MacVoices #26016: Live! - Social Media Warning Labels, Brain Gear, and the M4 Mac Mini.

New York's proposed warning labels for social media was the topic of a discussion questioning whether lawmakers understand the real drivers of addiction and the privacy cost of age verification. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, Mark Fuccio and Jim Rea also cover shifts to "brain gear" wearables and the risks of sensitive data leaving the device. The group praises the M4 Mac mini for outsized performance, value, and flexibility—especially for multi-monitor setups as one of the highlights of 2025.

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Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:00 – Opening and topic roundup 00:10 – NY social media warning labels and effectiveness 02:30 – VPN workarounds, enforcement, and "nanny net" concerns 06:11 – Addiction mechanics and targeting the real problem 09:21 – Age verification, minors, and unintended consequences 16:04 – Anonymity tradeoffs and privacy risks 20:45 – Brain wearables, accessibility, and on-device processing 30:12 – M4 Mac mini impact and price-to-performance discussion 37:49 – Ports, expandability, and multi-monitor realities 39:13 – Wrap-up and recommendations

Links:

New York State will require warning labels on social media platforms https://www.engadget.com/social-media/new-york-state-will-require-warning-labels-on-social-media-platforms-210306716.html

Brain Gear Is the Hot New Wearable https://www.wired.com/story/expired-tired-wired-wearables/

Review: M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis are probably Apple's best Mac minis ever https://arstechnica.com/apple/2024/11/review-m4-and-m4-pro-mac-minis-are-probably-apples-best-mac-minis-ever/

Guests:

Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but prefers Bluesky.

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.

Mark Fuccio is actively involved in high tech startup companies, both as a principle at piqsure.com, or as a marketing advisor through his consulting practice Tactics Sells High Tech, Inc. Mark was a proud investor in Microsoft from the mid-1990's selling in mid 2000, and hopes one day that MSFT will be again an attractive investment. You can contact Mark through Twitter, LinkedIn, or on Mastodon.

Jeff Gamet is a technology blogger, podcaster, author, and public speaker. Previously, he was The Mac Observer's Managing Editor, and the TextExpander Evangelist for Smile. He has presented at Macworld Expo, RSA Conference, several WordCamp events, along with many other conferences. You can find him on several podcasts such as The Mac Show, The Big Show, MacVoices, Mac OS Ken, This Week in iOS, and more. Jeff is easy to find on social media as @jgamet on Twitter and Instagram, jeffgamet on LinkedIn., @jgamet@mastodon.social on Mastodon, and on his YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/jgamet.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC).

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

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