Marianne Schultz

the musings of a geeky girl

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everythingiCafe: the show “Two Trains”

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I have been terribly delinquent in posting about new episodes of the everythingicafe.com podcast when they become available. Time has been getting away from me this week and I have been feeling a little bit under the weather, so please accept my apologies for not being quite on the ball recently.

At any rate, episode 58 of the podcast I co-host with Chris Meinck is now available in iTunes. In it, Chris and I talk about iPhone 5 rumors that have cropped up recently, including those about some Liquid Metal components it could contain (a brand name that always makes me think of  Terminator 2 and Robert Patrick impersonating a cop and chasing Sarah Connor) and what is claimed to be the next home button for the upcoming iPhone model. We also talked briefly about Apple’s quarterly results for Q2 2012, which were phenomenal as usual.

Also on our agenda was the latest teaser video from Samsung for the next Galaxy S phone in which the company essentially calls iPhone users sheep (you can see that video here). While I’m not personally offended to an extent to be really bothered by this, I do find it puzzling and worrisome that Samsung’s marketing folks think that making fun of the people you want to buy your product is a good thing. I can’t think that “mock your potential customers” is taught in any marketing class. At the very least, Samsung has turned me off from considering their Galaxy products by this alone.

My Teh Awesome for the week was the eBay app for the iPhone. Though it’s been around for a while, it’s an app that I use almost daily to browse for yet more gadgets, accessories and designer bags (my one girly indulgence) to buy and to keep an eye on the items I put up for auction to make room for new acquisitions. Chris’s Teh Awesome was the SmartFuel iPhone app that helps you find the best gas prices nearby to save a little money when you fill up your tank.

We have not yet recorded an episode for this week but we should squeeze one in within the next few days before I head out of town for a trip early next week. Once that episode is available, my plan is to post about when it’s in iTunes in a more timely manner. 😉

everythingiCafe: the show “Juicer Fanbois”

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I’m a little behind in posting about this one but a new episode of the everythingicafe.com podcast is available through iTunes. In this episode (number 57, in case you’re keeping track), Chris Meinck and I talk about some iPad mini rumors and some demands a consumer organization in Australia is making of Apple in relation to the new iPad.

We also talked about a couple legal issues Apple’s involved with, namely the Lodsys patent suit and a recent decision that allows Apple to intervene a bit in this suit on behalf of developers, and Apple’s response to the Department of Justice about the claims that Apple colluded with book publishers to set ebook prices.

My Teh Awesome of the week was Osfoora, a Twitter app for the Mac. I think I may have mentioned Osfoora for the iPhone and iPad in a previous episode but a recent update to the Mac app added Tweet Marker, a service that keeps your timeline position in sync across apps that also use this service, regardless of platform. Since I read Twitter on a variety of devices, this feature is incredibly useful for me. (On the iPhone and iPad, I use Tweetbot, which also makes use of Tweet Marker.)

Chris’s Teh Awesome was iTunes Match. He did a walkthrough of how to set up this service and he is very happy with how it lets him access his entire library from anywhere and lets you replace music you’ve ripped at a low quality with a higher-quality version from Apple. I also subscribe to iTunes Match and I’ve been pretty happy with it as well.

[frame]As I mentioned in this episode and the last one, I’ve got a review of the Morris Lessmore DODOcase for the iPad 3 that I ordered last month coming up. I finally recorded the video review this weekend and I’ll post it tomorrow, so stay tuned.[/frame]

everythingiCafe: the show “Don’t Pile on the Rabbit”

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I have been a bit slow lately posting about new episodes of the everythingicafe.com podcast that I co-host with Chris Meinck when they become available, but better late than never, right? We recorded episode 56 of the show last week and it’s available now through iTunes here.

Chris and I talked about the Department of Justice’s charge against Apple and book publishers, some recent rumblings about iTunes and a possible overhaul Apple may be doing, speculation on a 4-inch screen in the next iPhone model, an unfortunate Chinese teenager who sold a kidney in order to buy an iPhone and iPad, and more.

We had a suggestion from listener Jon of Awesome Apps about how iOS developers can help each other get exposure in the App Store, which we talked about at great length. I took this as an opportunity to revisit some of the points I covered in my tips for app developers on how to get an app reviewed from a major review site, an article which I admit has a bit of a snarky tone but is still meant to be helpful to developers.

