The Tech Night Owl Live Tech Radio With A Twist!

This week, we present commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles, who focuses a main part of his conversation with Gene on Apple’s record earnings for the March 2018 quarter. Despite all the unfounded rumors of poor iPhone X sales, which hurt the company’s stock price for several weeks, Apple reported that its flagship smartphone was its top-selling gadget for every week it was on sale — and thus the top-selling handset on the planet. You’ll also hear about Apple’s decision to discontinue AirPort Wi-Fi routers, why it may have occurred, and possible alternatives. And what about the announcement that, once again, T-Mobile and Sprint are attempting a merger. Will this play out this time with a different administration in Washington? Will customers receive better service, and how will prices be impacted? What about the fate of employees of both companies, and merging two incompatible cellular networks. Josh also explains why, for now, he’s bas

This week, we present outspoken commentator Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer, who briefly talks about the Slenderman urban legend, which is featured on our other radio show, The Paracast, before jumping full tilt into technology. There will be a detailed discussion about Apple's decision to discontinue AirPort routers, and why, after pioneering that business, it decided to give it all up. What about reports that the HomePod smart speaker system isn't selling so well? What about a thought piece. so to speak, in Macworld about products Apple ought to give up? Gene and Jeff point out that one of the items on the list, the Mac mini continues to get the love from Apple with positive statements from such executives as Tim Cook and Philip Schiller. The state of iTunes for Mac and Windows is discussed, plus the possibility that Apple might move the Mac platform to its customized ARM-based processors, or is there yet another option? In a special encore presentation, you'll also hear from columnist Rob

This week, we present outspoken commentator and podcaster Peter Cohen, who focuses on such topics as recent concerns about the alleged poor sales of Apple's HomePod smart speaker system. You'll also hear Peter explain why he loves his Apple Watch, what he uses it for, and about its ongoing success; it's now the best selling wearable in he world. And what about the possibilities for the next Mac Pro, due some time in 2019 according to Apple? What about renewed rumors that Apple plans to move Macs from Intel processors to its own ARM-based designs? Are there pitfalls? What about emulating Intel apps, at least at the start, and running Windows apps as you can do now on a Mac? To be brief, Gene remains skeptical that it's going to happen anytime soon. You'll also hear from John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. The bill of fare this week includes Apple CEO Tim Cook's denial that Apple plans to merge iOS and macOS into some sort of converged product. What about Amazon's Fire

This week, we present security expert Chris Weber, co-founder of Casaba Security, a Seattle-based ethical hacking firm that advises major tech, financial, retail and healthcare companies. They also work with companies to develop secure apps and software. He is the co-author of the book, "Privacy Defended: Protecting Yourself Online." During this session, Chris will discuss the growing brouhaha over Facebook privacy, and the kind of information they collect about their users. Its unexpected involvement with the 2016 Presidential campaign is also covered, and what about the appearance of Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg before Congress? You'll also hear Chris talk in general about protecting your privacy, and making it harder for hackers to take control of your accounts by using strong passwords and two-step authentication, which involves adding a second method, often a smartphone, to provide extra security from hackers. You'll also hear from long-time Apple guru and prolific author Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVi

This week, we present author and commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles, who devotes a heavy portion of this segment to focus on the inconsistencies of the two HDR formats for 4K TV, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. He cites instances where it doesn't seem to work even on sets where it's supposedly compatible. Gene and Josh also discuss Apple's recent decision to hire John Giannandrea, former chief of search and artificial intelligence for Google. Will this new employee help Apple fix Siri's problems and advance its AI and VR efforts? Gene expresses his concerns about the quality of the first batch of TV shows reportedly scheduled for production by Apple as part of its expanded entertainment roster. And will it be a value-added feature of Apple Music? You'll also hear from Ben Williams of Adblock Plus. Ad blocking has experienced a lot of activity over the past year, especially since Google entered the fray with its ad filter for Chrome. There

