Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.
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54: goto fail;
Wolfram Language. The "goto fail" SSL bug and the chances that it was nefariously introduced by an NSA effort, possibly as part of their $250 million annual budget for such operations. Apple's warrant canary. Casey's and Marco's hard-to-find bugs and language misfeatures. (Perl protects John from writing bugs.) Whether language-interpreter warnings should be treated as errors in production. The Scriptnotes episode with the Final Draft CEO, the follow-up in the next episode, and Kent Tessman's response. After-show: Google lobbying against Glass bans while driving, and Objective-C exception conventions. Next week will be the Software Methodologies show. For real this time! Sponsored by: Picturelife: The one app your photos need. Back up, search, edit, and share on Mac and iOS. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code CASEY for 10% off. HelpSpot: Simple, powerful, customizable help-desk software with no monthly fees. Use code ATP14 for $100 off. Become a member!
53: There's Gonna Be Some Flapping
Follow-up on why Flappy Bird was successful. Kieran Healy's excellent article with science. John Gruber and Merlin Mann at SXSW '09. Goofball Jones' anonymous criticism of John's "shtick", and John's defense including many links: An explanation of John's "schtick" Some podcasts where John talks about things he likes: Goodfellas I Like My Coffee Like My Evil Sith Lords Death Star University Darth Vader's Office is Really Weird Jedi Weekend Wind is the Enemy Skywalker's Eleven Also Known as Endor Journey: Then We Touched, Then We Sang Professor Siracusa's Anime 101 Hangin' With the Totes Masterpiece: Ico The Incomparable #100: Who Cares What We Think? - Why we do podcasts about what we think of things, good and bad. An ATP episode about how we deal with criticism The massive WhatsApp acquistion by Facebook, the huge value of mobile messaging, and the web giants' chilling effect on competition. The "Copland 2010" argument that Objective-C needs to be replaced: John's original "Copland 2010" article from 2005 Copland 2010 Revisited (in 2010) We Need to Replace Objective-C (Ash Furrow) Replacing Objective-C and Cocoa (Steve Streza) Objective: Copland 2010 (Guy English) Separating language shortcomings from API shortcomings. Casey got us to talk about LINQ briefly. Long-term evolution of programming languages. Sponsored by: Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. lynda.com: Learn at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials. Free 7-day trial. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code CASEY for 10% off. Become a member!
52: Necessary But Not Sufficient
Facebook Paper's gesture usability, in-app tutorial videos, and the design challenge of gestural interface. RootMetrics testing real-world wireless speeds. Despite constant effort to improve usability, what if computers just aren't for everyone? (There's a similar long-standing debate with programming. See 4GL.) The Flappy Bird saga: Whether it's a good game and why the developer pulled it. (See also: Super Hexagon.) Is free-with-in-app-purchase ruining the game industry?. Comcast buying Time Warner and the implications on U.S. broadband competition. The stupid new top-level domains (TLDs). iBeacons and Bluetooth LE in stores and .museums. After-show: Bionic on new TLDs (at 26:50) and whether the TLDs are just a scam by ICANN, Patreon, and yet more on the Mac Pro. Sponsored by: Hover: High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use promo code WHOTHEHELLISCASEY for 10% off. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code CASEY for 10% off. Transporter: A private cloud storage drive that you own and control. Use code ATP for 10% off any Transporter, or ATPSHARE to get the Transporter Sync for just $75. Become a member!
51: Maybe We're Just Dinosaurs
The FiOS net-neutrality non-story and last summer's YouTube-throttling story. More FU on iPads going pro, giant-tablet-desk ergonomics, trying to understand John's theory again, and a train analogy from Casey. New Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Bill Gates' new wildcard role, and Microsoft's likely future direction. (Marco's post, John Gruber's post, Brent Simmons' post) Paper, Paper, Paper, Fifty Three, and Figure 53. Responsibly naming things by first searching for trademark conflicts and potentially applying for your own trademark. Apple's role in App Store name conflicts. Facebook Paper's opportunity cost to the world. After-show: More on Microsoft and some Retina MacBook Air speculation. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code CASEY for 10% off. Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. lynda.com: Learn at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials. Free 7-day trial. Become a member!
50: Disk Light Observer Effect
Follow-up on why an iPad "Pro" needs to be larger and why iOS is "better for people". Can iOS add more power-user functionality without harming its simplicity or usability? Whether Macs should ship with ARM CPUs, how such a transition would be challenging today, and whether Casey should just buy another power adapter. The 30th anniversary of the Macintosh and the experience of using its power switch (photo from iFixit's awesome teardown). Disk-ejecting usability. Using iStat Menus to monitor your performance and assist future hardware decisions. (Or not.) Lenovo buying Motorola's pillaged carcass from Google, and whether they ruined the IBM ThinkPad. After-show: What will we reflect on in 20 years as being the obvious sore spot with computers today? Sponsored by: HelpSpot: Simple, powerful, customizable help-desk software with no monthly fees. Use code ATP14 for $100 off. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code MARCO for 10% off. Cards Against Humanity: A free party game for horrible people. Become a member!