My Teh Awesome of the week was the SGP Steinheil Ultra Fine screen protector for the iPad 3, which I blogged about recently. It’s a fantastic screen protector that cuts down on glare and fingerprints and I highly recommend it. Chris’s Teh Awesome was the Clear to do app for the iPhone. I have Clear as well and it’s a lovely app to use (and I reviewed it for my day job here) and it’s a great choice if your to do list needs are simple and straightforward.

We did record a new episode a few days ago but it’s not yet available in iTunes. I’ll post about it when it is. Remember that if you have a question or comment for us, you can submit it to us by voicemail at (646) 820-3431 or via email at podcast@everythingicafe.com. Your question will be played or read on the air and we’ll be happy to answer it as best as we can.

everythingiCafe: the show “Can’t Hardly Wait”

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Chris Meinck and I recorded episode 55 of the everythingicafe.com podcast earlier this week and it’s now available for your listening pleasure through iTunes. As in previous posts announcing the availability of a new podcast episode, I’d say that you could also listen to it right here if you’re visiting my site with a Flash-capable browser, but this feature hasn’t been reliable lately, so YMMV.

Chris and I talked about a wide range of topics this week, including the selection of Ashton Kutcher to play a young Steve Jobs in an upcoming movie, rumors about the timing of the release of the next iPhone model, Consumer Reports and its recommendation of the 3rd-generation iPad and more. We also talked a lot about the Nokia Lumia, which is supposed to be Nokia’s new flagship smartphone. You’ll need to listen the podcast to see how we got off onto that tangent.

Chris’s Teh Awesome this week was OMGPOP’s Draw Something app, an iPhone/iPad game that’s like remote pictionary where you guess the drawings of your opponent and they attempt to guess yours. My Teh Awesome was Scrivener, a fairly heavy duty Mac app for writers that will help you craft that novel or screenplay with ease. It’s not cheap at $44.99 but it’s been a great help so far with my first novel, which had gotten long enough to be too hard to work with as a simple text document.
[frame]
I neglected to blog about episode 54 of the show when it was released last week. That’s also available in iTunes if you want to take a small step backward in time to hear me and Chris talk about more about the 3rd-generation iPad, Apple’s problems with an Australian consumer watchdog organization over its 4G label for the new iPad, and some surveys that yielded interesting statistics about Apple products and Siri on the iPhone 4S. My Teh Awesome in that episode was the Morris Lessmore Dodocase for the iPad 2/3 that I recently got for my new iPad.[/frame]

everythingiCafe: the show “Crazy Like Her”

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Chris Meinck and I recorded episode 53 of the everythingicafe.com podcast last Tuesday and it’s available for download through iTunes. The (Flash-only) embedded player that appears at the top of this post may or may not work – I’ve been having trouble with this recently and I can’t quite pinpoint why. For now, I blame Flash. Damn you, Adobe.

Chris and I both received 3rd-generation iPads on release day and while we both like it, I am more of a fan of Apple’s latest tablet than Chris, who doesn’t feel like it’s a significant upgrade from the iPad 2. Listen in to hear us disagree on how phenomenal the new iPad is.

We also talked about the claims of the new iPad overheating, which I think is poppycock and a non-issue (I only noticed a small portion of my iPad 3 getting warm after looking for it because of the flood of news items about this supposed issue).

After spending a good chunk of time talking about the iPad 3, we also talked about Apple’s recent announcement that they would begin offering a dividend to shareholders an a share repurchase program. And, we also talked about This American Life, the podcast that featured Mike Daisy and his supposed exposé of Foxconn and its poor working conditions and practices. It turns out that Daisy fabricated and exaggerated much of this information and This American Life officially retracted that episode. I was bothered by this because I had believed Daisy’s account of his trip to China and while I still believe that many of the things he described are happening somewhere at Foxconn and other manufacturers of Apple products (and those of many other American companies) and it’s disappointing to hear this was exaggerated to make it a more entertaining story to hear.

Chris’s Teh Awesome of the week was Adsense Zen, a handy iPhone app that lets you access your Google Adsense account on the go. My Teh Awesome was the iPad 3, of course. I’m really happy with it and love the retina display.

If you’re wondering about the title of this episode, this is Chris making fun of me for my treadmill desk. I also think it’s also in retaliation for my suggestion during the podcast that he go to the gym more often so the extra weight of the new iPad doesn’t bother him so much. 😀

Join us next Tuesday for the live broadcast/recording of episode 54 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern at everythingicafe.com/live!