Crossed Wires

When Apple announced new M2-based Macs, a new HomePod, and the launch of Advanced Data Protection with little more than a press release and video on their site, we were caught a little off guard. Whilst we’re not a news show, per se, we wanted to chat about the impact these new systems, particularly the M2 Pro-powered Mac Mini would have on the Apple ecosystem.

Returning guest, Jeff Butts of The Mac Observer, was kind enough to ...

The last week or so has seen some extraordinary rubbish behaviour from Twitter regarding their API for third-party clients, like Twitterrific and Tweetbots. Users found themselves unable to access their timelines via anything but the official app and website, and developers had no communication to tell them what on earth was going on.

On Thursday, Twitter announced that this was intentional and that many third-party apps would n...

For those of us who grew up with Game Boys and Game Gears, maybe even an Atari Lynx, the concept of full desktop gaming in a portable form factor has been on our wishlist for a very long time. So, the question we discuss with Noah from Steam Deck HQ can be summed up as “Has Valve’s Steam Deck made that dream come true?”.

We talk about the hardware itself, the impressive software stack built upon SteamOS, how many games perform, ...

The idea of a non-taxed, non-regulated, digital currency can sound incredibly appealing for many uses, but are cryptocurrencies all they’re cracked up to be and should we be advocating their use? That’s what we discuss with the published researcher, Dr Catherine Flick, known on BBC local radio as being able to explain Bitcoin in 15 seconds.

Catherine brought so much insight to help us understand what exactly cryptocurrencies and...

As many of you know, we use SquadCast to record every episode of Crossed Wires, and indeed Charging Status. It’s been such a genuine pleasure to build a relationship, mostly thanks to Jae’s existing connection, with the team at SquadCast.

In this episode, Zachariah Moreno joins me again, this time to talk about how things have been going for them since we last spoke, including their hugely ambitious V5 launch, and what 2023 hold...

With the Macintosh having such a long history, and Apple doing so much over the platform’s life I wanted to get a panel together to discuss all things Mac collecting and our thoughts on past and present.

I’m really pleased to be joined by returning guests Dan Vincent and Sean from Action Retro, as well as new guest Steve from Mac84TV. We had a truly enjoyable and insightful chat about Apple’s world-changing computer.

As well ...

Content Warning: This episode talks about the potential harm of social media in quite some detail, and whilst no details are discussed, we do make mention of people ending their lives as a result of social media. In future, we will endeavour to add such warnings to the front of any episode audio too.

The pandemic hit the theatre industry particularly hard, and my guest this week had a number of personal struggles to work through...

Over the last few years, I’ve become much more of what could be considered a ‘Gamer’, being a Mac user somewhat excluded me from modern gaming and I’d play much more casual games on my iPhone and iPad. After picking up a Nintendo Switch, I started to enjoy playing mainstream titles again, and as a result became interested in the gaming industry itself.

My guest, Matthew Bliss, runs ‘The Dead Drop’ gaming podcast which is a 10-mi...

Over the last ten years or so, we've seen a huge growth in the number of messaging platforms. With Google recently putting massive pressure on Apple to adopt the RCS standard, I wanted to have a discussion about the security and privacy of the various platforms, especially when we compare them to plain-old SMS.

This episode came about in part due to a Twitter exchange with The Mac Observer, on the back of an article about Go...

There's a very common saying within the IT support space, that there are two types of users; those who have lost data and those who are going to. The only way to stop data loss is to make sure you have a robust backup strategy. Because backup is so important, with both Jae and James having personal experience with losing valuable data and now being Backblaze users ourselves, we go on a fanatically deep dive into both backup and...

As energy costs are at an all-time high, many people are looking for ways to cut costs and become more self-sufficient. When it comes to solar power, there are effectively two ways to do this, a whole-home solar setup that requires a reasonably complex installation, usually by professionals, or a more off-grid approach that isn’t wired into your home’s electrical systems. Rees made a fascinating video based on his DIY project for t...

When I first joined Twitter, I remember the excitement and intrigue over this new platform, using great third-party apps and having intelligent conversations with people. Sadly, those days look like they have already, or are soon going to be, gone and lots of people are looking for a new place for their social interactions. 

Enter Mastodon, an open-source social platform powered by ActivityPub and part of the wider Fediverse. My...

Yes, this is a podcast episode of a podcast with two podcasters talking about podcasting, say that as quickly as you can and you may win a prize!*

You’ll have heard Arielle’s name pop up on many episodes of this show, as she’s been such an incredible supporter of both the show and me personally as a podcaster through the SquadPod community, as well as other great resources and her energetic Twitter presence.

Whether you just ...

When you ask most people about email, they probably show a genuine lack of interest, it’s not new and it’s not fancy. But, email still plays a hugely important part in our daily lives, and even more so in business.

We talk with Helen about the concept of your digital identity, and how owning your email domain and being the customer, not the product, can make a huge difference to your email, calendar, and contacts experience.

...

As many of you know, the Amiga A600 was my childhood computer, so when I saw Ravi doing a DJ set in ‘The Cave’ with Neil a few years back, I was mesmerised. I’m not musical, but music technology has always been an interest. So it was genuinely exciting to chat with Ravi about how he uses these incredible retro systems.

Ravi also talks about the recent Amiga 37 event in Germany, DJing for a horror movie festival in the woods, as ...

Amanda Sloan is a friend I’ve known for years, actually longer than I’ve known James; I’ve known both for a long time. Amanda and I first met when I replied to her tweet about a hippy village floating on the water. I once met her and her partner Thom for coffee when they came through my state; I also worked with Amanda on the podcast network Dragon Powered Studios.

Amanda co-runs Geek Herring, is a writer, does workshops and mor...