On this week's episode, we feature outspoken podcaster and columnist Kirk McElhearn, who focuses heavily on his experiences with Apple's HomePod. He explains the problems he's found with the product, particularly a bassy response, and problems with Apple's Siri voice assistant. Will future software updates allow you to adjust the frequency profile of a HomePod, other than with iTunes? What about improving Siri's recognition accuracy? What about eliminating the problem where it leaves white rings on wood surfaces that are tied or waxed? Kirk also covers possible future Macs, such as a new Mac Pro and whether there will be an upgrade to the Mac mini, which hasn't been updated since 2014? Gene continues his suggestion that HP's Z2 Mini Workstation is a potential future direction with the Mac mini, offering powerful performance at a relatively low cost. You'll also hear from commentator Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer, He also talks about the HomePad, and his perception of its soni

On this week’s all-star episode, we present writer/editor Adam Engst, of TidBITS, both of whom talk about their different approaches to watching TV. Gene actually cares about the technology, while Adam will more or less accept anything that works. The Apple TV isn’t treated well by Gene, who suggests that at least some sets with built-in smart features are more or less just as useful. There’s also a discussion about the HomePod, and its tendency to sound a little bassy. And what about Siri? Has it truly reached its potential or does it need work? What about a published report that some of the original Siri employees at Apple were unhappy with its direction and how Apple handled its development. Or would it take an improved scheme to handle its higher and higher load on Apple’s servers? Gene suggests an error correcting feature, where you inform Siri when it makes a mistake and give it permission to allow Apple to record the problem. You’ll also hear from Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer, who

This week, we present a classic encore episode featuring John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. John’s talking points include the HomePod, and whether some of the critical reviewers, including Consumer Reports magazine, were expecting too much from it. He also brings up a possible sensitivity with nearby objects, where the presence of a salt shaker close to a HomePod seriously hurt sound quality. The discussion moves to 4K/UHD TV, which John says has finally come of age. In a slightly technical discussion, John explains how the expensive iMac Pro can exploit up to 18 cores and whether any of that holds any value for the typical Mac or PC user. There’s also a discussion about a blogger’s curious and overwrought reaction to a pair of visits to an Apple Store that, after some delays, had a favorable result. And why is Apple’s complex product lineup “perfect?” You’ll also hear from Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other

We feature commentator Russell Holly, managing editor of Mobile Nations, who focuses first on the proposals for "Right to Repair" laws in a number of states, including, most recently, California. What about giving consumers the right to buy genuine OEM parts for their tech gear, such as iPhones, and have access to service manuals? Can Apple and other companies void your warranty because you decided to fix your gear yourself, buy gray market parts, and/or have the repairs done at a shop not authorized by the manufacturer? Gene and Russell also talk at length about Samsung's Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones, recently introduced, and how they might compare with the iPhone X. What about the cameras, and which model delivers the best pictures? Did Samsung improve the quality of its facial and iris recognition features? There' also talk about the HomePod, which has proven to be somewhat controversial when it comes to its audio signature, with some saying it's too bassy. You'll also hear from commentator/podcas

Gene and guest cohost J. Randall Murphy present Fortean/paranormal researcher Joshua Cutchin. who takes us on a fascinating journey through the nooks and crannies of the world of the paranormal, folklore and the frontiers of consciousness. Among the cases discussed, the curious UFO contact from 1961 involving chicken farmer Joe Simonton, who claims to have been presented with bad-tasting buckwheat pancakes from short swarthy aliens in a flying saucer, a story that has never been explained. Joshua is the author of two books: 2015's "A Trojan Feast: The Food and Drink Offerings of Aliens, Faeries, and Sasquatch." and 2016's "The Brimstone Deceit: An In-Depth Examination of Supernatural Scents, Otherworldly Odors, & Monstrous Miasmas." He is also author of the forthcoming, "Thieves In The Night: Paranormal Child Abduction From the Faerie Faith to the UFO Era."

