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Merlin on MacBreak Weekly 75

Submitted by Merlin on January 30, 2008 - 5:47am.

MacBreak Weekly 75: MacHeist Replies

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Hosts: Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Andy Ihnatko, Scott Bourne, and Alex Lindsay

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Guests: Philip Ryu of MacHeist, Andrew Welch of Ambrosia.

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Apple reports record earnings… then stock tanks, Philip Ryu of MacHeist and Andrew Welch of Ambrosia give counterpoints to MacHeist discussion, and more.

Here’s a direct MP3 download of our marathon 107 minute, nearly-ruined-by-Skype-farts MBW 75.

And, hey, whaddaya know? MBW is having its Diamond Anniversary. I should pick up a necklace or an industrial drill for Leo.

This week, Leo invited Philip and Andrew on to talk about MacHeist. I hope they feel like they got a fair hearing and were able to say their piece. For myself, I’m still not sure how I feel about MacHeist, but I’m persuaded that the process is improved over the first time it was offered. On a personal level, it was cool to be given a chance to talk to Andrew, whose Ambrosia Software has been with me like a secret friend for almost as long as I’ve used a Mac.

This time around my pick of the week is Airfoil by Rogue Amoeba (although I also profess my affection for lots of other stuff Paul makes). Good interview from last year with Paul over on Ars Technica.

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Re: Merlin on MacBreak Weekly 75

Submitted by Vesuvio on January 31, 2008 - 12:44am.

I’m glad Merlin got his Skype sorted out in time to pose a few harder-edged questions to Philip Ryu. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the tone of the interview until then. I think Philip acquitted himself well by answering most of Rich Siegel’s criticisms, but there’s still something about the philosophy of the Heist that bothers me. In a way, it reminds me of those companies that profit by selling a slightly customized version of OpenOffice, ie, they are making money simply by coming up with the idea of packaging it, not by doing any of the hard work.

I look at the two interviews this way: imagine you were putting together a team for something BIG, say a run for public office, where a single misstep might cost you the election. For me, there is no doubt at all that I would want Rich Siegel on my team, maybe even running my campaign. Philip… I’m not so sure. This is why the slight whiff of something being a little off (or a rank stench in the case of the malcor stunt) matters.