Accidental Tech Podcast

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**Accidental Tech Podcast**

Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.

Latest Episodes:

661: Intimate and Regimented Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Follow-up:
- Languages in Scotland
- ATP merch has more benefits (via Christian Heiler)
- Slide Over fade animation (via Daniel Luz)
- Marco’s iPhone case survey: Ryan London bare bottom (via Oliver Thomas)
- /u/LaughingMan11 is Benson Leung (via Deta & Daniel Luz)
- ZFS and the Drobo dream (via Joe)
  - AnyRAID for ZFS Explained for Dummies
  - Hexos announcement
An aside for an argument
Apple M5
M5 Pro, M5 Max, TSMC’s SoIC
M5 MacBook Pro
- MacRumors on the [lack of] power adapter
  - Numerama
M5 iPad Pro
M5 Vision Pro
Apple TV+ is now Apple TV
Post-show: iPhone setup, take two
- Skip all the Siri/FaceID/etc things until setup is complete
- Don’t try to memorize the flashing 6-digit code; choose another way
Members-only ATP Overtime: Alexa Plus in the real world
- Jennifer Patterson Tuohy
  - “Temperature” on LLMs
- Nilay’s take

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660: It’s All Chicken Salad Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Pre-show: Marco’s “Vacation” results
- Goose
  - Goose @ Richmond Allianz Ampitheater, 3 October 2025
- Allianz Ampitheater
- Chicken Salad Chick
- Nugs.net
- ZZQ
- Suggestions from Casey, in no particular order:
Follow-up:
- ATP in the wild
  - Original report form Richard Earney
    - Follow-up by Matt Smith
  - Follow-up on Mark Christian’s report by Santiago Hervella
- AirPods 3
  - Ear Lottery
    - Michael corroborates Marco’s experience
    - …but Franklin Delano Stallone offers hope
    - …and sometimes AirPods 3 are a marked improvement, reports Matthew Schaffer
  - Tony Dehnke does an ANC comparison
  - Live translation results
- David Schaub’s horror story about filling up your phone
- Mike Taffet does science on iPhone ↔ iPhone transfers
- Marco’s USB odyssey
  - Jack Wellborn had a similar experience
  - Syd Polk wonders if it’s a Sequoia thing
  - (Among others) Fabien theorizes its’ an alignment thing
    - Keith Heaton brought receipts
    - Tailgate Tub
  - Active vs. passive Thunderbolt cables
    - OWC
    - Informative Reddit comment by LaughingMan11
- Synology alternatives
  - Colin McKellar suggests QNAP
  - See also:
    - UGREEN
    - Unraid
    - FreeNAS/TrueNAS
    - …
  - 🎉 …may not be necessary anymore! 🎉
More more first impressions
- Quick AirPods Pro 3 update
- iPhone case updates
  - Omar Shahine performs surgery on the Nomad back
  - Torras clear case
  - Bullstrap open-bottom leather case
  - Peak Design Everyday Case (Charcoal color has the good fabric)
  - Still to test: Süti PhoneBack in black leather, if it ever ships
- iOS 16
- iPadOS 26: Now with slide-over!
Apple pulls ICEBlock from the App Store
Post-show: Pour one a Sprite out for a real one TiVo
- Channels
- AOL dialup service ends
Members-only ATP Overtime: The Meta Ray-Ban Display, and Apple’s response
- The Verge
- Gurman: Apple pivots

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659: Lose the Ear Lottery Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