In a special encore presentation, we feature cybersecurity expert Dr. Eric Cole, Ph.D., who served as Cybersecurity Commissioner for President Obama, the personal cybersecurity advisor for Bill Gates and his family, is a former Senior Vice President at McAfee, and was the Chief Scientist at Lockheed Martin, where he specialized in secure network design advising the Dept. of Defense, the FBI, and the Dept. of Homeland Security. A leading expert on cybersecurity, Dr. Cole will discuss consumer protection, major corporate hacks, such as the large-scale intrusion into Equifax that impacted tens of millions of people, and cybersecurity best practices. Dr. Eric Cole’s newest book is "Online Danger: How to protect yourself and your loved ones from the evil side of the internet." You'll also hear from outspoken commentator and podcaster Peter Cohen, who has a lot to say about the recent revelation that Apple deliberately throttles iPhone performance when the battery is deteriorated. Confronted with class-action laws

This week's guests include commentator John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. John's talking points include the HomePod, and whether some of the critical reviewers, including Consumer Reports magazine, were expecting too much from it. He also brings up a possible sensitivity with nearby objects, where the presence of a salt shaker close to a HomePod seriously hurt sound quality. The discussion moves to 4K/UHD TV, which John says has finally come of age. In a slightly technical discussion, John explains how the expensive iMac Pro can exploit up to 18 cores and whether any of that holds any value for the typical Mac or PC user. There's also a discussion about a blogger's curious and overwrought reaction to a pair of visits to an Apple Store that, after some delays, had a favorable result. And why is Apple's complex product lineup "perfect?" You'll also hear from Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles, who explai

This week's guests include commentator and podcaster Kirk McElhearn. This week he focuses his discussion on reports that Apple has lost the services of a showrunner, Bryan Fuller, for its planned "Amazing Stories" reboot and whether that was due to taking an approach that's too restrained, too family friendly. Kirk and Gene agree about a possible way Apple will distribute these new shows. They also talk about the potential value of ad blockers, or lack thereof,, which remove the ads from a site your viewing The discussion moves to Kirk's concerns about the HomePod, not about its sound quality but whether Siri will be able to understand complicated requests to play music. You'll also hear from columnist Rob Pegoraro, who writes for USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Wirecutter and other publications. He discusses in detail his trip to Cape Canaveral to watch the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, the most powerful rocket ship the company has developed so far. Rob will also explain what happened when he

This week's guests include Jarrod Suffecool, Intelligence Team Lead for Binary Defense, who takes us on a fascinating journey through the Dark Web (darknet). You'll learn about the unsavory activities that include "crime-as-a-service" — professional hacking kits and criminal services (created or offered by skilled hackers) that anyone can buy or rent online, and they're often very inexpensive. This makes it easier for less skilled criminals to pull off sophisticated attacks and scams, and we'll see a lot of this by tax fraud rings over the next two months. You'll also learn about Tor, the browser used to access Dark Web. Binary Defense Systems specializes in monitoring and infiltrating criminal marketplaces on the Dark Web to protect businesses and uncover evidence of crimes. You'll also hear from author/publisher Joe Kissell, of Take Control Books. Joe talks about some of the problems he's encountered with macOS High Sierra, and about the decline in the quality of Apple's operating systems. What about repor

This week's guests include writer/editor Adam Engst, of TidBITS, who delivers an update on the CPU bug and Apple's ongoing fixes to "mitigate," but not eliminate the problem. Adam briefly explains the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, as Gene briefly banters about the connection of the latter name to one of the James Bond villains. There's a brief discussion of CES, which involved the usual presentation of gadgets that most people will forget soon, or will never actually go on sale. And what about the DNS Attack, malware that was recently discovered on the Mac platform? What does it do? Also discussed: Apple's HomePod, which is now available to order, as Gene mentions how TV makers have licensed such technologies as Roku, Amazon and Google Chromecast to replace their usual clunky interfaces. You'll also hear from outspoken columnist Jonny Evans, Computerworld's "Apple Holic," who talks about reports of an "iPhone addiction," in which people supposedly pay too much attention to their smartphones. Gene mentions the w

