The magnetic MacBook power cord fix

  Apple’s MagSafe connector, first introduced in 2006, was sheer brilliance: a magnetically attached laptop power cord. If someone trips on the cord, it snaps out harmlessly instead of dragging your $1,000 laptop to the floor.

  And then came the MagSafe 2. This “improved” connector, born in 2012 and now standard on all Apple laptops, features a thinner, weaker magnet. Much weaker. It falls out all the time. Uncross your legs — it falls out. Turn to reach for a beverage — it falls out. Yell at the TV — it falls out.

  Desperate Mac fans have tried to Frankenstein together all manner of kludgy solutions, from clothespins to duct tape. But that dark era is behind us now, thanks to the Snuglet ($20 for two).

  The Snuglet is a tiny metal liner for the laptop’s power jack, with all the weight and bulk of a staple. Somehow, this thin band of additional metal amplifies the force of the MagSafe 2’s magnet. Without adding anything visible at all, the Snuglet gives you a cord that doesn’t fall out.

Thief-proof iPhones

Apple's new operating system comes with the best theft-deterring software on a smartphone yet.

  Not sure if you’ve heard: iPhone theft is a booming business in big cities. In New York City, for example, Apple picking (as it’s called) represents 14 percent of all crimes, producing the city’s first crime increase in 20 years.

  Both iPhones and Android phones offer a “Find My Phone” feature, which lets you track down a stolen phone. Trouble is, all the bad guy has to do is erase the phone — and boom. You can’t find it anymore. It’s clean and ready to sell into the black market.

  Well, not anymore. In iOS 7, Apple slipped in a mind-bogglingly brilliant new feature called Activation Lock. It’s very, very simple: Nobody can erase an iPhone — or turn off Find My iPhone — without entering the owner’s Apple password. Which the mugger almost certainly won't know.

  A phone that can’t be used, erased or resold is as useful to a thief as a brick. Once word gets out that stealing an iPhone is useless, thieves will have to find some other way to make a living. Home construction or church work, maybe.