The Talk Show With John Gruber

Special guest Marco Arment returns to the show for a brief discussion. Topics include Apple’s OS development strategy, HomePod and Siri, the sad state of Apple TV apps, where to get a good cheesesteak, how to boil water, and more. Sponsored by: Tres Pontas: Freshly-roasted coffee from a single farm in Brazil, shipped directly to you. Use code thetalkshow at checkout and save an extra 10 percent on any subscription. Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi that works. Use code thetalkshow to make overnight shipping free. Links: Ina Fried on Apple reportedly changing tack to focus more on quality in software. Mark Gurman on Apple’s OS development strategy. Steven Sinofksy on Apple’s software “problem”. The biggest problem with Siri isn’t the list of capabilities but the reliability of what it can do: https://twitter.com/gruber/status/963843284794793984 https://twitter.com/waltmossberg/status/963849863959011328 https://twitter.com/waltmossberg/status/963881247478091776 Nick Heer on the new YouTube “app” for Apple TV. Baratza Virtuoso coffee grinder. The typographically disastrous Medelco 12-cup kettle. Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp 1.7-Liter Stainless Steel Cordless Electric Kettle — Marco’s recommended electric kettle. Alexa’s pro-Eagles stance on Super Bowl 52. ActBlue’s The Great Slate — 8 first-time progressive candidates for Congress, each with “a clear path to victory in a poor, rural district that is being ignored by the national Democratic Party”. Cleavers Philly — good fucking cheesesteaks. “The Menu Bar”: Zac Cichy and Andrew Clark’s re-launched podcast on Apple. Mark Bramhill’s “Welcome to Macintosh” — minute-for-minute the best Apple podcast in the world. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Paul Kafasis returns to the show. Topics include Apple’s new HomePod, [Farrago](https://rogueamoeba.com/farrago/) (Rogue Amoeba’s new soundboard app for the Mac), the Philadelphia Eagles’ triumph over the “New England” Patriots in Super Bowl 52, and we stir up a controversy regarding a 10-year-old cocktail devised by the boys at You Look Nice Today. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Casper: Save up to $200 through February 20 during Casper’s Presidents’ Day sale. Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Get 10% off your first order. Links: You Look Nice Today: “Aunt Nancy”. Unofficial You Look Nice Today topic index. Video proof, from yours today, that you can’t spear a Mento. The Shirley Temple of Doom. Rich Siegel’s excellent presentation at Cingleton 2014 on removing BBEdit from the Mac App Store. Is the top of the HomePod a “touchscreen”? We decide no, it is not, rendering this Claim Chowder piece from yours truly wrong. HomePod reviews: Mine. Jim Dalrymple’s, with backstage footage from our tour of Apple’s audio lab. Matthew Panzarino’s for TechCrunch. Nilay Patel’s for The Verge. Brian Chen’s for the NYT. Farrago, Rogue Amoeba’s new soundboard app. Designing Farrago. Just The Tip: The Fracture Swap. buttholevideo.com. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

John Moltz returns to the show. We talk about the HomePod, the “cancellation” of iPhone X, Steve Jobs and the orange button, and Super Bowl 52. And a surprising amount of talk about dates. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10 percent off your first order. Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Get 15 percent off your first order with code TALK15. RXBar: Whole-food protein bars. We tell you what’s on the inside on the outside. Use code TALKSHOW and save 25 percent on your first order. Links: Rian Johnson on The Talk Show five years ago. “I’m a fucking immigration lawyer.” “iPhone X is cancelled” nonsense. Tripp “Claim” Chowdhry’s greatest hits. Bethany Bongiorno’s story about Steve Jobs, the original iPhone, and an orange button. Nuzzel — a clever app that gives you news alerts based on links posted by the people you follow on Twitter. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Rene Ritchie returns to the show to talk about HomePod, clickbait, the Spectre/Meltdown security exploits, and a look back at Apple’s 2017 in review. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Casper: You can be sure of your purchase with Casper’s 100-night risk-free, sleep-on-it trial. Away: Travel smarter with the suitcase that charges your phone. Save $20 with code talkshow. Links: Rene with Tim Cook at a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Joe Cieplinski on HomePod pricing. Business Insider: “I Had an Apple Store Experience From Hell — and It’s Clear There Are Larger Problems With Apple’s Retail Presence”. Yours truly: “On Rumors of the iPhone X Being Produced for Only One Year ” and “The Scourge of Clickbait”. Saved You a Click. Vector, Rene’s new daily podcast. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

