Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 battery problem isn’t going away and some replacement units are catching on fire, too. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss Samsung’s burning product failure, plus John schools Jeff on the perils of robot sex.
MGG 626: Lightning Struck my Switches
Quick Tips start this episode, including topics like macOS Sierra’s picture-in-picture videos, auto-logout, Sierra upgrade hints, macerror, cleaning up your Keychain, printing to PDF on any iOS 10 device, Apple Watch battery life and more. Then it’s on to questions about macOS Sierra’s network login changes, running a mixed macOS and OS X household and, finally, a discussion about lightning strikes and how to recover. Enjoy!
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-07: DJ Remixes on Apple Music, Listener Comments
The streaming music market just changed because now Apple Music and Spotify can give us DJ remixes. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the implications bringing remixes to the two big music services will have on the market and on SoundCloud. They also respond to listener comments from Wednesday’s discussion on Yahoo helping intelligence agencies scan our email.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-06: Samsung Buys Viv AI Platform
Say what? Samsung bought the Viv artificial intelligence platform designed by the creators of Siri. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about how Samsung could use Viv, and what impact it will have on competing platforms. They also look at Facebook’s Secret Conversation encryption for Messenger chats.
ACM 379: Apple’s Mysterious October Announcements and Who Cares about Google’s Pixel Smartphone?
Apple moved its quarterly conference call in October, and it’s set off a lot of echo-chamber debate and speculation. Bryan and Jeff weed out the balderdash. They also ask who cares about Google’s new Pixel smartphone line.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-05: Yahoo's Secret Email Scanning
A new report says Yahoo! was secretly scanning user’s email at the request of U.S. intelligence agencies. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to debate whether or not that was appropriate and to look at what we should expect for privacy in our email.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-04: Goodbye Home Button, Hello macOS Sierra Auto-download
There’s an Apple patent that shows the iPhone’s Home button is going away. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on the future of the Home button, plus they look at what’s up with Apple auto-downloading macOS Sierra to user’s computers.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Allegis Capital Partner Jean-Louis Gassée
Jean-Louis Gassée is currently a V.C. partner with Allegis Capital. He’s best known, however, for taking over the Macintosh division in 1985, his startup of Be Inc. and his highly respected Monday Note, a technical commentary. Jean-Louis tells the story about how, as a precocious youth in Paris he built crystal AM radios and vacuum tubes. Later, after some “interesting jobs,” he joined Hewlett-Packard (France) in 1968 to launch HP’s first desktop computer, the 9100A. Jean-Louis’s success as an electronics geek eventually led to a job at Data General then the lead executive job for Apple France. Jean-Louis then came to the U.S., and his time in Cupertino is legendary. Join me as this computer pioneer chats about Apple and Macs, past and present.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-10-03: Apple TV's Interface Problem, Happy Apple Music Customers
It’s time for Apple to rethink the Apple TV interface. Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the problems with Apple TV’s app-focused interface and discuss why it should be content-focused. They also have some thoughts on Apple Music ranking at the top of a recent JD Powers satisfaction survey for streaming music services.
MGG 625: The Spotlight Clone Wars
Faster chargers, ODB2 dongles, Mac vs. Windows File Paths, MacBook Pro specs, Dropbox, macOS Sierra and the Spotlight Clone Wars are all topics discussed in today’s Mac Geek Gab. In fact, they’re not just topics, they’re your questions answered! Plus, Dave and John go on a good photoanalysisd rant for good measure!
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-30: iPhone Lightning Headphone Adapters, Listener Comments
Third party Lighting to 3.5mm headphone adapters are starting to make their first appearances for the iPhone 7. John Martellaro and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to look at the headphone adapter market and whether or not most people will really need one. They also respond to listener comments on yesterday’s show where we talked about the limitations of Apple’s Airport Extreme Base Station.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-29: John's Apple Product Wish List
Word on the street says new Retina MacBook Pro models are coming in October, and TMO’s sources say they’ll be announced on the 11th. Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to talk about John’s wish list for new Apple products, and Jeff disagrees with John’s take on Apple TV.
