Stay ConnectedNot Quite Graybeards! The Icon Garden is a show about interesting topics in the world of Apple and Technology for the enthusiast user.
Hosts Dan and Jake talk news, workflow, and a special topic every show. We chat home automation with the HomeKit Chronicles, and every month there’s a deep dive into Apple and Tech history with Macinography. We started from the Ars Technica Mac Ach forum and bring the knowledge to the wide world of tech.
It's Christmas all over again!
Ho ho ho! Merry Macmas! Jeff Berg rejoins Dan and Jake to talk about the present that Santa Tim dropped for all the good Apple children: AirPods Max! Jake has a pair of the new headphones and we review features, audio quality, comparisons, all of it! Plus, we try Apple Fitness+, and a holiday episode wouldn't be complete without a holiday gift guide for all the techies in your life. Pour a cup of cheer and listen in!
Recorded December 18, 2020
Links
The Icon Garden Gift Guide
(!) A note from Jeff: I must disclose that I work for REI because REI sells Peak Design and Goal Zero Products. I am not directly compensated for endorsement, but I received a discount when I purchased the products. I did purchase and do use all of the products I list here. Opinions are my own.
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Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:45 - Returning Special Guest Jeff Berg 00:03:17 - AirPods Max Introduced 00:07:55 - AirPods Max Style and Form 00:16:34 - Ergonomics Comparison 00:26:09 - AirPods Max Audio Quality 00:33:02 - Spatial Audio 00:39:55 - Auto-Device Switching 00:47:31 - The Smart Case 00:56:59 - AirPods Max: Value and Price 01:20:40 - Microphone Quality 01:21:59 - Apple Fitness+ First Impressions 01:34:57 - The Icon Garden Gift Guide 01:52:08 - Outtro and Credits
Awesome. Awesome to the Macs.
Catch the Crazy! Dan and Jake are joined in the studio by Krazy Ken to speculate about future Macs based on imagined (and rumored) new Apple Silicon chips. Dan talks about rescuing a hot rod Power Mac 8100. Jake experiments with HomeKit Adaptive Lighting. Ken recalls his greatest tech misadventures. All this and more when you tune in!
Recorded December 4, 2020
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Contact Us
Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:50 - Special Guest Krazy Ken 00:11:44 - Ken's First Mac 00:17:37 - What's Going On In Your Tech Life? 00:24:00 - The HomeKit Chronicles: iOS 14 Adaptive Ambient Lighting 00:42:59 - Main Topic: Future Apple Silicon Products 00:55:06 - Potential New Design Languages 01:07:12 - Workflow on Apple Silicon 01:13:50 - Apple Silicon Macs vs. iPad and Competitors 01:27:15 - Outtro and Credits
Big Sur! (badabum) Big Sur, Big Sur, Big Sur!
The new M1 Macs are out in the wild, and until Dan and Jake get ones of their own, they do the next best thing: bring in a guest! Friend of the show Jay McNiff stops by to talk about the new M1 MacBook Air, Big Sur, and obscure giant robots. Also, Jake has HomePods Mini! Are these little spheres packing big sound? Listen to find out.
Recorded November 20, 2020
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Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
If there's one thing users love, it's customizing their computers. Extensions were the cause of, and solution to, all of Classic Mac OS' problems. The humble INIT made your Mac more powerful, or just more attractive. Ironically, the system that tried to kill the extension, Copland, inspired some of the most popular add-ons—especially ones that mimicked its new interface. Was Jeff Goldblum really running the Aaron extension on his PowerBook in Independence day? Listen to learn how the shareware community, and the Aaron extension, changed the Mac.
Sources
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Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket Casts Spotify Google Podcasts
Contact Us
Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
Chapters
00:00:00 - Opening 00:00:37 - INIT to Win It 00:13:47 - A Concerto for CDEV 00:31:52 - It's a Mac System... I KNOW This! 00:44:28 - Through The Kaleidoscope Glass 00:51:59 - Outtro and Credits
**Music Credits
Astronaut In A Submarine by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Echoes by LiQWYD | https://www.liqwydmusic.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
Lucid Dreaming by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Dan and Jake are hot on the tail of an Apple Special Event! This time it's about the unveiling of the first Apple Silicon Macs. What's changed? What's the same? And are they just making a bunch of crazy promises? Plus: Jake learns a lesson! Dan watched Dave Letterman Interview Lizzo! Join us for this hot off the microphones special event.
