The Tech Night Owl Live Tech Radio With A Twist!

We observe the 15th anniversary of Apple's iTunes with commentator Kirk McElhearn, also known as Macworld's "iTunes Guy." He focus first on the history of Apple's original jukebox app, and how it's changed and expanded over the years. Kirk and Gene also talk about the need for Apple to overhaul the way movie and TV content is handled. As it is, movie rentals may suddenly disappear, while the option to buy a movie remains. Does Apple solve this by launching a TV subscription service — and will the entertainment companies accept a simpler buying/renting scheme? You'll also hear from columnist Nancy Gravley, of The Mac Observer. The discussion will focus on her ongoing efforts to help senior citizens become competent with Macs, iPhones and iPads. So if you have someone in your family who is uncomfortable with technology, you'll want to hear Nancy give you some quick hints and tips about what's confusing about even the personal computer "for the rest of us," the personal computer that is supposed to "just work."

We present a 2015 teardown roundup with Kyle Wiens of of iFixit. He discuss the products that were easiest to repair, and the ones most difficult. He'll also answer the Night Owl's hypothetical question, whether adding upgrade capability to more Macs would seriously degrade the thin and light design. In short, is Jonathan Ive and/or Apple marketing going just a little too far with their "thin fetish"? You'll also hear from commentator/author Kirk McElhearn, also known as Macworld's "iTunes Guy." On the agenda during the opening pop culture segment is his reaction to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Does it really fulfill the hype, and justify the amazing box office receipts? Kirk will also talk about Apple's agreement to pay $350 million in back taxes to Italy, and the possible consequence in the action in the rest of the European Union. Kirk also talks about his ongoing concerns with Apple Music, its inability to learn about his musical tastes, and what he'd like Apple to do in order to overhaul iTunes.

We present an important security update with Dr. Timothy C. Summers, President of Summers & Company, a cyber strategy and organizational design consulting firm. We discuss the ongoing debate over whether Apple, Google and other tech companies should allow back doors to governments to retrieve and decode encrypted information from smartphones and other gear. The discussion also covers fake emails that purport to come from your bank, fake emails that purport to come from your family and friends, why you should be skeptical of emails from people who claim to know you and request financial assistance, and how to stop leaving digital breadcrumbs. We also present a special year-end wrap-up from tech commentator and columnist Peter Cohen, whose writings are found at iMore, Macworld and Tom's Guide. On this visit, Peter will talk about Tim Cook's increasing social activism in contrast to his predecessor, the usability of the iPad Pro, the prospects for an Apple Car, Apple chief designer Jonathan Ive's unfortunat

We present Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer, who focuses on the New York Attorney General's probe into broadband Internet speeds, and whether customers are getting the performance for which they're paying. He'll also cover the concerns over bandwidth caps, and Samsung's appeal of Apple's patent win against them to the U.S. Supreme Court. You'll also hear Jeff's opinion about the iPad Pro and the joys of the Apple Pencil for creating illustrations. You'll also hear from author and columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy." As a classical music aficionado, he praises the improvements in Apple Music by offering a richer display of information about classical. He also discusses the touchy subject of iTunes and faulty metadata and how it messes up your playlists. The discussion turns to whether Apple is releasing operating systems prematurely, thus resulting in numerous defects.

On this week's all-star episode, we present author and columnist Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus. On the agenda is Gene and Bob's choices for broadcast mics, some of the key events in the Apple universe in 2015 and a few predictions for 2016. Bob will also present his opinions about the iPad Pro and the Smart Keyboard, and his ongoing impressions of the Apple Watch. Has the quality of Apple software nosedived? Bob will talk about that too. You'll also hear from commentator Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer. His bill of fare includes reports that Apple has suspended its efforts to set up a TV subscription service. You'll also hear Bryan's views on why large cable bundles, despite increasing cost, may be good for you. His logic is that, with more channels being offered, TV broadcasters have created a rich selection of great programing. With several dealers discounting the Apple Watch, Gene and Bryan speculate on why, whether it indicates lower-than-expected sales, or an effort to work with d

