0:00:00(upbeat music)
0:00:02- Hello and welcome to Connected, episode 357.
0:00:13It's made possible this week by our sponsors,
0:00:15Instabug, Squarespace, and Smile.
0:00:18My name is Steven Hackett,
0:00:19I'm joined by Mr. Federico Vittucci.
0:00:21- Hello Steven, how are you?
0:00:23- I am good, Myke is away this week.
0:00:26We're in the time of year, we're, you know,
0:00:28doing some light vacationing.
0:00:30So Myke is taking a week off, it's just me and you.
0:00:33- And we're gonna talk about weird topics.
0:00:36- This doc-- - Yes I am.
0:00:37- This document is maybe the most scattered shot
0:00:41we've done in a while.
0:00:42It's just like a bunch of random things
0:00:44and you came with some stuff and I came with some stuff
0:00:47and it's gonna be an adventure for all of us.
0:00:51- Yes, it's gonna be the most adventurous episode
0:00:54of Connected you've ever listened to.
0:00:56So, uh, strap in because it's gonna be fun.
0:00:59Fun in the summer. What would you call that?
0:01:01I don't know. Somebody should try and, and like come up with a format for that kind of podcast.
0:01:08The summer of enjoyment, the summer of amusement. I don't know. Steven, we had some follow-up,
0:01:17specifically it's about you and your Kickstarter for your Apple Event Calendar. So, congrats.
0:01:22Thank you.
0:01:22You've been a thousand percent funded.
0:01:25Yeah, it crossed 1,000% funded in the final hour, so thank you all who pledged. I've been
0:01:33hard at work on the calendar and am getting ready to have some samples printed and things are moving
0:01:40full steam ahead, so if you backed that, I really do appreciate it. It went so much bigger than I
0:01:45ever anticipated and it's going to be an adventure to get them all out the door, but that's, I think,
0:01:49part of the fun in a weird way. You've been sending me pictures of somebody that you're following who
0:01:54who I think is doing a Kickstarter,
0:01:55and they're shipping things, and you're just like,
0:01:57"This is coming for you."
0:01:58- Yes, I'm just getting you ready.
0:02:00Like, I've been sending you pictures of people,
0:02:02like, preparing boxes and, you know,
0:02:05shipping things and mailing things,
0:02:07and I've been sending you a bunch of links and photos
0:02:09like this, being like, "This is gonna be your life soon."
0:02:11I just wanna make sure that you're prepared to have,
0:02:15how many backers is that number publicly?
0:02:19- 1,100, something. - Wow, okay.
0:02:21So soon you're gonna be able to tell us what it feels like to mail a thousand things to
0:02:28people.
0:02:29Yeah, it was 1,164 backers.
0:02:31Wow.
0:02:32It's amazing.
0:02:34Most people do not mail 1,000 things in a lifetime.
0:02:38Yeah.
0:02:39I'm pretty sure.
0:02:40And I'm gonna do it in just a few weeks.
0:02:42Yes.
0:02:43So if you're a backer, keep an eye out.
0:02:45I'm gonna be posting regular updates, keeping you informed when they start going out.
0:02:49So that'll be fun.
0:02:50Okay, so I'm gonna let you do it because I know this is important to you. Yes. We can talk about the Mac Pro
0:02:57There are dozens of us who care about this
0:02:59There's been this rumor that is going to be an updated
0:03:03Intel Mac Pro before the Apple silicon version comes out and if you read Mark Gurman's very spicy tweet a few minutes ago
0:03:11It was like there's your new Mac Pro
0:03:13Apple has announced three new
0:03:18MPX modules, three new graphic options based on AMD's new
0:03:24Radeon
0:03:28I don't know, their new system. I tried reading... do you find that reading about GPUs just as incredibly mind-numbing?
0:03:35Okay, I just... Oh, yeah. Yeah. So anyways. They all look the same like
0:03:40Why is the GPU industry so stuck upon like these weird names?
0:03:46I'm pretty sure that like you know the meme of like two things and the handshake emoji in the middle
0:03:53It's like Sony and their product names for headphones and then GPUs and the handshake emoji
0:03:59It's like this is our our DNA to our DNA is the discord has yeah, so it's their new
0:04:07Whatever that means three new options
0:04:10the
0:04:12Radeon Pro W6800X
0:04:15dual W6800X and the W6900X nice and
0:04:20You can get them right now when you configure a Mac Pro
0:04:24But they will be coming as standalone purchases at some point in the near future Apple has done this
0:04:30Before in fact the GPU that's in my Mac Pro is the I'm looking it up. Why doesn't it say what it is?
0:04:38it's the
0:04:40Radeon Pro W5700X this was a GPU that came out
0:04:45mid-cycle and you could get it built into the machine and then like a few weeks later you could buy it stand alone and I
0:04:50Bought it and slapped into mine and I've been really happy with it
0:04:53I don't feel like I have any need to update but if you
0:04:56Have a Mac Pro and there was some discussion about this in discord earlier. It's like well, why does this matter?
0:05:01A lot of people who have these professional machines
0:05:03Their needs change over time and they may need more horsepower for work. They're doing now they weren't doing before
0:05:11But the other angle is longevity that if you're going to hold on to this machine if you're going to stay in the Intel world
0:05:16As long as you can you may want to bump up something like this or add more RAM more capacity
0:05:22So you have more runway in the machine?
0:05:24For your workload, so sort of standalone units
0:05:29I'm sure they're going to sell very few, but it will be an option for those who?
0:05:33Who need it and you know I'm glad Apple is at least doing something
0:05:37I don't expect much more to come to the Intel Mac Pro
0:05:40but having new GPUs is them delivering on the promise they made when they
0:05:48introduced this thing a couple years ago. But you're not gonna get it? No, no, what I
0:05:52have is perfect for my needs and... What kind of people are... should be
0:05:58interested in this update? I think... What kind of users? Yeah, I think anyone who is
0:06:02doing any computation on their GPU where they need more compute units, more memory,
0:06:09these are obviously better at that. And then if you're doing really high-end 3D
0:06:14rendering animation that sort of work, I think if you're just cutting videos
0:06:19together in Final Cut Pro I don't think it's a necessary upgrade. And you
0:06:25know you could spend money on the Afterburner card if you wanted to. And so
0:06:29it's really that high-end. I mean if you bought a Mac Pro and you're just editing
0:06:33podcasts on it, you probably don't need a new video card that's gonna run you
0:06:37probably four or five grand. Okay and what does this mean for the actual Apple
0:06:45silicon Mac Pro update? Is this like Apple buying itself some more time to
0:06:51make sure that like there's still like this GPU spec pump for the Intel Mac Pro
0:06:56before they can get like an M2 or M2X whatever Mac Pro already lacks here? I
0:07:02kind of think it is. I think that it does buy them more time and I think it's a
0:07:06nod to people who invested in this machine that it's not, even though it may be a one
0:07:11and done in terms of the CPU, that they didn't just completely walk away from it. I mean,
0:07:16they announced this machine and then, what is it, a year and a half later, like Apple
0:07:22Silicon is here, so they knew it was coming. And so I think it's also showing those people
0:07:28that they don't have a debt investment sitting under their desk, at least not yet.
0:07:33makes sense. Have you started thinking about your strategy for the next Mac Pro?
0:07:38A little bit. I mean I definitely am very curious all the rumors of the the half
0:07:43sized and you know what sort of upgradeability that will be available. Of
0:07:50course I will I want to keep a desktop setup and because I have a Pro Display
0:07:55XDR like it's a Mac Pro or a Mac Mini and I like having a lot of storage and
0:08:00like having it all internal.
0:08:02So I wanna see what it is when it comes out,
0:08:05but this machine is so great.
0:08:09Like I don't feel at this point
0:08:11that I'm gonna be in a rush to move over.
