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You are here: MacNN Forums > News > Mac News > The MacNN Podcast, episode 67: It's genius, but it's stupid

The MacNN Podcast, episode 67: It's genius, but it's stupid
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NewsPoster
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Jun 20, 2016, 02:29 PM
 
It's time for episode 67, and we're going to mix it up a bit this week. Mike and Charles, both of whom are former residents of Orlando, start off the show talking about the mass shooting there, and (despite very different political leanings) come up with a reasonable and rational set of proposals that would dramatically cut down on such tragedies (with proof) while preserving protected liberties, and thus no rational person would disagree. Oops, we can already see the flaw in that plan from here.

Of course it's just the opening that's full of hopeless naivete. We get on with the more usual stuff, talking about what was and was not announced at the WWDC keynote, and some of the afterwards-announcements as well. From there, we take quick looks at a story involving a clever-but-pointless use for the Wallet app, the tendency of all-purpose news websites to get tech stories (and in particular Apple stories) tragically wrong, and talk with correspondent Sanjiv Sathiah about his first looks at the Music app in iOS 10, and iOS 10 itself. All that, and App of the Week. Show notes after the big player.



01:49 -- Discussion of the Orlando mass shooting tragedy that targeted gay people and others who were guilty of no crime but enjoying an evening out at the Pulse nightclub. Since there is not a lot of what we would call reliable information about the shooter, Charles and Mike instead focus on something we think would be a good first step to help prevent these types of incidents being so prevalent: follow Australia's lead, and ban assault weapons. Some other minor changes to existing gun laws would, we feel, dramatically reduce hate crimes that result in multiple fatalities and yet preserve -- and indeed clarify -- the rights and responsibilities of law-abiding gun owners. Mike and Charles are both former residents of Orlando, and on behalf of MacNN, we express our sorrow for the tragedy as well as our admiration for the way the city has fought back.

09:15 -- Okay, now it's time for a recap on what we thought would happen and what did take place during the WWDC keynote (and some subsequent announcements). We discuss the future (or lack thereof) of the Mac Pro, which leads us to the evolving This Old Mac Pro series (now with tips on installing macOS Sierra when it comes out!), watchOS 3.0 (and the lack of a new model, as expected), and some of the various features of iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and the dangers of beta software.

32:00 -- Time for a couple of quick topics: the first of them being a novel new use of the Wallet app in iOS. Charles is all keen on the innovation, Mike is unimpressed compared to good old apps. Cranky old man is cranky.

37:08 -- Charles and Mike get on their high horse to talk about the widespread mis-reporting of the details on the (momentary) ban on the iPhone 6 and later being sold in China. The ban was almost immediately reversed, but a lot of mainstream outlets (not the Apple specialist sites) forgot to include that part until many hours later, triggering a stock drop. Or was that the whole idea? Yeah, sorry to shock anyone, but we're not above believing that some stories and sites engage in deliberate stock manipulation. Because the last person to actually go to jail for that was Martha Stewart.

40:22 -- Time for our special report from our colleague Sanjiv Sathiah, who has been away from the podcast for too long. He's been working with the Developer Preview of iOS 10, and the short version is that he very much likes what he sees -- check out his look at the new Music app as well as the new system in general, and then start counting the days until September, when it will be released for the rest of us.

57:12 -- William Gallagher also pops by to lay his App of the Week on us, and it is a big one: Pixelmator 3.5, the latest version. Is it right for you? William will let you know.

The MacNN Podcast can be found every Monday (barring holidays) here at MacNN, on its RSS feed, or you can subscribe via iTunes. We're also on YouTube.

The MacNN Podcast is copyright 2016 by MNM Media, with all rights reserved. Opinions expressed by the hosts or guests of the podcast may not reflect the opinions or views of MNM Media, its sites, or advertisers. Original music by Bradley McBurney. Comments and feedback are welcome at our Tips email address.
( Last edited by NewsPoster; Jun 27, 2016 at 05:32 PM. )
     
Steve Wilkinson
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Jun 25, 2016, 04:16 PM
 
I just don't get the 'assault weapon' thing. While I'm no gun expert, I don't think there's actually that much difference between assault weapons and other semi-auto firearms besides they, 1) sometimes being of higher quality, and 2) they are more 'platform' oriented so you can add/subtract various components and features.

I think the big deal to most people towards the liberal end of the spectrum is that they 'look scary' and/or they actually think they are automatic weapons. I heard a clip of Whoopi Goldberg from after the shootings, asking why anyone would need such a weapon for hunting... because tut-tut-tut-tut (she makes machine gun sound)... no deer left! And, I'd guess Whoopi actually knows the difference (and a lot of other higher-up left-leaning folks I've heard say similar things), but they actually want such confusion.

But, here's the problem. The point isn't deer hunting. It's overthrowing the gov't. (as far as the 2nd amendment goes) So, I'm not so sure where to draw the line, or if there even should be one. It's the whole.... how many of my rights should I give up so the gov't can protect me, thing.

Massive amounts of guns have been in the hands of USA citizens for a long, long time now. It's only recently that nut-job shooting rampages have emerged so frequently. (Overall gun-violence is down.) So, I think we need to get to the bottom of what THAT is, and take action. But, that wouldn't accomplish the purpose of gov't control... so why actually try to solve the problem?

And, then there's the fact all the regulations that are being talked about wouldn't have prevented Orlando. (And, have you guys been following what this shooter's actual motives likely were? I'm not sure if they cover it on traditional media.) I doubt they'd prevent anyone actually motivated to commit such an event. I've lived in some fairly high-gun-control areas in my life, as well as gun-rich-places, and I can tell you I've had more shootings happen near me in the gun-regulated places, by a WIDE margin.
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Steve Wilkinson
Web designer | Christian apologist
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