The Talk Show With John Gruber

Special guest John Moltz returns to the show. Topics include Apple Watch; rumors that Apple is working on a secret car project; our love of old Mac hardware; and a long discussion on Ian Parker’s extraordinary New Yorker profile of Jony Ive and his design team at Apple. Sponsored by: Automatic: Super cool connected-car adapter. Save 20 percent through this link. Squarespace: Start here. Go anywhere. Use coupon code “JG” and save 10 percent. Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Use code “daringfireball” and save 15 percent. Links: Ian Parker’s New Yorker profile of Jony Ive and his design team. Macintosh SE/30. Macintosh IIci. Report that Apple has a team designing a car. Dan Lyons is shocked — shocked — that Jony Ive owns a Bentley and has a chauffeur.

Merlin Mann returns to the show to talk about movies and shit. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your photos, printed directly on glass. Use coupon “daringfireball” to save 15 percent. Harry’s: Be the smartest man in the (bath)room. Use coupon code “talkshow” and save $5 on your first order. Foremost: Purveyor of small-batch, American-made clothing for men and women. Use coupon code "finally" for 20% off (and the same code works at Need, too). Links: The Carson Podcast. PBS Masters special on Johnny Carson. If you haven’t seen this, watch it. If you have seen it, watch it again. Trust me. Henry Bushkin’s book on Johnny Carson. Dustin Curtis: “Privacy vs. User Experience”. The Wisdom of Insecurity. Kids in Mind. Phthalates. From The Talk Show archive: “H.R. Fluffypuff”.

MG Siegler returns to the show, reporting from London. Topics include last week’s blockbuster earnings report from Apple, the increasingly imminent Apple Watch, phone display sizes, the impact of China on sales, rethinking the intended purpose and success of the iPhone 5C, speculation on Apple’s 2015 product roadmap, and whether Bluetooth is the future for mass market earbuds and headphones. Sponsored by: Oscar: A new kind of health insurance company. Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Use code “daringfireball” and save 15 percent. Backblaze: Unlimited, unthrottled online backup for your Mac for just $5 per month. Links: Red Obsession: Interesting 2011 documentary on the wine industry and China’s growing role in it. Currently available for streaming on Netflix. MG Siegler on the iPhone 5C back in April 2014: “The iPhone 5C Billboard Assault”. Apple’s outstanding Q1 2015 results. Samsung’s not-so-good results.

Topics include Apple’s pseudo “sabbaticals” (employees who leave the company but then return after a year or two); Google’s cultural similarities to Microsoft; the ways that Apple (and iOS users) might miss Scott Forstall; accessibility as a high priority for Apple; Instagram’s success (and how they effectively ate Hipstamatic’s lunch); a debate on just how “simple” Twitter is; Box’s successful IPO, and Dropbox’s support for Yosemite’s official Finder integration for such services; MIT economist Jonathan Gruber pissing in my Google juice; Chromebooks; Amazon’s overall strategy, and the colossal failure of their Fire Phone; and, lastly, a good chunk on Microsoft’s Windows 10/HoloLens event last week. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your pictures, printed directly on glass. Use code “daringfireball” and save 15 percent. Need: A refined retailer and lifestyle magazine for men. Igloo: The intranet you’ll actually like. Links: Ben Thompson’s Stratechery website and Exponent podcast. Mark Bylok’s The Whiskey Cabinet, an excellent new book. Duet Display — iPad app that turns your iPad into a second display for your Mac. Box’s IPO. Tim Cook’s tweet on Box’s IPO. Hipstamatic Jibe vs. Jive vs. Gibe Michael Jackson’s death. Austin Carr’s excellent story for Fast Company on the development of Amazon’s Fire Phone. Amazon Echo — the standalone always-listening AI assistant, with a three-month backlog. Joanna Stern on Windows 10 HoloLens.

Special guest Marco Arment returns to the show. Topics include microphones; Marco’s much-publicized article last week on Apple’s seemingly declining software quality; talking to the press and agreeing to interviews; Apple’s relatively tiny developer relations team (and how that pertains to the aforementioned segment on Apple’s perceived software quality); the purported new 12-inch MacBook Air and its dearth of peripheral ports; and more. Sponsored by: Fracture: Your photos, printed directly on glass. Use coupon “daringfireball” to save 15 percent. Squarespace: Start here. Go anywhere. Use coupon code “JG” and save 10 percent. Harry’s: Be the smartest man in the (bath)room. Use coupon code “talkshow” and save $5 on your first order. Links: Heil PR40 microphone. Shure SM7B microphone. Marco’s article: “Apple Has Lost the Functional High Ground”. My take on the “Functional High Ground” thing. Panic’s App Store woes. Mark Gurman’s purported scoop on the upcoming new MacBook Air. Jason Snell’s Macworld review of the original MacBook Air in 2008.

