook Neo. Here’s a list of what separates the MacBook Neo from the MacBook Air: No MagSafe One of the two USB-C ports is limited to USB 2.0 speeds of just 480 Mb/s No Thunderbolt support […]

The Differences Between the MacBook Neo and MacBook Air

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/the-differences-between-the-macbook-neo-and-macbook-air/

Apple Announces an Updated Studio Display... Family?! - 512 Pixels For the first time since the Cinema Displays went away in 2005, Apple has more than one display for sale with the same family name. Meet the 2026 Studio Display lineup: Yes, those are two different products, but they both feature 27-inch, 5K displays in the same enclosure as the previous Studio Display. Starting at […]

Apple Announces an Updated Studio Display… Family?!

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/apple-announces-an-updated-studio-display-family/

Apple Updates the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro - 512 Pixels It’s a big day for Mac laptop buyers. Let’s start with the simplest of the updates, the MacBook Air: M5 features a faster CPU and next-generation GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core, enabling MacBook Air to power through a variety of workflows, from creative projects to complex AI tasks. MacBook Air now comes […]

Apple Updates the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/apple-updates-the-macbook-air-and-macbook-pro/

Apple Unveils iPad Air with M4, iPhone 17e with A19 and MagSafe - 512 Pixels Apple’s week of news has begun. Up first is an updated iPad Air: With a faster CPU and GPU, iPad Air boosts tasks like editing and gaming, and is a powerful device for AI with a faster Neural Engine, higher memory bandwidth, and 50 percent more unified system memory than the previous generation. With M4, […]

Apple Unveils iPad Air with M4, iPhone 17e with A19 and MagSafe

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/m4-ipad-air-iphone-17eeeeeeee/

xAI's $7 Million 'Temu Sound Wall' Does Little in Southaven - 512 Pixels Ashley Belanger, writing at Ars: For miles around xAI’s makeshift power plant in Southaven, Mississippi, neighbors have endured months of constant roaring, erupting pops, and bursts of high-pitched whining from 27 temporary gas turbines installed without consulting the community. In a report on Thursday, NBC News interviewed residents fighting to shut down xAI’s turbines. They confirmed that […]

xAI’s $7 Million ‘Temu Sound Wall’ Does Little in Southaven

https://512pixels.net/2026/03/xais-7-million-temu-sound-wall-does-little-in-southaven/

Connected 592: The Rickies (March 2026) - 512 Pixels Apple is hosting a mysterious media experience next week, and in anticipation of new products, we make predictions about what is coming.

Connected 592: The Rickies (March 2026)

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/connected-592/

My Full Responses for the 2025 Six Colors Report Card - 512 Pixels Yesterday, Jason shared the results of his annual Apple report card. As per tradition, I’m now turning the answers I supplied Jason into a blog post.1 Mac: 4/5 Five years into the Apple silicon era, Apple seems to be firing on all cylinders, with regular releases for most of its products (cough, cough, Mac Pro). […]

My Full Responses for the 2025 Six Colors Report Card

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/my-full-responses-for-the-2025-six-colors-report-card/

Apple Highlights Its American Manufacturing Efforts - 512 Pixels This morning, Apple announced that it will begin producing Mac minis in America starting later this year: Apple today announced a significant expansion of factory operations in Houston, bringing the future production of Mac mini to the U.S. for the first time. The company will also expand advanced AI server manufacturing at the factory and […]

Apple Highlights Its American Manufacturing Efforts

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/apple-america-sotu/

The 2025 Six Colors Report Card - 512 Pixels It’s the most wonderful time of the year: grading time! Jason Snell: It’s time for our annual look back on Apple’s performance during the past year, as seen through the eyes of writers, editors, developers, podcasters, and other people who spend an awful lot of time thinking about Apple. The whole idea here is to […]

The 2025 Six Colors Report Card

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/2026-6c-report-card/

Artemis II Headed Inside for Repairs - 512 Pixels Stephen Clark, writing for Ars: A day after NASA officials expressed optimism that they could be ready to launch the Artemis II mission around the Moon next month, the space agency’s administrator announced Saturday that a new problem will require the removal of the rocket from its launch pad in Florida. The latest issue appeared […]

Artemis II Headed Inside for Repairs

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/artemis-ii-headed-inside-for-repairs/

Connected 591: Find Your Lost Stephen - 512 Pixels This week on the podcast, we look ahead to Apple’s March 4 event, talk through iOS 26.4 Beta 1, and ponder a world where Apple makes an AI-powered pendant.