0:08:13We'll see what happens when it comes out,
0:08:15you know, mark my words, I guess.
0:08:16But as far as I can tell you today,
0:08:20I'm gonna stay on the Mac Pro train,
0:08:21even after Apple Silicon.
0:08:23Like I think I would have moved
0:08:24to whatever that is at some point.
0:08:26I don't think I'm gonna go back to an iMac.
0:08:28- I've been thinking about what I wanna do
0:08:30the Mac Mini and I'm pretty sure that if Apple releases this second generation Apple Silicon
0:08:38based Mac Mini in late 2021 I am gonna upgrade. I think it's time. Like this rumored Mac Mini
0:08:48with the M1X, like pro version of the Mac Mini with the M1, I think I'm gonna get it.
0:08:54If it's like real product and it's coming this year I think that's the computer I'm gonna get.
0:08:58It feels like this Mac Mini is ready to be taken to a farm upstate,
0:09:04which will be my beach house in this case,
0:09:06and replace the Mac Mini on my desk with the new Apple Silicon-based version.
0:09:11I think it's time.
0:09:12Yeah, I think that Mac Mini definitely could exist.
0:09:15Like, it seems like such an obvious product opening,
0:09:20especially since the Intel One you could really spec out to be really pretty powerful,
0:09:25at least for a Mac Mini.
0:09:26And so I can totally see them having two Mac Minis.
0:09:29They have the M1 that's cheaper,
0:09:31and then they have sort of an upgraded model
0:09:33that uses something more powerful.
0:09:34Maybe it comes in space gray
0:09:35and they keep the silver for the other one.
0:09:38But I think that product exists or will exist
0:09:40as a matter of is it with these MacBook Pros
0:09:43that are forever right around the corner,
0:09:47or is it something a little bit later on?
0:09:49I mean, you could see, right?
0:09:50You could see the Mac Mini, just like the iMac, right?
0:09:53There's the entry level,
0:09:54or like the lower end model is kind of the same
0:09:58as the MacBook Air, and the upper end model,
0:10:00so the bigger iMac, and this theoretical faster,
0:10:04better Mac Mini is kind of like a MacBook Pro inside.
0:10:07I think the Mac Mini could ride on both of those rails
0:10:10just the same way that the iMac does.
0:10:12I think that's easy to understand
0:10:13for people walking into an Apple store,
0:10:15especially if they have a color difference between the two.
0:10:19And so yeah, I think that machine will show up,
0:10:22and I think it'd be a great option for you
0:10:23I mean, you're living the Mac Mini lifestyle now,
0:10:26and moving to Apple Silicon, I think, would be,
0:10:29I mean, I don't foresee that being any problems
0:10:33in your setup because you're using Windows
0:10:35for your weird audio stuff anyways,
0:10:38so I think you could just move right over
0:10:40and just see the benefits.
0:10:42- All right, so moving on,
0:10:43we also got some other Mac-related news today, Steven.
0:10:48Apple made the new Magic accessories
0:10:51that they released with the iMacs a few months ago,
0:10:54available for standalone purchase.
0:10:56So that means the new Magic Keyboard with Touch ID,
0:11:00and the redesigned Magic Trackpad, and the Magic Mouse.
0:11:04I don't understand, like,
0:11:05is there anything different about the Magic Mouse?
0:11:08- I think the side profile is, like, slightly different,
0:11:12but it's not, it ain't much.
0:11:15- Like, the Magic Trackpad, you can see that it's got, like,
0:11:18more rounded shape, which I think looks nice. And obviously the Magic Keyboard has Touch ID,
0:11:24which is only... can you confirm that it only works on M1 computers? Yes, yes. It will not work.
0:11:31See, even more reason to stop using this Mac thing that I have. Yeah, I bought my wife a
0:11:39new keyboard. So she uses a M1 MacBook Air, but always in clamshell mode, like tucked behind an LG
0:11:49display. And so it's gonna be great for her because she'll be able to use Touch ID when she's at her
0:11:54desk. And if you use like an M1 Mac Mini or a notebook, you know, maybe it's not even in
0:12:02clamshell mode, but maybe it's like on a stand up next to your display. It's no fun, like reaching
0:12:07I'm there trying to hit the button.
0:12:09- No.
0:12:10- And so having it just on the desk is gonna be great.
0:12:14I'm looking, I wish I could do it on my machine.
0:12:17I would have bought one for myself
0:12:19if the Intel Mac supported it.
0:12:21- Same, like I'm so tired of typing in passwords.
0:12:25And I have this Satechi X1 Slim keyboard.
0:12:30I actually, now that I think about it,
0:12:31now that we're talking about this,
0:12:34I don't know why I'm using this Satechi keyboard anymore.
0:12:37Because, like, I made this purchase, it was actually very kindly sold to me by a Club
0:12:43Mac service member, and shipped all the way from Canada.
0:12:46It took like 40 days to arrive via the Postal Service in Italy.
0:12:51But I bought this when I thought, "Oh, certainly, iPadOS 15 will introduce some major changes
0:12:58to external displays."
0:13:00And so I want to make sure that I'm ready with a keyboard that lets me seamlessly switch
0:13:05between multiple devices. But then, like, I haven't thought about it in a while, because
0:13:12then WWDC happened and I started working on the iOS review, but now that I think about
0:13:17it, why am I using this keyboard? I'm not using the iPad Pro with an external display
0:13:23anymore because I got tired of waiting for Apple, so I just sort of went back to when
0:13:28I need to do stuff at my Mac, I'm just gonna use my Mac, but otherwise I'm just working
0:13:34on the iPad, either as a tablet, like for those times when I just want to hold the iPad
0:13:39like on the couch or something, but really, I would say 70% of the time I'm just using
0:13:44the Magic Keyboard, and I'm just looking at the iPad screen, because I got tired of the
0:13:50pillar boxing and not having real multiple windows on an external display, I got tired
0:13:58of waiting. When it happens, I will reconsider. So why am I using this keyboard? I don't know.
0:14:04I should go back to the Magic Keyboard.
0:14:05You should.
0:14:06There's no point in doing this.
0:14:07But the thing is,
0:14:08are they selling the Compact Magic Keyboard
0:14:11in Space Gray now?
0:14:12No, these are all silver.
0:14:15They're all silver.
0:14:17And the regular Magic Keyboard,
0:14:20so like the one that I have here on my desk,
0:14:21also got a revision, the one without Touch ID,
0:14:24and it's rounded a little bit,
0:14:26looks a little bit different.
0:14:28I should say though too,
0:14:30that all of these come with lightning,
0:14:33for charging and the initial sync,
0:14:35but it now comes with a braided USB-C to Lightning cable,
0:14:40which is pretty sweet,
0:14:42because most Macs now just have USB-C,
0:14:45and so they transitioned this to USB-C to Lightning
0:14:49and a very nice white cable.
0:14:51So you could, Federico, get a new Magic Keyboard
0:14:54with no Touch ID, but it's still just gonna be silver.
0:14:57Space Gray's gone, and you can't get these
0:14:59in any of the fun iMac colors either.
0:15:01- Hold on.
0:15:02So, okay, okay, hold on.
0:15:03Let's consider this as a live thing to do on the show.
0:15:07So, there is a new Magic Keyboard,
0:15:10but it does not have Touch ID.
0:15:12Is that the version that I could get?
0:15:14- That would work with your Intel Mac Mini, yes.
0:15:16It's $99.
0:15:19- Okay, I see it.
0:15:20It's 109 euros.
0:15:22What's different about it?
0:15:24Again, it's slightly more rounded.
0:15:26- Yeah, and I don't know if it uses a different...
0:15:30Is there anything different in the key mechanism?
0:15:32I don't know.
0:15:34Can we call up Myke in Romania and ask him
0:15:36about the key mechanism of the Magic Keyboard?
