MacNotables #815 [38:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tonya Engst is the owner of an Amazon Kindle. Is she a proud owner? Find out as Tonya discusses why she felt this eBook reader was important enough to own, and why her Amazon shopping habit helped make the decision. The Kindle has received mixed reviews, and Tonya shares her perspectives on usability, readability and the superior buying experience awaiting new Kindle owners. She also covers what was left off of this first version of the unit, the ups and downs of putting your own documents on the Kindle, support for audio media, and the evolving mechanics of eBook ownership.

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 MacNotables #813 [26:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Adam Engst and Chuck Joiner address a listener question and provide two differing perspectives on migrating from a G4 Mac to a new Intel Mac, then dig into the iPhone SDK announcements. Adam analyzes on the level of control that Apple is exercising over iPhone development and software, and whether it is a good idea. Chuck comments on the positive response from the developer community, and the two review some of the unanswered questions and the future of the jailbreaking community in the first of a two-part session on the subject.

 

 MacNotables #808 [27:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The three-part series of conversations with Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner concludes with more of their discussion on how creative tools and our expectations of their results sometimes collide. Have things really gotten easier, or is the gap between what we want and how challenging it is to create it about the same? Adam, Andy and Chuck defend their positions by comparing technology then and now, lament their shared lack of artistic expertise, and talk about the tools and workflows for their latest projects.

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 MacNotables #807 [27:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the second of a three-part series, Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner debate the relationship between the ease of use of today’s creative tools and the amount of time it takes to learn and use them. Are all the choices available to today’s Mac user a dream come true or a source of frustration. The MacNotables don’t agree on the point and discuss their views on the question.

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 MacNotables #806 [35:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The first of a three-part conversation features Adam Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner starts off with why you might think the newest iPhone update has bricked your phone when it really hasn’t, uncovers a possible MacNotables conspiracy and then settles down to a serious discussion of Adam and Andy’s latest projects, audio and video, their different approaches to new media creation, and how they each do their own version of a cost-benefit analysis (whether they realize it or not).

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 MacNotables #804 [33:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Robin Williams stops by the Peachpit booth on the show floor at Macworld Expo to tape a live MacNotables session with Chuck Joiner. Robin provides some thoughts on Leopard and the fact that many vendors are writing programs and features into their products that are only for Leopard users. Robin chats about the different audiences for her two Leopard books, The Little Mac Book, Leopard Edition and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series, both from Peachpit, why her mom should be doing Apple commercials, the challenges of upgrading computer books, and why she considers herself more a teacher than a writer.

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 MacNotables #803 [27:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Adam and Tonya Engst join Chuck Joiner, taking some time off the show floor to visit the Macworld Podcast Studio and talk about some of the interesting things they found at Macworld Conference & Expo. The list ranges from a web service that runs HyperCard stacks, a podcasting service and a mega-iPod collection case to a geocoding solution for digital photographs, a drive maintenance utility that is fun for the Mac and a booth design that splits the panel. The panel also discusses TidBITS podcast ad-libbing, suggestions for new products, the health of Macworld Conference & Expo and more.

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 MacNotables #802 [39:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the Macworld.com Podcast Studio, Ted Landau and Chuck Joiner start out alone covering the Macworld Expo keynote and picking some favorite new products, and are are gang-tackled as Tonya Engst, Andy Ihatko and guests Dori Smith and Tom Negrino join them for a discussion of all things Expo.

Ted comments on the MacBook Air from a troubleshooting perspective, Tonya applauds the number of products designed for women, Andy talks about why his backpack glitters and a favorite new tripod, Tom and Dori cover a new calendar-sharing utility and Chuck plugs a set of in-ear earphones (no pun intended).

Tonya Engst	Andy Ihnatko	Ted Landau
Chuck Joiner	Dori Smith	Tom Negrino

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 MacNotables #772 [37:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In the second of a two-part MacNotables session, Adam and Tonya Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner continue a discussion on the use of social networks and how to use them, veer off into a discussion of comics, online and print, conclude that Andy is perfectly suited as a consultant to that industry, take a trip back to the 80’s with Adam at the helm and finally wrap up the topic of the TidBITS Gift Guide.

Tonya Engst	Adam Engst	Andy Ihnatko	Chuck Joiner

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 MacNotables #771 [43:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After a “deadline-hell” inspired hiatus, the MacNotables are back in action to reveal some true confessions about adopting Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, discuss the creation of the annual TidBITS holiday gift guide, and veer off into a discussion of Twitter and Facebook. Whether these social networking sites are beneficial or inane depends on how the user approaches them. Panelists Adam and Tonya Engst, Andy Ihnatko and Chuck Joiner talk about the difference in experiences with the two and which they prefer in the first of a two-part discussion.

Tonya Engst	Adam Engst	Andy Ihnatko	Chuck Joiner

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