The Icon Garden
A short goodbye to the Garden. We thank you for listening over the years. It's been a lot of fun!
info_outline Episode 61: William Volk Oral History Interview - Apple, Amiga, and PC Game PioneerThe Icon Garden
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. We talk Volk’s career past and present, including development in the early days of the Macintosh, the influence of gaming on education, his return to indie development with The Climate Trail, and how the Amiga keeps coming back.
info_outline Episode 60: March Mac-ness with Matt CoreyThe Icon Garden
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 and bought the LG 34WK95U ultrawide monitor. Is the ultrawide life all it’s cracked up to be? Listen in to find out.
info_outline Episode 59: Smart Kitchens and Food TechnologyThe Icon Garden
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 too.
info_outline Macinography 18: The Problem with PerformasThe Icon Garden
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 Apple from the core.
info_outline Episode 58: Live Streaming With Your Mac with Maegan WilsonThe Icon Garden
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 Maeghan talk about streaming to Twitch and YouTube using Macs (and PCs!), the gear you’ll need, and what the experience is like.
info_outline Episode 57: Fitness Technology Roundtable with Isaac Niebeling, Dustin Ray, and Ian BlackburnThe Icon Garden
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.
info_outline Episode 56: Keeping Vintage Macs Alive with Steve AKA Mac84The Icon Garden
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!
info_outline Episode 55: The 2021 Inaugural Tech-TacularThe Icon Garden
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 construct holiday gifts for children? All these and more as we start off 2021 right. Plus, Jake tries to install a smart shower. Listen in to find out how it went!
info_outline Macinography 17: The Print ShopThe Icon Garden
Making your own holiday cards was a tedious affair. What if your 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 just as critical to introducing desktop publishing to the masses. But there’s more to this app than banners—it starred in a titanic legal battle to determine the future of software copyright.
info_outlineEpisode 8: Peripheral Paraphernalia
Click and Clack, the Keyboard switch brothers
For our eighth regular show, first we look at a few items of Apple news, including the annual Apple shareholder meeting, more on the ongoing dispute with Qualcomm, Apple celebrate International Women’s Day, more cord confusion, and patent fun in East Texas. In the HomeKit Chronicles, we talk about the cornerstone of most HomeKit setups and dig into all things lights. We take a dive into the various connection methods and the pros and cons of each and review offerings from Hue, Sylvania, Eve, and VOCOlinc. In our main topic, we take look at all things peripheral and input devices. The good, the bad, and the just plain weird. We talk about our personal favorite keyboards, mice, and all things in-between, and Jake makes an impulse purchase.
Show Notes:
- Apple Shareholders Meeting
- Apple vs Qualcomm, Round ??
- International Women’s Day
- Layoffs at Project Titan
- More Cord Confusion, USB Editionl
- Sleep Tracking on the Apple Watch?
- Yay Texas
- Fun Times with Apple Music on Google Home
- Phillips Hue
- Eve Lightstrip
- Sylvania Smart +
- VOCOlinc Wifi Lights
- Apple Keyboards
- Corsair Keyboards
- Keychron Mechanical Keyboard
- Logitech K811
- 8-Bit Guy on Apple Keyboards (Pt 1)
- 8-Bit Guy on Apple Keyboards (Pt 2)
- Magic Trackpad 1
- Magic Trackpad 2
- Apple Pro Mouse
- Logitech MX Master
- Microsoft Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0
- Logitech MX Revolution
- Kensington TurboMouse Trackball
- Logitech MX Ergo
- Wacom Cintiq
- Wacom Intuos
- Huion Tablets
- Luna Display
- Loupedeck
- G11 Gaming Keyboard
- Leap Motion Controller
- Further Viewing: LGR Oddware
- KVM Switch
- Synergy
- Better Touch Tool
- Logitech Flow
- The Infamous Hockey Puck Mouse
- Magic Mouse
Follow Us:
Our show is edited by Nathan Mace (antiwraith on Ars). Our theme song is composed by the wondrous Space Vixen, who you can find on twitter @cat_cornett and their music at spacevixen.bandcamp.com.
You can find Dan on Twitter @kefkafloyd. Against his better judgement, Jake is now on twitter @jakepugh. You can leave feedback by tweeting @icongardenshow or posting on the Icon Garden thread at the Mac Ach forum by going to http://bit.ly/tigsthread . You can subscribe to our show on your podcast platform of choice, or visit our website at icongardenshow.com.
Next Time in the Garden:
What’s Eating the Mac Pro?