Best PERFORMA Podcasts (2024)

1
Good Night Garden, Hello Userlandia 2:35

2+ y ago2:35

2:35

A short goodbye to the Garden. We thank you for listening over the years. It's been a lot of fun! Dan's new podcast and blog, Userlandia, can be found at www.userlandia.com.By Dan Vincent & Jake Pugh

1
Episode 61: William Volk Oral History Interview - Apple, Amiga, and PC Game Pioneer 1:25:36

3y ago1:25:36

1:25:36

Time for a surprise! Joining Dan in the Garden today is game industry veteran William Volk. Volk started his career in late 1979 as a game tester for Avalon Hill and developed or spearheaded games across all generations of platforms. As a cofounder of Aegis Development, Volk was part of the first Macintosh game releases before the company pivoted t…

1
Episode 60: March Mac-ness with Matt Corey 1:39:37

3y ago1:39:37

1:39:37

Fill out your iMac rumor brackets! After weathering a cold and snowy winter, Dan and Jake welcome March with open arms. It’s a season of renewal, and previous guest Matt Corey returns to talk about his new light control app, Follow the Sun. Both Jake and Matt now have M1 MacBooks Air—how do they fit in their workflows? Plus, Dan finally succumbed a…

1
Episode 59: Smart Kitchens and Food Technology 1:20:09

3y ago1:20:09

1:20:09

I’m a Power User, and I Need a Power Cereal! The dynamic duo is reunited as Jake thaws out from the Texas deep freeze—did all his smart tech survive? Dan still can’t find a GPU, and Jake adds CarPlay to his new automobile. For our main topic, we talk smart kitchen appliances, how tech has changed our grocery habits, and hot takes on easter candy to…

1
Macinography 18: The Problem with Performas 53:28

3y ago53:28

53:28

Meet the Martinettis. They’re the all-American family of the nineties. When they want a computer, they hop on down to the big box store and buy a Performa, the computer made just for them. Alas, darkness lurked from within that happy Mac, seduced by the siren song of marketshare. Listen to find out how an otherwise reasonable idea almost rotted App…

1
Episode 58: Live Streaming With Your Mac with Maegan Wilson 1:09:55

3+ y ago1:09:55

1:09:55

Never cross the streams. We’ll do it live! Guest and friend of the show Maegan Wilson returns to fill in for Jake. Ever wanted to stream your games or productivity but didn’t know where to start? Dan and Maegan talk about streaming to Twitch and YouTube using Macs (and PCs!), the gear you’ll need, and what the experience is like. Recorded February …

1
Episode 57: Fitness Technology Roundtable with Isaac Niebeling, Dustin Ray, and Ian Blackburn 1:56:36

3+ y ago1:56:36

1:56:36

Gonna fly now. Get buff, get tough! The Icon Garden Roundtable is back, this time the subject is fitness technology, apps, and more! Special guests Isaac Niebeling, Dustin Ray, and Ian Blackburn sit down to talk smart exercise bikes, fitness games, how social media and apps work into our fitness routines, and more. Recorded January 30, 2020 Links A…

1
Episode 56: Keeping Vintage Macs Alive with Steve AKA Mac84 1:44:53

3+ y ago1:44:53

1:44:53

They call it retro, which means old, but cool. Special guest Steve, AKA Mac84, joins Dan and Jake to talk all things retro. Ever wanted to restore an old Mac but didn’t know where to start? How about collecting old Apple clones? We’ve got all your favorite flea market and eBay finds right here. Listen for some nostalgia and commiseration! Recorded …

1
Episode 55: The 2021 Inaugural Tech-Tacular 1:14:46

3+ y ago1:14:46

1:14:46

Yippie ki-yay, Mother Mac-er! Ring in the new year with Dan and Jake! Now that the new year is in session, it’s time for a holiday review. What did we give (and get) for the holidays this year? How are Jake’s AirPods Max holding up—and what’s this about a great, inexpensive third party case from an unexpected source? And how painful can it be to co…

1
Macinography 17: The Print Shop 37:40

3+ y ago37:40

37:40

Macinography 17: The Print Shop Decades ago, making your own holiday cards was a tedious affair of hand writing and poorly drawing a season’s greeting. What if your new home computer made it easy to design attractive custom cards? You’d make one for everybody—even Uncle Frank. Aldus and Adobe might have led the charge, but Broderbund Software was j…

