Solid State Podcast

Episode 84 - What if the 2024 Apple iPad was good?

This week on the Solid State Podcast, we grab our crystal ball and do our best to tune in to the future… a future of one device to rule them all, a single metal and glass slab that pops into a keyboard case, runs every app imaginable, and seamlessly transitions into a productivity workhorse at the literal push of a button… 
See, Apple would happily have us believe that this exact device already exists on store shelves across the world… if you’re willing to buy an iPad Pro, snap it into their “magical” case, attach an Apple Pencil, take out a second mortgage on hour hose to afford all the above… and use Stage Manager to do some semblance of multi-windowed work… yeah, we’ll pass on that last one too...
All kidding and crystal balls aside, there really is an Apple event coming up in just a few short days and we found ourselves dreaming endlessly this week about, if it were up to us how would this event go? Not based on predictions, supply chain rumors, and hard research… just… what if? 
What if the iPad had a case that allowed your tablet to sometimes… be a tablet? What if the camera wasn’t seemingly positioned to deliver the single least-flattering angle in consumer tech? What if the operating system could actually run this amazing, world changing application called a real browser? We realize some of this is bordering on science fiction… but dare to dream, right?! 
Truly, the iPad feels at a crossroads… with no new devices in 2023 at all and mounting competition for “what is a computer” across the technology landscape… is Cupertino going to trot out a slimmed down chassis with a fancy new screen and call it a day? Or is there potentially more at play here? It seems we’ll know for sure week after next, but in the meantime, let the dreaming commence…

Episode 83 - The Humane AI Pin reviews and What's Next for 2024?

This week on the Solid State Podcast, we play a little game of “What if” versus “What’s next”… See, we’re at an interesting time of the year where most of the big announcements are still to come… sure CES has come and gone, some phones have hit the market, and freshly Copilot-emblazoned laptops are among us… but really, the majority of what 2024 does (or doesn’t) have in store for us is still to come…
AI has obviously been at the core of the conversation for some time now, but as we’ve touched on in the past, the reality of it is so much more than a chatbot and some generative AI “artwork”… we’ll soon reach a point where tangible products on physical warehouse and store shelves will usher these emerging technologies onto our desks, into our pockets, and if at least one company has anything to say about it… onto our chests…
You’ve likely heard by now that a new player in the space named “Humane” has launched is AI pin, and if nothing else it’s caused quite a stir… sadly it’s just for all the wrong reasons. Reviews are, to be kind, universally negative and considering its price point, ongoing expense to operate, and seemingly half-baked feature set, one could be forgiven for asking what are we even doing here…
But, as we’ve talked about so many times on this show, the story of so many products and entire categories that we know and enjoy every day started with crash and burn reviews, disastrous “first generation” launches, and sometimes years of iterative updates and tweaks… anyone remember the first generation Galaxy Fold? 
Now, we’re also not saying this will necessarily be the story of Humane… they’re still a startup burning a finite pile of investment capital that, some day will need to make a product capable of moving units and generating profits… Maybe it will, maybe this will be one more entry into the long line of false-start launches. But what is all but guaranteed is what they’re working towards, this AI enabled device future, is here to stay…
So with the reviews rolling in, we couldn’t help but ask ourselves what else is still ahead in 2024? One quarter in the answer is, simply, a lot! We touch on just a few here today, but suffice to say, this is going to be a busy one…
Now, the real news of that day, actually, is that it’s my dear wife’s birthday… and shocker to no one I have playlists to craft, food to order, and an event to create out of thin air… if only AI could help me with that? 

