Mac Observer Podcasts

Podcast Archives

1. Aug. 30th, 2017
   Tim Cook’s Political Junket and Amazon’s Master Plan for Alexa – ACM 426

   Is Tim Cook running for President? Bryan and Jeff take a look at his recent higher public profile and the political junket he seemed to take through the midwest. They also talk about Amazon's recent improvements to Alexa and how they fit in with the company's master plan for the platform.

2. Aug. 30th, 2017
   Getting Ready for the 4K Apple TV – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-30

   Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to sort out what a 4K Apple TV means to you and your current TV, plus how to look for a new TV if your ready to upgrade.

3. Aug. 29th, 2017
   New Apple Watch Workouts, NSA’s Stylometry Identification System – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-29

   Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to talk about new Apple Watch workout types hidden in iOS 11, plus they share their thoughts on the NSA using stylometry to identify people.

4. Aug. 28th, 2017
   TMO Background Mode Encore #2: Former Apple Senior Director Michael Gartenberg

   Michael Gartenberg spent three years as Apple's Senior Director of Product Marketing, reporting directly to Senior VP Phil Schiller. For his third appearance on Background Mode, we made a list of seven discussion items we both thought would be interesting. We got through two, but chatted about them in detail. The first was all about what's to be gained by Apple allocating about a billion dollars to create original TV content. In the second segment, we talked about Apple's struggles in the education market. Michael made some very interesting and very pointed observations. Don't miss this one!

5. Aug. 28th, 2017
   Apple’s TV Show Strategy, AR Wireless Patents – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-28

   John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple's place in the original TV show market, plus they talk about patents that may reveal the company's augmented reality glasses plans.

6. Aug. 27th, 2017
   Kelvin Was Left Out In the Cold – Mac Geek Gab 672

   No reason NOT to start the episode with Cool Stuff Found, so that's just what your two favorite geeks do. Then it's off to answering some questions about printer sharing, bluetooth headsets, USB-C connections, and, of course, CrashPlan! Download and enjoy!

7. Aug. 25th, 2017
   iPhone 8’s Price, The SciFi World of Twistron – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-25

   Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join guest-host Dave Hamilton to dig into whether the rumored price of Apple's not-yet-announced iPhone 8 is too expensive. They also talk about the science fiction promise of a new material called Twistron. It's super cool.

8. Aug. 24th, 2017
   Apple’s Titan Car Struggle, iPhone 8 vs. Samsung Galaxy 8 – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-24

   John Martellaro and Jeff Butts join guest-host Bryan Chaffin to talk about Apple's perils an lessons in trying to make a car. They also discuss the perennial topic of whether this is the year when—finally—Apple can't compete with whatever Samsung announced earlier in the year. (Spoiler: no, it's not.)

9. Aug. 23rd, 2017
   Lava Lamp Love, Eclipse Disaster Preparedness, and the Bitcoin Fork – ACM 423

   Lava Lamps are the bee's knees. It is known. And in this episode, Bryan and Jeff discuss how they make the perfect random number generator. They also look at how eclipse watching is an excellent window into what would happen in a disaster, and discuss the Bitcoin fork that resulted in Bitcoin Cash being created.

10. Aug. 23rd, 2017
    CrashPlan for Home goes EOL, Luna Display First Look – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-23

    Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about the pending demise of CrashPlan for Home and options for people who have been relying on the backup service, plus they take a first look at Astro HQ's Luna Display.

11. Aug. 22nd, 2017
    iPhone 8 Facial Recognition and Home Button Replacement Gestures – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-22

    Dave Hamilton and Jeff Butts join Jeff Gamet to discuss a report claiming the iPhone 8 will have facial recognition that's nearly instantaneous, plus they share their thoughts on videos in iOS 11 showing gestures that replace some Home button functionality.

12. Aug. 21st, 2017
    TMO Background Mode Interview with Bloomberg Consumer Tech Reporter Mark Gurman

    Mark Gurman is the Consumer Technology Reporter for Bloomberg. As Mark recalls, there was never a time in his youth when he wasn't interested in technology. He told me that it was the iPod mini for his 10th birthday that wowed him. His love for the company that created the iPod made it feel very natural to get into reporting on Apple. In the second segment, we chatted about his seminal article in December 2016 on the state of the Mac, thoughts on the next Mac Pro, competition from Microsoft in the form of the Surface Laptop, how the Apple watch Series 3 may have LTE, how devious Apple has become in hiding its pre-release trademarks, prospects for an Apple robot and Apple's HomePod. Mark provided, as always, fascinating and insightful comments about Apple.

13. Aug. 21st, 2017
    Apple’s Potential Movie Deal and Ways to Avoid Scam Calls – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-21

    Jeff Butts and John Martellaro join Dave Hamilton to talk about Apple's potential deal for first-run movies in-the-home, as well as ways to avoid getting scammed by fake calls from Apple support.

14. Aug. 20th, 2017
    Cool Stuff Found, NAS Advice, and Geek Challenges – Mac Geek Gab 671

    It's time to dig back into NAS drives by answering Steve's question: Which Synology DiskStation is right for me? There are a few more things to explore on that topic, too, and your two favorite geeks do it justice. Separate from that are a few questions about a variety of topics, some of which are Geek Challenges where you get to provide some answers! A hardware-focused Cool Stuff Found rounds out the topic list for the week. Press play and enjoy learning!

15. Aug. 18th, 2017
    Apple’s Secure Enclave Encryption Key Revealed, Apple Music Content Investment – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-18

    Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to sort out the news that the encryption key for the iPhone and iPad Secure Enclave has been released on the internet, and they also look at Apple's US$1 billion investment in original programming for Apple Music.

16. Aug. 17th, 2017
    No Apple Pay for Hate Sites, the Growing Surveillance State – TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-17

    Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on hate-related websites being blocked from accepting Apple Pay, plus Bryan voices his concerns over how we're participating in the surveillance state.