Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about the EU’s investigation into Apple’s planned Shazam purchase along with Amazon Key expanding to cars. They also mangle a few metaphors and dive into investigation theater.
Cracked iPhone Screens, What's in iCloud Keychain, Which Mesh for Me, and More – Mac Geek Gab 706
Running Apple devices is quite a bit of fun most of the time. Occasionally, though, you have problems… and that’s where Dave and John come in to help. Today’s topics include syncing Wi-Fi passwords, managing Mail’s calendar events, and dealing with a cracked iPhone screen. Press play and enjoy!
TMO Background Mode Interview with Astrophysicist Dr. Brian Keating
Dr. Brian Keating is an astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. His specialty is cosmology, and he is the father of the original BICEP project (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) that sought to unravel one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Big Bang. He is also the author of over 100 scientific publications. We chatted about his early years at age 12 in New York and the spark that ignited his interest in astrophysics. And then we got very geeky on cosmology. Brian recently published a terrific, courageous book about his team’s research, some life lessons, the challenges of scientific research, and he makes some valuable suggestions concerning changes to the Nobel Prize award process. After listening to our chat, you’ll want to read his excellent book.
Amazon, Apple, and Home Robots - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-23
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to look at Amazon’s Vesta home robot project and the possibility of Apple getting in on the competition.
No Unified Apple OS for You, Daisy iPhone Recycling Robot - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-20
Dave Hamilton and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to talk about why macOS and iOS won’t merge into a single operating system for now, and they look at how the iPhone’s long life span stands in contrast to Greenpeace criticism.
Cybersecurity Tech Accord, Cyberwar Is Now, Social Network Inertia - ACM 458
In this episode, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet dissect the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a pledge by 34 tech companies to do something vague and unlikely. The timing for the announcement is somewhat interesting because we are in the middle of an undeclared shadow cyberwar. They cap the show analyzing what it might take for any new social network to supplant Facebook.
The Broken iMac Pro Controversy, Amazon's Fire TV Edition - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-19
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton joins Jeff Gamet to discuss the controversy surrounding an iMac Pro Apple reportedly isn’t fixing, plus they look at the viability of Amazon’s new Fire TV Edition.
Dave and Jeff Nerd Out on Wi-Fi Routers - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-18
Dave Hamilton joins Jeff Gamet to talk about Wi-Fi routers, what to look for when replacing your AirPort Extreme, why you may want a stand-alone router instead of Wi-Fi Mesh, and more.
iPhones, Strong Passcodes, and GrayKey - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-17
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to talk about why longer iPhone passcodes are becoming more important, plus they discuss the GrayKey iPhone hacking device available to law enforcement.
Tweaking Your iPhone, Keeping Your Mac Awake, Automation Radios, and More – Mac Geek Gab 705
The iPhone isn’t really built for you to tweak and troubleshoot, though sometimes that’s exactly what you need to do. Never fear, your two favorite geeks come to your rescue. John and Dave also talk through how to keep your Mac happy and awake, radios for controlling automation, and much, much more!
TMO Background Mode Interview with Gravitational Wave Astrophysicist Dr. Chiara Mingarelli
Dr. Chiara Mingarelli is an astrophysicist currently working at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics where she’s a Flatiron Fellow. Chiara received her Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 2014, and her specialty is the study of gravitational waves: ripples in spacetime born of a cataclysmic collision of distant, super-massive objects. She’s been a Marie Curie International Fellow at Cal Tech and has worked at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. We chatted about her early years, how she was inspired by the night skies of her hometown in Canada and her early years studying mathematics and physics. There were definitely some challenges in her early career, but her mathematician father nurtured her through. If you’re curious about gravitational waves and Pulsars, this is the show for you.
HomePod Sales, Third-party Apple Watch Faces - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-16
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of HomePod sales, plus they share their thoughts on third-party Apple Watch faces.
Facebook's Shadow Profiles - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-13
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet take a look at Facebook’s shadow profiles on people who don’t have accounts, and how those accounts may impact online privacy legislation.
32-bit Mac App Support's Demise, Shows We Want Apple to License - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-12
Adam Christianson from The Maccast and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet talk about what Apple’s coming end to 32-bit Mac app support means, plus they share some properties they’d love to see as original shows on Apple Music.
Mac Keyboards, Trusting Facebook, and Being Profitable and Green - ACM 457
In this episode, Bryan and Jeff discuss Mac keyboards, and what they like about clicky, long-throw keyboards, including the Azio Classic Retro BT keyboard Bryan just reviewed. They also go through a thought experiment on whether Facebook could ever earn our trust on privacy by radically reshaping their policies. They cap the show with a look at how Apple manages to be profitable and green, both.
New Web Authentication Tech, Apple Lands Foundation TV Series - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-11
Kelly Guimont and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to look at a new Web API that could make passwords obsolete, plus they share their thoughts on Apple landing a deal for Asimov’s Foundation series for Apple Music.
Companies Committing to User Privacy, Apple's R&D Efforts - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-10
John Martellaro and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to discuss the push to get tech companies on board with user security pledges, and to talk about Apple’s R&D efforts.
Answers to Your Questions: Photo Tagging, Mac App Store, Thunderbolt, and a Bluetooth Rant – Mac Geek Gab 704
Answering your questions, it’s what John and Dave do! Listen this week to learn about advanced photo tagging, managing your emails, fixing the Mac App Store, using Thunderbolt, accessing minimized windows, Gmail, and much, much more.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Ruby Receptionists CTO Katharine Nester
Katharine Nester is the CTO and Chief Product Officer for Ruby Receptionists, a virtual receptionist service. She owes early influence to her father, a computer engineer, and that led to her B.S. degree in computer science from the Univ. of Calif. at Berkeley. Her first job was as a Hewlett Packard software engineer. Katharine is an active member of Portland’s growing tech community where she advocates for more inclusive environments to support women and minorities in the field and is a benefactor of App Camp for Girls. We chatted about the founding of Ruby Receptionists, early technical decisions that were made and how it operates. Katharine tells a great story about her personal career arc as well as what it’s like to be the CTO of a company that supports 7,600 other companies.
Predicting What We'll Get in Apple's New Mac Pro - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-09
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to explore why they think the Mac Pro in 2019 will be a departure from Apple’s current desktop computer design.
Apple's Latest Mac Pro News - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-06
John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Apple’s latest news about the upcoming Mac Pro, what they’re hoping for in the new machine, and what they think of its 2019 time table.
Facebook's Powerful Draw, Limiting Online Tracking - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-05
Andrew Orr and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss how Facebook works to hold our interest, and talk about ways to limit how much the social network tracks us.
Mark Zuckerberg vs. Tim Cook, Apple's New AI Chief, and Making HomeKit Great - ACM 456
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been trading public barbs on privacy, and Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss the public tiff. They also discuss Apple’s hiring of Google’s former head of artificial intelligence and what it might mean for Siri (hint: good things!). They cap the show with a look at what it would take to make HomeKit the premier home automation platform.
Windows versus Mac Security, Listener Comments - TMO Daily Observations 2018-04-04
John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to look at the state of Windows 10 security versus macOS, plus they respond to listener comments on Jeff’s HomeKit fail.