9 chapters across the catalog
A 1984 newspaper column by John C. Dvorak is revisited, in which he predicted the Apple Macintosh would fail because of its use of a mouse. The "No Such Thing as Fish" podcast recently cited this column, leading to a discussion about historical context and the coining of the term "pornado" for pop-up ad storms.
The "I can see Russia from my house" quote, often attributed to Sarah Palin, is clarified as a joke originated by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live. Palin's actual comment referred to seeing the Russian mainland from an Alaskan island. This is used as an example of how media memes and misquotes, such as a 1984 critique of the Apple Macintosh mouse, can become accepted as historical fact.
History of Apple and the Decline of Tech Reporting
The hosts deconstruct a "Two Techies" podcast segment about Steve Jobs, correcting historical inaccuracies regarding his departure from Apple in 1985. They highlight that under John Sculley, Apple's sales grew from $800 million to $8 billion. The discussion serves as a critique of modern tech reporting, which the hosts claim lacks editorial oversight and historical knowledge.
Ultimate Podcaster Device, Universal Audio Collaboration
The development of an "Ultimate Podcaster" hardware device has been delayed in favor of finding a more professional, high-quality solution. The goal is to collaborate with companies like Universal Audio to create a pre-configured package for modern Macintosh laptops. This approach is deemed more practical than selling custom hardware, which involves significant logistical challenges.
John C. Dvorak reviews a 1987 column responding to a letter from Apple Vice President Larry Tesler regarding Dvorak's 1984 predictions about the Macintosh. The discussion covers Dvorak's original skepticism regarding the computer mouse, bundled software, and high-resolution graphics. Dvorak admits to being wrong on several points while maintaining he was correct about the machine's initial high price and memory limitations.
The production values of the Emmy telecast are reviewed, focusing on the snarky voiceover commentary provided by John Hodgman. This style of "lewd commentary" is compared to a past PC Computing MVP awards event hosted by Jim Seymour and a co-host that nearly resulted in their termination.
The "Macintosh BASIC Handbook" exists as a rare artifact for a programming language that was never officially released to the public. According to historical accounts, Bill Gates pressured Apple CEO John Sculley to cancel the project by threatening to withdraw Microsoft Office support for the Macintosh. This corporate maneuver effectively killed Apple's internal BASIC version, leaving Microsoft's version as the primary option for the platform.
A new portable production setup is described as a "one-man band" radio studio integrated into an Apple Macintosh. The rig utilizes German hardware from Faderfox and specialized software to provide tactile control over audio levels and cart decks with near-zero latency. There is a brief mention of potentially patenting this unique configuration of linked software packages.
Curry expresses extreme frustration with his Macintosh-based recording setup, noting that it worked perfectly for his Daily Source Code podcast earlier that day but is failing during No Agenda. Dvorak suggests that a recent Apple software update might be the cause of the audio crackling. Curry laments the lack of a reliable, all-in-one portable digital processing solution for podcasters.