Pre-show: Eh, that’ll keep…
- M5 iPad Pro
- FCC leaks
🗣️ St. Jude time is almost done! 🗣️
🗣️ New ATP Member’s Special: ATP Dev: Computer Science Curriculum
Follow-up:
- ATP in the wild (via Mark Christian & Richard Earney)
- iOS 26.0.1 allegedly fixes N1 Wi-Fi/BT issues
  - CarlinKit wireless CarPlay dongle
- What does iCloud back up? (via Dayton Lovell)
- iCloud for Messages
  - A ringing endorsement from Nick
  - A potential fix for ∞ GIFs (via Nathan)
- iPhone Transfers
  - Why not pre-populate them, Kindle-style? (via Winnie Lewis)
  - TestFlight is… better now? (via Daniel Nelson)
  - Some thoughts from Nick
- Apple’s onboarding enshittification (via Imthaz)
- Thought to text & AlterEgo
  - Firefox (1982)
  - Prior MIT project (via Hannes)
  - CJ’s thoughts
    - Preview video
    - EMG
    - EEG
More first impressions
Ask ATP:
- How do we really know if something is encrypted? (via Joshua Wold)
- What is the point of neural engine cores, anyway? (via Tom Cole)
  - SIMD
  - Evaluating the Apple Silicon M-Series SoCs for HPC Performance & Efficiency
  - AMX Units
  - Neural Engine
- Does filling a phone SSD slaughter performance? (via Sean Harding)
Post-show: Marco’s USB odyssey
- CalDigit Thunderbolt Element 4
- BLE caberQu
Members-only ATP Overtime: NAS Noodling
- Synology [sorta] says third-party drives will be supported in the future
  - Synology Solution Day 2025 teaser video
- Ubiquiti’s new NAS units
  - UNAS 2
  - UNAS 4

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658: Your First Mistake Phone Sep 25, 2025

Show notes

Marco’s AppleCare “Express” Replacement
🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- The Marco Offset
- Podcastathon 2025
Follow-up:
- Auburn’s colors are UVA’s colors (via Tony Scida)
- You don’t need the trick new Apple charger to charge an iPhone 17 at full speed
- iPhone Air
  - Why people are buying the iPhone Air / 15” MacBook Air
  - Bending the iPhone Air
    - Apple (via Tom’s Guide)
      - Direct video link
    - JerryRigEverything (timestamp link to 6m35s)
      - Same video, different timestamp (7m37s)
  - Battery life
  - Speaker (via Steve Troughton-Smith)
  - Thermals
    - MaxTech
  - iFixIt Teardown
  - Thickness
    - Visual comparison of thickness (via Ludwig Schubert)
    - Thin iPhone future? (via Ian)
- iPhone 17 Pro
  - Teardowns
  - Scratches on the back?
- iPhone sales
  - The Information (MacRumors summary)
iPhone setup advice
- Casey’s tale of woe (see also Upgrade #582: First Chance to Make One Impression)
First impressions: iPhone 17 Pro
- Scratchability
- Telephoto camera
  - iPhone 16 Pro 5× vs. iPhone 17 Pro 8×
Post-show:
- HP M553
- HP M554
Members-only ATP Overtime: Anthropic’s $1.5B book piracy settlement
- The Verge: Settlement announced, 5 September
- Previously, on ATP #656: Anthropic asked for $1.5B/yr from Apple
- The Verge: Settlement paused, 9 September
- Ars Technica, 9 September

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657: Ears Are Weird Sep 16, 2025

Show notes

Marco 0️⃣ → 1️⃣
🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- Podcastathon 2025: Friday, noon → midnight EDT
Stephen Hackett said the foldable will be the “iPhone Ultra”
μm is a “micron”
The iPhone Air battery pack does have a USB-C port after all
iPhone 17 Pro requires a new adapter to charge at full speed
- Apple 40W Dynamic Power Adapter
- Anker Nano 45W charger
A19 vs. A19 Pro
A19 Pro benchmarks
The N1 is in every new iPhone
The whole of the iPhone Air is in the camera plateau
- Large image
Casey’s memory problems corner
- ATP #655 (Overcast timestamp link)
The mmWave antenna window is back
- Background
Logo placement on Apple’s cases
- Clear Case with MagSafe
- TechWoven Case with MagSafe
Some funny renders from iPhone case makers
Theories about the iPhone 17 Pro colors
- Every masterpiece has its cheap copy
- Luke Skywalker
- University of Virginia
- Denver Broncos
- Auburn University
  - 2021 impactful boosters
iPhone Air
- Will it bend?
  - Joz (& Ternus) with an incredible [lack of] flex
- 17 was a last-second decision? (via Sam Henri Gold)
- Max Tech’s discoveries
  - The Air does not have stereo speakers
  - The Dynamic Island is lower than on other phones
  - The USB-C port is not vertically centered
    - Image
  - No Cinematic Mode video, including the selfie camera
  - The new selfie camera is actually a 24MP sensor
- No LiDAR scanner
- Air & 17 non-Pro are limited to USB 2
  - USB 2.0
Every new iPhone screen has the same specifications, save size/resolution
- Apple iPhone comparison page
iPhones 17 can now toggle screen flickering off
- Pulse-width modulation
- 9to5Mac’s coverage
- PWM sensitive subreddit
Apple Watch
- Satellite data requires a cellular plan
- Jason & Greg Pierce agree
- Is “24-hour” battery claim because of a change in measurement?
- Underscore’s observations about the Ultra
  - Apple Watch battery
AirPods
- Ear shapes (via Tirial)
- About that “2×” noise reduction
  - AirPods product page
- The new AirPods Pro case is not smaller
- “New generation of Ultra Wideband technology” is the U2 chip
- Live translation is on-device (not in ☁️)
- Live translation is blocked for EU users with EU Apple Accounts
  - Apple feature availability
Safari on iOS 26’s compact toolbar
Tahoe Toolbars (via Zhenyi Tan) * Frosting download link * Frosting test page
Post-show: John’s red dot
Members-only ATP Overtime: Alterego and “thought to text” translation
- How artificial intelligence gave a paralyzed woman her voice back
  - A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control
- Meet the Little Brain Region that Helps You Say What’s on Your Mind
  - Speech sequencing in the human precentral gyrus
- Scientists develop interface that “reads” thoughts from speech-impaired patients
- Alterego