49: Roamio and Siracusiet
Follow-up: Genius Bar employee reports of how most people deal with iCloud backups, photo backups, and storage limits, iExplorer for exporting iMessages. iOS' storage model is a leaky abstraction. Google may have wanted Nest for its smart-home project as well as the more obvious reasons. TiVo may be exiting the hardware business, or maybe not. Nintendo continues to hurt. Why was the first Wii really successful, and what really held back its long-term usage? Matt Drance, Fred Wilson, and Nilay Patel on the net neutrality news. After-show: The Prompt looks back on the iPhone keynote, The Prompt on an iPad Pro, The Talk Show on crossing iOS and OS X, Not Playing podcast. Sponsored by: Harvest: Simple, beautiful online time-tracking software. Use code ATP for 50% off your first month. lynda.com: Learn at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials. Free 7-day trial. Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Use code ATP14 for 20% off. (Marco's app-icon Fractures) Become a member!
48: Marco Bought Four
Follow-up: whether iMessage problems are widespread, reasons behind flattening the Mac Mini, and HDR TVs. The storage costs of Casey's emoji. Google buying Nest for $3.2 billion. Ben Thompson on Google's business model. Nest has over 200 employees, including many ex-Apple employees. The Target-pregnant story. Marco's critical reading of Nest's statements. Maintaining a skeptical but pragmatic relationship with Google. Stephen Hackett's pants and regrets. Modern expectations of privacy. Potential for privacy laws like HIPAA applied to consumer technology. Google's public opinion is turning, but stories like this will never be in USA Today. Thought experiments with Apple buying Twitter, Dropbox, or Intel. After-show: Marco's house is filled with LEDs, John's house is filled with CFLs, and Casey's house is filled with apathy. Sponsored by: Transporter: A private cloud storage drive that you own and control. Use code ATP for 10% off any Transporter. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code MARCO for 10% off. Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. Become a member!
47: Better Pixels
Follow-up: IBM AS/400 (aka System i) and single-level store. Marco's Retina theory. PS4 and Xbone sales. Trying to care about CES. Who "needs" the Mac Pro? Justifying toys and improving quality of life with smart purchases. Panasonic’s new LCD TVs compared to great TVs of the past. 4K on Fox Sports, 4K's color space, and the chances of 4K catching on quickly. A Steam Box (its controller) as a replacement for a gaming PC. Three old men reminiscing about their teenage gaming years: Null-modem cables, modems, and special networking software. Modem initialization strings and SLIP. What killed LAN parties? Perhaps it was great 4-player N64 games. Three Moves Ahead Podcast. Voodoo 3D cards, their silly cables, and Sound Blasters. Sponsored by: Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Use code ATP14 for 25% off. (Marco's app-icon Fractures) Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code MARCO for 10% off. Become a member!
46: A Compromised Machine
Mac Pro follow-up: socketed CPUs and potential upgrades, and the benefits of only using stock Apple parts. Scoring Apple's performance on John's 2013 to-do list. Concerns about Apple's recent Mac apps, including iWork '13 and Messages/iMessage. AnandTech's Mac Pro review. The Mac Pro's 4K/Retina monitor situation. The iMac vs. the Mac Pro, and the hardware needs of developers. Why do John and Marco care so much about Retina? What the next big computer-hardware shift may be. After-show: our future as old men, saturating USB 3, and the often-neglected Mac Mini. Sponsored by: OmniGraffle: Sketchy mockups or pixel-perfect designs for UX, UI, and diagrams. Hover: High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use promo code TECHBYCHANCE for 10% off. Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code MARCO for 10% off. Become a member!
45: Give Up On The Retina Dream
Explaining our podcast artwork. Facebook Likes in the App Store and ad-banner blindness. Dual-input displays and how they enable the 5120x2880 display that John and Marco want. Turbo Boost and the Mac Pro's CPU options. Using a laptop on a stand with an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor. The benefits of desktops and ECC. Mac Pro configurations for best value and future-proofing. Building separate gaming PCs, switching to iMacs, or trying to wedge PC gaming into Mac Pros. Mac Pro price stratification over time. Outlook 2011 for Mac complaints and John's multiple-selection-invalidation bug. Casey said some stuff at the end. Special holiday theme song by Jonathan Mann. Sponsored by: Hover: High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use promo code ATP for 10% off. Warby Parker: Boutique-quality, vintage-inspired eyewear at a revolutionary price. Become a member!