We present Josh Centers, editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles, who discusses his new 4K TV, a 49-inch Vizio M-Series LCD, and we discuss the practical limitations of the Ultra HD format, particularly the lack of 4K programming. The discussion moves to Apple TV, his ongoing experiences with the Apple Watch, and an update his conclusion about whether he would buy one if he didn't need it for his job. There's also a brief discussion on the prospects for an Apple Car. You'll also hear from John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer, who talks about the iPad Pro, and why Apple is doing something that could "accidentally torpedo" the product. He also focuses on the difficulties in finding the right keyboard — he doesn't like Apple's Smart Keyboard — and his initial experiences. The discussion turns to the "do as you're told" approach to using an iPhone, and beating Apple at its "game of relentless change." John is also asked about the ongoin

We present columnist Kirk McElhearn, also known as Macworld's "iTunes Guy." He returns this week to discuss Black Friday sales, and how he recently had his Internet connection upgraded so he finally receives speeds that are appropriate to the power user (36 megabits downloads, 9 megabits uploads). He also talks about the possible failure of the Mac Pro that received a major upgrade in late 2013 and hasn't been upgraded since. Kirk has moved on to a 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display. There will also be a brief discussion of the ongoing VW emissions scandal. You'll also hear from Jeff Carlson, Senior Editor for TidBITS, who will offer a lengthy discussion about Apple Watch, partly in response to one tech pundit's claim, in a major newspaper, that this gadget was a turkey. Jeff will explain why he disagrees. He'll also talk about the use case of the new iPad Pro, about Tim Cook's claims that this, and an iPhone, are his only computers. Jeff also responds to the question of whether he'd buy an Apple Car, assum

We present outspoken commentator Peter Cohen, whose writings are found at iMore, Macworld and Tom's Guide, who covers a wide range of topics. He offers his expectations of the iPad Pro as compared with supposed convergence devices, which offer the functions of a tablet and a PC notebook. Apple has said it wouldn't produce such a device. Peter also talks about the ongoing reports of serious problems with recent Apple OS releases, such as iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan. Has public beta testing helped? Gene expresses his skepticism that Apple will actually build a car, something long rumored, rather than focus on user interfaces in motor vehicles. And what about Apple TV? You'll also hear from columnist Kirk McElhearn, also known as Macworld's "iTunes Guy," who also talks about the usability of the iPad Pro as a notebook replacement. He also discusses the Apple Watch and the possible security problem he discovered when he first set up two-factor authentication with Amazon. The discussion turns to the car buying expe

We present a special appearance by Dr. Timothy C. Summers, President of Summers & Company, a cyber strategy and organizational design consulting firm. This week, Dr. Summers talks about how to protect yourself from hackers and identity theft during the holidays. He focuses on credit card safety, how to avoid phishing emails, whether to sign up with a financial security service, why you should say "credit" instead of "debit" when using your bank debit card, the value of a "designated mailbox" and why it might be a good idea to use prepaid credit cards. We also present Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer. The discussion focuses on the iPad Pro, and whether that or other iPads are suitable as possible PC replacements. We'll also talk about Apple product proliferation, and the possibilities for an Apple Car. Bryan explains that he's convinced that Apple is working on such a product, and we speculate about how the Apple Car might help overhaul the industry. Bryan also gives you an u

We present columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy." We continue our discussion of Volkswagen's ongoing problems with emissions testing and reporting, but Kirk doesn't know, yet, if his SEAT automobile, built by Volkswagen, is impacted. He also updates his first look at the Apple TV, and explains how broadband speeds are soaring in the tiny village in the UK in which he lives. He'll also talk briefly about his ongoing Apple Watch experiences. You'll also hear from Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer, whose bill of fare includes Apple Watch sales estimates for the first two quarters, where it reportedly outsold all other smartwatches, combined. He'll also talk about Amazon's new book store, which was set up in Seattle, WA, and his ongoing views about the Apple TV and the Apple Watch. The discussion closes with some pop culture talk, focusing on the new TV season and our favorite super hero shows.