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656: A Long T-Shirt Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- The Marco Offset
iPhone event
- AirPods Pro 3
- Apple Watch Series 11
  - No new System-in-Package?
  - Whoop Band
- Apple Watch SE 3
- Apple Watch Ultra 3
  - LTPO
  - Satellite can-kicking continues
- iPhone 17
  - Memory Integrity Enforcement
- iPhone Air
  - iPhone Air MagSafe Battery 💔
- iPhone 17 Pro & Pro Max
- Software ship dates
Post-show:
- Apple trade-in
- ✨ Tina’s dream has come true! ✨
Members-only ATP Overtime: Apple’s competing implementations for the new Siri

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655: Shorts-Compatible Body Type Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

Pre-Show: Trouble in Razer paradise
🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
- The Marco Offset
Follow-up:
- Casey has thoughts about the compact iOS 26 controls in Safari
  - Settings → Apps → Safari
- Apple device advice for those that are athletically engaged
  - Place your phone face-down (via. A. O.)
  - Sleep focus is an option (via A. M.)
  - So is Theater Mode and, if taps are an issue, water lock (via Ryan)
  - How to stop Siri from randomly activating all the damn time by D. Griffin Jones
  - Fun fact: you can add it to the Health app! (via Niv Ben-Porath)
    - …but it won’t affect your rings
  - A truly hilarious story from Anonymous
- Developing “product sense” (via Joseph Kibe)
  - Productive Tensions by Christopher B. Bingham & Rory M. McDonald
iPhone 16 exit interview
iPhone event preview
- Crossbody strap
- Apple Natural Titanium Milanese Loop (Marco’s summer watch band)
Post-show: Smaller e-ink note-taking tablets
Members-only ATP Overtime: US government buys 10% of Intel

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654: Athletically Engaged Aug 28, 2025

Show notes

Pre-Show: Casey and Marco are sad
- Ben Rice McCarthy
- Under the Radar
Follow-up:
- 🗣️ It’s St. Jude time again! 🗣️
  - The Marco Offset
- Anonymous crushes the dreams of Marco and Casey about cellular MacBooks
- Another Anonymous shares a bit too much information about accidental Siri activations 😆
- 🤬 John’s AppleCare One update 🤬
- Help with Trackpad dragging
  - System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options… → Dragging Style → Three Finger Drag
    - Screenshot
  - …or Drag Lock
- Masimo comes for [more] blood
- UK drops utterly bananas backdoor legislation
- Studio Display with A19
  - Daniel Luz points out makes a funny comparison to Macs
  - Fabian Häusler theorizes it’s about binning
- Apple’s Hide my Email feature
  - An unexpected wrinkle Timothy Martin points out
  - Anecdote from David Beck
Apple Event: 9 September 1PM OTTZ
- Interactive logo
  - Still image for posterity
- Reverse-engineering by sam henri gold
“TechWoven” and “Liquid Silicone” cases leaked
- Maijin Bu on TechWoven
- …and on Liquid Silicone (and again)
Apple will simplify the Camera Control button
Ask ATP:
- What’s the ∆ between snapshots and backups? (via Phil Hirst)
  - Hyperspace
- Why is Finder slow to delete files? (via Dan)
- How will Apple reconcile AI and carbon neutrality? (via Sam Hunt)
Post-show: Some venting about politics and 𝓍26.
Members-only ATP Overtime: Rumored Apple roadmap
- Apple readies first upgrade to its struggling Vision Pro headset

