The Talk Show With John Gruber

Special guest John Moltz returns to the show. Topics include what we expect from this week’s Apple Event for new Mac hardware, and my impressions of the Google Pixel phone after a week using one. This week’s show introduces labeled chapter marks for subject matter. If you use a podcast player that supports them, such as Overcast, let me know what you think. Sponsored by: Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Audible.com: With Audible, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get a free 30-day trial. MailChimp: MailChimp: send better email, sell more stuff. Links: Ars Technica on the Mirai botnet that uses insecure Internet of Things devices. Brian Krebs on the Internet of Things botnet. Images of the new MacBook Pro Magic Toolbar that leaked from Apple itself as resources in MacOS 10.12.1. Darth on the Magic Toolbar and Esc-less hardware keyboard. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Ben Thompson returns to the show. Topics include voice control with AirPods, how to get your entire music library onto an iPhone while using iCloud Music Library, Apple Watch durability, the Dash/App Store controversy, the disappointing and frustrating state of Siri and voice-driven AI assistants, Google's new Pixel phones and the strategy behind them, Snap's (née Snapchat) Spectacles (and why they're nothing like Google's ill-fated Glass), and more. Sponsored by: Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Harry's: An exceptional shave at a fraction of the price. Use code talkshow and get a free bottle of Harry’s post shave balm. Away: First-class luggage at a coach price, including built-in USB chargers. Links: How to download your entire music library to a device using iCloud Music Library. 1991 TidBITS story on NowMenus, a classic Mac OS utility. BetterSnapTool, a Mac window management utility Ben uses. Clipboard history managers for Mac: Copy’em Paste LaunchBar Pastebot Keyboard Maestro Draft: web app that’s Ben’s preferred writing tool. Fluid: longstanding utility that let’s you turn any website into a standalone Mac app. Me on Twitter, posting a photo of my wife’s Apple Watch that fell apart coming off the charger. And then cracking wise. Me on the the Dash/App Store controversy. Dash developer Bogdan Popescu’s “full story”, in a statement to iMore. The circumstances that led Apple to link to the two developer accounts. Phil Stokes on Dropbox’s abuse of admin privileges and Accessibility permissions on MacOS: part 1 and part 2. John Hempton of Bronte Capital on Twitter: “Some Comment on the Twitter Buyout Rumors” “Measuring How Bad Twitter Is” Walt Mossberg: “Why Does Siri Seem So Dumb?” Ben Thompson: “Chat and the Consumerization of It”. Charlie Warzel, writing for BuzzFeed last year — “Apple’s Junk Drawer Problem” — under the premise that most people replace Apple’s apps on the iPhone with Google’s. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Matthew Panzarino returns to the show. Topics include Google’s “Made by Google” hardware announcements (the Pixel phones, Google Wi-Fi routers, their Amazon Echo competitor Google Home), mobile photography, Samsung’s acquisition of Viv, and more. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like. Try Igloo for free. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi, that works. Use code thetalkshow for free overnight shipping. Links: TechCrunch: “Samsung Acquires Viv, a Next-Gen AI Assistant Built by Creators of Apple’s Siri”. Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone catches fire on Southwest plane. Video of Google’s “Made by Google” event. Pixel phone specs. The DxO One camera peripheral for iPhone. Matthew’s 2012 “Hardware + Software Epiphany” tweet. The Here One in-ear “wireless listening system”. Steve Jobs meets ESPN president George Bodenheimer. Classic story. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Serenity Caldwell returns to the show to discuss Apple’s new stuff: the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple Watch Series 2 (and the semi-new Series 1), iOS 10, MacOS Sierra, and more. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Great gift idea. Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Automatic: Your smart driving assistant. The best dingus you’ll ever buy for your car. Save $20 with this link. Links: Mat Honan story of getting hacked back in 2012. The pain-in-the-ass, don’t-do-it-in-the-wrong-order process of backing up and restoring an Apple Watch. iMore: “What You Need to Know About Backing Up Your Apple Watch”. Sena cases for iPhone 7. (Serenity mentioned using one.) “Who needs a slider?” Example video from Serenity showing how slo-mo video from iPhone 7 can create a smooth tracking product hero shot. More slo-mo on iPhone 7. Austin Mann’s stunning iPhone 7 camera review in Rwanda. Great use of iPhone 7 Plus’s Portrait mode for product photography, by Ayaka Nonaka. This is the “pair of boots” photo. My Flickr album of iPhone 7 Plus Portrait mode comparison shots, including this one of a whisky bottle mentioned during the show. Serenity’s camera test between iPhone 7 Plus Portrait mode and a Canon DSLR. Serenity’s just-released review of Apple Watch Series 2, including a terrific video shot entirely with iPhone 7. Noise: iOS piano keyboard app with 3D Touch haptic feedback. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Jim Dalrymple returns to the show, to discuss last week’s Apple event in San Francisco, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple Watch Series 2, and more. Sponsored by: Capto: Global Delight’s screen capture and video-editing app for Mac. 15-day free trial and save 25 percent with code FIREBALL. Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code THETALKSHOW for $50 toward your mattress. Audible.com: With Audible, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Get a free 30-day trial. Links: The 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders and Johnson & Johnson’s handling thereof. Jony Ive says “aluminium”. My Periscope broadcast from the hands-on area at the event. Lots of special guest stars. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Rene Ritchie returns to the show to discuss what we expect to see at Apple’s upcoming event in San Francisco: new iPhones (without headphone jacks, and with a radical new two-lens camera on the Plus-sized model), Apple Watch 2 (and a new fall lineup of watch bands). We also discuss Samsung’s recall of the Galaxy Note 7 (because of exploding batteries), when we’ll see new Mac hardware and new iPads, and more. Sponsored by: Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like. Try Igloo for free. Automatic: Your smart driving assistant. Get $20 off with this link. Links: Apple’s event invitation, suggesting depth-of-field camera effects. Rene Ritchie: “How Apple Does Camera”. Ming-Chi Kuo on what he expects from the iPhone 7 based on supply-chain sources. Tim Cook’s possibly intriguing slip of the tongue regarding Apple Pencil working with iPhones. Jason Snell on new Mac hardware: “If Not September 7, Then When?” This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Guy English returns to the show. Topics include Tim Cook’s five year anniversary as Apple CEO, Steven Levy’s behind-the-scenes look at Apple’s AI and machine learning efforts, Apple’s decision to change the pistol emoji from a realistic revolver to a toy squirt gun, and the demise of Vesper. Also: our favorite Looney Tunes characters. Sponsored by: Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Warby Parker: Boutique-quality, vintage-inspired glasses at a revolutionary price. Try up to five pairs at home for free. Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Links: WASD 6-Key Cherry MX Switch Tester. Tim Cook's excellent interview in The Washington Post. Jan Dawson: "Five Years of Tim Cook's Apple in Charts". Steven Levy: "An Exclusive Inside Look at How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Work at Apple". Levy's excellent books, The Perfect Thing (about the iPod) and In the Plex (about Google's inner workings). Andy Hertzfeld's book on the development of the original Macintosh, Revolution in the Valley, and the website with much of the same source material, Folklore.org. Yours truly: "Vesper, Adieu". Brent Simmons: "Last Vesper Update", "More Notes on Vesper", and "Why Vesper Didn’t Start as a Web App". Yours truly: "Apple and the Pistol Emoji". Chuck Jones’s rules for the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. “The High and the Flighty” — classic Looney Tunes Foghorn Leghorn short. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Jason Snell returns to the show. Topics include the latest rumors regarding the upcoming new iPhones and MacBook Pros, Rick Tetzeli’s cover story for Fast Company on Tim Cook’s Apple, and the connection between baseball and mechanical keyboards. Sponsored by: Boom for iOS: Music player app that redefines the way you listen to music on your iPhone or iPad. Free download. Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi that works. Use code thetalkshow for free overnight shipping. Links: Six Colors. Upgrade episode 101: "It Works Great in California". Mark Gurman's report for Bloomberg on this year's new iPhones. Gurman on new MacBook Pros. UX Magazine: "The Impossible Bloomberg Makeover" -- why Bloomberg terminals have an inscrutable UI that they won't change. WASD Keyboards. The Apple IIgs keyboard. Leopold keyboards. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Wall Street Journal columnist Joanna Stern returns to the show. Topics include media gossip on Eddy Cue negotiations with cable TV companies, Apple’s aging notebook lineup, Apple’s upcoming product announcement event, the Windows 10 upgrade fiasco, and our sweaty feet. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like. Try Igloo for free. Links: The HyperDrive USB-C 5-in-one hub for the new MacBooks. Toms shoes. Joanna on the $50 (with lock-screen ads) Blu R1 HD phone from Amazon. Joanna on the Windows 10 upgrade. The WSJ on Apple’s “hard-charging” negotiations with TV networks (and Eddy Cue’s apparel). This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Glenn Fleishman returns to the show. Topics include security vulnerabilities on MacOS and iOS, ransomware, counterfeit products and outright fraud on Amazon, and online harassment and “free speech”. Sponsored by: Boom 2: System-wide volume booster for Mac, 33 percent off for a brief time. Casper: An obsessively engineered mattress at a shockingly fair price. Use code thetalkshow for $50 toward your mattress. Fracture: Your photos printed directly on glass. Save 10 percent on your first order. Links: Glenn Fleishman, writing for Macworld on recent image processing bugs in MacOS and iOS. Motherboard: “How Sony, Microsoft, and Other Gadget Makers Violate Federal Warranty Law”. New Ransomware Takes Your Money, Deletes Files Anyway. John Norstad, developer of the fantastic early-1990s Mac anti-virus utility Disinfectant. F-Secure tests the customer service of ransomware pirates. isbn.nu: Glenn’s long-standing book search and price comparison site. Glenn’s two new books on Slack: Take Control of Slack Basics and Take Control of Slack Admin. Randi Harper’s Good Game Auto Blocker utility for Twitter. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.