ACM 378: Life Without a Headphone Jack, More Apple Watch, Siri on the Mac
We’ve had our iPhone 7s for a week and a half, and Bryan and Jeff talk about life without the headphone jack. They also discuss the differences between Apple Watch (Series 0) and the new Apple Watch Series 2. They close out the show talking about Siri on the Mac, using it, and the lack of “Hey Siri” support. Plus, Bryan is punchy from a lack of sleep, so silliness runs rampant.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-28: Blackberry Ditches Smartphones, Apple's Think Different Ads
Blackberry is giving up on making smartphones. John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to discuss Blackberry’s long downward spiral, plus they look back on Apple’s first Think Different ad from 19 years ago.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-27: HealthKit for Diagnosis, Roku vs Apple TV
Apple wants HealthKit to track your overall health and become a diagnosis tool. Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss whether or not Apple is ready to expand HealthKit, and they also look at the state of Apple TV compared to Roku’s latest home entertainment appliance offerings.Bonus: Bryan lost his Apple Watch battery life bet with John.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with Founder & President of Bombich Software, Mike Bombich
Mike Bombich is the founder and president of Bombich Software, the developer of Carbon Copy Cloner. It’s a backup app for the Mac that has saved the day for many users. He started his career at Bowling Green State University studying aquatic ecology. But he also took computer science classes thinking that one day he would do scientific simulations of ecological systems. Soon, Mike discovered that he had a strong interest the software development process itself. Later, Mike worked for a tech support organization and discovered the real need for software that could back up the new Mac OS X launched in 2001. He created CCC. That got the attention of Apple and landed him a job working on technical solutions for professionals. Mike tells the story about how this app changed his life.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-26: macOS Sierra PDF Issues, Apple ID Two-Factor Authentication
Worried about viewing PDF documents in macOS Sierra? Dave Hamilton and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at what we know now about potential data loss in PDFs, plus they dive into two-factor authentication for Apple IDs and why that matters for HomeKit and Apple Watch users.
MGG 624: Sierra, APFS, Wi-Fi and Personal Servers
Today it’s all about answering your questions! Ok, maybe one tip, but it’s high time your questions got answered, and your two favorite geeks are just the right guys to do it! First it’s two macOS Sierra questions, then it’s onto APFS and the future of backups, including a query about choosing an external backup drive. This plus perhaps the aforementioned tip might just round out the show… or there might be more about Photos and HDR. Listen and find out!
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-23: Apple, AI, and Buying Tuplejump
Apple is diving deeper into the world of artificial intelligence with its recent Tuplejump purchase. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about Apple’s AI efforts, balancing privacy with data collection, and how Apple’s HomeKit is still frustrating.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-22: The State of Apple Car, Apple's Bag Patent
Apple’s car project is still something of a mystery, and that’s leading to all kinds of speculation. John Martellaro and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at reports that Apple wanted to buy a high end car maker, plus they have some thoughts on Apple’s paper bag patent.
ACM 377: Apple's iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2
Bryan and Jeff talk about iPhone 7, whether or not it’s a must-have upgrade, and even what constitutes a must-have upgrade any more. They also talk about their immediate impressions of Apple Watch Series 2 after spending a day with the new models. All this and more.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-21: Upgrading to macOS Sierra
With macOS Sierra out the big question is whether or not you should upgrade now. Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at who should install Sierra now and who should wait, how to check for compatibility issues, their data backup routines, and more.
TMO Daily Observations 2016-09-20: macOS Sierra Launch Day, ProDOS gets an Update
Heads up, everyone! It’s macOS Sierra release day. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about the new Mac operating system, issues with incompatible software, and some best practices ahead of installing the upgrade. They also note a just released update for ProDOS on the Apple II and IIGS. Seriously.
TMO Background Mode: Interview with MyMac Founder and Publisher Tim Robertson
Tim Robertson is the founder and publisher of MyMac. He’s one of the pioneers in our business. Tim tells the story about how, in 1995, he was more or less a jock, but realized that his daughter was going to need to know about computers. After some research, he bought an Apple Performa 410. Learning how to use this computer, and wanting to be a writer, launched Tim into a lifelong love affair with Apple and publishing. Like many, he started writing about what he learned. But at that time, one had to create digital publications with Doc Maker, downloadable from a BBS. Soon thereafter, he was on the internet with the now legendary Mymac.com and a team of contributors. Come listen as we chat about the remarkable evolution of Tim’s publishing career.