Rachel Schmitz shares the origin and evolution of The Intentional Family podcast, born out of the 2020 lockdown to support overwhelmed families. At MacStock 2025, she discusses her renewed inspiration to continue podcasting, her approach to social media, and plans to foster deeper connections through live streams and newsletters—all rooted in authenticity and purpose.
https://youtu.be/cfjLdKl9wOo Apple announces a new Chief Operating Officer as Jeff Williams prepares to retire, while Meta continues poaching AI talent from Cupertino, including key team lead Ruoming Pang. Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Ben Roethig, Marty...
During a break at Macstock Conference and Expo, we had a chance to chat with Blair Mah and his daughter Jasmine about their first-time Macstock experiences. They highlight the diversity of attendees and presentation topics, the strong sense of community, and the high educational value of the sessions. From in-depth technical talks to practical tips, both found the event enriching and inspiring, and had one request for next year.
Belkin’s abrupt shutdown of Wemo smart plugs has left users frustrated and reconsidering future smart home purchases. The MacVoices Live! panel of David Ginsburg, Mike Potter, Jim Rea, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Chuck Joiner, Jeff Gamet, and Web Bixby discuss the broader issue of trusting closed platforms, the limitations of HomeKit, and the need for open-source solutions like Matter and Thread. The conversation highlights concerns about long-term device viability and their (and your) smart home ecosystem’s fragility.
Apple’s Vision Pro strategy gains momentum with acquisitions aimed at improving avatars and AI reliability. A new $500M rare earth recycling partnership with MP Materials signals Apple’s commitment to U.S.-based sustainable supply chains. The FTC’s “click-to-cancel” rule reversal sparks debate, and the panel of David Ginsburg, Mike Potter, Jim Rea, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Chuck Joiner, Jeff Gamet, and Web Bixby explores Blusky’s efforts to attract news and sports content to rival legacy social media platforms.
Mark Fuccio, Wally Cherwinski, and host Chuck Joiner finish off the second part of MacVoices 2024 Holiday Gift Guide with small picks, big picks, iPhone picks, audio picks, and more. (Part 2)
MacVoices 2024 Holiday Gift Guide #2 features picks and commentary by Mark Fuccio, Wally Cherwinski, and host Chuck Joiner. Some obvious picks, some surprises, and all great ideas. (Part 1)
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.
Mike Schmitz, Bart Busschots, Marty Jencius, and host Chuck Joiner finish up the first MacVoices Gift Guide of 2024 with picks that go from apparel to hardware and software. (Part 2)
Our annual holiday gift guide series kicks off with picks from Mike Schmitz, Bart Busschots, Marty Jencius, and host Chuck Joiner, covering categories from audio to coffee and beyond. (Part 1)
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.
Jeff Carlson, the author of Take Control of Apple Watch, 5th edition, continues the discussion of some of the new capabilities of the latest Apple Watch and watchOS 11. The innovative check-in tool in Messages for notifying loved ones of safe arrivals, the benefits of the ultra-wideband chip for finding misplaced phones and the new offline Translate app for seamless communication while traveling highlight a discussion of those features.
Jeff Carlson has updated Take Control of Apple Watch to the 5th edition to cover Apple Watch 10, Apple Watch Ultra, and watchOS 11. The first part of our conversation covers his approach to the update and the contstant evolution of Apple’s products. Jeff shares insights on major updates, such as the enhanced Smart Stack widget and live activities integration, as well as advancements in health tracking, workout management, and notifications that streamline the user experience.
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.
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