Sander Berents has been fascinated by astronomy since childhood when he started using his older brother’s telescope. In his teens, he also became immersed in BASIC and assembly language programming with his TRS-80. Later, he earned an M.S. in astrophysics. His earliest jobs involved computer programming, and nowadays, he’s an independent, professional macOS software developer and the developer of the macOS app called Observatory. Version 1.0 was released in April 2016. We chatted about the development of Observatory, written in Objective-C and C++, which has several important features for astrophotographers: plate solving, image stacking and a digital blink microscope used for discovery. This app can also be used as a non-destructive photo library for astrophotos. Sander chatted about life as a developer and explained a little bit about how astronomers use his app.
CPU Throttling on Older Macs – Mac Geek Gab 723
It’s not just newer Macs that suffer from CPU throttling, it happens on older Macs, too, and a firmware update is not the easy fix. Keychains, Photo Sorting, Battery management tips, and doing the Public Wi-Fi Dance are just some of the other topics covered.
Apple Watch Series 4 Lineup, Home Cloud Servers - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-20
Adam Christianson from the Maccast and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the changes coming to this fall’s Apple Watch lineup, plus they talk about home cloud server options.
September's MacBook, Twitter's Dead APIs - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-17
Dave Hamilton and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on a report saying a new MacBook is coming in September, along with redesigned iPad Pro models. They also have something to say about Twitter shutting down the APIs third-party client apps rely on.
Twitter Absurdity, iPhone Pencils, Cyborg Vision - ACM 475
Twitter killed some key APIs third party apps used to make their apps useful because Twitter hates influencers and power users. Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet drop a few f-bombs. They also talk about the latest rumor that Apple will bring support for Apple Pencil to some new iPhone models. The cap the show by dipping into our cyborg future of enhanced vision.
Here Comes In Home 5G Broadband - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-16
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at Verizon’s plans for 5G broadband in our homes and how that may work out.
New Apple Watch Predictions, 20 Years of iMac - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-15
Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about what might be coming in the next Apple Watch along with what product announcements may be coming this fall. They also look back at the iMac 20 years after it first shipped.
iOS 12 Developer Beta 7 Problems, Google's Creepy Location Tracking - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-14
Andrew Orr and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to discuss Apple’s released—and now pulled—iOS 12 developer beta 7, plus they look at how Google tracks you even when you think they aren’t.
Cure The Beachball – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 722
The spinning beachball sucks. It sucks time away, and it sucks the life out of your computing experience. So let’s talk about at least one way to solve it. And let’s learn at least four other things along the way. Sound good? Great. Press play and you’re on the train.
TMO Background Mode Interview with Host of The Carson Podcast Mark Malkoff
Mark Malkoff is a comedian, filmaker, and the host of The Carson Podcast in which he talks with guests about legendary talk show host Johnny Carson. His guests include stand-up comics who debuted on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, individuals who worked on the show, and entertainers who were influenced by Carson. I chatted with Mark about his early jobs on various TV shows, sketch comedy, and video projects. As a comedian, he’d always been fascinated by Johnny Carson. It was Peter Jones (PBS) who encouraged Mark to do a podcast all about Carson’s Tonight Show. Mark told me about how he lines up guests and how he prepares. In 180+ podcasts, Mark has learned a lot about Mr. Carson’s personal life and the details of show’s production. Mark enthusiastically shares it all.
Left Handed Day, Perseid Meteor Shower Tips - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-13
John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share some tips for International Left Handed Day, along with how to photograph the Perseid meteor shower.
The Hackindog Episode - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-10
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple’s ongoing problems with the 2018 Touch Bar MacBook Pro, and Pandora’s plan to improve podcast discoverability. John also inspires Jeff to coin the term “hackindog.”
Apple and Privacy Protection, Anki Vector Robot - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-09
Adam Christianson from the Maccast and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on whether or not Apple is doing enough to protect our privacy, plus they have some first impressions on Anki’s new Vector robot.
Online Voting, the Corporate Public Square, Picard’s Return to Star Trek - ACM 474
What will it take to make online or app-based voting safe, secure, and reliable? Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet are joined by John Kheit to discuss the future of voting. They also explore the idea of corporate platforms (i.e. private platforms) becoming so big that they become synonymous with the public square and subject to the First Amendment. Then Bryan goes off on a weird tangent about how cool Patrick Stewart’s new episode of Star Trek could be if Jean-Luc Picard was a broken and bitter man. Good times!
Apple Versus Infowars, Pachinko TV Series - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-08
Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple delisting the Infowars podcasts while leaving the app on the App Store, plus they share their thoughts on Apple’s deal for the Pachinko TV series and diversity in programming.
Facebook Wants Your Bank Account Data, TSMC's Chips Problem - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-07
John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on Facebook asking banks for account information, plus the explore TSMC’s temporary chip production shut down for the WannaCry virus.
Haunted Drives, Beachballs, and Chatty Cathy – Mac Geek Gab 721
Is running a full SSD OK? What’s accessing my hard drive? How do I get custom sounds into Mail? These are just a few of the questions that John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton, your two favorite geeks, answer this week. Press play and enjoy!
TMO Background Mode Interview with NightCap Camera Developer Chris Wood
Chris Wood is the developer of the iOS photography app called NightCap Camera, an app that specializes in low-light photography, be it terrestrial or astronomical. Chris told me the story about his technial evolution as a developer, coming out of a M.S. degree and the IT, database and network world. It was the allure of the original iPhone’s graphics that whetted his appetite for programming in Objective-C . His big break came with the iPad 2 which had a fairly strong graphics processor (for its time). That led to the development of the acclaimed iPad app called Camera Boost. Later, the experience Chris gained led to the NightCap app and its descendant NightCap Camera. Chris and I chatted about the evolution and capabilities of this excellent app that even novice photographers should own.
Deconstructing the "Apple is Greedy" Argument - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-06
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at TechCrunch’s list of reasons why Apple is a greedy company and share their thoughts on whether or not they got it right.
Emotions and Apple's Market Cap, Lisa Brennan-Jobs Memoir - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-03
John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about the emotional aspect of Apple’s trillion dollar market cap, and the Lisa Brennan-Jobs memoir about growing up as Steve Jobs’ daughter.
iPad Refresh, Mac Sales, and App Store Affiliate Program - ACM 473
In this episode, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet take a look at the new iPad icons uncovered in iOS 12. They also discuss the 14% drop in Mac unit sales and wonder why Apple doesn’t use that one weird trick of making new Macs to goose Mac sales. They cap the show with a look at why Apple would cancel the App Store Affiliate Program.
Apple's $1 Trillion Market Cap - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-02
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple’s market cap and explain what it means for the company to reach the US$1 trillion mark.
AAPL Q3 2018 Earnings, R&D and Robots - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-01
John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s 2018 third fiscal quarter earnings, the company’s R&D budget, and the possibility of an Apple personal robot.
Apple Pay Dominance, NFC in HomePod - TMO Daily Observations 2018-07-31
Dave Hamilton and Andrew Orr join Jeff Gamet to look at Apple Pay’s projected dominance in contactless payments, plus Andrew explains why he’d like to see NFC in Apple’s HomePod.