Episode 82 - The United States sues Apple

This week on the Solid State Podcast, we go a little bit… wide….. You should be used to it by now, but especially on what many consider a “slower” time of year for tech news in general we saw it as a good opportunity to slow down and have an earnest conversation about a company that we normally have on the show in the context of a new device, gadget, or service that we can’t wait to hand over our money in exchange for… 
Except this time, that same company is in hot water with none other than the United States Department of Justice for, objectively, that very same reason… see Apple has built an empire of a business out of delivering a product that quote-un-quote “just works” except that it frankly “just works” with other products and services from none other than Apple itself… 
Want this most seamless audio pairing? Buy some AirPods… Don’t like AirPods? Buy some Beats… and ignore that they too, are from Apple. Take more than 2 and a half photos with your shiny new iPhone and therefore have “run out of storage”… iCloud will happily solve that for you. Oh, and all those apps that make the phone great in the first place, our store is the one-and-only place to get those…
See, when you start boiling it down to the ridiculous, the case here suddenly feels pretty cut-and-dry… If you want blue bubbles, backups that work, games to play, and a watch that does more than tell the time… have we got a bundle for you...
And that is where things don’t just get interesting, they get familiar… because another tech behemoth once decided that playing in their walled-garden was a sure path to preserving their market dominance… until the DOJ showed up, locked them in a court room for three years, and changed theirs (and many others) business forever… The case simply said the United States versus Microsoft, the year was 1998, and, other than that… well, we’ll just let history speak for itself… 
Now, excuse me while I got look for a lightning cable to charge my keyboard because… that just makes sense...

Episode 81 - The "Fad" or "Future" Scale: AI

“Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic”… it’s a quote we’ve all heard countless times and these days is dangerously close to becoming overused if not outright tired… but even so, it remains one of my favorites because its founded in so much truth…I remember the first time I put on an Oculus Rift developer kit and was suddenly transported to a far off world, it was nothing less than magic…
I also remember the first time I dialed into a local telephone number with a modem and was suddenly connected to a global network of computers, servers, and data just waiting to be absorbed… one very slowly loading page at a time… 
Those two examples were separated by a mere fifteen or so years, but they were both pivotal in my personal technological development as well as steps down a road that had led us to where we are today… a rapidly growing market of chat bots, “smart” assistants, and quote-unquote photographs containing ever-fewer glimpses of a scene “as it really was”… 
It’s certainly no question that the concept of AI is here to stay, that it is only going to continue developing, and for many, here-and-now, it’s nothing less than magical…
Type a prompt or two into a box, and get back sometimes awe-inspiring artwork… provide mountains of data, and generate reports, summaries, and presentation-grade material… ask for the perfect scrambled egg recipe and, well sadly, still get 7 conflicting recipes for ever-more-runny eggs…
So the question we’re here to ask today is, are we there yet? Has our AI-laced future truly arrived or are we barely in its infancy? Are we just two or three GPT iterations away from a post-scarcity paradise, or two or three steps down a road with miles still to go ahead? 
We’re launching what we think will be a tool we use more and more frequently, a measure or sorts to answer the question (for now) where exactly are we on the “Fad or Future” scale for AI? 

Episode 80 - We return to the Metaverse!

Several aspects of the “human condition” will forever remain funny to me… one of which is our never ending desire for “the next best thing”… when I was a kid I distinctly remember dreaming of a future promised to me by the Science Fiction tv shows, movies, and books of the day… communicators, video calls, holodecks… I wanted it all! 
So now, in 2024, I sit here with my smartphone beside me that can place me in contact with anyone I’ve ever met, complete with a built-in camera that places them in front of my eyes at the push of a button, and just beside it is a white and black contraption of plastic and glass that, when pulled over my face, has the ability to transport me to far off worlds, impossible realms, or even a 3D rendered conference room in a virtual high rise overlooking a city that doesn’t exist… 
With all of that near-magical technology at my fingertips, is it bad (or even wrong) that my first inclination is to stare at that headset and ask the question… why isn’t this better? Why aren’t people clamoring to spend every spare moment exploring a digital frontier that is limited only by the imagination and creativity of the developers on the other end…
That same kid in the 90’s that craved “the future” would have picked up my headset, turned it on, and never wanted to come back! The “me” of 2024 though, can hope on a good day to make it an hour before the headaches set it, the edges of vision start to get far too blurry, and the “off” button starts calling my name. But this is the promise of the technology, right? The next one is going to crack it, the displays will improve, the latency edging close to zero… we’re so close!
The questions that remain, though, is what is close? Does camera tech need to evolve? Is placing an 8K display millimeters from my eyes the answer? Or is there something just beyond the horizon that stands to disrupt everything we think we know about Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality? 
They call it the metaverse, I call it a fun way to spend exactly one hour at a time, but that kid will never stop dreaming of it being “the future”…

