The other day, I left an awkward birthday voicemail, which I botched because it’s been so long since I left one.
I rely mostly on text messaging these days (and its equivalents, like Slack for work).
But there’s a better way. You can leave a FaceTime voicemail, which is much better than a rambling, idiotic and somewhat impersonal voicemail.
Just make a call with FaceTime, and if it goes unanswered, you can leave a short video message.
It’s no more effort, and yet it’s probably better for the recipient — especially if it’s something personal like a birthday greeting, a friendly call that’s long overdue, or a simple “Merry Xmas.”
FaceTime voicemail is one of those easily overlooked features that’s good to know about, especially during the busy holiday season.
Also in today’s newsletter:
Talking of overlooked features, here’s a reminder of all the things AirPods Pro 3 can do. Take a look at 10 ways they can make your life easier.
This is an odd-duck story. Apple just updated its woefully out-of-date self-service repair guide for the new M5 MacBook Pro. Previously, the guide told users to remove half the guts of the machine to replace the battery — which wasn’t true!
Cyberscams targeting elders are exploding, according to FBI stats. A top-tier data-removal service like Incogni can help by deleting your personal info from data brokers and other sites that expose it. Use code CULTOFMAC to get a massive 55% off Incogni today.
Rajesh, our resident Mac nerd, got his hands on a new Thunderbolt 5 dock, and he’s in love! CalDigit’s new TS5 Plus is not cheap, but it is perhaps the ultimate Thunderbolt dock available. If you plug anything into your MacBook, you should take a look at this versatile dock.
It’s taken me several decades to learn how to take Mac screenshots properly — partly because I was too lazy to read helpful guides like this one!
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from Incogni
Cyberscams make up 20% of all crimes reported
Cyberscams now represent about 20% of all crimes reported, according to FBI statistics analyzed by Incogni, a leading data-removal service.
Phishing and spoofing are the most common elder cybercrimes, with reports jumping from 2,900 to 23,300 in a year, about a 700% increase.
This suggests there’s a distinct shift toward a select few techniques used by professional criminals and others who victimize elders.
A top-tier data-removal service like Incogni can help by deleting your personal information from data brokers and other sites exposing it. Use code CULTOFMAC to get a massive 55% off.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Cult of Mac’s buyback program
Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
(On the iPod) If there was ever a product that catalyzed what's Apple's reason for being, it's this. Because it combines Apple's incredible technology base with Apple's legendary ease of use with Apple's awesome design.... It's like, this is what we do. So if anybody was ever wondering why is Apple on the earth, I would hold this up as a good example.
Today’s poll
How do you prefer to communicate?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Do you use Check In and Find My?

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