0:15:39Because the Magic Keyboard in the laptops and the Magic
0:15:42Keyboard like I have now-- like mine is from 2017 or something.
0:15:45I've had this one a long time.
0:15:47They are slightly different.
0:15:48So I would assume they--
0:15:50Zach says in Discord it's got the globe key.
0:15:53Thank you, Zach.
0:15:53It does.
0:15:53It has the globe key.
0:15:54And it has a lock key instead of an eject key.
0:15:57OK.
0:15:58Cool.
0:15:58All good information.
0:15:59So it is slightly different.
0:16:02I don't think it's worth like,
0:16:03if you already have a Magic Keyboard on an Intel machine,
0:16:05like it's not worth buying this.
0:16:08- I'm not getting it.
0:16:09I'm not getting it.
0:16:10I'm just, I have a bunch of Magic Keyboards.
0:16:12It's fine.
0:16:13Yeah.
0:16:14Yeah, but even more reason to upgrade to an M1,
0:16:20whatever, based.
0:16:23- Touch ID.
0:16:26- Touch ID.
0:16:26Compatible Mac Mini.
0:16:29Since he's gone, can we talk about Myke taping his keyboard to the underside of his desk for Touch ID?
0:16:34I saw that photo. What's going on?
0:16:37So is that a real thing that he did? I thought it was just like a thing he said he was going to do.
0:16:42No, he did it.
0:16:43But you know, Myke says many things.
0:16:44I know, yeah. He's a big talker.
0:16:46But he has that yellow iMac that he bought, and he uses his fancy mechanical gamer keyboards.
0:16:53And so he Velcroed, or double-sided tape or something,
0:16:57the yellow magic keyboard that came with the iMac to the underside of his desk
0:17:01where he can just reach his finger under there
0:17:03and hit the touch ID button.
0:17:05That's a life hack if you've ever seen one.
0:17:09I mean it's kind of genius though, right?
0:17:11Like you can just hold your finger under your desk, it's like a secret button.
0:17:15You know how in the movies like the, there's the bad guy and he presses a button under his desk
0:17:20and like a hole opens and you fall into like the sewers or something?
0:17:26You know, like in the... you fall into the underground prison, for example.
0:17:30It's kind of like that. You press a button and it's like a trap for your office.
0:17:36I love it. I love the placement of the keyboard under his desk. That's perfect.
0:17:41What if the folks at iFixit took this apart and managed to just make the Touch ID button work without the keyboard?
0:17:53That'd be great.
0:17:54Like what if you could figure out a way to just have a touch ID button that you could
0:17:58put on your desk?
0:17:59That'd be fantastic.
0:18:01I mean I guess it's technically possible, right?
0:18:03If you know, if you know like in the in the circuit board and the chips what's going where,
0:18:12right?
0:18:13I mean you keep it connected to Bluetooth.
0:18:17I feel like you need a lot of the inside of the keyboard.
0:18:21I feel, maybe, maybe.
0:18:23What if instead of that, you had your desk and you like routed out, like the wood of
0:18:29your desk, like at an angle.
0:18:32So the keyboard was like in the desk, but the only key that was visible at the surface
0:18:35was the touch ID button.
0:18:37And the rest was just like hidden by the top of the desk.
0:18:41In desk touch ID, it's the future.
0:18:44Anyway, we should move on because we have a bunch of other topics to talk about.
0:18:48Let's take a break.
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0:20:24Do you see this big Jeremy news?
0:20:27Jeremy is now a millionaire, I assume, but this is what it means.
0:20:32So Emojipedia got sold.
0:20:34Emojipedia was acquired by a smartphone company called Zedge.
0:20:42Is that how you would say this, Steven?
0:20:44That's how I would see it.
0:20:46It is the number one phone personalization app in the world.
0:20:50- Okay, well I never heard of it before,
0:20:53but I mean I'm going to the website
0:20:54and I see it's one of those apps
0:20:56like that's got like wallpaper packs, custom icons,
0:21:00you know that sort of stuff it seems
0:21:02and they do ringtones, live wallpapers.
0:21:05It seems like they're more popular on Android.
0:21:07You know this kind of utility makes more sense on Android
0:21:10where you have deeper customization for the UI.
0:21:12So I think it makes more sense there.
0:21:14But yeah, Emojipedia started in 2013?
0:21:17Is that when Emojipedia started?
0:21:22I wanna say it's 2013.
0:21:24- I think that's when Emojipedia started, yeah.
0:21:27- Yeah, it's been around for a while now.
0:21:28And it's now part of the--
0:21:30- Zedge was founded in 2003.
0:21:32- Oh wow, okay.
0:21:34So it's kinda like before smartphones were a thing even.
0:21:37- Yeah.
0:21:38- And they are the new owners of Emojipedia.
0:21:41And for now, obviously, as with a lot of these acquisitions,
0:21:44it seems like Emojipedia will continue to operate.
0:21:47So there will still be a website,
0:21:49there will still be the Emojipedia previews
0:21:53of the new Emoji and the Emoji draft,
0:21:57all the things that we know and love about Emojipedia.
0:22:00Hopefully, it's always a concern
0:22:03when companies got acquired
0:22:04that they only stick around for a while.
0:22:06And initially, it seems like everything is going as before
0:22:09and then changes happen.
0:22:11And now, I mean, obviously changes are gonna happen
0:22:14to Emojipedia, right?
0:22:15But hopefully not too much,
0:22:17and hopefully this will continue to be like the source
0:22:19for keeping track of the history of Emoji,
0:22:22because it's really quite a comprehensive database
0:22:24that they have.
0:22:25I mean, it's really incredible,
0:22:26all the different versions of Emoji
0:22:28that they are documenting on Emojipedia.
0:22:30So it'll be a shame if the entire archive of Emojipedia
0:22:36were to not be supported anymore.
0:22:39So congrats to, I mean Jeremy is a friend,
0:22:42so congrats to Jeremy, we are really happy.
0:22:44- Definitely.
0:22:45- That, you know, this is a big deal,
0:22:47it's a big milestone, and Jeremy,
0:22:50if you wanna, you know, leave everything behind
0:22:53and enjoy your millions of dollars on your boat,
0:22:56we will also understand that, it's also fine.
0:22:59So we will not fault you for doing that in the future.
0:23:03We still love you.
0:23:04- I have some personal news.
0:23:06How personal?
0:23:07- I spoke to Jeremy today about the naming of the Jeremy's.
0:23:12I've decided, in no way part of the cash deal
0:23:16that I made on the side, that we will continue
0:23:18to call that game the Jeremy's
0:23:20in honor of our fallen friend.
0:23:22- Wow, fallen friend.
0:23:24Yeah, that's a--
0:23:25- No, this is awesome.
0:23:27I'm super happy for Jeremy and the team,
0:23:29and I don't think he would do anything
0:23:30to hurt the future of Emojipedia,
0:23:33so I expect that it has a bright future ahead of it.
0:23:35Yes, congrats Jeremy and everyone else involved. We're still gonna play our game. We still love guessing the emoji.
0:23:43So, congrats Jeremy, well done.
0:23:46YouTube Premium Lite. What is this?
0:23:52So is it premium or is it lite? No, it's premium lite.
0:23:56It's premium lite.
0:23:57This is a new tier of YouTube Premium that is cheaper than YouTube Premium proper.
0:24:02In fact, it's called Light. So it's not $11.99 a month, it's $6.99 a month being tested in Europe.
0:24:10Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
0:24:14Very specific parts of Europe.
0:24:16Very specific markets. So I guess the difference here is that, so this is YouTube Premium, but what you do not get,
0:24:23So you still get ad-free, you know, the mobile apps, smart TVs, YouTube Kids, all that stuff.
