Apple includes certain convenience functions in iOS that make life better. Then, as a result, inventive users find workarounds that expose private information using special techniques. This is often labelled a "Security Flaw."  Of course, it's nothing of the sort.  But the bigger question is, what is Apple thinking?

TextExpander 6 is out and it fired up the software subscription debate. Greg Scown from Smile Software, along with Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro, join Jeff Gamet to look at subscription software models, what benefits they can offer, and why some people oppose them.

Google unintentionally showed why Apple maintains the App Store's walled garden after it was alerted to a Taliban-made propaganda app on the Play Store. Of course Google pulled it down, but the point is that the Taliban was able to publish and sell its app to Android phone users because there wasn't a screening process in place to catch it earlier.

It can happen. Your Siri Remote isn't working. You're sure it has a good battery charge. As (bad) luck would have it, it may have become unpaired with the 4G Apple TV.  Here's how to get the two all paired up again.

Apple published a very powerful video over the weekend called Dillan's Voice. It tells the story of Dillan, a non-verbal autistic teen whose iPad has helped him connect with the world. The 2 minute video is one of those powerful messages Apple excels at—and funny enough, it allows us to connect with Dillan in a way we might not have otherwise.

SquareTrade released the results of its iPhone SE testing, and it turns out the device was less strong than its larger siblings, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone SE bent, cracked, shattered, and drowned before the larger models in most of the tests.

Check out the iSafe Drive Lite (32GB), a storage device with a Lightning connector on one side and a USB connector on the other. Use that slider to pick which one is out. It's MFi-certified, and it's designed to let you transfer data between your Mac or PC and your iOS device. You can stream music or movies from it, and it's protected with AES 256 bit encryption. Pretty slick, and through our deal you can get it for $69. Check out the deal listing for details.

Jacqui Cheng is the Editor-in-Chief of The Wirecutter. She tells the story of how she arrived there starting with her mom who was an early inspiration, introducing her to computers as a child. Later at Purdue University, she specialized in networking and programming, C# and C++. After graduation and web-database work in Cincinnati, she and her husband made a bold decision to move to Chicago—neither with a job offer—but also as Jacqui had started writing for ars technica. She became a major contributor starting in 2007, specializing in Apple & Internet law. In 2013, Brian Lam, the founder of Wirecutter brought Jacqui on as EIC. Listen in as Jacqui fills in all the details and also delves into modern day Apple with me.

The Department of Justice's fight to force Apple to sidestep iPhone security features in San Bernardino isn't over, and in fact is still very much alive in Boston. Like the San Bernardino case, the FBI is citing the All Writs Act from 1789 as grounds to force Apple to find a way to bypass the iPhone's lock screen, but this time they're doing all under sealed records instead of in the open.

iPhone SE sales aren't impressing at least some analysts. Adam Christianson from The Mac Cast and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to offer up their take on the iPhone SE and who it's for, plus they look at Tesla's Model 3 and how it may impact the electric car market before Apple jumps in.

Siri is getting smarter and more sensitive. Apple's mobile device voice recognition system now knows a lot more about baseball just in time for opening day, and can respond much more appropriately to statements about abuse and sexual assault.

The OS X 10.11.4 update breaks some things for folks, Photos storage is a concern to more than a few listeners, and a little more about wireless networks to round out last week's discussion. All that plus tips about making sure your Finder windows are where you think they are and learning how to use Activity Monitor to see what your apps are doing right now. Download and enjoy!

Apple turned 40 years old today. Yep. 40. It was April 1st, 1976, when Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne formed Apple Computer. This is the stuff of technology legend, and the story has been told, retold, and then told again. Bryan Chaffin says the best present you could give Apple is to forget about that past.

Check out iMyfone D-Back iOS Data Recovery, a utility that will let you recover 22 different file types from an iPhone. The developer says that it recovers files when they’ve been deleted, your device was lost or damaged, it was attacked by a virus, was reset, or is locked by a forgotten passcode. Maybe the FBI could use it? Through our deal, it's priced at $24.99. There's a pulldown menu that lets you choose a version that runs on the Mac or Windows.

Hey Kanye, Imma let you finish, but first I gotta give everyone the link to your album on Apple Music.

My album will never never never be on Apple. And it will never be for sale... You can only get it on Tidal.

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 15, 2016

Yesterday's announcement by Tesla of its Model 3 has ignited the industry. The company has received more than 200,000 pre-orders in less than 24 hours. Looking forward, Tesla's goal is to sell 500,000 cars a year in 2020. Suddenly, Tesla has poured on the coals, and Apple's rumored goal of 2020 (perhaps 2019), suddenly looks lethargic. In one fell swoop, the pure electric car is poised to explode onto the scene. Can Apple ever catch up? 

The FBI found a way to hack into the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone after Apple refused to comply with a court order, the ACLU found a long list of cases where the FBI is trying to force Apple help unlock iPhones, and now it's using the undisclosed hack to unlock an iPhone in an Arkansas homicide investigation. So much for just this phone, just this once.

Should Apple sell a Mac bundled with Microsoft Windows? John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to debate whether or not that makes sense, and if there's a market for a Mac/Windows package.