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.
The Guru Meditates.
For a special bonus episode, Dan sits down with previous guests and friends of the show Jeff Berg and Andrew Welyczko to talk about their favorite deceased computer company: Commodore! Commodore products were an integral part of our early computing lives, and we discuss the highs, the lows, and the bizarre that defined Jack Tramiel's legacy. Why did Apple succeed at the vertical integration game and Commodore crashed and burned? We talk all the details. Jeff discusses his time working for Commodore's ad agency, Andrew remembers Deluxe Paint, and Dan cares way too much about a game where you give fuzz people crystals.
Originally recorded on March 7, 2020
Show Notes: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.
Jeff can be found on instagram at jaberg. Both Jeff and Andrew are on the ars forums as jaberg and cateye, respectively.
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.
Won't you Listen to what the Man says?
For our thirty-third regular show, we are joined by very special guest Merlin Mann. You may know Merlin as the productivity guy behind 43 Folders, or from such podcasts as Reconcilable Differences, Back to Work, Do By Friday or You Look Nice Today. Merlin stops by to talk about his history with Macs, and he and Jake geek out on some HomeKit stuff, and in our main topic we get into a great discussion of Apple's Tug-of-war between its long-time and newer customers and what that means going forward. Can Apple sustain its growth without selling out?
Originally recorded on February 20, 2020
Show Notes: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.
Merlin can be found on twitter @hotdogsladies or on your podcast player of choice on Reconcilable Differences,Back to Work, or Do By Friday
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.
Next Time in the Garden:Special Guest Stephen Hackett
In the nineties, Apple's processor architecture was falling behind the competition. Motorola won a few battles, but Intel was winning the war. Enter IBM had a hot new architecture that could help both Apple and Motorola. Would they succeed in putting more Power into the Mac? And just how good were those first generation Power Macs anyway? Listen to find out.
Sources:
The Computer History Museum's Oral Histories of David Patterson, Gary Davidian, the SPARC Roundtable, the IBM 801 roundtable, and Dave Ditzel.
Apple Confidential
Apple-history.com
MacWorld
MacUser
Contact UsOur 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.
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. Our theme song is Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time.
CES has come and gone, with new HomeKit, Smart Home, and connected goodies.
For our thirty-second regular show, we are hosting a very special roundtable focusing on the state of HomeKit in a post-CES world. We are joined by very special guests Zac Hall of 9to5mac, Adam Justice, CEO of Connectsense, and co-host of The Smart Home Show, and Richard Gunther, the other host of the Smart Home Show! This group of amazing folks share their thoughts on the state of the HomeKit union and ecosystem as we head in to 2020. What do we like? Where is there room for improvement? Is Apple committed to growing HomeKit as a platform? Is the recently announced interconnected home automation standard a game changer or just another "standard?" We had a blast with this and we hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
Originally recorded on February 8, 2020
Show Notes: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.
Zac can be found on twitter @apollozac or on his other podcasts,9to5mac Happy Hour or the 9to5 mac Watch Time Podcast and coming soon - Space Explored!
Adam can be found on twitter @adamjustice, at Connectsense or on The Smart Home Show Podcast.
Richard can be found on twitter @richardgunther, at The Digital Media Zone or on his podcasts The Smart Home Show Podcast and Home:On Podcast.
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.
Next Time in the Garden:Special Guest Merlin Mann
Looks like we made it
For our thirty-first regular show, we are joined by very special guest Hep Svadja. Hep is the Product Manager for Adobe's Capture, a photographer and a maker. Hep brings an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience as we talk about all things creative! We are excited to have Hep join us for an awesome discussion!
We are also excited to announce a special upcoming HomeKit roundtable, now that CES has wrapped, with anticipated guests Zac Hall from 9to5mac, Adam Justice, the CEO of device maker ConnectSense, and Adam's co-host on the Smart Home Show, Richard Gunther!
Originally recorded on January 12, 2020
Show Notes: Follow Us: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 @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
Hep can be found at her personal website or on twitter @hepkitten
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.
Next Time in the Garden:HomeKit Roundtable with Zac Hall, Adam Justice, and Richard Gunther
In the sixth installment of Macinography, we look back at one of the most fondly remembered applications on the Classic Mac OS: Microsoft Word. Microsoft was the dominant player in word processing on the Mac, and 5.1 was slaying the competition. What made people love this word processor so much? Why did it stick around for years after its end of life? Listen in to find out.
Sources / Notes:
Wired Magazine on Word 5.1 Refuseniks
History of Microsoft, MSDN: Jeff Raikes
The Best Software Writing by Avram Joel Spolsky
Antitrust case notes against Microsoft
Working with Word 5.1 Third Edition by Chris Kinata and Gordon McComb
Macworld (Jan 1995) Word 6.0
MacUser (Dec 1994) Word 6.0
MacWorld (March 1993) Word 5.1
MacUser (April 1993) Word 5.1
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.
A Memorial service for QuickDraw GX
For our thirtieth regular show, we are joined by very special guest and Mac Ach forum mod Andrew Welyczko, who you may know as Cateye on the forums. Andrew brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with using the Mac in desktop publishing and related creative endeavors, from his 13 years as a designer (among many other roles) at the Onion, to his work as a self-employed designer. We talk a bit about the rack mounted Mac Pro, discuss potential new power management on the Mac, and Dan and Andrew reminisce and commiserate about desktop publishing on the Mac, then and now! We are also excited to announce a special upcoming HomeKit roundtable, now that CES has wrapped, with anticipated guests Zac Hall from 9to5mac, Adam Justice, the CEO of device maker ConnectSense, and Adam's co-host on the Smart Home Show, Richard Gunther!
Originally recorded on January 18, 2020
Show Notes: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 @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
Andrew can be found posting and moderating on the Ars forums as cateye
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.
Next Time in the Garden:Special Guest Hep Svadja
This is 2020
For our twenty-ninth regular show, we cover a few odds and ends from the holiday season, including all the shiny new Apple loot we are playing with. Specifically, Dan talks about his new Apple Watch and whether his new AirPods make him feel like a Pro! Apple and Imagination kiss and make up and CES is nigh! What does that bring for HomeKit? And how much of that will actually ship in 2020? Please join us as we kick off the new year in Icon Garden style!
Originally recorded on January 5, 2020
Show Notes: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 @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
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.
Next Time in the Garden:Special Guest Cateye
It's lovely weather for a podcast together with you!
For our twenty-eighth regular show, we take a break from the usual podcast antics and celebrate the holidays, Icon Garden-style! Tech podcasts are required by ancient podcast law to have year-end awards, so awards we have! Everything from app of the year to our favorite holiday specials to watch on that digital device that Santa is sure to bring. Please join us for the Icon Garden Holiday Special and have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and we will see you in 2020!
Originally recorded on December 21, 2019
Show Notes: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 @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
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.
Next Time in the Garden:Special Guest Hep Svadja
Today in the fifth installment of Macinography, we journey back to the third epoch of Apple design beginning in the year of 1993. The traditional all-in-one Mac was getting a bit creaky. A brand new Mac in a newly designed case sought to carry the torch of the all-in-one Mac. This Mac would definitely be one for the history books… but not for the reasons they thought it would. Listen in for the story of the Mac Color Classic.
Sources / Notes: Macworld April 1994 MacUser April 1994 Jason's Macintosh Museum The Club for Creating the Strongest Color Classic PowerCC.org
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 @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
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. Some interstitial music used in this episode is courtesy of the Youtube Audio Library and it was composed by Jeremy Blake.
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