Kelly Guimont and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at Intel’s new Whiskey Lake and Amber Lake laptop processors, and to explain the new firmware update for the discontinued AirPort Express.
Sonos
Sonos Further Expands Wireless Speakers with New APIs, IFTTT Integration, and new Sonos Amp
Wireless speaker pioneers Sonos today announced the upcoming availability of their first-ever set of public APIs available to all Sonos speakers, as well as the Sonos Amp, a new piece of hardware aimed at allowing folks to use their own speakers within a Sonos system.
Apple Watch Faces Price Hike From US Tariffs
Your next Apple Watch could cost more thanks to tariffs the Trump administration is imposing on products imported from China.
Sonos Speakers Get AirPlay 2 Support
Sonos just added AirPlay 2 support to its speakers, making them the first third-party offering that can take advantage of Apple’s streaming audio platform.
Sonos Beam: Wide Home Theater Sound for Your Living Room, Great Music Sound Anywhere
Sonos recently announced a new soundbar they call the Sonos Beam. I’ve had some time to test it and simply to use it, and this might be the most impressive speaker I’ve tested from Sonos yet, especially considering its US$399 price tag.
Thirteen Lucky Years of MGG – Mac Geek Gab Podcast 713
Join John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton as they celebrate their 13th Mac Geek Gab anniversary by answering your questions, sharing Cool Stuff Found, solving problems and… you know… doing what they do for you! Press play, download, and celebrate! And also learn!
Sonos and AirPlay 2, iOS 12 Live Listen for AirPods - TMO Daily Observations 2018-06-08
Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet for the final day of Apple’s 2018 Worldwide Developer Conference to talk about the Sonos and AirPlay 2, the Sonos Beam, and Live Listen for AirPods in iOS 12.
AirPlay 2 Coming to Sonos in July
Sonos announced on Wednesday that AirPlay 2 will be coming to all compatible Sonos speakers in July. As previously noted, AirPlay 2 will work on the current generation Play:5, Playbase, Sonos One, and the newly-announced Sonos Beam.
Sonos Confirms AirPlay 2 Coming to Playbase, Play:5, and Sonos One
Back in October Sonos announced that AirPlay 2 would be supported on some of their speakers this year, but didn’t detail which ones. We made some guesses back then, and recently did some digging. Sonos now knows which speakers will natively support AirPlay 2: the Playbase, the current-generation Play:5, and the Sonos One.
FCC Kills Net Neutrality, Samsung's HomePod Competitor - TMO Daily Observations 2017-12-15
Dave Hamilton and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to discuss the FCC vote to end Net Neutrality, plus Samsung’s HomePod competitor.
Mr. Cook Goes to China, Sonos Meets Ikea, Apple Buys Pop Up Archive – ACM 440
Tim Cook took a recent trip to China, and some have accused him of endorsing Chinese censorship. Bryan and Jeff talk about how complicated doing business in China is. They also look at why Sonos and IKEA have announced a partnership, and what Apple’s purchase of Pop Up Archive might mean. Then they fall down the rabbit hole of TextArc.
Sonos One: Alexa-Controlled Wireless Home Speaker
Wireless speaker company Sonos recently debuted voice support in two forms: pairing their speakers with an Amazon Alexa-enabled device like an Echo or Dot, and with Sonos’s first voice-enabled speaker, the Sonos One. We put the new speaker through its paces.
Apple Music with Sonos, Alexa, and AirPlay 2
Sonos’s new Alexa support doesn’t offer full control for Apple Music, but next year’s AirPlay 2 integration might just provide Apple Music subscribers full voice-control of their Sonos sytems.
![Sonos Announces Sonos One, a Smart, Voice-Enabled Speaker [Update]](https://www.macobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/sonos-one-voice-speaker.jpg)
Sonos Announces Sonos One, a Smart, Voice-Enabled Speaker [Update]
NEW YORK CITY – Similar in size and form to Sonos’s popular PLAY:1, the Sonos One adds a six-microphone array to give it far-field voice recognition capability, and will ship on October 24th with support for Alexa baked right in.
