Hurry if you want an ATP T-Shirt! Just $19, and the sale may be over by the time you read this! Follow-up: Who plays video games vs. self-identified "gamers" ComiXology Is Apple's 30% cut of in-app purchases the same as net neutrality? Vihart Video Internet2 Who should blink, Apple or ComiXology? AppLinks App.net sunsets its employees Brianna Wu's Post Tent Chrome experiments with removing URLs from the omnibox Casey open-sourced his Camel blog engine After-show: Casey's flower boxes John's code...
May 08, 2014•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 64
ATP T-Shirts : $19 each, available for only 1 week! Follow-up: Average age of gamers (more here and here from the Entertainment Software Association) Your favorite game genres going out of fashion Apps and games Mentioned: Metal Gear Solid Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Flight Control (iTunes) The Incident Letterpress Tiny Wings Ramp Champ Threes Total Annihilation Supreme Commander Facebook App Links MacStories Rene Ritchie ComiXology removes in-app purchase Back to Work Office for iPad/iPhon...
May 02, 2014•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 63
Follow-up on pCell and database scaling, including horizontal sharding schemes, tiered data layers, and taking a stand against the "premature optimization" tautology. When and why do developers learn something new, and why does Marco keep using PHP for everything? Second Crack Fast Text John's blog OS X Beta Program for End Users What's coming on June 2nd? Casey and Marco make John proud ( spoiler ) New third-generation Thunderbolt details MagSafe vs. MagSafe 2 Overcast update Are iPad sales lev...
Apr 24, 2014•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 62
Follow-up on Photo Stream Web Sites Follow-up on vinyl, including how Marc Edwards thinks it's evil , and the difference between pleasing and accurate sound. (Marco's open and closed headphones, amp , and DAC ) The Apple insight attained by way of documents released in the Samsung trial Creativity, Inc. , the book about Pixar by Ed Catmull Is Greg Christie's departure a contentious story or not ? This, too, relates to Pixar Ken Ferry on getting ideas approved at Apple, as heard on Debug #33 Arte...
Apr 18, 2014•1 hr 55 min•Ep. 61
Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em while you sunset Dance Jam WWDC How to make a lottery work, like Shmoocon does How to write a live blogging system for keynotes Our winnings and losses in the WWDC Don't-Call-it-a-Lottery Levels of randomness and Apple's discretionary pool of tickets What's the right way to distribute tickets? Is today's WWDC really tenable? What could be done? AltConf and " CDWW " Heartbleed Dropbox 's Announcements Condoleezza Rice joins their board Carousel , a new photo sharing ...
Apr 11, 2014•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 60
Follow-up on vocabulary and Michael Abrash joining Oculus . Amazon Fire TV — no fan ! USB-IF's renderings of their proposed new connector The giant anti-poaching collusion between Google, Apple, and dozens of other companies ( Facebook apparently refused ) Google checking with Steve Jobs first before making a hiring decision After-show: We tried to predict WWDC dates, not knowing that Apple would announce them 12 hours later, then discussed ticket lotteries and how Apple probably wouldn't build ...
Apr 04, 2014•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 59
Follow-up on discussing sexism in technology, Anil's experiment , empathy, ad hominem tu quoque , and cultural rigidity. Facebook buying Oculus : Outrage from Oculus' Kickstarter backers, including from Minecraft creator Notch , and the expectations that Kickstarter creates in "backers". Why did Oculus sell ? How far into the future did Oculus' "vision" extend, and what will happen to its vision now? Why did Facebook buy? Does Mark Zuckerberg have a clear vision for Facebook's future? Facebook's...
Mar 28, 2014•2 hr•Ep. 58
Follow-up on the complexity of computer science versus other fields: quotes and videos from MIT's SICP class (9:00–10:45). The death of the iPad 2 , the use of sapphire in Apple devices, sapphire versus Gorilla Glass , and the flexible LG phone . Haunted Empire , the Jony Ive book , the Jony Ive interview , access to Apple, and hiring hacks for tech stories . Sony's Project Morpheus VR headset and initial impressions The Oculus Rift Michael Abrash 's blog posts: Two Possible Paths into the Futur...
