John Martellaro

Dave Hamilton is the co-founder, publisher and president of The Mac Observer. He’s also the co-founder of BackBeat Media. And he’s the co-host of the legendary Mac Geek Gab Podcast. Dave’s interest in computers goes back to his high school days and his family’s Apple IIc. As Dave describes it, his talent evolved from “getting into a pickle,” so he had to learn himself how to fix things. At the University of Connecticut, he studied computer engineering, but also discovered his talent and passion for music. “Everything good that’s happened in my life, I can trace back to music,” he said. And that includes The Mac Observer because that’s how he met Bryan Chaffin. Dave The Nerd tells the fascinating story of the creation of this publication with his customary boundless energy.

Lauren Goode is both a Senior Editor at The Verge and the co-host of the podcast Too Embarrassed to Ask. Lauren didn’t start out as a technical person. In high school, she was into competitive basketball and volleyball. But the seeds were evident as she became an expert with a camcorder. Her interest in basketball and English led her to Clark University. There, she developed her passion for writing and soon after she was working in media via cable TV. That’s where her passion for video technology flourished. Later, at the WSJ and AllThingsD Walt Mossberg was her mentor. Today, Lauren writes for The Verge, and we discussed her specialties: wearables, smartphones and apps, and laptop technology. Recently, she’s become involved with an interesting new series about cars, “Screen Drive,” that you’ll very much enjoy.

Jonny Evans is a self-admitted Apple Holic who lives in the UK and writes terrific analysis of Apple for Computerworld.  He has a lot to say, and so he also has his own blog called Apple Must. Jonny is one of the most insightful technical journalists to cover Apple. His articles are always compelling and well researched. Amazingly, Jonny started off as road crew for rock & rolls bands. Pretty soon he was organizing and promoting events. The leaflets got more and more sophisticated, and that led him to realize his passion for writing. One day, a writing job opening at Macworld UK appeared, and he landed the gig. In the second segment we covered everything Apple, and Jonny’s informed perspectives really came out. You’ll want to hear what he has to say.

Dr. Steven Lamm is a medical epidemiologist. He studies epidemics, diseases that occur much more frequently than would be expected, their causes and control. Dr. Lamm is the son of a professor, and that caused him to want to make his own unique contribution to society. He started with the idea that chemistry and biophysics would give him all he needed to know about disease at the molecular level. But the micro view didn’t work. So he moved from the microscope to the macroscope as he was getting his M.D. degree. He’s an expert in the mathematical analysis of risk assessment for various agents, like arsenic, in the environment. We had a wide-ranging chat about his research, but don’t miss the part about his fascinating investment in Google Maps back in its infancy.

Ben Rudolph is a Microsoft Chief Creative Architect. That means he’s responsible for consumer, retail marketing. In Ben’s words, “his team … builds the experience that turns shoppers … into fans of Microsoft. That involves everything about how the Microsoft brand shows up to consumers in the retail environment.” That may not have been of interest to Apple fans just a few years ago, but the arrival of CEO Satya Nadella has changed all that. Ben and I chatted about his early career interest in being a physician and the path that led him, instead to Microsoft. Then we got into the Microsoft’s Surface Studio that sent shock waves through the Apple community last year. We also discussed the refreshing new corporate mission of Microsoft under Mr. Nadella. This interview will take Apple fans where they’ve never gone before.

Michael Gartenberg is currently the analyst in residence for iMore.com. Before that, he spent three years as Apple’s Senior Director of Product Marketing, reporting directly to Senior VP Phil Schiller. In his second appearance on Background Mode, we caught up on the latest news and things we couldn’t get to last summer. Michael told me about the nuances of being an Apple marketing manager and Apple’s different marketing groups. He explained how one just has to already know what to do as an Apple employee. Then he discussed his fondness for the iPhone SE and delved into its sales numbers and merits. Finally, we moved on Apple’s October 2016 “Hello Again” event, explored the new MacBook Pro, computer touch philosophy and the Microsoft Surface Studio impact. Michael tells a joke.

Jason Snell is one of the best known Apple technical journalists. He’s the Editor-in-Chief of the Apple focused website Six Colors, and he told me the intriguing story about how that name came to be. Previously he was Senior VP and editorial director at IDG, publishers of Macworld, PCWorld, and TechHive. Jason always knew he wanted to be a journalist, and he told me the story about, as a kid, standing on his back porch in a rainstorm and pretending to do a live TV weather report. In 1991, he created InterText, one of the first online fiction magazines. Today, Jason writes and podcasts about everything Apple. In our show, Jason shared his thoughts about many of the most timely and pressing topics related to Apple today: the Mac and iPad futures and the Apple TV.