Episode 79 - What's in the box with the Apple M3 MacBook Air

Several years ago, we had a fire in our garage that claimed several of our cars… I am (if you haven’t figured it out yet) something of a creature of habit… So, seeing as a very much liked the truck I drove at the time, I promptly went down to the dealership, worked with Insurance, and purchased effectively the same truck I had sadly lost. It had, for all intents and purposes, the same engine, the same tires, the same… everything. But, for some reason, to this day I can remember that first drive home from the dealership and thinking to myself that no matter how hard I tried, I knew this was a new vehicle, a different truck…
The engine, while identically spec’ed, picked up off the line just a little bit different. The first few turns on the way home, and I felt the suspension sway in subtly different ways. Even the electronics seemed to respond… differently. Not necessarily better, certainly not worse, but in the end not the same. 
Now, if this feels even more off the rails, you’re not wrong but I promise to bring it full circle… because this week I had such a similar experience I couldn’t help but go back to that drive home…
See, sitting on my desk were two MacBooks… both identical in design, build quality, and materials. The screen was the same resolution, the keyboard switches unchanged… the only difference between these two devices was, in all fairness, their heart. With Apple upgrading their smash-hit Air line of MacBooks this week, even they knew it wasn’t the most “event worthy” affair… instead we got a pretty forgettable press release, and a smattering updates to the Apple Store website promising the best MacBook Air yet. 
And you know what, I think they’re right… these laptops look identical, feel identical, but don’t perform identically… and that could be a big deal to a lot of people. Is it a game changing “revolution of the laptop space?” Absolutely not, not even close… but when you already make the oft-described “laptop for everyone”, every refinement should put the broader market on notice, there’s a new MacBook Air in town…

Episode 78 - The thing about Encryption... and why you should use it

There are a lot of tired cliches in the world… everything from “bring an umbrella and it won’t rain” to “a watched pot never boils”… but the funny apart about them is often times they feel like an inescapable truth of reality! I know full well keeping an umbrella in my car is not going to keep the sun shining, but I swear to you my tea kettle only heats up if I leave the room…
So when we start talking about “layers of security”, it sometimes feels like we’re doing nothing more than parroting back old, tired clichés... constantly advising people to “slow down to speed up” or the classic “you can’t help those that won’t help themselves”… but really these reminders to stay vigilant, to be mindful about the threats that surround us in the hyper-connected world we live in are as valuable today than ever before… 
So what then, does all this have to do with today’s episode? Well we’re here to talk about a topic that is both near-and-dear to my heart and also comes off as about as dry and boring as something can be… Encryption…
It’s a word that, like so many others in tech, has nearly lost all meaning to the average person… they know it exists, it sounds kind of important, and they’re pretty sure they’re using it… right? 
And there, in the end, is the problem… the techno-babble of it all has reduced a very important piece of day-to-day protection to a seemingly table steaks security function that many could be forgiven for assuming is just “there all the time”, requires zero setup or upkeep, and “just works”… 
Sadly, this couldn’t be less true, and the conversations about where, when, and how to encrypt your data and messaging has never been more crucial, or more at risk… 
I swear we keep this more-or-less light and on the rails, but the lesson at the core of it all is one too important to gloss over… slow down, be safe, and take an active role in securing your digital self… 
Now, I did just wash the car yesterday, so let me go find an umbrella to throw in the car before heading out…