0:24:32You do not get the benefits of YouTube Music, so you cannot listen to music ad-free, and
0:24:39you do not get any background playback feature in the main YouTube app for video.
0:24:47And also you do not get offline downloads.
0:24:50So it's YouTube Premium without downloads.
0:24:53playback and add free music listening. I have to assume, like I haven't seen this
0:24:59mentioned anywhere, and it's still a feature in testing, I suppose. I do not
0:25:03have it, but I assume the picture-in-picture will not be part of this
0:25:09either. So, because it's technically background playback, I assume the
0:25:15picture-in-picture, whenever it launches in YouTube for everyone, it will not be
0:25:21available to Premium Lite. That would be my assumption.
0:25:24Yeah, that's how I read it too. I do have Picture in Picture. I pay for YouTube Premium.
0:25:28Really?
0:25:29Yeah, and it's great. It's so good.
0:25:32No need to mention that. I know. I keep checking every single day and it's not here.
0:25:37Yeah, it's really good. I've paid for YouTube Premium for several years now
0:25:41for the ad-free experience. Myke and Jason spoke about YouTube Premium a couple weeks ago,
0:25:46and yeah, I watch, you know, quite a bit of YouTube, and so I like the ad-free experience,
0:25:50and the background playback is really nice too,
0:25:54especially if you're just like listening to something
0:25:56and picture in picture just makes that even better.
0:25:59So yeah, if you're in Luxembourg,
0:26:01I guess try this out and let us know what you think.
0:26:03- Yeah.
0:26:04- I think we have listeners in Luxembourg.
0:26:05I bet we got a couple.
0:26:06- I'm sure we do.
0:26:07We have listeners everywhere.
0:26:09- If you were listening in Luxembourg, please let us know.
0:26:12- I've thought about this, like, you know,
0:26:15I don't listen to music on YouTube.
0:26:17I could switch to this.
0:26:18offline downloads, I mean, I haven't been on a plane and having to download YouTube
0:26:23videos for offline usage in forever at this point. I could potentially switch to this,
0:26:29but then I realized, oh, picture-in-picture will likely not be part of this, and once
0:26:34I get it, I am going to need picture-in-picture for all kinds of YouTube video consumption
0:26:40that I do. Because a lot of YouTube videos from a lot of creators, you can leave them
0:26:47in the background and you can do something else, right? Have you seen, Steven, this thread
0:26:52on Twitter a few days ago? Someone retweeted it in my timeline, and it was essentially
0:27:00about this person on Twitter having this super long thread about, like, "Here's something
0:27:07I've realized about how creators are gaming the YouTube algorithm to make longer videos
0:27:14and have you stick around, and I'm going to explain that to you in a thread.
0:27:18But before I get to that, let me tell you this other thing.
0:27:21And it was basically like the thread version of a lot of YouTube videos, where they say
0:27:26100 words just to explain 10 words, which is the core concept.
0:27:31And that is because they need to make it longer so that people stick around more and watch
0:27:35a longer video, therefore it feels like there's more engagement for the algorithm and all
0:27:40of that.
0:27:41Twitter thread was exhausting to read, because it was literally styled in the sense of "Oh,
0:27:47but before I get to that, let me tell you this other thing." And why is that? Because,
0:27:51as I told you before, like, it was so verbose and done in the style of so many videos on
0:27:59YouTube these days. Like, whenever I watch headphone reviews, for example, on YouTube,
0:28:05Those reviews could be condensed to five minutes, and instead they are twenty-five minutes.
0:28:12And I understand why, and I love those creators, but those are videos that I could easily put
0:28:16in the background and watch with picture-in-picture, because there's a lot of repetition and highlighting
0:28:25the same concept multiple times to make a longer video.
0:28:30And so I'm not complaining against those creators.
0:28:33I understand it's necessary because the algorithms, you know, it's hanging over all of them.
0:28:39And I understand.
0:28:40But that is also why I want Picture-in-Picture.
0:28:43Because those are the kinds of videos that I just want to put them on in the background.
0:28:48I don't need to pay close attention to them.
0:28:51Right.
0:28:52And especially on the iPad, Picture-in-Picture is so great for note-taking and research purposes.
0:28:58It's fine on the iPhone.
0:28:59And even on the Pro Max, picture-in-picture feels a little cramped, but I've really enjoyed
0:29:03it on my iPad Pro.
0:29:05I use it on the iPhone for Twitch.
0:29:07It's like you make it small and you can still follow along to a stream.
0:29:12I do that for Myke's keyboards sometimes.
0:29:14Yeah, I put him in a little box.
0:29:15Yeah, I put him in a little box and he stays there, you know, soldering stuff, building
0:29:20keyboards.
0:29:21It's fun.
0:29:22It's cute.
0:29:23It's Myke in a little corner.
0:29:24All right.
0:29:25So, uh, Steven, I have a fun topic for you.
0:29:30It's about Nintendo, it's about sideloading, it's about emulators, it's got it all, there's
0:29:37everything in this topic.
0:29:40But before we get to that topic, we should thank our friends at Squarespace.
0:29:44That sounds good.
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0:30:27And all Squarespace websites are optimized for mobile viewing, so your content automatically
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0:30:57I really do love building where Squarespace,
0:30:59I've built a bunch of sites on their platform
0:31:00over the years, and just keeps getting better and better.
0:31:04The drag and drop stuff is really powerful.
0:31:07And if you need an escape hatch,
0:31:08if you need to write some custom CSS
0:31:11or put stuff in the header of a page or anything like that,
0:31:13you can do that too.
0:31:14So it has those power options there for you as well.
0:31:17head on over to squarespace.com/connected for a free trial with no credit card required.
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0:31:41Our thanks to Squarespace for their support of connected and all of Relay FM.
0:31:45Parts of this conversation were held before on remaster, connected with Myke when you were not around,
0:31:55but that was the beginning of this problem. Now the problem has evolved, and the problem has turned,
0:32:02as with many things that involved me, into a whole thing. So I'm gonna need to contextualize things
0:32:09for you, Steven, because I don't think you are as well in tune with certain Nintendo news.
0:32:16No. So there's this Nintendo series called Metroid. Right. Okay, it's about this space
0:32:23explorer. Yeah. You know, she needs to explore planets and kill monsters. Now, it's a long stand
0:32:34and I'm... this is a super simplified description of it. Anyway, there's a new Metroid game coming
0:32:39to the Nintendo Switch in October, called "Metroid Dread". And it took everybody by surprise, because
0:32:45it's, uh, like, everybody kind of felt that Nintendo had forgotten about Metroid. And so when they
0:32:54announced Dread, everyone was like, "Oh, wow, okay, that's amazing." And a bunch of people, including
0:33:02myself, thought, "Well, it's coming out in October, so maybe the summer could be a good opportunity to
0:33:07revisit older Metroid games, because this one is gonna be the official, like, fifth installment in
0:33:13the Metroid series, you know, picking up where previous games left off. And so a bunch of people
0:33:18thought, "Well, it'd be kind of fun to start playing old Metroid games again, starting from the first
0:33:23one up until the fourth one, in preparation for the new one coming out on the Switch." And I had the
0:33:29same idea, right? And so the Metroid 1 came out on the first slide, on the NES in the 80s.
0:33:37It's not a good game to play these days, you know? It's a very old NES video game. But Nintendo
0:33:48did a remake of this game about 15 years ago on the Game Boy Advance, with new graphics,
0:33:56new sounds, new updated gameplay, called Metroid Zero Mission.
0:34:02So Zero Mission is the remake of the first Metroid.
0:34:05If you've never played Metroid before, you can start there.
0:34:07It's got better graphics, it's more playable, it's more approachable than an NES game.
0:34:12A couple of months ago, I called my mom.
0:34:15My mom is moving between houses, so she's packing a lot of boxes, a lot of games.