44: A Plague With Very Minor Effects
What if the new USB connector is too similar to Lightning? (John Gruber on Lightning) Potential for 5120-wide Retina displays to overcome Thunderbolt bandwidth limits by using "dual-input displays"? John's "quick" tips for TV calibration. (THX TV-calibration app) "Rate This App" dialogs: The Talk Show's excellent discussion. Marco's post. Underscore David Smith on App Store quality standards. How Apple could process "report as inappropriate" at scale. The effects of web popularity on Casey and Marco's respective unpopular apps (Fast Text and Bugshot). 5 Whys exploring why developers use "Rate This App" dialogs. What could Apple do to improve this? App Store discoverability vs. search, and how search could be improved. How much developers should be responsible for their own app marketing, and the uncomfortable reality that many apps just aren't compelling enough to sell well. Sponsored by: Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. Hover: High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use promo code ATP for 10% off. Audible: Over 150,000 downloadable audiobooks. Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial. Become a member!
43: Brilliance Enhancer
Accidental Fountain Screenplay: The Case of Liss by Joe Steel. (And Bionic.) Desktop 4K/Retina resolutions hitting bandwidth limitations of Thunderbolt 2 and DisplayPort 1.2, and the Sharp/Apple non-news. John's Squarespace-reseller idea already exists. Why aren't iOS App Store purchases available for purchasing and management in the App Store app on the Mac? John's new TV: Technological progression from CRT to plasma and LCD, and the many hacky tricks used by modern TVs to overcome limitations and look better in stores. See also: Hypercritical 16: The Soap Opera Effect. The new John Siracusa TV. John's TV-calibration regimen. Why we're not talking about the iOS notification sync in OS X that never shipped. Merlin's response to our criticism discussion, and how Casey reacts to little worms. After-show Neutral: the new M3/M4 and John's dead pedal. Sponsored by: Pixelmator: Full-featured image editing app for the Mac. Transporter: A private cloud storage drive that you own and control. End-of-the-year sale: Use code ATP30 for $30 off any Transporter before midnight on December 31, 2013! Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code ATP12 for 10% off. Become a member!
42: The Ultimate Vanity Search
FU on PrimeSense. Apple's acquisition of Topsy and speculation on why. Apple's possible difficulty in getting and keeping enough engineering talent, and how they might make bigger strides in web services. Which group wears the pants in a company? Marco's embarrassing FiOS support calls. How Apple's release and marketing schedule affects their web services. Methodologies and vocabularies. USB spec group will add a reversible connector, the history of terrible USB connectors (see also: Hypercritical #5 from around 45 minutes, Hypercritical #6 from around 9 minutes, and the entire rest of the series, too), Lightning epitomizing Apple. Dell renews hope for desktop Retina with the new Mac Pro, single big monitors vs. dual smaller ones, and higher-than-native resolution scaling on the Retina MacBook Pro (see also: Eye-Friendly). Waiting for a new technology to fully mature before switching, or adopting it earlier with tradeoffs and hacks. Texas. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Everything you need to create an exceptional website. Use promo code ATP12 for 10% off. Igloo: An intranet you'll actually like. Free for up to 10 people, and affordable for your entire company. (And check out this landing page, especially if you enjoyed John's Enterprise Software Assumptions in episode 39.) Hover: High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use promo code ATP for 10% off. Become a member!
41: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish
David Chartier's clarification on Photo Stream limits. Space Monkey, Transporter, Box, and Xdrive. Results of John's Disk Utility repair survey. (John on Debug) Xbox One launch sales. Apple buys PrimeSense. Apple's potential expansion into the TV business. Penny Arcade's job posting, Marco's reaction, and the outgoing employee's description. Extended after-show: how we deal with criticism, trolls, and our own flaws when facing our audience. Sponsored by: Warby Parker: Boutique-quality, vintage-inspired eyewear at a revolutionary price. Use coupon code ATP for free 3-day shipping. Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. iPhone now available. Become a member!
40: The Compliance Shark
Follow-up on Cisco VPNs on Mavericks and [photo backups] to SkyDrive on Windows Mobile Phone Series Metro Not-Metro Phone Windows. Why enterprise software is so hard, and the barriers to entry for small companies targeting the enterprise market. Game-console sales by generation, Nintendo In Crisis, and AnandTech's Xbox One and PS4 mini-review. Casey's new Retina iPad Mini, Marco's accidentally popular image-retention test, DisplayMate quality analysis, free data with a T-Mobile SIM, and choosing between the iPad Air and Retina Mini. A7 thermal throttling in iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and Retina iPad Mini, and deeper analysis of the A7. John's disk-corruption adventure and why you should "repair" your HFS disks. Take John's disk-repair results survey! Ending Theme Song 2.0 by Jonathan Mann. (We still like the old one, so we'll keep it but rotate this in sometimes.) After-show: Fraser Speirs producing his podcast on an iPad, Back to Work 146 with Dan possibly going iPad-only, SimCity 2000 on SNES, Lex's Logitech Ultrathin Mini keyboard review, Apple refurb discounts, and the Casio B.O.S.S., which can even exchange data with a PC! Sponsored by: Ting: Mobile that makes sense. No contracts, and pay only for what you use. Gemvara: The revolutionary leader of custom-made, fine jewelry shopping online. Become a member!