104: ‘2014 Year in Review’ With Guest Rene Ritchie

Special guest Rene Ritchie returns to the show for a special Apple 2014 year-in-review episode. Just a few of the many topics covered: Apple’s Beats acquisition; WWDC 2014 in hindsight; an aside speculating on the alternate universe where Google acquired WebOS instead of Android; the similarities between the “projected UI” nature of AirPlay, CarPlay, and WatchKit; UI fonts (Helvetica Neue in Yosemite, Apple Sans, and the Watch’s San Francisco (a.k.a. “DINvetica”)); Apple’s growing ability to design and bring to market its own hardware internals and components; recent controversies and confusing rejections at the App Store (and the need for a public-facing App Store ombudsman); and what we’re looking forward to in 2015.

Sponsored by:

• Backblaze: Unlimited, unthrottled, online backup for Mac.
• Hover: The world’s best domain registrar. Use coupon code “scotch” and save 10 percent on any order.
• lynda.com: Online video training and tutorials. Use this link for a 7-day free trial.

Links:

• Debug, Rene’s tech podcast with Guy English.
• ReviewCast, Rene’s movie/pop culture podcast
• Rumors of a new 4-inch iPhone in 2015 (a.k.a. the iPhone 6S Minus).
• App Store rejection hijinx: Drafts, Transmit, PCalc.