0:34:20I was like "Hey, mom, can you please find this game for me?"
0:34:23So it was a whole thing. She found all my old GBA games, and among those games she found my cartridge
0:34:30of Metroid Zero Mission for the GBA that I bought in 2003, 2004, when I was 15 or 16 or something.
0:34:39And so I started playing this game on the GBA. One of the many things that I
0:34:46obsess about is having... I mean, Steven, of all people you can understand this. I have every
0:34:54Nintendo console in a playable state in my house. Like, I have the original hardware for everything
0:35:00at this point. Just because I feel like if I want to play an old game, I should be able to do that
0:35:06on original functioning hardware. And that over the years has meant, you know, changing the batteries,
0:35:12fixing the screen, buying a new Nintendo GameCube, you know, finding my Nintendo Wii U again.
0:35:21It's something I care about, because I care about Nintendo and I want to have original
0:35:24hardware.
0:35:25So I start playing Zero Mission on a Game Boy Advance, and it took me one night to start
0:35:33feeling this pain on my wrists.
0:35:38Because I, you know, the Game Boy Advance is very small in console, and my hands are
0:35:44not as small as they used to be, I guess.
0:35:47Or I simply got older, and now my hands cannot stand, you know, being in that fixed position
0:35:54for several hours straight.
0:35:56I woke up the next morning and my wrists were hurting, both of them.
0:36:00I was like, "Eh, well, maybe that's not a good sign."
0:36:04So I cannot play in the GBA.
0:36:07So I thought, well, of all the Nintendo consoles that I have, I also have an old Nintendo DS.
0:36:14The Nintendo DS, you can put a GBA cartridge in, and you can play GBA games on a Nintendo
0:36:19DS.
0:36:20And for those asking in the chatroom, Justin, I do not have a Virtual Boy, unfortunately,
0:36:25never had a Virtual Boy, and Zach, I tried both the original GBA form factor as well
0:36:31as the SP, which is the clamshell version of the GBA that I did.
0:36:36I did not try in the GBA micro, because I mean...
0:36:40That's not gonna help, right?
0:36:41That's the wrong direction.
0:36:43That's the wrong direction for me.
0:36:45But yes, I also have a GBA micro.
0:36:47So the DS, I thought, well, the DS, slightly bigger than a GBA, better screen, you know,
0:36:54the backlit is better than the GBA, I could play that in compatibility mode.
0:36:59So I continued the game on the DS, and I tried that for a couple nights, make good progress
0:37:05on the game. And same problem occurs. A few days later, my hands were hurting, my fingers
0:37:11were all weird, and my wrists were hurting, and I needed to write the review, and I thought,
0:37:16you know, I need my hands, especially in the summer. Because my hands are like the primary
0:37:24tool of my job. And I cannot afford to not being able to type in the summer. But also,
0:37:31"Man, I really wanted to play Metroid." Right? So I kept digging and digging down further into the rabbit hole.
0:37:38I thought, "Well, okay." So I know that I've put a bunch of progress into this GBA cartridge,
0:37:45but what if I take the old Nintendo Wii U, which is the console that came before the Nintendo Switch?
0:37:53The Nintendo Wii U, you can still use the Nintendo eShop on it,
0:38:00and the Nintendo Wii U, unlike the Nintendo Switch, as a virtual console.
0:38:05So the virtual console is the initiative that Nintendo used to do of, like, you could purchase all the Nintendo games
0:38:12as effectively, like, an official emulator on the Nintendo Wii U and the Nintendo 3DS.
0:38:18Okay.
0:38:19And in fact, a lot of people, following the announcement of the new Metroid for Nintendo Switch, had the same idea.
0:38:25Because I saw a tweet a while back showing like here's what the Nintendo eShop on a Wii U looks like now
0:38:32Because if you boot it up and if you open the eShop you can still see charts for top selling games on that old console
0:38:39And basically every Metroid game was in the top charts for the virtual console on the Wii U
0:38:45Because everybody had the same idea and I thought okay, I'm gonna lose my progress on the cartridge
0:38:52But the Wii U, it's got a gamepad, which is much bigger, much more comfortable for my hands.
0:38:59It's like a chunky, thick Nintendo Switch, basically.
0:39:03What if I start playing the game from scratch, which is gonna suck, because I was like two or three hours into the game.
0:39:09But what if I start playing on the Wii U, and it's probably not gonna destroy my hands?
0:39:15So I did a whole thing, right?
0:39:17I needed to find, because I didn't have enough HDMI ports in my TV to accommodate both the Nintendo Switch and the Wii U,
0:39:26so I found an HDMI, what's it called, like switch on Amazon.
0:39:31It's like a little thing that from one HDMI port it gives you two.
0:39:36Right? And I bought it and it works beautifully.
0:39:40It even, like, auto switches between consoles depending on the signal when the console turns on. Super nicely done.
0:39:46So I set it up in the back of my TV was a whole thing
0:39:49Stop start playing on the Wii U. I was like, oh wow, this is much better. My hands are okay. It's not hurting
0:39:55I love it. I'm gonna play on the Wii U. We talked about this on connected and on remaster, I think
0:39:59the thing is
0:40:02Emulation for Metroid Zero Mission on the Virtual Console is
0:40:07Terrible. Is it like that slow or laggy? Like why is it bad? No, it's laggy
0:40:12the frame rate is all over the place.
0:40:14Oh, man.
0:40:15Like, you can see the game dropping frames when you jump.
0:40:19I was like, "Oh, no. This is no way to play a game."
0:40:22No.
0:40:23I cannot do this. This is terrible.
0:40:26The only nice thing about it,
0:40:28I mean, besides the fact that it was on the Wii U
0:40:30and it was more comfortable,
0:40:32was that the Virtual Console supports custom save states,
0:40:37Meaning, you can save the game without being at a checkpoint in the game.
0:40:44Because it's an emulator, right?
0:40:45So you can create a save point anywhere.
0:40:48It's like this, there's like this custom UI on top of it that lets you save your progress
0:40:52anywhere.
0:40:53Yeah, it's like saving like a virtual machine, right?
0:40:54Like you just do it at any point and you're done.
0:40:58Any point and you can save.
0:40:59And it's better for like modern times, right?
0:41:01Because I mean, I'm an adult.
0:41:03Yes, I love playing video games, but also my video game time is very limited these days.
0:41:08So this kind of feature is welcome.
0:41:10But that emulation was horrible. Like, it was genuinely terrible.
0:41:14And so I was very sad for a few days, until earlier this week.
0:41:21I think it was Saturday or Sunday.
0:41:24I sat down, started doing my research, and I realized, okay.
0:41:30If I want to do this, I want to play Metroid games with a system that lets me save anywhere
0:41:40and is always with me, and emulation is good enough, and my hands are not going to kill
0:41:45me, I'm going to have to go with the emulation route on the iPhone.
0:41:51I'm going to have to install a Nintendo, a GBA emulator on the iPhone.
0:41:56So I came up with two solutions, but I'm sticking with one of them.
0:42:01The first one is an emulator that is really well known called Provenance.
0:42:08Now Provenance is an emulator for a bunch of Nintendo consoles as well as old Atari
0:42:13consoles, like the Lynx and the Jaguar, the Bandai Wonderswan and Wonderswan Color, the
0:42:22Sega, Master System, Mega Drive, but you know, for all that concerned me was, can it play
0:42:27GBA, Super Nintendo, and Nintendo 64 games? And the answer is yes. So Provenance, it's
0:42:34very well known, you can install it on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. The thing is,
0:42:39the installation process, it's a bit convoluted. Yeah, I'm reading this page as you're speaking,
0:42:43it's like, oh, this is a lot of things to jump through. Yes. So the thing is, you gotta
0:42:48clone the repo using the terminal, which is fine, it's like a single command.