A brief chat about the Star Wars movies, with special guests John Siracusa and Guy English. Update, Monday 5 January 2015: Updated with a new Special Edition edit, including a new introduction, a new editing gag around the 2:20:00 mark, new poster art, and some subtle re-syncing of the audio tracks. No extra Banthas were added, and Siracusa still shoots first. Sponsored by: Casper: Premium mattresses at great prices. Fracture: Your photos, printed directly on glass. Use coupon “gruber” to save 20 percent. Backblaze: Unlimited, unthrottled, online back up for Mac. Links: Michael Heilemann’s Kitbashed (highly recommended). “Plinkett” reviews The Phantom Menace (sort of kind of not really recommended). Original poster for Star Wars. Leigh Brackett’s script for The Empire Strikes Back. “Star Wars” Episodes of The Incomparable. Yes, that was young Greedo in The Phantom Menace. The complete Star Wars: Clone Wars cel-animated series from 2003 — pretty fun, worth watching.

Special guest Jason Snell joins the show for a year-end extravaganza. Topics include Jason’s first three months writing (and podcasting) as an indie at his new Six Colors; a look back at his 20-year career at MacUser and soon thereafter Macworld; tricky edge cases when booking sponsorships, and the whole situation with separating advertising sales from editorial integrity when you’re running a one-person publication; the Sony/North Korea hacking and The Interview, and iTunes’s slightly belated release thereof; and we pour one out for good old Movable Type. Sponsored by: Hover: The world’s best domain registrar. Use coupon code “bourbon” and save 10 percent on any order. Backblaze: Unlimited, unthrottled, online backup for Mac. Squarespace 7: Start here. Go anywhere. Use code “jg” and save 10 percent. Links: McSweeney’s: “Email Addresses It Would Be Really Hard to Give Out Over the Phone” (a classic). Jason Snell at Six Colors: “No Other Gatekeeper But Me” Power Computing, the leading Mac clone maker. Mac clones. The 1997 merger of MacUser and Macworld. Chandler reading Macworld on Friends Daring Fireball piece on software bundles back in 2006: “The Iniquities of the Selfish”. Wilfredo Sanchez’s crackerjack whitepaper from 2000: “The Challenges of Integrating the Unix and Mac OS Environments”. Lycos, not dead yet. John Gruber, Dan Moren, and Jason Snell talking about Raiders of the Lost Ark on episode 8 of The Incomparable back in 2010.

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.

Special guest Dan Frommer joins the show to talk about prop bets in Vegas, more Star Wars, some follow-up on James Bond, what should Apple do with its mountains of cash?, speculation on why iPad sales growth has stagnated, and more. Also, some in-depth segments on Instagram and the concept of “institutional taste”. Sponsored by: Hullo: Your favorite pillow. Guaranteed. Harry's: Quality men’s shaving products. Use code “talkshow” and save $5. Squarespace: Start here. Go anywhere. Use code “jg” and save 10 percent. Links: Great photo of Dan, recording the show at Quartz’s office. Dan’s article, “Ten Things We Learned About Apple in 2014”. The Cubs sign ex-Rays manager Joe Madden and pitcher Jon Lester. Superbowl 51 will go back to stupid Roman numerals. Eric Jackson’s piece for Forbes, “Apple’s $100 Billion Waste: Tim Cook’s Single Biggest Mistake As CEO”, wherein he argues Apple should buy Tesla, Twitter, and Pinterest. GT Advanced and their crazy approach to making deals. Instagram active user announcement. Ev Williams “doesn’t give a shit” about Instagram’s numbers. OK Go’s latest video. Seriously, watch this. Stephen Colbert on the new Sith lightsaber in The Force Awakens teaser.

Special guest Dave Wiskus joins the show to talk about the new teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and just-announced title and cast for the 24th EON Productions Bond movie, Spectre. Other topics include the untapped potential of podcasting and YouTubing, cutting babies in half, turtle copulation, and kangaroo genitalia. Sponsored by: lynda.com: Online video training and tutorials. Use this link for a 7-day free trial. Need: Refined retailer and lifestyle magazine for men. Squarespace: Start here. Go anywhere. Use code “JG” and save 10 percent. Backblaze: Unlimited, unthrottled online backup for Mac. Links: Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser Spectre, the upcoming 24th EON Productions James Bond film Midnight Run Original 1976 Star Wars trailer, sans John Williams’s score, with uncolored lightsabers and a Helvetica Bold logotype John Brownlee: “In Defense of the New Star Wars Lightsaber” BBC’s Fleming miniseries (It’s currently streaming on Netflix.) Everything or Nothing — good documentary on the Bond films, also streaming on Netflix currently Fantastic re-cut Never Say Never Again intro, including Dionne Warwick’s unused recording of John Barry’s “Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” for the opening credits Dave Addey: “Typeset in the Future: Alien” Unprofessional Wiskus’s “Better Elevation” video show, and the recent “Podcast Intervention” and “How to Make a Hit App” episodes CGP Grey