1
Episode 54: The 2020 Icon Garden Holiday Special with Jeff Berg 1:56:23

3+ y ago1:56:23

1:56:23

It’s Christmas all over again! Ho ho ho! Merry Macmas! Jeff Berg rejoins Dan and Jake to talk about the present that Santa Tim dropped for all the good Apple children: AirPods Max! Jake has a pair of the new headphones and we review features, audio quality, comparisons, all of it! Plus, we try Apple Fitness+, and a holiday episode wouldn’t be compl…

1
Episode 53: Mac To The Future with Krazy Ken 1:30:29

3+ y ago1:30:29

1:30:29

Awesome. Awesome to the Macs. Catch the Crazy! Dan and Jake are joined in the studio by Krazy Ken to speculate about future Macs based on imagined (and rumored) new Apple Silicon chips. Dan talks about rescuing a hot rod Power Mac 8100. Jake experiments with HomeKit Adaptive Lighting. Ken recalls his greatest tech misadventures. All this and more w…

1
Episode 52: The Route to Big Sur with Jay McNiff 1:36:07

3+ y ago1:36:07

1:36:07

Big Sur! (badabum) Big Sur, Big Sur, Big Sur! The new M1 Macs are out in the wild, and until Dan and Jake get ones of their own, they do the next best thing: bring in a guest! Friend of the show Jay McNiff stops by to talk about the new M1 MacBook Air, Big Sur, and obscure giant robots. Also, Jake has HomePods Mini! Are these little spheres packing…

1
Macinography 16: How The Aaron Extension Saved The World 53:52

3+ y ago53:52

53:52

If there’s one thing users love, it’s customizing their computers. Extensions were the cause of, and solution to, all of Classic Mac OS’ problems. The humble INIT made your Mac more powerful, or just more attractive. Ironically, the system that tried to kill the extension, Copland, inspired some of the most popular add-ons—especially ones that mimi…

1
Episode 51: Apple November 2020 Mac Special Event 1:05:26

3+ y ago1:05:26

1:05:26

Dan and Jake are hot on the tail of an Apple Special Event! This time it’s about the unveiling of the first Apple Silicon Macs. What’s changed? What’s the same? And are they just making a bunch of crazy promises? Plus: Jake learns a lesson! Dan watched Dave Letterman Interview Lizzo! Join us for this hot off the microphones special event. Recorded …

1
Episode 50: Back in the Smart Life Again with Matt Corey 1:26:57

3+ y ago1:26:57

1:26:57

1 2 3 4 5, 6 7 8 9 10, 11 12 Friend of the show and iOS HomeKit developer Matt Corey joins Dan and Jake! Matt talks about his new HomeKit app, Signals, and discusses all things HomeKit. Plus, Jake finally gets and reviews that mythical unicorn of HomeKit devices, a HomeKit doorbell! Finally, we talk new iPhone and Home accessories like HomePod Mini…

1
Macinography 15: The Road to ARMageddon 56:27

3+ y ago56:27

56:27

November 2020 marks the thirtieth anniversary of ARM Limited. With Apple switching to Arm-based Apple Silicon for Macs, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's Arm's desktop debut, but it's not the first time for Arm on desktop. How did ARM go from powering Acorn Computers, a veteran of the British Micro wars, into the world's most popular architecture…

1
Episode 49: Apple October 2020 iPhone Event 1:11:21

3+ y ago1:11:21

1:11:21

And oh what heights we’ll hit, on with the show, this is it! It’s the day after an Apple Special Event! Dan and Jake convene to discuss HomePods Mini and new iPhones, in all sizes great and small. What did we like? What are we buying, or not? Or really... how MANY HomePods Mini is Jake buying? Join us for our recap and reactions to the iPhone 12 ev…

1
Episode 48: App Store Developer Relations with Maegan Wilson 1:47:27

3+ y ago1:47:27

1:47:27

The difference between us and other App Stores is that other App Stores are App Stores. For our forty-eighth regular show, we are joined by special guest, developer and friend of the show, Maegan Wilson. What’s going on in Maegan’s tech life, and how is life in the App Store these days? We dig into Jake’s new LG HomeKit TV, witness the arrival of h…

1
Macinography 14: The LC 500 and Power Mac 5000 Series 40:21

3+ y ago40:21

40:21

A long time ago, in a schoolyard far far away, the computer was a rarity. Apple conquered the classrooms of the eighties with the Apple II, but repeating that success in the nineties with the Macintosh would be a more difficult feat. Before the iMac, Apple launched many big-screen all in ones. Listen to find out how successful (or disastrous) this …