Mar 21, 2014•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 57
Follow-up on software complexity : The Mythical Man-Month , No Silver Bullet , the original Agile manifesto , and what Agile has become . What we found most useful from our computer-science educations. Marco's impressions of his new Mac Pro. External disks, PCI-Express SSDs, and cable management. John buys a home-theater AV receiver . ( The newer version he didn't need ) Stereo vs. surround speakers, and integrated vs. external subwoofers. ( Marco's tiny, buggy amp and great speakers ). After-sh...
Mar 14, 2014•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 56
Follow-up on Final Draft and treating warnings as exceptions in production. Software methodologies. For real this time. Why don’t software development methodologies work? Evidence-based scheduling . Marco plugs FCModel , Casey plugs his Debug appearance , and John plugs bleeps and boops . After-show: CarPlay , and £1,600 audiophile Ethernet cables (via Dalton ). Sponsored by: In Flux : A new music album that explores the interplay between video games, music, and nostalgia. Squarespace : Everythi...
Mar 06, 2014•2 hr 10 min•Ep. 55
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...
Feb 28, 2014•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 54
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 Endo...
Feb 21, 2014•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 53
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 Tim...
Feb 14, 2014•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 52
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 a...
Feb 07, 2014•1 hr 57 min•Ep. 51
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 yo...
Jan 31, 2014•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 50
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 N...
Jan 24, 2014•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 49
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. Pot...
Jan 17, 2014•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 48
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-mo...
Jan 10, 2014•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 47
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 fu...
Jan 03, 2014•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 46
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 stra...
Dec 26, 2013•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 45
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 C...
Dec 18, 2013•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 44
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 limitatio...
Dec 13, 2013•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 43
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: Hypercrit...
Dec 06, 2013•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 42
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-quali...
Nov 29, 2013•2 hr 16 min•Ep. 41
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 ch...
Nov 22, 2013•1 hr 48 min•Ep. 40
John's new Museum of Mediocre Reading Devices. The confusing Photo Stream limits , and all of these links in the show notes . Stephen Elop's If-I-Were-CEO Plan . A story about enterprise software. The four big assumptions about using enterprise software, why it's usually so terrible, and why big companies buy it. Sponsored by: Transporter : A private cloud storage drive that you own and control. Use code ATP for 10% off any Transporter. Hover : High-quality, no-hassle domain registration. Use pr...
Nov 15, 2013•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 39
Thanks to Jim Pierce for extending John's dog. (Also mentioned: AntiCrop , Glide ) Everpix's failure and impending shutdown : The Verge's profile of the failure Shutdown FAQ Staff tweet about compression and average usage Staff tweet about "3x userbase" needed Somewhat similar services: Loom , Picturelife , Adobe Revel Everpix's critical strategic error, and how tech business and funding strategies should resemble Puerto Rico game strategies). Revisiting the challenges of online photo storage an...
Nov 08, 2013•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 38
Some light Mac Pro waffling and the red one . iOS 7.0.3's new crossfade animations in "Reduce Motion" mode. Little tidbits and windows into the life of John Siracusa buried in his OS X Mavericks review . Noodling John with random questions. Dragon Drop and Cocoapods don't suck. The big potential section of the Mavericks review that John omitted. Choosing high-level and low-level details to include in the review. Tags and the filesystem. Publishing the review ebooks, and relative sales between iB...
Nov 01, 2013•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 37
The John Siracusa Mavericks review is up ! Apple's event, the presenters' pacing and enthusiasm, Casey's bag of hearts, and yet another showing of the dots video . The Retina MacBook Pro update. The Mac Pro base price, CPU options , and speculation on SSD pricing. The iPad Air, Retina iPad Mini, iPad 2 (LOL), and iPod Classic. Apple's prod of free software. John's high-level summary of Mavericks and recommendation on upgrading. Listener homework: Read the review before next week's episode. Spons...
Oct 24, 2013•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 36
Ebook-publishing woes and trying to coordinate a specific release date. Apple hiring the CEO of Burberry to head their retail division, and the Louis Vuitton logo . The challenges of retail leadership. Touch ID impressions after a weekend of heavy use, and whether you should keep your phone secure for other people's benefit. How Touch ID could be used in Macs, and whether ARM MacBooks would be worth the transition costs. Speculation on next week's product announcements. Where a potential 12" Ret...
Oct 18, 2013•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 35