0:42:53The thing is then you gotta open the Xcode workspace using Xcode and you gotta switch
0:42:59all settings related to targets and signing certificates, so make sure that you have a
0:43:05developer account, make sure that you follow the step-by-step procedure to the letter,
0:43:11otherwise the build will fail, and eventually you can build and run and you can install
0:43:15Provenance on your iPhone, and if you have a developer account, like a paid developer
0:43:19account, that app will stay installed with a signing certificate for a year.
0:43:26So that took me like an hour to figure out, but I have Provenance installed.
0:43:31It's fine.
0:43:32Metroid plays well.
0:43:34It plays much, much better than the Virtual Console from Nintendo itself.
0:43:38You have it on your phone?
0:43:39I have it on my phone.
0:43:40Okay.
0:43:41I'm looking at it.
0:43:42You can use MI5 controllers with it.
0:43:44That's what I was going to ask.
0:43:45use controllers? Yes, you can. You can use controllers. It's got
0:43:50custom save points. The UI is not beautiful in provenance. It's very
0:43:56functional, but it gets the job done. However, what I think I'm gonna stick
0:44:00with is something that a lot of people have been doing for a while, that I did
0:44:06in the past and then stopped doing, but now I realize this is the thing for me.
0:44:11I'm gonna sideload using Alt Store. So Alt Store is this alternative app store
0:44:18made by Riley Tested, a really great guy, has been running Alt Store for the past
0:44:24couple of years, and it's effectively like this alternative app store that
0:44:28lets you sideload apps from your Mac or a Windows PC on your iPhone or iPad. Now
0:44:35Now, the installation procedure there is also quite convoluted.
0:44:43You've got to have a developer account.
0:44:45You've got to install a mail plug-in in Apple Mail
0:44:48for Mac that sort of handles the bridging between your computer
0:44:54and the iPhone.
0:44:56But once you do, you end up with this old store
0:44:59app on your device.
0:45:01And by the way, for all those complaining,
0:45:03making piracy jokes in the Discord.
0:45:06This is not like me saying piracy is good,
0:45:10although there's an argument to be
0:45:11made about what role piracy plays
0:45:14in video game preservation.
0:45:15But I digress.
0:45:17That's another topic for another time.
0:45:20I have physical copies of all the games I'm going to play.
0:45:24I even have Metroid Prime trilogy for the Wii.
0:45:28I have it all, man.
0:45:29I got all the games I want to play.
0:45:31It's just that Nintendo is silly.
0:45:33Anyway, Outstore has an emulator called Delta, also made by
0:45:38Raritested, that lets you play GBA, Game Boy Color, Super
0:45:42Nintendo, and even Nintendo DS games on your iPhone.
0:45:47And the thing is, Delta has excellent performance, and
0:45:51it's beautiful.
0:45:53Delta is a really pretty emulator that supports both
0:45:57Portrait mode on the iPhone, Landscape mode, and MI5 controllers.
0:46:04I started playing Metroid with Delta, and I love it.
0:46:08I love it because performance is like, it feels like playing the original game.
0:46:11I haven't seen any issue related to frame rate or choppy animations like I saw in the
0:46:16Virtual Console.
0:46:18What I like about it is that I can choose to play in Landscape with the controller,
0:46:22or I can play in Portrait mode.
0:46:24And you can choose these custom skins that you can install in Delta that sort of make
0:46:29your iPhone screen look like a Game Boy.
0:46:32It's really nicely done, and you can install some real pretty skins.
0:46:36And when you play—I love playing in portrait mode because it feels like I'm holding a Game
0:46:39Boy—and when you press the buttons in Delta, like the D-pad or the A and B buttons, you
0:46:46get haptic feedback.
0:46:48It's really... it's like, after a while, you stop paying attention to the fact that you're
0:46:54emulating a Nintendo Game Boy, and it feels like you're pressing buttons on a Game Boy,
0:46:59thanks to the Taptic Engine on the iPhone.
0:47:02It's really well done.
0:47:04And it's so pretty.
0:47:06Like I'm gonna send you a screenshot, Steven.
0:47:09So I started playing last night.
0:47:10I played for like two hours.
0:47:13And I'm catching up to where I used to be in the cartridge.
0:47:16And I played with my Backbone controller, which is this really well-done MI5 controller
0:47:22for iPhone that plugs in, it's got like this Nintendo Switch-like design, plugs into the
0:47:28Lightning port, and it's got like this split design with one half on the left side and
0:47:34the other half of the controller on the right side of the iPhone.
0:47:38Played for a couple of hours, it's fine, but guess what?
0:47:42My hands were hurting.
0:47:43No.
0:47:44You're just getting old, man.
0:47:46That's what it comes down to.
0:47:48But, thanks to my excellent research skills,
0:47:52I think I've found the final sort of solution that works for me.
0:47:59I'm going to send you the link. It's in the show notes.
0:48:02This thing is called the PowerA MoGaClip for Xbox controllers.
0:48:08So, you take an Xbox controller,
0:48:11you buy this little thing that costs $15,
0:48:14and you snap it on on the controller
0:48:16and then you put your phone inside of the clip
0:48:19it's like a little cradle for your iPhone
0:48:21yeah it's like if you've seen
0:48:23maybe they still do this but like a lot of drone controllers
0:48:27do this or use your phone as the viewfinder
0:48:29but you have like analog sticks to fly
0:48:31the thing is I know the Xbox controller
0:48:34Xbox controller is fine for my hands
0:48:37doesn't hurt me
0:48:39Xbox controller doesn't hurt me, doesn't want me dead
0:48:42It's fine. It's not gonna hurt me. I know that.
0:48:45I'm gonna say something that potentially upsets quite a few people.
0:48:48I prefer the ergonomics of the Xbox controller to the DualShock.
0:48:52Or should I say the DualSense on PS5?
0:48:55They changed the name.
0:48:57The DualSense, the only thing it's got going for it
0:49:00is the cool design and the attic feedback, which is really well done.
0:49:05But ergonomically, this one, the Xbox one, is better for my hands.
0:49:11So starting tonight, I'm gonna put my iPhone hovering above the controller, and I'm gonna
0:49:17play Delta in landscape mode as, I wanted to say as God intended, but no, nobody intended
0:49:24this, really.
0:49:26Nobody did.
0:49:28Apple definitely didn't, that's for sure.
0:49:30Apple didn't, Nintendo didn't, you know, accessory makers probably did.
0:49:34But yeah, this is how I'm gonna play old Nintendo games.
0:49:38a phone on top of an Xbox controller held in place by a plastic clip that I got from
0:49:43Amazon for $14 for $14 that's that's the dream setup man it's it's this thing you're living
0:49:51in the future my friend I am I am now what does this say about Nintendo and a missed
0:49:58opportunity with the virtual console like I should I shouldn't have to do this right
0:50:04I shouldn't have to do any of this.
0:50:06I should be able to give Nintendo my money again
0:50:10for a game that I purchased when I was 15
0:50:14and that in 2021 I want to play again
0:50:17because a sequel is coming out.
0:50:19But it's like, Nintendo doesn't understand this.
0:50:23They don't want my money.
0:50:24They don't want anybody's money, it seems.
0:50:27And so this is what I'm doing.
0:50:29I'm playing with Delta, an old store,
0:50:32and an Xbox controller.
0:50:33And so one last thing. Now that I have AltStore, a couple of things. I'm using like a free,
0:50:40separate developer account to authenticate with AltStore, because I always felt kind
0:50:46of weird about giving my main developer account to AltStore.
0:50:50Yeah. Good call.
0:50:52Now, do people do that? Because I know that if you use a paid developer account, you can
0:50:58increase the signing limit from seven days to a year. And so basically right now I gotta
0:51:04refresh the apps installed via AltStore every seven days by connecting them to a computer.