Recorded November 10, 2020
Links
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Contact Us
Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:02:20 - Apple Silicon Macs Event Review 00:11:12 - Specs, Benchmarks, and Promises 00:20:48 - New MacBook Air and Pro 00:32:09 - New Mac Mini: One GPU Forward, Two Ports Back? 00:37:49 - Pricing and Sales Strategies 00:41:45 - Thinking About Future Macs 00:56:36 - One More Thing... 01:01:27 - Outtro and Credits
1 2 3 4 5, 6 7 8 9 10, 11 12
Friend of the show and iOS HomeKit developer Matt Corey joins Dan and Jake! Matt talks about his new HomeKit app, Signals, and discusses all things HomeKit. Plus, Jake finally gets and reviews that mythical unicorn of HomeKit devices, a HomeKit doorbell! Finally, we talk new iPhone and Home accessories like HomePod Mini, MagSafe, and AirTags fit in to the connected life. We hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
Recorded October 22, 2020
Links
Subscribe
Apple Podcasts Overcast Pocket Casts Spotify Google Podcasts
Contact Us
Dan's Twitter: @kefkafloyd Jake's Twitter: @jakepugh
Show Twitter: @icongardenshow Visit Our Website Email us Mac Ach Thread
Theme Song by Space Vixen Follow them on Twitter: @SpaceVixenMusic
Chapters
00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:15 - Special Guest Matt Corey and iPhone Launch 00:07:37 - Matt's Background 00:17:20 - Matt's First Mac 00:20:50 - What's Going On In Your Tech Life? 00:26:00 - HomePod 14.1 Updates, The Mini, and Intercom 00:37:34 - The HomeKit Chronicles - Yobi B3 Doorbell 00:49:47 - MagSafe Chargers and Peak Magnetic Mounts 00:54:20 - Matt's Home Automation Setup 00:57:30 - Talking Shortcuts 00:58:55 - AirTags, U1 Chip, and "Presence Sensing" 01:08:23 - Lights - More Than Just Hue 01:11:19 - Future Plans and Automation Opportunities 01:18:25 - Apple TV, HomePod, and Home Strategy 01:24:07 - Outtro and Credits
November 2020 marks the thirtieth anniversary of ARM Limited. With Apple switching to Arm-based Apple Silicon for Macs, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's Arm's desktop debut, but it's not the first time for Arm on desktop. How did ARM go from powering Acorn Computers, a veteran of the British Micro wars, into the world's most popular architecture? And how did Apple and ARM save each other in their hours of need? Listen in to find out.
Sources / Notes:
Music Credits
Over The Ocean by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Synthetic by | e s c p | https://escp-music.bandcamp.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Show Art: Courtesy of Daniel Vincent
Contact Us You can find Dan on twitter @kefkafloyd and Jake on twitter @jakepugh. We're available on your podcast platform of choice, and if you like us, a five star rating or review would be greatly appreciated. You can visit our website at icongardenshow.com or post in the Ars thread by going to bit.ly/tigsthread. Some interstitial music used in this episode is courtesy of the Youtube Audio Library and it was composed by Jeremy Blake. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time.
Come join our Discord community for fun (but probably no profit), and to let us know what you want us to talk about on the show! Icon Garden Discord
And oh what heights we'll hit, on with the show, this is it!
It's the day after an Apple Special Event! Dan and Jake convene to discuss HomePods Mini and new iPhones, in all sizes great and small. What did we like? What are we buying, or not? Or really... how MANY HomePods Mini is Jake buying? Join us for our recap and reactions to the iPhone 12 event!
Originally recorded on October 13, 2020
Show Notes and Links:Our show is produced by Nathan Mace (antiwraith on Ars)and edited by Dan Vincent. Our theme song is composed by the wondrous Space Vixen, who you can find on twitter @SpaceVixenMusic and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com. Show Art courtesy Daniel Vincent.
You can find Dan on Twitter @kefkafloyd. Against his better judgement, Jake is occasionally on twitter @jakepugh. You can leave feedback by tweeting @icongardenshow or posting on the Icon Garden thread at the Mac Ach forum by going to http://bit.ly/tigsthread . You can subscribe to our show on your podcast platform of choice, or visit our website at icongardenshow.com.
Come join our Discord community for fun (but probably no profit), and to let us know what you want us to talk about on the show! Icon Garden Discord
The difference between us and other App Stores is that other App Stores are App Stores.
For our forty-eighth regular show, we are joined by special guest, developer and friend of the show, Maegan Wilson. What's going on in Maegan's tech life, and how is life in the App Store these days? We dig into Jake's new LG HomeKit TV, witness the arrival of his new Apple Watch, and then dig into life as an iOS developer in 2020. It's a wonderful discussion focusing on life as a small developer.
Originally recorded on September 21, 2020
Show Notes and Links:Our show is produced by Nathan Mace (antiwraith on Ars)and edited by Dan Vincent. Our theme song is composed by the wondrous Space Vixen, who you can find on twitter @SpaceVixenMusic and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com. Show Art courtesy Daniel Vincent.
You can find all things Maegan at Linktree
You can find Dan on Twitter @kefkafloyd. Against his better judgement, Jake is still on twitter @jakepugh. You can leave feedback by tweeting @icongardenshow or posting on the Icon Garden thread at the Mac Ach forum by going to http://bit.ly/tigsthread . You can subscribe to our show on your podcast platform of choice, or visit our website at icongardenshow.com.
Come join our Discord community for fun (but probably no profit), and to let us know what you want us to talk about on the show! Icon Garden Discord
A long time ago, in a schoolyard far far away, the computer was a rarity. Apple conquered the classrooms of the eighties with the Apple II, but repeating that success in the nineties with the Macintosh would be a more difficult feat. Before the iMac, Apple launched many big-screen all in ones. Listen to find out how successful (or disastrous) this was for Apple in their most challenging era yet.
Sources / Notes:
Music Credits
Above The Clouds by | e s c p | Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Slinky by Ron Gelinas Chillout Lounge Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Synthetic by | e s c p | Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported
Show Art: Courtesy of Daniel Vincent
Contact Us You can find Dan on twitter @kefkafloyd and Jake on twitter @jakepugh. We're available on your podcast platform of choice, and if you like us, a five star rating or review would be greatly appreciated. You can visit our website at icongardenshow.com or post in the Ars thread by going to bit.ly/tigsthread. Some interstitial music used in this episode is courtesy of the Youtube Audio Library and it was composed by Jeremy Blake. Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time.
Come join our Discord community for fun (but probably no profit), and to let us know what you want us to talk about on the show! Icon Garden Discord
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