iOS 11 is coming, and Bryan and Jeff discuss some of what they’re looking forward to. They also talk about Apple’s big plans in making movies and TV shows, and why it’s important for Apple to do so. The cap the show with a look at Apple Watch being involved with a baseball cheating scheme.
Apple's Bond Bid, Apps and Services for Natural Disasters - TMO Daily Observations 2017-09-06
Kelly Guimont and Jeff Butts join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s bid for the James Bond franchise, plus they talk about emergency preparedness resources and apps.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Car & Driver Magazine Editor-in-Chief Eddie Alterman
Eddie Alterman is the Editor-in-Chief of Car and Driver magazine. He fell in love with cars even earlier than most of us. His father was a car salesman in Detroit in the 1970s when cars weren’t great, but it was still exciting. His dad would leave copies of Car and Driver magazine open on the dining room table for Eddie. It worked. Eddie imagined that all the editors who got to test cars were “living the best possible life.” So Eddie designed his whole life around writing for a car magazine. It worked again. In the second segment we chatted about the romance of driving and also spent a lot of time discussing the technology and sociology of autonomous cars. Eddie had some great observations, based on his considerable experience, that will keep you pondering for months.
Goodbye Apple Music Festival, the State of the Mac Touch Bar - TMO Daily Observations 2017-09-05
John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to Apple ending its Apple Music Festival, plus they look at the state of the MacBook Pro Touch Bar.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Dollars – Mac Geek Gab 673
Moving your Photos to a new drive, managing your Finder’s smart searches, reasons for a VPN, and remote access to your own Macs are just the first few topics that Dave and John discuss this week. Then it’s on to managing your document syncing, finding an old version of Mac OS X for an older Mac, some cool scripts that other listeners developed for monitoring your network, and more! Press play and enjoy!
Siri's New Boss, APFS Fusion Drive Issues - TMO Daily Observations 2017-09-01
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their perspective on Siri’s management being reassigned from Eddy Cue to Craig Federighi, plus they discuss APFS compatibility issues with Fusion Drives in macOS High Sierra.
Goodbye Project Titan Engineers, High Sierra Hackintosh Update - TMO Daily Observations 2017-08-31
Jeff Butts and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Apple losing Project Titan engineers, plus Mr. B updates us on his macOS High Sierra Hackintosh project.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Eclipse Tips, AR Needs Eyeware, and No Apple Television Set - ACM 424
The eclipse is coming, and Bryan and Jeff have some tips for viewing it. They also explore practical limitations on augmented reality (AR) without the help of specialized eyeware. For a bookend, they deconstruct a new rumor about a supposed Apple television set. Spoiler, it ain’t happening.