1
Episode 47: Apple September 2020 Special Event 1:12:03

3+ y ago1:12:03

1:12:03

Tick, Tock, Tick (do do doo doo) Tick, Tock, Tick It’s the day after an Apple Special Event! Dan and Jake join together to talk about all the new products that Apple announced. Why is Jake banging down the Apple Store door to get his new watch? Are the new iPads good enough for your friends and family? We look at all the details from the keynote an…

1
Episode 46: Tech Enthusiasm Yesterday and Today with Colin Wirth 1:52:56

3+ y ago1:52:56

1:52:56

Are you familiar with the old robot saying “Does Not Compute”? Dan sits down with Colin, host of This Does Not Compute on Youtube, to talk computing both modern and retro. The Apple Silicon Switch is on everyone’s minds, and what do we want from new computing platforms, exactly? Lots of talk about our favorite vintage Macs and the inside story on t…

1
Macinography 13: The Sexy, Sassy Story of SCSI 56:20

3+ y ago56:20

56:20

O woe of the early Mac User, for they could not store more than 400K. Nay, such crimes could not stand! It was not the serial drive nor the Hyperdrive that would lead them to storage salvation. Forsooth, it is SCSI that would lead the Mac faithful to the promised land of mass storage. Listen in for the tale of SCSI’s attempt to bring order to the c…

1
Episode 45: Apple Watch in 2020 with Ian Blackburn 2:03:46

4y ago2:03:46

2:03:46

Time out of mind. Friend of the show Ian Blackburn returns to talk all things Apple Watch! WatchOS 7, Series 6 rumors, our thoughts on fitness and apps. The ZX Spectrum Next makes an appearance, and once again Apple’s app store policies are in the news, making for an interesting Fortnight (Fortnite?) in Mac. Plus, there’s new iMacs to discuss, and …

1
Episode 44: Peripheral Paraphernalia 2.0 1:22:36

4y ago1:22:36

1:22:36

It’s not an hour of mouse talk, we swear. It’s time to revisit a topic from early on and take a look at our currently setups, peripherals and all. What has changed and we are we into right now? Additionally, we talk about Tim Cool’s congressional testimony and the current app store controversies, the EU’t anti-trust probe, and Apple’s Q3 fiscal res…

1
Macinography 12: The Macintosh II Series 43:54

4y ago43:54

43:54

Steve Jobs loved his all-in-one Mac, but not everyone was happy with its limitations. Even before Steve’s departure, engineers were planning a new expandable Mac with color screens and lots of power. From the cancelled Big Mac to a Wicked Fast IIfx, the projects that made the Macintosh II series were some of Apple’s most influential. Listen in to h…

1
Episode 43: Glorified Electric Typewriter Programs 1:31:23

4y ago1:31:23

1:31:23

iWorkin’ For A Living. We take a surprisingly contentious topic and dive into the myriad options that exist and have existed for word processing on Apple platforms past and present. Where did we start? What do we do now? Is Word 5.1 still the one to beat? In the news, Apple wins in Europe tax battle, iOS 13.6 may be the final update for the 13 era,…

1
Episode 42: WWDC 2020 Wrap-Up And Beta Bonanza 1:35:26

4y ago1:35:26

1:35:26

The Virtual was Reality. Jake returns and we continue to digest and consider the 2020 WWDC Keynote. All the little things that came up after the big announcement, some high-quality sessions, and we play the game: Which day one beta’s did Jake install on his daily driver devices? In the HomeKit Chronicles, Jake takes on bias lighting and the new Hue…

1
Episode 41: WWDC 2020 Keynote Extravaganza with Steve Streza 1:41:53

4y ago1:41:53

1:41:53

ARMageddon is upon us. Big Sur ahoy! For our forty-first regular show we bask in the afterglow of another WWDC Keynote. Jake was unable to make it for this one, but friend of the show and iOS developer Steve Streza joins Dan to talk about all the new iOS/iPadOS, WatchOS. TVOS and MacOS hotness as we prepare for ARMageddon. How did we feel about the…