Apple's AirPlay 2 Coming to Sonos in 2018
NEW YORK CITY – Details were sparse, but throughout the presentation, the company said the brand new, voice-controllable Sonos One would support AirPlay 2.
Apple's Big WWDC Keynote Plans, Siri Speaker vs Sonos - TMO Daily Observations 2017-06-01
Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to talk about how today’s announcements from Apple mean we’re in store for some big WWDC announcements, plus they discuss how the rumored Siri Speaker may be a Sonos competitor.
Apple’s Rumored Siri Speaker Targets Sonos, Too
The Siri Speaker may be more of a living room device than a kitchen device.
Physical Security Matters, Too – Mac Geek Gab 652
SMC Resets, Migration Assistant tricks, Auto-Upgrade solutions and Renting vs. Owning your Cable Modem are just the beginning for your two favorite geeks today. S/MIME is taken to a whole other level with guest Jeff Butts who helps us all understand how to make this work on both macOS and iOS! Then it’s time to dive into your system certificates – and which ones you can touch vs. those that you can’t. Security is always on the mind and a quick VPN discussion rounds that out. Then John and Dave move on to something more pleasing to the ear: sound, and how best to manage it on your Mac!
Sonos PLAYBASE Review: Room-Filling Sound for Music, TV, and Movies
The new Sonos Playbase falls right in line with what we Apple users have come to expect, delivering a simple-yet-robust experience for people who want to enhance the sound of their TVs and simultaneously add a whole-room music-listening solution. In one, low-profile box that sits underneath your TV (officially anything 75lbs or less), the Sonos Playbase gives you all of this and more, complete with easy setup and simple operation.
Ron Johnson on Steve Jobs, iPhone Numbers, Sonos PLAYBASE - TMO Daily Observations 2017-03-07
Former Apple executive Ron Johnson recently shared some insight into Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Bryan Chaffin and Dave Hamilton join Jeff Gamet to share their thoughts on how Steve Jobs worked through new ideas before accepting them, plus they look at Apple’s iPhone numbers and the new Sonos PLAYBASE.
Sonos Puts the PLAYBASE Under Your Television
Today Sonos announced their new PLAYBASE, combining home theater sound and music playback in a low-profile base (just 2.28″ high!) that sits underneath your TV. The PLAYBASE is the result of nearly four years of iterative design work inside Sonos, and is made to complement the wall-mountable PLAYBAR in Sonos’ lineup. If your TV sits on a table, put a PLAYBASE under it; on the wall, put a PLAYBAR there. The PLAYBASE will hold TVs up to 77lbs, which should handle what most of you have.
While I haven’t yet tested the PLAYBASE in my home, I did get a chance to test it at Sonos’ offices last month, and the stereo spread and frequency response are impressive. They were able to fit a subwoofer in the thin design by use of a specially-engineered S-shaped port. It works, too, and really fills a room with sound for both music and video content. Of course, you’re able to use your iPhone or iPad to automatically tune the PLAYBASE to your room with Sonos’ Trueplay technology, ensuring the best possible sound for your environment. The PLAYBASE is priced at US$699 (same as the PLAYBAR), and will be released on April 4, 2017. Existing Sonos owners can pre-order starting today.
For Geeks Only: Hey Alexa, Tell Sonos to Play Stevie Wonder in the Kitchen
Sonos and Amazon jointly announced their Alexa integration earlier this year and the world rejoiced. Voice control of your Sonos system is one of those holy grails. The integration is expected to be available at some point in 2017. But I’m an impatient geek so, while I’m waiting for official support to be available, I spent an hour yesterday getting this working using freely-available open-source tools. You can do this, too, and I’ll walk you through what you’re doing and how to get started.
Sonos's Future: Opening Up Control to Alexa and Third-Party Apps
On Tuesday, wireless speaker manufacturer Sonos summoned the press to Manhattan to show off some new software features they’ve been working on and, in doing so, painted a picture of a more open Sonos experience. Demonstrating Amazon Alexa voice control and Spotify app integration, Sonos showed a not-too-distant future where customers have the ability to control their Sonos products in a variety of new ways without sacrificing any of the existing benefits of the Sonos platform.