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This week: In December of 1994, Apple began allowing PC manufacturs to license their OS, building their own versions of the “Mac”, and it almost destroyed them. Leander Kahney was a young reporter on the scene in those days, and regales us with the tale.

Plus, we have a very special announcement we'd like to make, about a very special annoumcement we're going ot be making next week. And if you stay tuned, and you definitely should, we're going to wrap up with our favorite movies of 2018, and it’s a long list.

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On the show this week

@erfon / @lkahney / @lewiswallace / @bst3r

Apple Music Connect is shutting down, suffering Same Fate as iTunes Ping - lewis https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/13/apple-music-connect-shutting-down/

• Apple today announced that its Apple Music Connect social platform for artists is in the process of shutting down, suffering the same fate as Ping, the company's previous social network for music removed from iTunes in October 2012.
• The only band that ever posted anything was ColdPlay.

Apple Sending Unsolicited Notifications for New Carpool Karaoke Episodes and Apple Music Echo Support -erfon https://www.macrumors.com/2018/12/18/apple-unsolicited-notifications/

• Apple has recently been sending out unsolicited notifications to iOS users, promoting Carpool Karaoke episodes and the availability of Apple Music on Amazon Echo devices.
• Apple doesn't appear to be sending these push notifications to all users, so it's not clear what criteria the company is using to determine who to send content to
• Why did Apple just send me a notification about an all new carpool karaoke, something I've never watched and have absolutely no interest in?

Today in Apple history: Apple signs ‘clone Mac’ deal https://www.cultofmac.com/458490/clone-mac-era-tiah/

• This week, in 1994: Apple Computer inks a licensing deal with Power Computing, allowing the company to produce Macintosh-compatible computers.
• With falling market share, and longtime rival Microsoft steaming ahead thanks to its software-licensing strategy, Apple executives think the only way to compete is for Apple to hand over its operating system for third-party Macs.
• The “clone Mac” era turned out to be a disaster for Apple. Rather than spurring Mac sales, it just meant cheaper “Macs.”
• As a result, Apple took a massive hit in the amount it earned per unit. Apple CFO Fred Anderson later worked out that the strategy actually cost the company money. The $50 fee Apple got for every clone Mac sold didn’t come close to recouping the money lost from people choosing to buy third-party Macs instead of more-expensive o