James Thomson is the founder of TLA Systems, famous for the apps Drag Thing and PCalc. He tells the story of growing up in the 1980s in Scotland when the personal computer was on the rise. The 1982 movie Tron captured his imagination and inspired him to buy a Commodore 64. At age 12, his school got its first PC, but no one knew what to do with it! James and just three other students became the «Guardians of the Computer.» Later, his first Mac was at the university in 1990, and he spent a year learning it inside out. The original PCalc, written in Pascal, launched his career as a Mac programmer. Later James worked for Apple in Cork, Ireland. James chats about his development as an indie Apple developer with a host of charming stories.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-07-11: The (Potential) Demise of the Mac Pro and Mac mini
With the Mac Pro and Mac mini languishing as years-old machines without refreshes, the future of Apple’s desktop lineup is in question. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on what Apple may‚or may not—have in store for its desktop computers.
MGG 613: Deep Dives Into APFS, Synology, Powerline & More
Dave’s traveling, so when he and John pre-recorded this one they decided to take a bit of a different direction and do a bit of a deep dive into one of their favorite topics: Synology DiskStations. But don’t worry, they also answered a few of your questions and shared a couple tips. It’s still your two favorite geeks, after all!
TMO Daily Observations 2016-07-08: Apple Sabotage, Installing Apple's Public Betas
Apple is being accused of intentionally ruining performance on older devices to push sales. Bryan Chaffin joins Jeff Gamet to talk about a petition calling out Apple for planned obsolescence, plus they talk about how to install the iOS 10 and macOS Sierra public betas.
ACM 367: The Joy of iOS 10, Deleting Sideloaded Apps, and Fibonacci Fun
Jeff Gamet has been playing with iOS 10 on his iPad mini 4, and he can’t wait to get it on his iPhone. Why? It starts with the Lockscreen. Bryan and Jeff also talk about regulations in South Korea that might require smartphone makers to allow all preinstalled apps to be deleted by the user. They bookend the show having some fun with Fibonacci numbers.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-07-07: iOS 10 and Sierra Public Betas
The iOS 10 and macOS Sierra public betas are here! John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to look at the public beta releases, talk about what they like, and remind everyone that betas shouldn’t go on our primary devices. They also have something to say about gun-shaped iPhone cases.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-07-06: AI Agents and Privacy, Backdoor.MAC.Elanore Mac Malware
AI agents are great for helping us, but the come with a cost that not everyone is comfortable with. John Martellaro joins Jeff Gamet to talk about the personal data we give up to make AI agents more useful, and how we can limit what we share. They also take a look at the Backdoor.MAC.Elanor malware that’s threatening Macs.
New Drone Footage of Apple Campus 2.0 Captioned with Construction Details
Matthew Roberts posted new drone footage of construction efforts on Apple Campus 2.0 to YouTube (via The Loop). It not only shows massive progress on the site, it’s also captioned with helpful details about the things you’re seeing. The footage is up close and personal, enough to wonder what new case law might be established if Apple had blasted the drone out of the air. I always enjoy these drone flyovers—it’s super awesome to be able to follow along as this soon-to-be-iconic building takes shape.
TMO Background Mode: Former Apple Sr. Director of Product Marketing Michael Gartenberg
Michael Gartenberg is currently the analyst in residence for iMore.com. However, before that, he spent three years as Apple’s Senior Director of Product Marketing, reporting directly to SVP Phil Schiller. Michael tells the story about how he got his gig with Apple. After years of working at various tech industry research firms, he was always on the periphery of Apple and working with Apple executives, especially Greg «Joz» Joswiak and Phil Schiller. Then, one day in 2013, he got phone call from Joz, and it didn’t sound like it was going to be a schmooze session. Michael was alarmed. What could he have done wrong? But Joz wanted to invite Michael to Cupertino for an interview. Listen as Michael tells me how he got hired and what he did at Apple for three years.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-07-05: iOS 10's Organ Donor Registry, Tesla's Autopilot Crash
Becoming an organ donor will get a lot easier once iOS 10 ships this fall. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple’s partnership with Donate Life America to add donor registration to the Health app, plus they offer up their thoughts on the impact of the tragic Tesla autopilot car crash.
