Space Javelin

It's been pointed out to us that this may be the only Mac technology podcast that comes out of the UK. Maybe the UK is just smaller than it seems to us as we sit here. If it's true, though, we do have a certain responsibility to be the best technology podcast possible and to podcastily cover technology. There is plenty of tech this week ranging from OLED we haven't got to wireless charging that we now have, plus digs at Microsoft and Android, probably, and a brand new feature. It's a blink and you miss it new feature, but it's important: we present the One More Thing fully comprehensive guide to buying TV sets.

Not that you would, but you could shut up co-presenters Malcolm Owen and William Gallagher by just clicking cancel or maybe a close box, perhaps choosing Quit or any other way you've got of stopping your podcast app playing. It has always been thus, it will always remain this so long as the stars are in the heavens and you are in control of your own computer. Except now. Microsoft is so hell-bent on making you upgrade to Windows 10 that it has broken several decades worth of ingrained muscle memory for you. That thing you do, you can't. That thing you want to do, tough.

Chas is back, but the free-association drifting from topic to topic continues. A discussion about Tim Cook's visit to India turns into a talk about LTE, then about the 15th anniversary of the opening of the first two Apple Stores, then about how deadly eMacs can be -- and that's just the first segment! Also on tap are a bipartisan bill to put a leash on the FBI, looking at the factors behind the recent surge of Chromebook buying, the annual BackBlaze report on consumer-level hard drive reliability, our two latest recurring features -- Two Week Trial and Technically Speaking -- and why we felt like we needed them. In addition, William Gallagher stops by to extol the hidden power of Hazel. Please note: there won't be an episode next week due to the US Memorial Day weekend. One More Thing (our other podcast) will carry on as normal, however.

Since time began and chocolate was first invented, it has been a universal rule: everything that is bad for you tastes or looks or feels good. Now, though, there appears to be an exception with scam ads masquerading as magical cures to our girths and our BMI. The ads aren't new, though they do seem to be increasing, but what's come out this week is that we are worse than gullible.

Charles is headed down south to Florida for the Orlando Fringe Festival, so Mike and Jordan again tackle the headlines of the week, including Apple's surprise investment in Didi Chuxing in China, Cyrus Vance's call for mandatory decryption, new issues with iTunes, the discontinuation of Disney Infinity and the company's Star Wars film line, Mike's two week trial of the Apple Watch, the disparity among App Store profits, and William's App of the Week -- or rather, year -- FileMaker Pro.

Co-host William Gallagher is convinced that this week’s reveal of Viv, from the original makers of Siri, is a very big deal and Malcolm Owen isn’t. One week on from their series-defining agreement over something or other, they’re back to this. For once, though, one of them actually convinces the other about something. We know: impossible. There’s no such thing as proper conversation, certainly not on podcasts or the telly, there is just one person talking and the other waiting for them to shut up. In this case, though, minds and opinions are changed. See if you get turned around about Spotify’s television plans too.

Welcome back the "Off Topic" crew of Mike and Jordan for this week's MacNN Podcast, since Charles was literally "under the weather" due to allergies. As is typical for the pair, a wide range of topics is discussed, from Intel's abandonment of the Atom chip to why the MacBook's USB-C implementation is unsatisfying, to some great games amid the news that Epic is leaving big-budget game development behind. The tablet and Enterprise sectors, the Apple Car (?) and Space X, Cupertino and taxes, and App of the Week -- your weekly tech roundup is all right here!

In an unexpected plot twist, co-hosts William Gallagher and Malcolm Owen this week agree on something. They've still got very different opinions on games, PCs and, this time, also hammers for some reason. Yet there is a moment of humanity that's only taken 37 episodes to appear. It's about a keyboard.

This week it's a parade of bad news again, though some of the "bad" news is actually not all that bad (hint: Apple's financials). Some of the bad news is really bad news, though: a suicide at Apple headquarters, the tragic loss of two young fishermen and the iPhone they left behind; and a sinister and ill-considered rule change by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. There are some bright spots, as always: William's App of the Week and the return of our Crowdfunding Critic column, among others. As always, Charles and Mike (and William) lead you through it all.

Definitely a very different episode. William Gallagher is out, Gilliam Wallagher is back, scones are bandied about, and MacNN Editor Charles Martin not only muscles his way into hosting, but brings along an outtake discussion from The MacNN Podcast that takes up half the show. Bloody Canadians. All this, plus a surprisingly positive analysis of Apple's fiscal Q2 report, and Thingy of the Week.