MacVoices Live!
Our MacVoices Live! holiday party features discussions on the Silo two-season renewal, AirTags and travel, and Apple Vision Pro as “Innovation of the Year” award from Popular Mechanics. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flaningan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, Brittany Smith, and Jim Rea also look at the Apple Store winners as well as user privacy issues.
The Department of Justice’s proposal for Google to divest Chrome generates a debate on the pros, cons, and likelihood of that ever happening between Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea. The panel contrasts the implications for America’s tech leadership and navigates the nuances of monopoly versus competition. Finally, Microsoft has a new small computer that looks suspiciously like one of our Apple favorites…but charges a subscription to make to work. Worth the money? What do you think?
David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea debate a U.S. senator’s most recent tech assault, this time on the entity that controls the dot-com domains. Then, we get in the holiday spirit (or not) by discussing the furor over Coca-Cola’s AI-generated holiday ads, whether it is justified, and the factors driving the controversy.
The MacVoices Live! panel of David Ginsburg, Eric Bolden, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Jeff Gamet, Web Bixby, and Jim Rea praise Tim Cook’s political acumen and discuss how other CEOs are trying to copy it. The discussion turns to Drake’s allegations of favoritism and why they seem unlikely, and then to an update on MacBook Pro speaker repairs and what you need to know.
Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby consider Bluesky’s growth in the reported exodus from X and what it says about how people are using social media at this point in time. The panel also discuss at the possibilities for TikTok under the incoming Trump administration, and look at what Sam Bankman-Fried and Godzilla have in common.
MacVoices Live!
The MacVoices Live! panel looks at who the reports of the M4 chip’s problems with virtualization affect and why. Microsoft is in the crosshairs of a new FTC look into Microsoft’s business practices, and Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby share some of their experiences with products that are the focus of the investigation. Then we transition into a discussion of Mobile Device Management by both Apple and Microsoft and what they mean if you are using a machine owned by your employer.
Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Jeff Gamet, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, and Web Bixby look at the unannounced feature that reboots iPhones after an extended period of inactivity, how they view it, and how law enforcement is seeing it. In the same vein, we look at what Apple is giving in the form of an also-unannounced improvement to their laptop screens, the new version of Final Cut, and new games for Apple Arcade. Apple is also taking away some features from and what Apple is taking away some legacy machines in terms of support and repair options. The panel digs through all of that and more.
Chuck Joiner, Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Mark Fuccio, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, and Eric Bolden wrap up a MacVoices Live! discussion by looking at GM going all-in against CarPlay in favor of their own vehicle information/entertainment system and claiming the will achieve better integration. The conversation transitioned to a broader look at vehicle operating systems, as well as some of the fines that are being levied by other countries, whether they fit the offense, and if there was an offense at all.
The tech industry is a dynamic business segment. Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, and Eric Bolden discuss Apple’s acquisition of Pixelmator and how it might affect both Apple-branded offerings as well as the legacy application. Then, layoffs at both Tidal and Dropbox are in the cross hairs. Tidal has been all but left out of the streaming music conversation, and Dropbox seems to have fumbled as they tried to diversify. The panel members have thoughts on both.
The idea of an Apple Vision Pro has been talked about as a way to make the device more affordable. Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, and Eric Bolden consider the implications of inking the Vision Pro to the iPhone for power and processing and how that would impact the user experience. Whether that would actually result in a significant cost savings is called into question, and the use cases it would and wouldn’t impact are discussed.
The Internet Archive, its importance, and a recent DDoS attack on it start off a MacVoices Live! discussion with Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden. The panel also gets a chuckle over the UK adopting a USB-C charging standard, and cover some of the little-knowing LLMs that are more specialized than the ones you might be familiar with.
MacVoices Live! covers several recent shifts in major tech platforms, starting with the mass migration of users from X to Blue Sky and its implications for social media competition. The panel of Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Martty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden discuss the challenges Sonos faces regarding device connectivity and user experience as well as Squarespace’s $7.2 billion acquisition, the internal turmoil within WordPress under Automatic, and the possible effect on the web site building industry.
MacVoices Live! panel members Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Martty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden have differing use cases for Apple’s new set list feature in Music, at least a couple of which will surprise you. We also debate the importance of celebrity endorsements through the new Beats Pill, cover the reported increase in iPhone sales in Russia, and an Irish seizure of counterfeit Apple products.
Apple Pay turned 10 recently and the MacVoices Live! panel discussed its transformation and influence in mobile payments since its launch. Then, Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Martty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and Eric Bolden detour into political territory, examining a political narrative surrounding a rumored phone call between Tim Cook and Donald Trump related to EU regulations. The conversation focused on the need for both skeptical and mixed media coverage.
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