Every tech-savvy person ends up helping some portion of her or his family get the printer working, software installed, or spam banished. I wanted to find out how others do it, so I talked to fellow family tech supporters, who have also done this work professionally.

Lisa Salinger and Rose Orchard

Can you turn an iPad into your primary computer, and if you do that, is it the best choice you can make, or a stunt to talk about on podcasts? I pose these blunt questions to my iPad-dominant guests. And give you a bushel of links, too.

Myke Hurley and Josh de Lioncourt

Enjoy a few gifts from past Parallel guests. And as it turned out, there's great stuff for users of iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. And games!

Florence Ion, Stephen Hackett, Jesse Anderson, Joe Steinkamp, Josh de Lioncourt, Darren Carr, and J.J. Meddaugh

Tips on the Show:

Which is more fun; a thorough-going discussion of home automation tech, or Allison and Mikah geeking out on any subject? Fortunately, it's not necessary that you make a choice.

Mikah Sargent and Allison Sheridan

Shortcuts, not just the Siri ones, have the potential to change the way people use iOS. I talk with a couple of shortcut-makers. The enthusiasm is infectious.

Michael Doise and Matthew Cassinelli

Accessi

We gather to mourn the demise of the FilmStruck streaming service, a lifeline for cord-cutting fans of classic and art film, and a way to pass film history on to new generations. We also offer you an amazing array of links.

Lawrence Carter-Long and Kristen Lopez

This link, announcing the combination of Warner archive with FilmStruck, is still live.

Smart speakers have very much been a part of this fall's tech product announcement season. On this episode, we kick the various speakers and virtual assistants around, and give some thought to their place in our lives.

Andy Ihnatko and Darren Carr

"What this operating system needs is a real dark mode." Many have made that declarative statement at one time or another. But what is dark mode, or what should it be? How have the various mobile and desktop OS makers actually implemented the mainstream version – read much better version – of what users with visual disabilities have known for years as inverted colors?

Jesse Anderson and Rose Orchard

I let the fall Apple event soak in for a couple of days before rounding up some folks to talk about it. Watches, phones, and new iOS features are all on the bill of fare. And Mikah and David share their Apple addictions.

David Woodbridge and Mikah Sargent

Australian government agency

When you make and sell software, a lot of the challenges of running a business have to do with managing projects and people, and finding effective ways to communicate with customers and potential customers. I'm talking to two CEOs who run small tech companies, and who, for my money, excel in communicating about what they're doing in honest, transparent ways.

Sean Tibbetts and Paul Kafasis