1
Macinography 11: Trackpads and the Portable Pointing Device Wars 52:35

4y ago52:35

52:35

Today, every laptop in the world comes equipped with a touchpad. But it wasn’t always that way. What came before the trackpad? What did it have to beat to be number one? And who had one first? We touch on these complicated questions on this installment of Macinography. Sources / Notes: CHM Oral History - David Levy CHM Oral History - George Gerphei…

1
Episode 40: WWDC Wishes and Wonders 1:19:08

4y ago1:19:08

1:19:08

Black Lives Matter. For our fortieth regular show, we take a moment to address the current global situation and our thought on Black Lives Matter and the current protests. Then we take a step back and talk a little about what we want and expect to see out of WWDC. Plus, we chat about what we want Apple to do to fix our home theater and device spraw…

1
Episode 39: iOS 13.5 Exposure Notification with Dr. Vivian Pugh and Zac Hall 1:09:25

4y ago1:09:25

1:09:25

The doctor is in. Zac Hall returns and joins first time special guest Dr. Vivian Pugh, internal medicine physician (and Jake’s amazing wife), for a discussion on contract tracing, how it has traditionally been done and what the new Exposure Notification API developed by Apple and Google can do to improve contact tracing for Covid-19 while maintaini…

1
Macinography 10: OpenDoc and Apple's Development Doldrums 32:51

4y ago32:51

32:51

In the beleaguered era, developing for the Macintosh was radically different than today. But one project of Apple’s stood out from the rest. OpenDoc wasn’t just a way to link data, but aimed to redefine how we interact with documents and applications. With partners like IBM, Novell, and WordPerfect, how could it fail? Listen to find out. Sources / …

1
Episode 38: The Primary iPad with Geoff Farinha 1:57:26

4y ago1:57:26

1:57:26

More than meets the eye. We are joined by special guest and friend of the show Geoff Farinha for a discussion on the ins and outs of using the iPad as a full-time, and in Geoff’s case ONLY, computer! Can it be done? What are the irritations and limitations? What do we want to see improved? This is living at the edge of sanity and we love it! We hop…

1
Episode 37: They Call Me The Working Mac with Bradley Chambers 2:11:17

4y ago2:11:17

2:11:17

I live to xServe, sir. Special guest Bradley Chambers from 9to5mac stops by the garden for a discussion of the current state of Apple in the enterprise in general and education in particular. Dan and Jake share initial impressions of the new iPad Pro Magic Keyboard, and Bradley and Jake compare HomeKit homes. All that and Fraggle Rock too! We hope …

1
Macinography 9: The First PowerBooks 49:07

4y ago49:07

49:07

In the eighties, our arms ached from lugging around big, heavy portable computers everywhere. Some companies started making laptops, but the real game changer were notebooks made by NEC and Compaq. Where was Apple in all of this? They stumbled with the Mac Portable, but a resourceful team had a plan: make the smallest, most powerful notebooks on th…

1
Episode 36: The 2020 iPad Pro 1:23:11

4y ago1:23:11

1:23:11

They call it a cursor because it makes you curse. For our thirty-sixth regular show, after spending a couple of weeks with it, Jake shares his impressions of the new iPads Pro and iOS 13.4. Does it live up to the hype? Is it worth the upgrade? Can Jake live with an 11 inch screen? The HomeKit chronicles continues the project of going off-book with …

1
Episode 35: Personal Finance and Tax Apps 1:44:24

4y ago1:44:24

1:44:24

You can’t cut back on Mac funding! You’ll regret this! For our thirty-fifth regular show, we cover some late-breaking news, including the release of new MacBooks Air and new iPads Pro, iOS 13.4 and the ongoing closure of Apple Stores due to coronavirus. The HomeKit chronicles takes on the project of going off-book with HomeBridge, and in our main t…

1
Macinography 8: FireWire 27:21

4y ago27:21

27:21

Once upon a time, there was an interface known as SCSI. Nobody liked setting IDs, chaining devices, or using thick cables on fat connectors. “There’s gotta be a better way!” said the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Apple took them up on their challenge. Apple, Sony, IBM, and other companies came together to design a hot inter…

1
Episode 34: This Old Mac with Stephen Hackett 2:09:04

4y ago2:09:04

2:09:04

Ye Olde Startup Chime For our thirty-fourth regular show, we are joined by very special guest Stephen Hackett. Stephen is the founder of Relay.FM, a fantastic podcast network, and one of the preeminent collectors of all things Mac history. Stephen stops by to talk about his history with Macs, to really get into the weeds on a shared love of Mac his…