We present outspoken commentator John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. His bill of fare includes a discussion of how Apple quietly established a $25 billion enterprise business with support from IBM and Cisco, what if a forthcoming Apple Car, with autonomous driving capability, made a "very bad" decision when faced with the possibility of a potential accident? He'll also talk about the efforts by Apple and Microsoft to rethink the tablet, and why Apple may have turned its back on 4K (Ultra HD) support on the new Apple TV while the industry moves forward to support the new high-resolution technology. You'll also hear a first look at the fourth generation Apple TV from columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy." Does the revised set-top box meet expectations, and what about the impact — or lack thereof — of the missing support for 4K? Did Apple make a bad move, or are they waiting for the new 4K color standards to stabilize? Kirk will also discuss the mixed reactio

We present Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles. The bill of fare includes an extended discussion with Gene about pop culture, with an emphasis on the new TV season in the U.S. and superhero TV shows, based on comic book characters. The discussion turns to the forthcoming Apple TV, and the lack of support for 4K. We move on to the prospects for an Apple Car, Tesla's quality control issues, and car technology. You'll also hear from columnist Rob Pegoraro, of USA Today and Yahoo Tech. He'll talk about the quality issues of iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan, and the discussion will also move to his concerns about the features in Photos for OS X, 4K TV prospects, the hope for more models HDR color, and, again, the lack of 4K support in the new Apple TV. Could Apple manage such an upgrade through software? We'll also cover the prospects for an Apple Car, and Tesla's quality issues that resulted in the loss of a Recommended rating from Consumer Reports magazi

We feature columnist Peter Cohen, whose writings are found at iMore, Macworld and Tom's Guide. During this session, Peter discusses Apple's iMac refresh, and compares Apple's all-in-one computer to the Mac Pro. Which is best for you? He also discusses his experiences with OS X El Capitan, and offers suggestions on dealing with Wi-Fi connection problems. You'll also hear from Kyle Wiens, of iFixit. He explains the circumstances surrounding the company's decision to post a teardown of a preproduction Apple TV that they received through the Apple Developer program. As a result, Apple "fired" them and pulled their iOS app. He'll also offer information about teardowns for the new iPhones, compare them to last year's model, and explain the difficulties in repairing recent Samsung Galaxy smartphones. You'll also hear the results of iFixit's teardown of one of the new 21.5-inch iMacs, and why it's impossible to upgrade its RAM.

We are rejoined by columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy," who joins Gene in a discussion about the claims that the battery life of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s may be very different depending on who supplied the chips. So if yours has a processor from TSMC, it may give you up to two hours extra battery life over the Samsung version. Apple, by the way, denies these reports. We also cover Volkswagen's emission control scandal. You'll also hear from Adam Engst, of TidBITS and Take Control Books, who also focuses on car technology. We cover problems with the infotainment interfaces and voice recognition, and the possibilities of an Apple Car. Adam will also explain why he decided not to renew his Apple Music subscription after the free trial period ended, and his deep concerns over what he regards as the poorly-designed iTunes interface. We also present a special appearance by Dr. Timothy C. Summers, President of Summers & Company, a cyber strategy and organizational design consulting firm, who i

We present Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer. His bill of fare includes the curious decision of iFixit.com to post a teardown report of a prerelease Apple TV that they received as part of Apple's developer program, which resulted in the loss of their membership. Bryan will also talk about Amazon's decision to stop carrying the Apple TV and Google Chromecast after releasing a new Fire TV set-top box. Other topics include the iPad Pro and Apple Music, where Gene explains why he has decided not to continue his membership. You'll also hear from Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy," who will also discuss iFixit.com's controversial move with their Apple TV. Gene will expand on his Apple Music decision, and Kirk will explain why, after suggesting he'd rather stick with an iPhone 5s, he decided to buy an iPhone 6s despite the uncomfortably larger size. Kirk and Gene also talk about the emissions problems that impact many Volkswagen's equipped with diesel engines, and whether Kirk's Se

