The Mac Observer's Daily Observations Podcast

Last Friday we all learned first hand what happens when hackers decide to target DNS hosts with a distributed Denial of Service attack. Dave Hamilton and The Maccast’s Adam Christianson join Jeff Gamet to look at Friday’s attack and how the Internet of Things played a major role in the incident. They also talk about how HomeKit devices may also be susceptible to hackers.

An iPhone 7 in Australia caught on fire in a car, and now the media is comparing the incident to Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 debacle. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at what happened, and to sort out whether or not it’s appropriate to compare this iPhone 7 to the Note 7 fires. They also compare Microsoft Surface sales to the current state of the iPad.

Apple is hosting a media event on Thursday, October 27th, titled “hello again.” Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on whether or not we’ll finally see a refresh to the aging Mac Pro. They also offer up predictions on what else may or may not get announced, and generally hammer on Bryan for his Mac Pro hopes.

Apple’s iPhone 7 has a mystery chip inside and John Martellaro thinks he knows what it may be doing. John, along with Kelly Guimont joins Jeff Gamet to talk about the iPhone 7 and privacy, along with how the mystery chip may be ensuring our data stays encrypted. They also compare Amazon’s Echo and Echo Dot.

Siri seems to be lagging behind in the voice interface game, or at least that’s what some analysts think. Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about the current state of Siri and the limitations they’ve encountered. They also take a look at what may be holding up the release of new MacBook Pro models.

Apple’s car projects looks like it’s heading down a different path. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at how Bob Mansfield is refocusing the company’s car project and discussing what they expect will happen next. They also offer up their thoughts on Tim Cook’s plans to bring us into a cashless society.

Good news athletes, the Nike+ Apple Watch Series 2 will be available on October 28th. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about why they might–or might not–want the special edition Apple Watch model, plus Bryan finds a way to use Google to keep track of who’s on this November’s ballot.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social networks have been giving Geofeedia access to user’s posts that’s being used for police surveillance. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what Geofeedia was collecting, how it was being used by law enforcement, and the ethical issues social networks face when giving companies our publicly available data.

Amazon is expanding its streaming music offerings with Amazon Music Unlimited. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on AMU and how it fits into Amazon’s plans. They also loop back to Monday’s show to look at the moral implications of deeper human relationships with artificial intelligences.

Dash is gone from the Mac and iOS App Stores, and the story behind why is a big bucket of drama. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at what transpired to get Dash banned from the App Store and cost the developer his account. They also offer up their thoughts on the UK Prime Minister banning the Apple Watch from Cabinet meetings.