Connected 591: Find Your Lost Stephen

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/connected-591/

xAI Ramps Turbine Usage in Southaven, Repeating Its Actions in Memphis - 512 Pixels In January, the EPA ruled against xAI in a case in which Elon Musk’s CSAM machine/AI company said that if gas turbines were used in a temporary fashion, they were exempt from regulations. At the time, I wrote: Time will tell if the company runs into similar legal issues in the state of Mississippi, where […]

xAI Ramps Turbine Usage in Southaven, Repeating Its Actions in Memphis

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/xai-ramps-turbine-usage-in-southaven-repeating-its-actions-in-memphis/

Someone Tell John Ternus This Would Be a Terrible Crime - 512 Pixels I am excited about the possibilities of a low-end MacBook powered by an A-series chip. I think the return of a fun consumer notebook would be good for Apple. There is one terrible disappointment in the most recent reporting about this machine, however. Here’s Mark Gurman: Like all Macs, this machine — code-named J700 — […]

Someone Tell John Ternus This is a Crime

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/someone-tell-john-ternus-this-is-a-crime/

Apple Announces Press 'Experience' for March 4 - 512 Pixels Earlier today, Apple sent invites to some folks for an event “experience” on March 4, being held in New York, London, and Shanghai. This is in line with some other press events Apple has held over the last several years for smaller announcements that warrant a hands-on approach. As John Voorhees writes, these spring releases […]

Apple Announces Press ‘Experience’ for March 4

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/apple-announces-press-experience-for-march-4/

Connected 590: Nooooo (Marked as Resolved) - 512 Pixels This week on the podcast, what’s old is new again: some iPhone displays are tinted green, Jony Ive is using aluminum, and Apple is struggling with shipping a more intelligent Siri.

Connected 590: Nooooo (Marked as Resolved)

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/connected-590/

Jony Ive Designed a Car Interior - 512 Pixels It’s not every day that supercar news makes it onto the page of tech-centric websites, but the Ferrari Luce has done just that. The upcoming EV has made huge waves due to its interior design: Of course, this cockpit is designed by Jony Ive and his collaborators at LoveFrom. Here’s how Ferrari describes it: Ferrari […]

Jony Ive Designed a Car Interior

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/jony-ive-designed-a-car-interior/

Mac Power Users 835: Farewell, Stephen - 512 Pixels My final episode of Mac Power Users was released over the weekend: David and Stephen celebrate the last seven years of Mac Power Users, reflecting on the topics, episodes, and community that make MPU so special. Then, Stephen Robles joins to accept the baton before his first episode as David’s new cohost. I couldn’t have […]

Mac Power Users 835: Farewell, Stephen

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/mpu-835/

I am Living Inside an XKCD - 512 Pixels You know how people say there is an XKCD for everything? Number 281 has always been funny to me, given FedEx’s huge presence here: Now the joke is on me, thanks to an ice storm that rolled through two weeks ago:

I am Living Inside an XKCD

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/i-am-living-inside-an-xkcd/

Connected 589: We Are Men of Each Other... Or Am I Alone in This Silence? 🦞 - 512 Pixels On this week’s episode of the podcast: The guys discuss emo AI chatbots and Xcode 26.3, and Stephen tests Myke and Federico to determine which one is a true man of the people.

Connected 589: We Are Men of Each Other… Or Am I Alone in This Silence? 🦞

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/connected-589/

iPhones in Spaaaaaace - 512 Pixels Eric Berger at Ars: On Wednesday night, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed that the Crew-12 and Artemis II astronauts will be allowed to bring iPhones and other modern smartphones into orbit and beyond. “NASA astronauts will soon fly with the latest smartphones, beginning with Crew-12 and Artemis II,” Isaacman wrote on X. “We are giving our […]

iPhones in Spaaaaaace

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/iphones-in-spaaaaaace/

Artemis II Pushed to March to Address Wet Dress Rehearsal Issues - 512 Pixels Artemis II is going to be on the ground a little longer. After a two-day “wet dress rehearsal” test in which cryogenic propellant was loaded into the rocket, a liquid hydrogen leak and an issue with a valve crew module hatch led to the launch being scrubbed for now. “NASA now will target March as […]

Artemis II Pushed to March to Address Wet Dress Rehearsal Issues

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/artemis-ii-wdr/

The One Where I Announce I’m Stepping Back From Mac Power Users - 512 Pixels In late 2018, David Sparks and I announced that I was joining Mac Power Users as a host. Here’s what I wrote at the time: On this week’s episode, Katie announced that she is stepping away from the podcast almost ten years after the first episode. I will genuinely miss hearing her back and forth with David, her […]

The One Where I Announce I’m Stepping Back From Mac Power Users

https://512pixels.net/2026/02/leaving-mpu/

Connected 588: DO NOT Put an AirTag on a Lobster - 512 Pixels Clawdbot has a new (worse) name, AirTags got an update, Camo served Apple with a lawsuit, and Sebastiaan de With has a new job. This week on the podcast, we talk about all of these stories and more.

Connected 588: DO NOT Put an AirTag on a Lobster

https://512pixels.net/2026/01/connected-588/