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653: Warning Stories Aug 21, 2025

Show notes

Pre-Show: AI slop vs. not… so… AI… slop
- AITAH
Follow-up:
- Casey spends 24 hours with iOS 26 on his carry phone
  - John’s dancing controls
- ☝️ Well, actually ☝️, myriad of is okay (via Jason Eccles)
  - Merriam-Webster’s take
- Are size classes similar to today’s design changes? (via Bryan Guffey)
  - Auto Layout
- John’s HomePod has risen from the dead!
  - Nic’s Fix
  - Watch John’s actual repair happen
- 🍿 John would like to air some AppleCare One grievances 🍿
  - John’s tantrum
  - AppleCare One Terms & Conditions
Blood oxygen with Apple Watch [sorta] returns to the US
- Gruber’s take
- Victoria Song at The Verge
😳🥳 M5 MacBook Pro with cellular is coming‽ 🎉😳
A19 Pro in Studio Display 2?
- Previously, in low-cost MacBook rumors: A18 Pro
Your Mac game is probably rendering blurry
- CGDisplayCopyAllDisplayModes()
- FB13375033
Ask ATP:
- Should the name “Siri” be retired? (via Aaron Bushnell)
- Did Vehicle Motion Cues help John? (via Roly C.)
- How do we click our trackpads? (via Eli)
Post-show: Oh yeah! 🗣️ New ATP Members special: ATP Insider: Vacations 🗣️
Members-only ATP Overtime: Apple’s research into using LLMs to make UIs

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652: You Have 24 Hours to Comply Aug 14, 2025

Show notes

Pre-Show: Marco and Casey’s no-good, very bad days.
Follow-up:
- Casey didn’t read the fine print on Express Replacement 🤦🏻‍♂️
  - Short Pump
- John cycled his mouse again
- AppleCare One
  - Moving a device on a payment plan (via “Clark Griswold” and Anonymous)
  - Tina’s iPhone
  - Tina’s Mac Studio
- Tahoe beta 5: checkbox contrast improves
- iOS 26 beta 6 Liquid glass changes
- Smart TV interfaces over time
  - “Shortcut”
  - New Magic Remote
- Running your own mail server
  - How does iCloud-on-your-domain work? (via potato.zip)
  - Hide my Email (via Peter Puleio)
  - Jason Diller thinks it’s not so bad
- Post-quantum cryptography
  - Harvest now, decrypt later (via Lisa Ugray)
  - Since iOS 17.4 for iMessage (via Saul Sutherland)
    - Apple Security Research blog post
  - Compelled adoption (via Brian Jarvis)
  - Chrome adopted it in 2024 (via sayrer)
    - 2024: State of post-quantum internet
    - 2025: Update
John wages war against icons
- Adopting Liquid Glass: App Icons
- WWDC 2025 #361: Create Icons with Icon Composer
- John’s Mastodon thread
  - Václav Slavík’s solution
  - FB19437407
  - FB19497128
  - FB17892659
- There’s likely to be a lot more of this
Ask ATP:
- Is Liquid Glass on macOS a subtle move toward touchscreen Macs? (via Daniel Liu)
- How does one build a “good product sense”? (via Ian Anderson)
  - Inspired by Marty Cagan
- How does one effectively de-duplicate photos using Photos.app? (via Keith Heaton)
Post-show: Marco’s air-conditioning “update”
Members-only ATP Overtime: AI voice control as a threat to Apple’s platforms
- Apple’s Upcoming AI Voice Control will Change how People Use iPhones

Sponsored by:

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Become a member for ATP Overtime, ad-free episodes, member specials, and our early-release, unedited “bootleg” feed!

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