Michael Grothaus

Staff Writer

Michael Grothaus is an American novelist and journalist living in London. He was first introduced to Apple computers in film school and went on to use them for years to create award-winning films. However after discovering many of Hollywood’s dirty little secrets while working for 20th Century Fox, he left and spent five years with Apple as a consultant. He’s since moved to London and earned his MA in Creative Writing. His first novel, Epiphany Jones, is a story about trafficking and America's addiction to celebrity.

In addition to being a staff writer at TUAW, Michael has written multiple books covering the Mac, iPod, and iPad including Taking Your iPad to the Max, Taking Your iPhoto '11 to the Max, and Taking Your iPod touch to the Max, 2nd edition. Michael has also written for the online men's magazine, Asylum. When not writing, Michael spends his time traveling Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia. You can reach him at www.michaelgrothaus.com and via Twitter.

Michael Grothaus's Latest Posts

Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves keep your fingers warm, useful this winter

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 15th 2011 6:00AM)

If you are looking for a gift for an iPhone-owning friend this Christmas or just want a useful iPhone accessory for yourself, I highly recommend the Mujjo Touchscreen Gloves. There are plenty of capacitive touchscreen gloves on the market, but Mujjo's gloves are the first I've tried that have ...

Vietnamese carriers to launch iPhone 4S this week

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 14th 2011 11:00PM)

Back in October, Viet Nam Business News reported that the iPhone 4S would go on sale in the country by the end of the year. Now Thanh Nien News is confirming that Apple's latest smartphone will go on sale in Vietnam by the end of this week. Vietnamese carriers VinaPhone and Viettel have both ...

What's a retail employee worth to Apple?

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 12th 2011 10:00PM)

Every time you walk into an Apple store and are greeted by one of those friendly badged employees you might see someone who wants to help you with your question or grab you the latest Apple product, but when Apple looks at that same employee they see 320,000 George Washingtons. That's right, ...

Apple says Motorola patent win won't deter holiday sales

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 12th 2011 9:00PM)

Last Friday Motorola won a default judgment in Germany blocking the sale of iPad 3G's and all iPhones before the iPhone 4S in Germany. The court sided with Motorola after the company successfully argued that Apple violated one of its 3G patents. The ruling was a blow to Apple, especially since ...

Inside the Apple t-shirt collector world

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 12th 2011 5:30PM)

The Wall Street Journal has a short but interesting piece on the world of Apple t-shirt collecting. There are two types of Apple t-shirts. The first are those shirts that the general public have access to via giveaways at Apple retail stores, such as the t-shirts at an opening of a new Apple ...

Apple airs new Beatles-themed ad: Covers

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 12th 2011 12:30PM)

Apple recently aired a new iTunes ad called "Covers." It's an animated compilation of The Beatles album covers set to the song "Magical Mystery Tour." The ad presumably is celebrating The Beatles one-year anniversary on iTunes. Last week Apple also released the free Yellow Submarine animated ...

Grand Central Terminal Apple Store previewed for media, opens Friday

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 7th 2011 5:30PM)

Apple previewed its latest retail development for the press today. The Grand Central Terminal store in New York City, opening Friday, will be among the largest Apple stores in the world; it overlooks the Main Concourse from the East and North East balconies of Grand Central Terminal. Check ...

Apple releases iBooks 1.5, adds Night mode, fullscreen reading and more

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 6th 2011 10:30PM)

Apple has released an update to its iBooks app. The iBooks 1.5 update brings some substantial new features to Apple's ereader software including the following: Nighttime reading theme makes reading books in the dark easier on the eyes. Full-screen layout lets you focus on the words ...

Use iFaith v1.4 to downgrade to iOS 5.0

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 5th 2011 6:30PM)

The jailbreakers among you are probably anxiously awaiting the first untethered iOS 5 jailbreak promised by pod2g and MuscleNerd. However, if you've upgraded to iOS 5.0.1, you'll be out of luck because the first untethered jailbreak will be for iOS 5.0 only. Nothing later. In iOS 4 and ...

Daily iPhone App: Walkmeter 6.0

by Michael Grothaus (Dec 5th 2011 2:00PM)

I'm not a big fan of running, but I love cycling and walking, so I'm always looking for nice iOS apps to compliment my activities. A beautiful app I've fond for tracking my walks is Walkmeter 6.0 by Abvio. If Abvio sounds familiar, it's because we've covered their Runmeter app in the ...