0:51:10I guess the solution could be keep the account separate but sign up for an Apple Developer
0:51:15account again. And so maybe I could do that. But also, what are other apps that are cool
0:51:24to use on AltStore. I know that there's like a category of apps that people install. It's
0:51:29like Tweaks for existing apps. Like there's YouTube++ and Instagram++. Like those are
0:51:37like popular Tweaks among AltStore users. Now, if I install those, will they arrest
0:51:44me? Will Google get upset? I don't know. It feels kind of sketchy, right? It feels kind
0:51:51of, I don't know.
0:51:52I mean you're definitely pushing the bounds of what Apple...
0:51:56But this is not jailbreaking potential, like technically it's not jailbreaking.
0:51:59Right, it's it's sideloading.
0:52:01It's sideloading.
0:52:02This really gets to the conversation of like, is the iPhone a computer or console in the sense that all software has to come from the same place?
0:52:11And I definitely fall on the iPhone and especially the iPad, or should be more like computers,
0:52:18where if you want to do this, you could install something outside of the bounds of the App
0:52:23Store.
0:52:24I mean, I'm sure one reason, and I'm sure there's a million reasons why Nintendo hasn't
0:52:28built something official for iOS where you could play all these games and emulation,
0:52:33is that Apple doesn't allow emulation on iOS, and Nintendo wouldn't want to give Apple 30%
0:52:40of every purchase.
0:52:42And so there's all these fences put up around the iPhone and iPad that, yeah, you can get
0:52:47around or if you're on a Mac you just don't have those fences necessarily but
0:52:52it keeps cool stuff from happening and that's that's a bummer.
0:52:56Yeah exactly like it shouldn't be this difficult you know especially if I know
0:53:01if I know what I'm doing if I have a developer account like I don't know and
0:53:06there's gatekeeper on the Mac like we've talked about this before it should be
0:53:09easier to take control of your computer and do exactly what you want to do
0:53:13because you can do that on a Mac like you want to play all the Nintendo games
0:53:17on a Mac, just install an emulator and you're good to go. You can download one from the
0:53:20internet and it's fine. But if you want to do that on an iOS device, well, good luck.
0:53:26So I don't know. I guess I'm gonna keep using, I'm gonna post, Steven by the way, this is
0:53:30why people should have the connected Pro, because I'm posting in the Discord a picture
0:53:37of what Delta looks like with the skin that I'm using on my iPhone. This is not a Gameboy,
0:53:42this is an iPhone. And it's so pretty, right? Look at that.
0:53:45- It looks really good.
0:53:47- If connected listeners have any recommendations
0:53:49for tweaks or apps to install via out store sources,
0:53:54let me know and we can talk about them in the future.
0:53:59- I got some real time follow up before we move on.
0:54:02- Okay.
0:54:02- It's about GPUs again.
0:54:04- Okay.
0:54:05- They're available for standalone purchase.
0:54:07Do you wanna hear the prices?
0:54:08- Let me guess.
0:54:10- Okay, so the 6800X, the new kind of middle of the road.
0:54:15I don't know
0:54:17$1,500
0:54:18Twenty eight hundred dollars. Okay double almost double that wow okay the Radeon Pro
0:54:25W6800X duo so this has two
0:54:29W6800X's on board Wow okay
0:54:33Well I
0:54:37Don't think you're gonna get one Steven right I mean
0:54:40You can buy another computer. Yeah, give under the macro
0:54:44that one is $5,000. And the W6900X, the most expensive one, how much you think
0:54:53that runs? $12,000. Oh it's a relative deal at $6,000. Well, cheap enough.
0:54:59It makes the old Vega II one seem a lot cheaper. Wow. Yeah these pricey, these are
0:55:07real pricey. So tell me again what kind of tasks people use GPUs for?
0:55:12video playing gameboy emulation delta play play Metroid making Metroid
0:55:22possibly I don't know I don't know I think it's more in that creation and
0:55:26than anything else yeah Wow okay so you can drop six grand and your Mac Pro if
0:55:31you want a w69x maybe you can and you can have two of them because you got so
0:55:37many MP you slots so MP you that's a podcast MPX lots what if they called
0:55:42them in pew slots. That'd be fun for me. Okay, we're gonna talk about magnet
0:55:47magnets in a minute. But first let me tell you about our final sponsor and
0:55:50that is smile. Our friends that make the wonderful text expander. Text expander
0:55:56removes the repetition out of work so you can focus on what matters most. Say
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0:56:25anywhere you type. So take back your time and increase your productivity with
0:56:30TextExpander. I have just tons and tons of things in TextExpander. I have all the
0:56:36common things like addresses and emails and that sort of thing but I also have a
0:56:43lot of links and language that I need to send to people on a regular basis so if
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0:57:01to work much faster. As a listener of Connected you can get 20% off your first
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0:57:15Our thanks to TextExpander from Smiler for their support of the show and
0:57:19Relay FM. So Federico, a while back you bought the MagSafe popsocket system and
0:57:27and it's finally shown up, and I would love to hear what you think about this,
0:57:31but give people a reminder of, you know, why this is an issue.
0:57:35Why would you want to combine magnets and pop sockets?
0:57:38Honestly, I don't know. I don't know why I bought it.
0:57:41Like, I think I bought...
0:57:43Honestly, I think I bought it because Myke kept on insisting how much he loves the pop sockets,
0:57:48and what I don't like about pop sockets is how you got to stick them to your phone,
0:57:54And I saw that there was a MagSafe-enabled version,
0:57:58and I'm a sucker for all things MagSafe,
0:58:00so I guess I just wanted to try it.
0:58:03And so I got the standard sort of pop socket with MagSafe
0:58:08and the wallet version as well.
0:58:11And honestly, like, it's pretty much what you expect.
0:58:15So there's a little -- there's a pop socket
0:58:17attached to this little base
0:58:20that snaps onto MagSafe on your phone.
0:58:24It seems to be working better
0:58:25if you have a MagSafe case attached to your phone.
0:58:29I've seen reports of the PopSocket
0:58:32not having as strong a connection
0:58:35if it goes just to the phone.
0:58:38But I have a case.
0:58:39I have a silicone case and a leather case.
0:58:41Both are MagSafe, like official cases by Apple.
0:58:44And look, it's really fine.
0:58:48It stays in place, and it's a popsocket.
0:58:51You can hold the thing in between your fingers
0:58:54with your hand in the back of the phone.
0:58:56Honestly, it's pretty much what I expected.
0:58:59So from that perspective, it's not a disappointment at all.
0:59:04It works perfectly.
0:59:05It stays in place, connection is strong,
0:59:08and you can use it as a popsocket.
0:59:10Small enough, doesn't add a ton of thickness to the phone.
0:59:14It's perfect.
0:59:15Like, they delivered on what they promised.
0:59:18The wallet version, also interesting.
0:59:20So they have this different mechanism
0:59:24where you put up to three cards into the wallet.
0:59:29And the wallet, of course, also has a pop socket
0:59:31on the outer side of it.
0:59:33But then when you wanna grab your cards,
0:59:36you push down on this fabric section
0:59:39that they have at the top.
0:59:40And because it's soft, you can push the cards down.
0:59:43- That's nice. - And you can pick up
0:59:44the card that you need.
0:59:46It's really nice.
0:59:47and the fabric is nice, it's really well done. Build quality is good. And again, it attaches
0:59:53via MagSafe, and if anything I would say this is my favorite accessories when it comes to
0:59:59detaching from MagSafe, because you can pull from the pop socket, right? And it detaches
1:00:06if you apply enough force. So it's really fine. But in trying this, it made me realize
1:00:14that no matter how you slice it, I don't think I'm a popsocket person.
1:00:20I don't think I can be.