We present Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer. His bill of fare includes the XcodeGhost malware episode, which infected some copies of Apple's Xcode developer tools downloaded in China. He'll also cover the iOS 9.0.1 update, which fixed a critical installation bug and other problems, a comparison between Proactive Siri, from iOS 9, and Google Now, Apple Car skeptics, and WatchOS 2. There will also be a brief pop culture discussion that focuses on some of the new TV shows for the fall season in the U.S. You'll also hear from Stephen Baker, Vice President for Industry Analysis at the NPD Group, who will discuss whether smartphone sales have reached a saturation point in the U.S. He'll also cover the reasons for slipping tablet sales, and whether Apple's forthcoming iPad Pro will help improve the situation. The conversation also includes the lack of 4K support in the forthcoming Apple TV, the prospects for 4K TV sales this fall, whether the arrival of Windows 10 will help boost PC sales, and the g

We return to a slew of newsworthy announcements and software releases from Apple. You’ll hear from Peter Cohen, whose writings are found at iMore, Macworld and Tom’s Guide. He’ll talk about the release of iOS 9, the promise of the fourth generation of Apple TV and its lack of support for 4K (Ultra HD), Tim Cook’s appearance on Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” and Apple’s latest appeal, this time to the U.S. Supreme Court, in the eBook antitrust case. You’ll also hear from John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer, who will discuss the best features of the Apple Watch operating system, watchOS 2. You’ll also hear about the things that Apple does that “some hate and few understand.” The discussion also turns to the “contrarian vision” of the fourth generation Apple TV, why the forthcoming iPad Pro is Apple’s “new guiding star,” and Amazon’s failed Fire Phone, which he regards as “too creepy for customers.”

We focus on Apple's September 9th, 2015 media event and the extensive range of product announcements. You'll learn about the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, and whether the new features are compelling enough. We'll also cover the new Apple TV set-top box and the new features, including its gaming potential, but why does it lack 4K? Also on the agenda is the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil. Is it maybe a little too close in concept to the Microsoft Surface 3? And what might come when or if Apple introduces a subscription TV service? On the agenda for this discussion is Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles. You'll also hear from tech columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld's "iTunes Guy." Last year, Kirk returned his iPhone 6, and decided to stick with an iPhone 5s. One reason is that he prefers the 4-inch display. So are Apple's new offerings enough to tempt him, or does the lack of a smaller display remain the deal breaker?

We present Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer. He'll discuss predictions about the fourth generation Apple TV. What new features can we expect? Will Apple raise the price, and what about 4K (Ultra HD) support? You'll also hear a debate about a recent report from columnist Jonny Evans, a friend of the show, who suggested Apple ought to consider making a version of OS X that'll run in a virtual machine on a Windows box for enterprise use. Would that endanger sales of high priced Macs? And what about the admission, from an Apple executive, that they are working on fixes for Apple Music problems? You'll also hear from Avram Pitch, the Online Editorial Director for Laptop magazine. He'll also discuss what might be expected from the next Apple TV. The discussion will also focus on Apple's rumored plans for a subscription TV service, and the potential pitfalls of cord-cutting. What about cable and satellite companies offering a la carte, where you pick just the channels you want? There's

We feature Michael Roy, Senior Product Marketing Manager for VMWare Fusion and Fusion Pro. He’ll talk about version 8, just released, which offers a number of new features, including support for Windows 10 and OS X El Capitan, along with an enhanced graphics engine for better game play in a Windows virtual machine. Columnist Kirk McElhearn, Macworld’s “iTunes Guy,” talks briefly about the sudden departure of Apple Music director Ian Rogers, and confusing stats over the number of people still using the service weeks after it was introduced. He’ll also join Gene in speculating about what might come out of Apple’s September 9 media event, where new iPhones are expected. Will there also be the long-awaited refresh for Apple TV, and what about a recent survey, from IDC, which put Apple Watch in second place behind the Fitbit among wearables? You’ll also hear from outspoken commentator Peter Cohen, Mac Managing Editor for iMore, who will also talk at length about what might be expected at Apple’s media event. Wha