The Old Farmer’s Almanac tells us that the Dog Days of Summer ended on August 11, and the last couple of weeks demonstrate that these old farmers know a thing or two. While some of Apple’s actions on July 11 did indeed make it appear as if the company was going to the dogs, Apple has quietly—sultrily, one might even say—gone about its business, apologizing for this, fixing that, and boasting about the other.
With the news from Apple being a bit on the thin side, we devote this episode of the Macworld Podcast to broader topics. Specifically, what a redesigned iTunes might look like, how things are going for the iPhone 3G and App Store after a month in the wild, and the significance of the iMac’s 10th anniversary.
A redesigned iTunes is the topic of my opening musing. Is iTunes just perfect as it is, or has it taken on so many tasks that it’s become unwieldy? I’m starting to believe the latter, but welcome your input.
Macworld Associate Editor Dan Moren and I then discuss iPhone 3G and App Store issues. What’s up with applications that appear and then disappear? What does that say about Apple’s vetting process? Will developers, demanding more communication from, Apple get it? And is it fair to ask for it just a month into the App Store’s operation? And need we fear an iPhone kill switch? Dan answers these and other questions.
Finally, Executive Editor Philip Michaels assembles some of the Old Guard of the Macworld staff—Editorial Director Jason Snell, Lab Director Jim Galbraith, and Senior Editor Roman Loyola—to pull their rocking chairs up to the PodCave’s pot-bellied stove and reminisce about the now 10-year-old iMac.
Listen to episode 128
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Show notes
The impetus for musing over a redesigned iTunes came from PCWorld’s 11 Things We Hate About iTunes and my response, Don’t Be A Player Hater. If you’re a fan of iTunes, the PCWorld article is likely to get your dander up. Feel free to smooth it down again by perusing my perfectly reasoned (and not a bit sarcastic) response.
Dan and I cover a lot of ground in our discussion. Fortunately, we’ve also covered these issues— disappearing App Store applications, Apple’s vetting process for those App Store applications, the iPhone’s “kill switch,” and communication issues between developers and Apple—extensively on Macworld.com. Check out the links for more.
If you’re interested in all that is iMac, you’ll want to check out Jason Snell’s remembrance of May 6, 1998—the day the Bondi Blue iMac was announced. To relive the experience, read Andy Gore and Anita Epler’s iMac cover story from Back in the Day as well as Andy Gore’s take on the then-just-announced iMac. We’ll have more iMac coverage on Friday, the 10th anniversay of the iMac’s ship date.
Sponsor
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