1:00:22Holding the 12 Pro Max, it's really not a problem for my hands.
1:00:27And I know I've got big hands, I'm a tall guy and everything.
1:00:34I understand why popsockets are popular among people who struggle to hold large phones.
1:00:40And I think they are the perfect accessory for that case.
1:00:45It feels kinda unnecessary for me, you know?
1:00:48Like sometimes I even forget to pop it out and to hold my phone like that because I don't
1:00:54need to, right?
1:00:56I can just hold my phone and it's fine.
1:01:00So as a MagSafe accessory, I would say approved.
1:01:05They did what they had to do.
1:01:08don't need to stick your your popsocket to your phone with like that suction cup thing that they
1:01:15have like which I've always disliked, they have a MagSafe attachment that works really nicely and
1:01:22stays in place both for the standard version and the wallet version. But as they say in the best
1:01:28ROM coms, look it's not you, it's me, PopSocket.
1:01:32(laughing)
1:01:33The problem is me.
1:01:35So, not for me, I think I'm gonna give this to Myke
1:01:39at some point, if he wants him.
1:01:41I'm gonna write about it, but yeah, not for me.
1:01:47I'm not the target PopSocket user.
1:01:50- Yeah, a couple things here.
1:01:51One, I like on their website, the animation they have
1:01:54is using Apple's really ugly clear case.
1:01:57And so this is a great way to cover those white lines up, which is nice.
1:02:01I've also heard people say, and I think it's definitely true, the battery pack Apple released
1:02:05also sticks better if you have a case. I think the magnets are just,
1:02:09I don't know, like the cases are thinner and so the magnets are closer, but
1:02:13that's been my experience as well with other products.
1:02:16Ah, see that could be actually,
1:02:20that could be,
1:02:21that there's nothing else going on in the case, it's just magnets.
1:02:24Whereas maybe in the case of the iPhone, there's other stuff going on there.
1:02:29Ah, that could be actually. That's why the connection is stronger.
1:02:32Yeah, I think overall MagSafe is better if you have a MagSafe case.
1:02:37You know, the silicone or the leather, which is what I'm using.
1:02:39You can't customize these, so the base is black, but you can pop off the pop socket part
1:02:44and put, you know, your own print on one.
1:02:46Myke did a custom one with the Relay logo on it a couple years ago.
1:02:51So you can still customize this.
1:02:53I'm like you though, I'm not really a popsocket person.
1:02:55I do have one of my Kindle Oasis and I like it for that
1:02:59'cause the Kindle Oasis is just an awkward size
1:03:01to try to hold and I really like it there.
1:03:05But I've tried it on my phone.
1:03:06I mean, a few years ago on Connected,
1:03:07we did a challenge where we,
1:03:09I think you and I had to use a popsocket for like two weeks
1:03:12and Myke had to go without or something.
1:03:13And it's, again, I see why people like it.
1:03:17It's just not for me, especially in the MagSafe world.
1:03:19But I'm glad that it's here.
1:03:21I mean, it took him a long time,
1:03:22but it sounds like they did it right, which is impressive.
1:03:26You know, a lot of us definitely had concerns
1:03:28and their website says, you know,
1:03:29don't hold your phone just by the grip,
1:03:31but it seems like it's a lot better than it could have been.
1:03:36So I think the delay is totally understandable.
1:03:39- I'm growing my MagSafe collection for sure.
1:03:43Now that I'm going to the beach,
1:03:44like I'm gonna have a whole stack
1:03:47of MagSafe accessories to choose from.
1:03:50probably gonna need like a separate bag just for my MagSafe accessories.
1:03:55Oh I know what you need. You need like a metal briefcase so they like magnetize to the case
1:03:59and you like pop them off and pop it on your phone?
1:04:01No, what I need is like a belt with MagSafe clips and I can just pop them off from my belt.
1:04:08I feel like we've had this very idea before.
1:04:10Yeah it's possible. It's possible. Maybe because it's a good, a really good idea and somebody should do it.
1:04:16So imagine a belt, a MagSafe belt, and you can stick as many accessories as you want,
1:04:22and then depending on the situation and the context you're in, you can snap on different
1:04:27accessories and you can store them on your belt.
1:04:30I mean all the coolest people store things on their belts, you know.
1:04:34Smartphones.
1:04:35You know, cell phones back in the day, you would have like a little belt clip for your
1:04:40Nokia phone.
1:04:41Oh yeah.
1:04:42Glorious times, yes.
1:04:43Well, I think that does it, Federico.
1:04:46really covered the full spectrum of
1:04:48connected nonsense. If you want to read
1:04:51more about the stuff we've spoken about
1:04:53head on over to the website at relay.fm/connected/357
1:04:58while you're there you can send us an
1:05:01email with feedback or follow-up or if
1:05:03you want to join and get a longer ad
1:05:05free version of the show each and every
1:05:07week there's a join button there at the
1:05:10top of the page or you can go to
1:05:14dot FM slash connected slash join the little landing page there for you thank
1:05:19you so much if you are a supporting member it really means a lot to us while
1:05:23you're on the relay website check out relays newest show we have a new show
1:05:27Federico we launched a new podcast this year I know this is so called conduit if
1:05:33you want to explore the connections between what we should be doing what
1:05:37ultimately gets done I know I have that chasm in my life sometimes our friends
1:05:42Cathy and Jay are hosting a new show about that relay.fm/conduit or search for conduit wherever you get your podcasts
1:05:50It's fantastic and super excited to have Jay on the network. That's a that's a real honor for us
1:05:55You could find Myke on Twitter. He's
1:05:58Imyke again, he's off this week. He'll be back next week
1:06:03You can find Federico on Twitter as Vitici
1:06:06And he writes about magsafe compatible products at
1:06:11magstories.net. You need magstories.net.
1:06:17Wow, okay. Someone's gonna get it. You gotta get it.
1:06:20Magstories. And then just forward it to the category page for that. Done and done.
1:06:26Federico, I have a question for you. Okay. What Pokemon... It's nice that you're
1:06:31doing this again. Okay, what Pokemon do you feel like you resonate with the most?
1:06:35Generally speaking?
1:06:37I think there's different ways you could take this, so it's kind of up to you.
1:06:41Okay, so what kind of Pokémon am I looking for here?
1:06:45It has to be a dog Pokémon, I think.
1:06:48Right? I feel like it's gotta be a dog.
1:06:52So, let's see, let me pull up some reference material here.
1:06:57I mean, I could go for the boring answer and give you the legendary dog
1:07:00from the latest Pokémon game.
1:07:05There's a bunch of dog Pokémon Ark 9 comes to mind.
1:07:09Lycanroc, but that's more of a wolf Pokémon.
1:07:13Houndoom. Entei, also legendary Pokémon.
1:07:19Okay, so I feel like...
1:07:23Hmm. I'm browsing through my reference material here.
1:07:27You're Dev and Think Pokémon.
1:07:30So, okay, definitely a dog Pokemon because dogs are the best.
1:07:34So I'm torn between Zacian, who's the legendary fairy dog Pokemon from the last Pokemon game,
1:07:44or, because it's a dog, and I've always think it's a good buddy.
1:07:51Yeah, I'm gonna go with Arcanine.
1:07:54Arcanine from from the very first 151 Pokemon first generation a very good dog
1:08:01Pokemon who breeds fire, you know fire type dog Pokemon doesn't get any better than Arcanine. I'll put that on the show notes people can see
1:08:10Yeah, okay. You can find me on Twitter as ismh and I write over at 512 pixels dotnet and
1:08:20Federico and I and Myke we all host a bunch of other shows here on relay FM
1:08:24So you can check that out if you want to hear more of us. I'd like to thank our sponsors this week
1:08:29They are instabug squarespace and smile and until next time Federico. Say goodbye. I'll be there to you. Bye all