This week's guests include commentator and podcaster Peter Cohen, who discusses the CPU bug, involving malware dubbed Meltdown an Spectre, and why was Apple blamed by some for a problem that's existed with CPUs throughout the computing industry since 1997? Peter provides a full explanation of the problem and how it's triggered. There's also a discussion about the dispute over iPhone X sales, whether sales were high or disappointing. Gene and Peter also talk about the recent announcement from Apple about its five-year plan partly based on the U.S. tax cut, where Apple plans to repatriate billions of dollars of its overseas hoard and use some of it for new hires, employee stock awards, a second corporate headquarters, new data centers and, as expected, stock buybacks and dividends. You'll also hear from tech journalist Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer. Jeff discusses a possible Skype alternative known as Discord, and mentions the announcement that Microsoft has unified the Office code base that

This week's guests include tech journalist Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles. Josh talks at length about the notorious CPU bug and how it's impacted the computing world. Gene brings up reports that older Windows PCs will evidently suffer from performance reductions, and Josh mentions cloud services, such as gaming systems, which are heavily impacted. There's a brief discussion of 4K TVs which moves into the Apple TV 4K. Has Apple's set-top streaming box realized its potential, or has it become less useful with the growth of smart TVs that offer their own streaming channels without needing outside gear? Josh mentions the TCL televisions that come with Roku technology built in. There's also a CES 2018 update and some of the most interesting new gadgets. You'll also hear from prolific author Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus, who summarizes his joint tests of an iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus. He carried around one of them in each pocket for weeks, and test

We feature podcaster and commentator Kirk McElhearn. The main focus is the revelation that CPU chips from Intel, AMD and other manufacturers have serious security flaws that may have existed as far back as 1997. This week Apple announced that recent iOS and macOS updates have contained "mitigations" for the Meltdown bug, and that it plans to introduce fixes for the Spectre bug that impacts browsers. The session also covers Apple's Throttlegate scandal, and what the company should have done to better inform customers of how it was reducing performance on iPhones with deteriorating batteries. Gene and Kirk also talk about remastered and remixed classic recordings such as the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Kirk believes that the best version is the original mono recording from 1967. In a special encore presentation, you’ll also hear from tech journalist Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer. As the segment begins, Jeff complains that his copy of Skype 7 for the Mac was upgraded to S

We feature cybersecurity expert Dr. Eric Cole, Ph.D., who served as Cybersecurity Commissioner for President Obama, the personal cybersecurity advisor for Bill Gates and his family, is a former Senior Vice President at McAfee, and was the Chief Scientist at Lockheed Martin, where he specialized in secure network design advising the Dept. of Defense, the FBI, and the Dept. of Homeland Security. A leading expert on cybersecurity, Dr. Cole will discuss consumer protection, major corporate hacks, such as the large-scale intrusion into Equifax that impacted tens of millions of people, and cybersecurity best practices. Dr. Eric Cole’s newest book is "Online Danger: How to protect yourself and your loved ones from the evil side of the internet." You'll also hear from outspoken commentator and podcaster Peter Cohen, who has a lot to say about the recent revelation that Apple deliberately throttles iPhone performance when the battery is deteriorated. Confronted with class-action lawsuits, Apple has not only apologize

On this week's all-star episode, we feature outspoken commentator/podcaster Kirk McElhearn. Front and center is the ruckus over reports that Apple was deliberately throttling performance of older iPhones. Even though Apple admitted to the practice, claiming it was only done to allow units with deteriorating batteries to function properly, several class action lawsuits have already been filed against the company. Kirk gives you his unvarnished opinion of the practice; does Apple deserve to lose those cases? The discussion also focuses on Apple in 2017, and the costly iMac Pro all-in-one computer, which is now shipping. You'll also hear from tech publisher/editor Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer, who also offers his opinion on Apple's actions over what Gene calls "Throttlegate." What about previous so-called Apple scandals, such as "Antennagate," where connectivity would sharply decline on an iPhone 4 if you held it the "wrong way," and "Bendgate," where some users reported that t