MacVoices #24091: MVL - Roku’s Onerous Terms; Apple, Google, and AI; AirTags Under Fire…Again The privacy theme rolls on as Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and David Ginsburg look at the almost unbelievable Terms of Service in the most recent Roku update and how it applies to which Roku device/channel/app. Then, the MacVoices panel delivers some initial thoughts on what appears to be a relationship between Apple and Google over AI capabilities, and yet another lawsuit targeting AirTags. No other Bluetooth or GPS tracker, just AirTags. 

MacVoices #24090: MVL - Would You Rent An Printer That HP Monitors? Our privacy theme continues as the MacVoices Live! panel looks at HP’s new option to rent a printer. Is that a good idea given the seemingly onerous contract terms, let alone the possible privacy concerns over an always-connected-to-the-Internet printer? Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, and David Ginsburg look at everything from cancellation requirements to minimum page requirements to where the printer companies are making their money…at your expense. 

MacVoices #24089: MVL - A Personal Hacking Story Chuck Joiner, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Marty Jencius, and Jim Rea discuss the hacking of a panel member’s Instagram account, along with what appeared to be an attack on his Facebook account. They discuss scams, other personal experiences with compromises, and a couple information pieces that caught their attention.  

MacVoices #24087: MVL - Car Companies Are Collecting and Selling Your Driving Data Car companies are capturing your driving data and selling it to insurance companies…and who knows who else. David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Mark Fuccio, Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Ben Roethig, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, and Brittany Smith discuss yet another invisible way that data about you is being monetized and sold, potentially at your expense. 

MacVoices #24086: MVL - Can AI Chatbots Be Effective In Political Campaigns? While MacVoices Live! doesn’t engage in political discussions, how tech is being used as a political communications tool has become a controversial topic. The MacVoices Live! panel of David Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Mark Fuccio, Chuck Joiner, Marty Jencius, Ben Roethig, Jim Rea, Jeff Gamet, Eric Bolden, and Web Bixby take a look at a real-world test case of AI chatbot use in an American primary contest. While small in scale, this is an interesting example that you can expect to see more of, and the panel disagrees on its importance.

MacVoices #24077: MVL - Apple Gets In The Sports (App) Game Chuck Joiner, Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, Guy Serle, and Jim Rea discuss and debate Apple’s new Sports app. Is it just the beginning, or too little too late? Will Apple TV+ and other streaming services, along with betting, make it a go-to for sports information and programming identification?

MacVoices #24076: CES - Insta360 Introduces An 8K Action Cam From CES in Las Vegas, Michael Shabun, Vice President of Marketing for North America for Insta360, walked us through some of the impressive features of the Insta360 Ace Pro, their 8K action camera. Notable on that list are a flip-up touch screen that makes control from front or back easy, hand gesture controls for no-hands operation, industry-leading low-light performance, and of course, that amazing resolution. 

MacVoices #24075: MVL - Apple Car Cancelled (But It Was Ever Announced?) The MacVoices Live! panel discussion with the monster panel of Chuck Joiner, Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Web Bixby, Jeff Gamet, Guy Serle, Jim Rea, and Mark Fuccio starts out with the cancellation of Project Titan, aka “Apple Car” in spite of the fact that it was never officially announced. The conversation takes a surprising turn into the state of electric vehicles, and whether that had anything to do with it. 

MacVoices #24072: MVL - Joe Rogan, Bluesky, OpenAI Lawsuit The MacVoices Live! session wraps up as Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Jim Rea, and Mark Fuccio touch on Joe Rogan’s new deal with Spotify that is surprisingly non-exclusive, Bluesky’s latest move to improve the use of their social network, and the New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI over large language model training and copyright.

MacVoices #24071: MacVoices Update - 2024-02 The February 2024 MacVoices Update features more information about how we cover CES and why which interviews get published when, and the the ebb and flow of articles in MacVoices Magazine. We also touch on the continuing podcast sponsorship drought and deliver this month’s Support Report.

MacVoices #24070: CES - The Story Behind Chipolo’s ‘Perfectly Imperfect’ Trackers In the Chipolo booth at CES in Las Vegas, Chief Marketing Officer Nika Kramzar talks about both their latest tracking devices that are targeted at Android users, as well as the story behind their “Perfectly Imperfect” trackers, how they cut down on scrapping rejected cases while benefiting some favorite charities. (The most clever and innovative marketing campaign that we saw at this year’s show.)

MacVoices #24066: MVL - MacVoices Live! Panel Members’ Apple Vision Pro Updates After a week off, the members of the MacVoices Live! panel who purchased an Apple Vision Pro share their updated experiences, and others who have completed the demo chimed in with their impressions. The discussion by Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Eric Bolden, Ben Roethig, Jeff Gamet, Jim Rea, and Mark Fuccio includes using the Apple Vision Pro on an plane, how one owner is solving the problem of justifying the expense, and one panel member who “cheated” to qualify for the demo. 

MacVoices #24065: CES - GatorGrip Is A Simple, Effective Stand for iPhone or iPad In Eureka Park at CES in Las Vegas, we caught up with the makers of the GoDonut, who introduced the new GatorGrip, a simple but very useful and effective iPad or iPhone stand. David Kelly talks about how it is made, how it orients for portrait or landscape modes, and why the material it is made of holds up so well. We also revisit the GoDonut and why it is another type of iPad or iPhone stand that can be used in a different way from the GatorGrip.

MacVoices #24064: CES - Flic Gives Your Smart Home Analog Dials and Buttons From CES in Las Vegas, our conversation with Head of Marketing for Flic, Per-Gustaf Hedberg focused how their latest, the Flic Twist gives you a wireless dial-type control for your smart home devices. Don’t just turn the lights or music on or off…control the brightness or volume as well. The Flic Hub Mini connects it all together if you or your phone aren’t at home. Per-Gustaf also talks about their upcoming Matter support and what that will mean to your smart home.

MacVoices #24061: CES - Matias Makes Wireless USB-C Keyboards & Mice Even Better At CES in Las Vegas, we learned about the latest keyboard and mouse options from Matias from Co-Founder and CEO Steve McGowan. As everything moves to USB connectivity, Matias has improved on the USB-C dongle by making it even smaller and less obtrusive, and then built it into their newest keyboards and mice, including a new ergonomic model that fills a gap left in the market by Microsoft.