Space Javelin

So Bill Gates says he's on the side of the FBI in their spat with Apple and then he says that's not quite correct, or something. Rather than assess whether a printed quote from him is accurate or not, it would be great to hear him speak. We can't do that. Except, we can hear him speak about Apple back in 1983. It's fascinating to hear a squeaky-voiced young Bill praising the Mac but as hosts William Gallagher and Malcolm Owen spot, there might just be a clue to why Gates said what he said then and why he says what he says now.

That awkward moment when you plan for a guest because you think the week might be a bit slow news-wise and then the whole country explodes. While the Transformers-like battle between the FBI and Apple continues with your Fourth Amendment rights tied to a stake like Joan d'Arc, we chat with Aleen Simms from Agilebits about the importance of password security. She also has a rockin' podcast of her own about women and minorities in tech and assorted geeky pursuits called "Less Than or Equal To." Charles and special guest co-host Malcolm also dig in to a question posed by our colleague Sanjiv: is Apple's software quality slipping, or are we just noticing it a whole lot more? Plus, a few laughs, a civics lesson, and William's App of the Week. Big Brother says check it out.

That awkward moment when you plan for a guest because you think the week might be a bit slow news-wise and then the whole country explodes. While the Transformers-like battle between the FBI and Apple continues with your Fourth Amendment rights tied to a stake like Joan d'Arc, we chat with Aleen Simms from Agilebits about the importance of password security. She also has a rockin' podcast of her own about women and minorities in tech and assorted geeky pursuits called "Less Than or Equal To." Charles and special guest co-host Malcolm also dig in to a question posed by our colleague Sanjiv: is Apple's software quality slipping, or are we just noticing it a whole lot more? Plus, a few laughs, a civics lesson, and William's App of the Week. Big Brother says check it out.

Before you've read to the end of this sentence, things will have moved on again in the case of Apple vs the FBI but One More Thing wants to take us out of the headlights, away from the rabbit hole and instead look at what this fight means overall. For as the US government puts rhetoric before technology, the UK government is doing exactly the same. Are governments just thick or are we now getting to more easily see when their goal is only to be seen to do things, not to actually do them?

Before you've read to the end of this sentence, things will have moved on again in the case of Apple vs the FBI but One More Thing wants to take us out of the headlights, away from the rabbit hole and instead look at what this fight means overall. For as the US government puts rhetoric before technology, the UK government is doing exactly the same. Are governments just thick or are we now getting to more easily see when their goal is only to be seen to do things, not to actually do them?

It's Monday, so it's time for another episode of the MacNN Podcast! Charles is off and about this week, so hosts Mike Wuerthele and Jordan Anderson take to the microphones like it's 2010 again! Join us for a topic-filled 45 minutes, covering the Error 53 lawsuit filed last week, a possible start of filming for Apple unique programming, Apple executives on a (non-MacNN) podcast, and the normal off-topic meandering!

It's Monday, so it's time for another episode of the MacNN Podcast! Charles is off and about this week, so hosts Mike Wuerthele and Jordan Anderson take to the microphones like it's 2010 again! Join us for a topic-filled 45 minutes, covering the Error 53 lawsuit filed last week, a possible start of filming for Apple unique programming, Apple executives on a (non-MacNN) podcast, and the normal off-topic meandering!

This week William Gallagher has a cold but also an Apple Pencil. You're envious now, aren't you? But colds are going around, you'll get one. They're certainly more common than Apple Pencils as its arrival after so very many weeks waiting was enough to make him spill his cough mixture. Malcolm Owen is in fine health and staying as far away from William as he can, but he's got games news, games opinions and also a very particular thingy of the week that involves Windows. Consequently William is staying as far away from Malcolm as he can.

This week William Gallagher has a cold but also an Apple Pencil. You're envious now, aren't you? But colds are going around, you'll get one. They're certainly more common than Apple Pencils as its arrival after so very many weeks waiting was enough to make him spill his cough mixture. Malcolm Owen is in fine health and staying as far away from William as he can, but he's got games news, games opinions and also a very particular thingy of the week that involves Windows. Consequently William is staying as far away from Malcolm as he can.

We begin our second year of The MacNN Podcast by screwing up everything you knew and loved about the site (just kidding, it's a site redesign, please don't freak out). We talk about the whys and solicit thoughtful feedback, we talk about some milestones reached by Apple Pay, move on to a couple of new repair issues, and then discuss general tech world items, like the Seagate HD lawsuit and the possibility of Amazon opening bookstores. All that plus App of the Week on our anniversary edition!