The fine folks at Space Javelin featured me on a new podcast, in which we discussed Apple’s surprisingly robust Q2 financial results and a whole host of other topics. When the subject turned to Valve Corp.’s decision to axe SteamVR support on the Mac, I went on a rant. To be frank, I don’t care about SteamVR – it’s very niche. But Valve’s decision to walk away from SteamVR Mac support illustrates fundamental problems. Outside of Apple Arcade and the work of a few indies, the Mac game business is utterly moribund. Mac App Store discoverability is a joke. Catalina ended 32-bit app support which stops older games in their tracks. Apple’s graphics API switch from OpenGL to Metal has created issues too. Anyway, more after the jump.
Category: Tech
MacVoices: Talking Macs and iPad Pro
Chuck Joiner recently invited me to talk about Apple’s newly introduced Mac mini and MacBook Air, and the refreshed iPad Pro. Given the current circumstances in the world, is now the right time for these products to come out? I suggest it is, and I give my reasons. Here’s Part 1. I’ll link to Part 2 tomorrow.
Space Javelin: Making sense of Apple’s new product announcements
In my latest appearance on the Space Javelin podcast, I sit down with Cap’n Charles to sort through Apple’s new products, talk about Apple Arcade, Sonos, and much more.
Technotopia with John Biggs: How to stay optimistic in awful times
In this installment of the Technotopia podcast, I discuss how transformative connected health technology has been to me, and we try to look at the bright side of technology during very dark times.
In a Few Minutes: It’s Always Sunny on Apple TV+
We all have finite budgets – both financial and attention – to spend on entertainment. The value proposition of Apple TV+ leaves me cold right now, and I explain to Ken Ray why on my final installment (for this round, anyway) of his “In a Few Minutes” podcast.
In a Few Minutes: How smart should my home be?
There’s so much talk these days about smart homes. And there’s a lot of effort to push devices and accessories that work with Siri, Alexa, Google Voice. But when everything from doorbells to air purifiers get “smart,” it’s time to step back and see where having a smart home actually makes sense, and where it might be gilding the lily. Ken Ray and I hash out the details in this installment of “In a Few Minutes.”
Thoughts on a virtual WWDC 2020
Apple earlier this month announced that WWDC 2020 would be an online event only, ending weeks of speculation about what the company might do in the wake of COVID-19’s spread and the corresponding containment efforts. It’s led some in the blogging community to wonder if Apple has the ability to pull it off. From where I’m sitting, it already has.
In a Few Minutes: The ARM-based Mac
Ken Ray and I pontificate for a few minutes in this segment about Apple switching to a different CPU architecture for the Macintosh. Analysts have predicted it. Industry folks have speculated about it. What will a Mac with an ARM chip instead of an Intel microprocessor look like? How would Apple handle the transition? Listen in for details.
In a Few Minutes: Living In and Running from Apple Arcade
In this installment of Ken Ray’s new short-form podcast, we talk a little bit about Apple Arcade. It turns out that Ken has had enough of it and recently ended his subscription. Meanwhile, I’m enjoying it and consider it well worth the $5 a month I pay. It’s a little ironic, given that I used to review games and by some measure should be a lot more jaded with Apple’s offerings than I am. Let’s unpack it.
In A Few Minutes with Ken Ray: Coronavirus, iPhones, and the Perfect Storm
Ken Ray of “Mac OS Ken” fame has a new short-form podcast (about 20 minutes per episode). He was kind enough to have me on as a guest recently. We recorded these a couple of weeks ago and life comes at you fast. Back then I was just speculating about how COVID-19 might affect Apple’s product rollouts and WWDC, and, well, here we are.