Episode 77 - Full Circle with FreeWrite, Xbox, Fuji X100VI, and Palworld

This week on the Solid State Podcast, we’re trying something a little bit different, while shockingly still the same…
See we realize, very intentionally, this show covers a lot of ground. From big tech to tiny brands you’ve never heard of, game changing gadgets to video game controllers… it’s all over the map…
And much of the time, those stories are relatively one-and-done… Samsung announces a new phone, and people buy it… Canon refreshes a camera, and it’s shockingly similar to the last one… The tech giants unleash AI on the world, and the Cylons are born… and so the cycle continues!
Every so often, though, it’s not quite that simple… We’d love to truly predict the future, but what fun would that really be? So when a company actually surprises us and goes another direction, or a product undersells but over-delivers (or, sadly sometimes, the other way around…), the story isn’t over just yet! 
Here we are then, with a new episode format that we hope you’ll like (or at least tolerate) and that we mostly-solemnly-swear not to over use… the idea of doubling back, checking in, and bringing things Full Circle to topics we’ve touched on already, but turned out to need a second look. 
To kick things off, then, this week we’re checking in with Eric for an update on his ongoing journey with the FreeWrite family of “distraction free” typing products, we close-the-loop on last week’s Xbox “business update” announcements, Fuji finally updated its unexpected bombshell of a camera in the X100 series, and round things out with the latest from Palworld and how, somehow, they’ve managed to remain to-date un-sued…
So let’s go find out where these products and announcements really landed… buckle up, hang on…

Episode 76 - What's next for the Console Wars (and Microsoft Xbox)

Loss is one of the most inescapable aspects of the human condition… so many things that we have and enjoy can, in any number of ways, “go away” someday… Now that’s not meant to start this weeks episode off on a down note, but the stark reality is one that we often try to ignore until it rears it head…
This afternoon, Microsoft will be taking to the internet-airwaves (in Podcast form, no less) to announce, in their own words… an “Xbox Business update”… and the question on everyone’s mind is, frankly, what does that actually mean? 
Companies call events all the time, and they’re announced in countless different ways from out-of-the-blue emails to worldwide Ad spots… the concept of it being a “business update” though carries a tone that is different, unfamiliar, and I hate to say almost concerning…
Xbox as a brand means a lot to us, as gamers and as professionals in the technology space, and to consider a world without it is nothingness than just sad…
But that’s where the question marks really start flowing… is this the “end of Xbox”, is it the birth of something entirely new, or is this just the weirdest grab at the public attention span in recent memory? We’ve got an abundance of theories on that one, and let’s face it, if you’re listening to my voice right now changes are that’s what you’re here for!
Circling back to loss real quick, when the “thing” is suddenly no longer there, the other inescapable truth is that space has been created for something entirely new, possibly even great… and later today maybe we’ll find out which we’re going to get… 

Episode 75 - The Free Write Alpha, Return of the Cassette, Project ORCS, and more...

This week on the Solid State Podcast, there’s no getting around it… we’re all over the place in (hopefully) all the best ways possible!
We kick things off by taking a hands-on look at the Free Write Alpha, a device with an intentionally narrow vision of what it wants to be and how it might unlock the creativity laying dormant in our ever-more distracted minds…
Then things really go off the rails as we journey back to a world of cassette tapes, questionable audio quality, and… believe it or not… gadgets hitting the market right now enabling you to play those chunks of plastic and ribbon in new and interesting ways…
Hot on the heels of such a stark look backwards is a whiplash-ridden transition to what lies ahead for AI, this time when its baked into the phone that many of you already have in your pocket… Yep, Apple is “making it official” with AI focused tools coming to iOS later this year… What that actually means however is still very much up for interpretation… is this ushering in another era of once-complicated tools arriving for the masses, or the next step down an ever-darkening road…
Things only get more off-the-walls from there when the next way to scratch your Dungeons & Dragons itch digitally arrives later this year in Project ORCS, and who knows… maybe we sneak a few more tidbits in at the end… guess you’ll have to wait to find out? No… really… don’t just scrub ahead… I promise it’s worth it! 
All that and more coming up, if you thought the intro was bad, wait until you see what this much caffeine on a Friday morning did to us… let’s go check it out…