170: ‘Kicking Dirt on Them While They’re on Fire’ With Ben Thompson
The Talk Show With John Gruber
10/16/16
•171m
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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.
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- 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.
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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:
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
Previous Episode
169: ‘A Murder of Eeros’ With Matthew Panzarino
October 6, 2016
•119m
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.
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- 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.
Next Episode
171: ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma Multitasking’ With John Moltz
October 26, 2016
•126m
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.
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- 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.
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