MacNotables #828 [45:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus has spent some time with the new iPhone 3G in preparation for his new book, and shares his thoughts on Apple’s iPhone priorities, compatibility of older iPhone accessories, and a new, must-have one. Bob also picks some of his favorite iPhone apps so far and gives some surprising advice on what protection you should or shouldn’t buy for your iPhone.

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 MacNotables #827 [43:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jim Dalrymple delivers an update on his album project, laments a lack of pre-amp inputs, discusses the response from readers and admits to the amount of work it involves. Jim then focuses on the iPhone 3G, talking about how it stacks up to the competition, what he expects from the iPhone Apps Store, and why Rogers, the iPhone carrier for Canada, is viewed as taking gross advantage of their customers.
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 MacNotables #826 [26:03m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Dennis Sellers comes out of hiding to discuss how his site, MacsimumNews, will serve as an alternative for readers of the now-offline MacMinute.com, due to the passing of Stan Flack, and why he decided to jump into the podcast fray and produce the Macsimum Podcast. Dennis also provides his thoughts on the WWDC announcements, including the future of the iPod, Snow Leopard and more.

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 MacNotables #825 [45:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Want to break into the world of Mac journalism? Tonya Engst and Ted Landau talk about how to get started, and why you might not want to quit your day job right away. As the Mac market grows, so does the competition. Tonya and Ted talk about the benefits (or not) of formal training, visibility, practice, networking and more. Think it is all sounds like a lot of work? Find out about different aspects of Mac coverage and why some simple, common-sense characteristics could be what sets you apart in your quest to become the next high-profile Mac journalist.

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 MacNotables #824 [44:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Adam Engst, Dan Frakes, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner start out discussing the announcement of a Napster music store and end up debating the competence of the music industry. Along the way the MacNotables panel cover why all music stores other than Amazon are irrelevant at this point in time, why sound quality differentiates but doesn’t overwhelm, and why control seems to be trumping business sense.

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 MacNotables #823 [29:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Subnotebooks come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, starting with the MacBook Air and going down. Ted Landau has been working with one of the least expensive options, the XO laptop from the “One Laptop per Child” initiative, and discusses how it stacks up to the competition. Ted covers everything from the XO’s operating system to the included applications, comments on the laptop’s communications capabilities and helps you decide whether you should try to track down one of these little gems, or if you should spend more money for more capabilities.

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 MacNotables #822 [41:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jim Dalrymple joins us from safari, and shares his love of roller coasters before discussing his latest project: writing, recording and releasing his own album. Jim details how he got started with this and how he is documenting it on Macworld, the response he received from contacts in the recording industry and more. Few projects like this are truly a solo effort; Jim talks about some of the folks he’s working with, why he’s not limiting the software tools he’s using for the project and how GarageBand is taking center stage in the creative part of the process.

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 MacNotables #821 [41:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The man with the last word in Mac troubleshooting, Ted Landau, has just updated his book, Take Control of Your iPhone, and discusses the features included with the current version of the software. Ted provides updates on the subjects of jailbreaking and unlocking your iPhone, topics that change almost daily, and starts thinking about what may be coming for the iPhone at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Ted also updates us on his attempts to create a bootable Leopard flash drive, offering both a simple and a slightly more involved procedure, depending on your needs.

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 MacNotables #820 [53:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus is back to tell us what rock he’s been hiding under and the project that put him there. Bob talks about his latest book, Office 2008 for Mac For Dummies, and gives us his bottom-line assessment of the latest version of the Microsoft productivity suite, and how each of the applications compare to their iWork ‘08 counterparts. Bob also discusses his upcoming Mid-Atlantic Mac User Group Tour, and where you can come to see one of his many presentations if you’re in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or near Washington D.C. The session wraps up with a discussion of what Bob wants to see in the next generation iPhone, and Bob’s most recent product picks.

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 MacNotables #819 [46:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

TidBITS is celebrating 18 years of Mac journalistic excellence, and Adam Engst talks about some of the things that make their publication special and how their style helped set trends in tech journalism. Age and experience changes perspective, and Adam explains how those factors affect what you read in TidBITS, how things have changed, and how they’ve stayed the same. Adam also provides some analysis of Apple’s quarterly financial results, including a discussion of their cash reserves, what could be done with them, and how Apple apparently has moved into the lead in yet another retail statistic. Also, as part of the whole show, Adam and Chuck deliver a live performance review of the Blue Snowflake Compact microphone. Find out how it sounds and whether it suits what you do.
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