As per holiday tradition at The Talk Show, a brief chat about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with a cavalcade of special guests, including Guy English and John Siracusa. Links: 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens Holiday Spectacular. Sponsored by: Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Get 15% off your first order with code talk15. Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Backblaze: Online backup for $5/month. Native. Unlimited. Unthrottled. Uncomplicated. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Special guest Jason Snell returns for the penultimate episode of 2017. Topics include the iPhone battery performance-throttling saga, Google Maps vs. Apple Maps, new versions of iOS running slow on older iPhones, the new iMac Pro, iOS file management, and more. Sponsored by: Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Get 15% off your first order with code talk15. Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi that works. Use code thetalkshow for free overnight shipping in the U.S. and Canada. Links: Apple: “A Message to Our Customers About iPhone Batteries and Performance”. Apple KnowledgeBase: “iPhone Battery and Performance”. Jason’s interview with Greg Joswiak back in 2007 on the original iPhone’s battery. Jason on transferring files from an SD card to iOS devices. Twitter thread on iOS devices and USB storage. Reddit thread on Android phones, including reports from people with older devices with failing batteries. Jason and Myke Hurley’s Upgrade Holiday Special. Apollo 13. Justin O’Beirne: “Google’s Maps Moat”. iZotope RX 6: de-noising, de-echoing software. Jason’s new iMac Pro. The Apple IIc from 1984. Font/DA Mover — this is how we installed fonts back in the day. SteerMouse — third-party mouse driver for MacOS that lets you set incredibly fast mouse speeds. Good for RSI sufferers. Samsung’s T5 SSD external USB 3.1 storage drives. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Matthew Panzarino returns to the show to talk about Apple's new iMac Pro lineup: gaming, VR, medical use, software development video, and more. Also: a spoiler-free preamble on Star Wars Ep. 8: The Last Jedi. Sponsors: Away: Travel smarter with the suitcase that charges your phone. Get $20 off with code talkshow. Warby Parker: Boutique-quality, vintage-inspired glasses at a revolutionary price. Try up to five pairs at home for free. Casper: You can be sure of your purchase with Casper’s 100 night risk-free, sleep-on-it trial. Links: Archive of Rian Johnson’s appearance on episode 21 of The Talk Show. My first look at iMac Pro. Panzarino’s iMac Pro first look. Rene Ritchie’s first look. Electronauts. Twinmotion. Gravity Sketch. OsiriX. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

John “With an H” Moltz returns to the show. Topics include the ongoing deluge of sexual harassment scandals, our beloved SodaStreams, the Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra root login fiasco, App: The Human Story, and more. Sponsored by: Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Audible: Get a free audiobook with a 30-day trial. Casper: You can be sure of your purchase with Casper’s 100 night risk-free, sleep-on-it trial. Save $50 with coupon thetalkshow. Links: TripMode — Mac utility for limiting/controlling network usage on an app-by-app basis. Jason Snell’s review of TripMode. [Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JimmySnyder(sports_commentator). The comments that got him fired from CBS. No joke: Jimmy The Greek on David Letterman in 1987, talking about Donald Trump running for president. The root login bug in MacOS 10.13 High Sierra. App: The Human Story documentary film is out. The Talk Show: Live From WWDC 2014, with special guests Marco Arment, John Siracusa, and Casey Liss — shot by Jake Schumacher and Jed Hurt, director and co-director of App: The Human Story. James Bridle: “Something Is Wrong on the Internet” — well-researched essay from earlier this month on the disturbing underside of YouTube videos aimed at children. Some really sick, twisted examples of YouTube videos aimed at kids. Liz Phair’s killer cover of The Banana Splits theme song. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Merlin Mann returns to the show for a Thanksgiving-week holiday spectacular. Topics include the history of Markdown, nerding out with Keyboard Maestro, kids today and the computers they want to use, caring about idiomatic native UI design, a look back at last year's election, and more. Sponsored by: Away: Travel smarter with the suitcase that charges your phone. Get $20 off with code TALKSHOW. Eero: Finally, Wi-Fi that works. Use code THETALKSHOW for free shipping in the U.S. and Canada. Fracture: Your photos, printed directly on glass. Great gift idea. Save 15% off your first order with code TALK15. Links: Various apps mentioned during the show: Keyboard Maestro Drafts Editorial nvAlt Simplenote Justin Williams’s now-defunct Elements — the first Dropbox-backed text editor for iOS Vesper Bartender — a Mac utility for managing all those stupid little menu bar apps Vanilla — another Mac menu bar app manager Apple Support technote documenting standard Mac text editing keyboard shortcuts. [Reconcilable Differences #65](https://www.relay.fm/rd/65 “Reconcilable Differences #65: The Mustard of My Father - Relay FM”) — Merlin and John Siracusa talking about Steam. The Elements of Eloquence — the book that explains the implicit rules of adjective order in English. Dr. Drang on Excel. Last year’s day-after-the-election “Holiday Party” episode. PredictIt — Website where you can gamble on election and political predictions. Max Temkin’s US Politics Twitter list. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.

Ben Thompson returns to the show to talk about the iPhone X. Sponsored by: Casper: You can be sure of your purchase with Casper’s 100 night risk-free, sleep-on-it trial. Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order. Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Save 15% off your first Fracture order with code TALK15. Links: My photo of Bernie Sanders and Bill de Blasio on the A train. New York Post video of Sanders and de Blasio on the train that shows me in the background around 10 seconds in. 2007 NYT story: “Southwest Airlines gains advantage by hedging on long-term oil contracts”. Nilay Patel’s video review of the iPhone X for The Verge. Those YouTuber “first look” reviews that came out a day before the real reviews: Highsnobriety and Fashion Magazine. Raymond Soneira’s review of the iPhone X display at DisplayMate. IHS estimates that iPhone X’s components cost $115 more than iPhone 8’s. This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.