Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview with Academic Director of IT Bradley Chambers

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Bradley Chambers has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Currently he’s the IT director at a school in Chattanooga, and he’s also a contributor to 9to5Mac via his weekly column: “Making the Grade.” Bradley told me about his work as an IT administrator, how iPads and Macs are deployed, configured and repaired. There are some good tools for doing that, but they’re also supplemented with Google docs and JAMF tools. His kids are taught programming at an early age with Swift Playgrounds, and it turns out that the iPad offers just what his students need for a K-5 curriculum. We finished with a discussion of a few of his recent columns, including why digital textbooks generally failed in the market as well as thoughts about the state of Apple’s iBooks Author app.

Podcast

Apple/Amazon Trillions, 5 Eyes Magic, iPhone Battery Replacement Reminder - ACM 478

Bryan Chaffin · · Add Comment

Amazon was briefly the second company—after Apple—to be valued at US$1 trillion. Bryan Chaffin is joined by Jim Tanous to discuss what makes the two companies, and their valuations, different. They also examine the recent 5 Eyes statement attacking encryption, and then remind everyone to take advantage of Apple’s iPhone batter replacement program while they can.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview with Backblaze Director of Product Marketing Skip Levens

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Skip Levens is currently the Director of Product Marketing at Backblaze, the cloud storage and backup company. He’s very experienced in brand marketing and technology evangelism. Skip is a former U.S. Marine. After leaving the Marines, Skip went to work for Alain Pinel, a real estate company that embraced the NeXT computer, and that launched his successful crusade to work for Apple. We chatted about Skip’s work at Apple in early internet technologies, then Developer Relations that involved him with supercomputers. We explored the rise and fall of Apple’s Xserve and Xserve RAID as well as the evolution of his expertise in storage technology at Active Storage, Quantum, Symply Storage and now Backblaze. You can’t have more geek fun than this show.

Podcast

Back to School CSF, APFS on Externals, Cable Modems, and Beware iPhone Lint! – Mac Geek Gab 725

John F. Braun · · Add Comment

Going back to school often means needing to take things from the digital world and connect them to the analog. Need sound? Need printouts? John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton have some Cool Stuff Found for you! Then it’s on to troubleshooting external disks (including APFS), cable modem advice and what to do with an extra Mac mini. All this and more, just press play!

Podcast

Killing the Lighting Port, Buying into Apple Watch Series 4 - ACM 477

Bryan Chaffin · · Add Comment

What would it take for Apple to ditch the Lightning port on iPhones? Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet explore the possibilities, and Bryan ends up convincing himself to buy Apple’s not-shipping-yet AirPower charging pad. They also ask themselves what it would take for them to want Apple Watch Series 4, iPhone Xs, new iPad Pros, and new MacBooks. Their conclusion? It’s going to be an expensive fall.

Podcast

TMO Background Mode Interview with Sr. Mobile & Networking Developer Alf Watt

John Martellaro · · Add Comment

Alf Watt is an experienced software developer with expertise in macOS, iOS and wireless technology. He operates iStumbler Labs, most notably the Wi-Fi monitoring app iStumbler. He’s also a former Apple employee. As a youth, Alf’s first computer was a Commodore 64, and he leaned how to enter the code for computer games. Later, with a Mac plus, Alf learned HyperCard. Alf’s first serious language, however, was Perl. At Apple, Alf became deeply in involved with Wi-Fi and Apple’s AirPort technology, and that provided a foundation for his legendary iStumbler app. That app is now in Mac App Store. We finished with Alf’s description of his new tool called KitBridge which allows iOS developers to bring apps to macOS. Alf is an engaging personality in the Apple world, and you’ll enjoy his stories.

Podcast

Verizon's $2, Apple's Newest Football, Netflix's Rebellion - ACM 476

Bryan Chaffin · · Add Comment

Verizon recently throttled a fire department’s command and control vehicle in a pursuit of $2, and Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet have some thoughts about the propriety of such an action. They also wonder whether rumors of a new iMac mean we can start trusting Apple to update its Macs again, or if Lucy will just yank the ball away instead. They cap the show with a look at Netflix’s baby steps towards rebellion against Apple’s App Store cut for subscriptions.