Space Javelin

Because of the holiday weekend, there will be no regular episode this week, but stay tuned -- Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference is right around the corner, and Mike and Charles will have a WWDC preview as part of Episode 11 (arriving June 5), as well as a special episode on June 7 covering the Monday announcements from the WWDC keynote.

Before the Memorial Day Weekend break, Charles and Mike tackle all the drama in a very busy news week. Apple investigates a Beats battery explosion! Google Assistant versus Siri! A new Thunderbolt 3 dock from OWC! Panic source code stolen! Right to Repair legislation! Apple stopping apps from allowing tips! Android Go! All this plus the alleged death of the proposed laptop/tablet airline ban, and a Lightning Round of rumors, from glucose monitoring, to possible MacBook news at WWDC, to the future of some iPad models. All this and more, so climb aboard Cadets!

Mike and Charles cover a lot of ground this week, including the AAPL streak; the iPhone 7 family being the most popular brand of smartphone on the planet; iTunes for Windows 10 S; the heart sensor on the Apple Watch, and the problem with Snap's Spectacles and other AR/VR stuff right now. The connections between Apple's US manufacturing fund, Softbank, and the possible Sprint-TMobile merger are explored; Mike's new gigabit fiber connection and Sonnet's new Thunderbolt 3 breakout box are given the once-over; Amazon and Apple's new deal for Apple TV is celebrated; the new Apple Teacher program is discussed (along with the state of the EDU market generally), and the guys do some housekeeping -- they'll have another episode next week, but are taking Memorial Day Weekend off. Climb aboard for adventure, cadets!

This week, Mike and Charles are in a feisty mood: they warn users how to avoid the latest viral malware, a Mac port of the Windows bug Snake; take a look at Apple's fiscal Q2 results versus what analysts expected; and get cynical about Apple's push to promote its US footprint. They also engage in a MBP versus Surface Laptop beatdown, take a look at Hulu's new TV offerings versus cable, and speaking of cables -- Mike's down to just one (and he'll tell you how he did it). All this and more, so climb aboard, cadets!

It's not every week that a cutting-edge, that-was-the-week-that-was-in-tech podcast like ours spends precious minutes on the sugar ratio of a Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, but we do. Fear not, however, for before you can even regret your dietary choices, Mike and Charles tackle some great new listener questions (including some news on future podcasts), bring you up-to-speed on the Apple vs Qualcomm ugliness, talk about a possible Foxconn US investment, and alert users to an Apple Watch (original generation) warranty extension (due to a rare issue). There's also rumors to like (or debunk); Acer's new 4K USB-C display and Mike's new-to-him 2013 Mac Pro; AT&T up to their throttling tricks again, and much more. It's a countdown to adventure with this week's Space Javelin, cadets, so climb on board!

Charles and Mike got reader questions about the Mac Pro, so they answered them! They also talk about Apple's iWork and iLife giveaway, Apple's self-driving software/hardware platform, and the latest chips from Intel -- Basin Falls and Coffee Lake.

Speaking of falls, they also analyze the fall of Plastc, which wanted to be the one credit card you use for all your credit accounts, and are wary of the new Mastercard with a biometric fingerprint reader because it's not as secure as Apple Pay. On the year anniversary of his passing, we pay tribute to Prince and report on a new song that's legally in limbo now. We finish up with another Lightning Round covering the iPad shortage, Apple's satellite hires, the Live Photo API, Microsoft busting up two-factor authentication, and the future of Yahoo -- we mean Oath (?). Get on board for an action-packed hour of power, cadets!

This week, Mike and Charles mix it up a little with the Lightning (not Micro USB, thanks) Round! We talk a little (okay, a lot) about our favorite "cult-y" TV shows coming soon, what's up with Nintendo, video card drivers, glucose sensors, Apple automotive stuff, a particularly scary Windows breach (all fixed now, whew!), and Mike's thumbs. Also on deck are some of the latest rumors, and our ever-popular status update! This one is jam-packed!

Our fixation on the revival of the Mac Pro continues, but with plenty of other goodness as well. There's a new video card from Nvidia that offers Mac drivers for its entire line (and which can give new life to older Macs), there's a forthcoming Apple-branded display, much more detail about last Tuesday's announcements, and some people get taken out to the woodshed (like JD Power and Associates) while some get a gold watch and firm handshake (like Walt Mossberg). We also rant about unprofessional entitlement among professional Mac users, Mike's incredible deal on a used (2013) Mac Pro, the classy folks at Pebble, how to deal with discarded tech, and we keep moving the ship ever closer to the launchpad. Stay tuned, cadets!

Tuesday was a surprisingly big day for Apple news, as the company did something it almost never does -- reveal future plans for some of its products. In this case, it was the desktop Mac line that got the love, with surprising revelations and a lot to read between the lines. Mike and Charles report on what happened, analyze the announcements, and fill in some blanks in this half-hour special report. They'll have more to say next week, so stay tuned!

They're back in their separate studios, and ready to talk all about the latest 9.7-inch iPad, which Mike has just gotten. While Charles oohs and aaahs, Mike dissects the strengths and weaknesses. Also on deck for this hour are World Backup Day, what happens when 32-bit apps stop working, Verizon's new play-anywhere TV bundle, the future of cable (with a side trip into CBS' Star Trek casting), the current state of the music (and streaming) business, and and other industries that shifted. There's also the triumph of Apple Pay over Australian banks, forthcoming iPhone speculation, new MacBook and MacBook Pro battery tests (and shocking revelations about how much less good PC owners have it), our Space Javelin revitalized Facebook page (where our detailed show notes now live), and notes on the website progress. Stay tuned!