Scott Bourne

MBW: New iMacs; iLife & iWork '08; .Mac; Anti-picks; and Merlin's dirty little secret

Merlin — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 06:38:03 -0400

MacBreak Weekly 52: Ten Cents A Dance

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

We take a look at Apple's new iMacs, and iLife and iWork 08...

Of course, when I chose iCal as my anti-pick, I said it with love. Much love.

iCal and me are like family. Except in this case, I'm the Dad and iCal is the at-risk kid whose grades keep dropping and who always forgets to take the trash to the curb. Damned kid.

Tough love? You bet. But, still: love.

Also, in unrelated news, I quietly outed myself as a new iPhone owner. So there you go. My dirty little secret, revealed.

”MBW: New iMacs; iLife & iWork '08; .Mac; Anti-picks; and Merlin's dirty little secret” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 10, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

MacBreak Weekly: WWDC Special Edition

Merlin — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:13:23 -0400

MacBreak Weekly 44: WWDC Deconstructed

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Scott Bourne, Andy Ihnatko, and John Gruber

We run down the WWDC announcements, and John Gruber explains why Safari for Windows makes sense...

Here's a direct MP3 download of MBW 44.

Comments are open for your own thoughts on the WWDC keynote.

”MacBreak Weekly: WWDC Special Edition” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on June 11, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Roughly Drafted: 5.1 audio on Apple TV

Merlin — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:40:13 -0400

Ten Myths of the Apple TV: 5.1 Audio

Via my internet puppetmaster, Brian Hogg, comes another very good (and very long) piece from Daniel Eran on the Apple TV that runs down some of the details on 5.1 audio and attempts to clear up some ongoing confusion about what works, what doesn't, and why.

So really, the Apple TV doesn't need to decode 5.1 audio, it only needs to hand the surround audio stream to a receiver than can decode those formats. Can it do this...?

In addition to stereo cables, Apple TV also features a Toslink digital optical port. Since we can send raw digital audio data over the Apple TV's optical output, can't we send DTS digitally encoded 5.1 as well?

Of course we can. Download a DTS sample file in WAV format, drop it into iTunes, and Apple TV will happily sync it and play it. Unlike Pro Logic audio, it will sound like static over regular stereo speakers, but hooked up to a DTS receiver, it is decoded into 5.1 channels of sound and played back in real DTS 5.1 surround.

I don't personally have a 5.1 setup so I have no way of verifying this, but I'm curious what you audiophiles are discovering -- especially given that some of the Scott Bournes out there have cited lack of 5.1 audio as one reason for holding out on an TV purchase.

Any luck getting 5.1 working satisfactorily with your Apple TV? Is the lack of 5.1 content on iTS a dealbreaker for you?

”Roughly Drafted: 5.1 audio on Apple TV” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on March 30, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

MacBreak coverage of Macworld

Merlin — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:03:04 -0500

MacBreak

Check back throughout the week for MacBreak's ongoing coverage of Macworld 2007 in San Francisco.

MacBreak Macworld 2007: Keynote Rundown - In this first segment, Leo, Alex, and I review the major announcements of the keynote, including, of course, the iPhone and Apple TV

”MacBreak coverage of Macworld” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 09, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

MacBreak Weekly taping tonight at 21st Amendment

Merlin — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:12:50 -0500

Upcoming.org: MacBreak Weekly Live @ 21st Amendment at 21st Amendment (Tuesday, January 9, 2007)

Directions to 21A, from Moscone Center

Just a reminder that tonight's live taping of MacBreak Weekly takes place at 21st Amendment starting at 6pm. If you're planning to come to the taping, my advice is to get there early, because we're anticipating a capacity audience (that's a big reason everyone agreed it was better not to do this event at the Apple Store on Steve Day).

Leo, Alex, Scott, and I will be discussing today's announcements and may even have some guests.

A propos of nothing, I will also take this opportunity to remind Mr. Bourne of his (often repeated) promise to buy everyone on MBW an iPhone on the day that they come out. Just saying.

If you come out tonight or see me on the Macworld show floor with MacBreak today, please say hi and introduce yourself.

”MacBreak Weekly taping tonight at 21st Amendment” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 09, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

MacBreak Weekly 12: “Smokin’”

Merlin — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 21:10:24 -0400

MacBreak Weekly 12: Smokin’

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

Apple updates the MacBook Pro, and Scott buys one. No wonder they've got such a great bottom line. And our application picks including Disco and Tangerine.

Running time: 1:03:36

Download MP3 file

”MacBreak Weekly 12: “Smokin’”” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 24, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

MacBreak Weekly: "iPhone Home"

Merlin — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 07:41:54 -0400

MacBreak Weekly 11: iPhone Home

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Amber MacArthur, Scott Bourne, and Merlin Mann

The iPhone starts to look like the real thing, and Scott Rejoices. iPod celebrated five years... with a Windows Virus. And dating tips from Steve Jobs.

Running time: 1:22:45

Amber has a fanboy in "Alejandro" (the Spanish webmaster for North Korea), Scott's beside himself about the iPhone rumors, everyone joins in on a very unkind blanket party about what a girl I am, and I get to cuss all I want. Which is awesome.

Download MP3 file

”MacBreak Weekly: "iPhone Home"” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 18, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Merlin on MacBreak Weekly: Wax On, Wax Off

Merlin — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 23:11:39 -0400

MacBreak Weekly 8: Wax On, Wax Off

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

Get a better night's sleep with today's show. We talk about Apple's podcast grab, Aperture 1.5, 802.11n in iMacs, Cingular and the iPhone, and Core 2 MacBooks.

Running time: 01:14:00

In which Alex is still on about the notional iPhone (and its current-day antecedents), Leo loves his lumber-swinging MacPro, Scott is completely full of beans, and everyone rags me mercilessly about my fondness for new age nap software.

Show note: that site for making one barcoded discount-club card to rule them all? Via Lifehacker comments, check out Just One Club Card. Haven't tried it myself, but it looks promising.

[ Download MP3 file for "MBW 8: Wax On, Wax Off" ]

”Merlin on MacBreak Weekly: Wax On, Wax Off” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on September 26, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"