Our MacVoices Live! holiday party features discussions on the Silo two-season renewal, AirTags and travel, and Apple Vision Pro as “Innovation of the Year” award from Popular Mechanics. Chuck Joiner, David Ginsburg, Marty Jencius, Brian Flaningan-Arthurs, Eric Bolden, Web Bixby, Brittany Smith, and Jim Rea also look at the Apple Store winners as well as user privacy issues.

MacVoices is supported by the 2024 MacVoices Holiday Gift Guide. Great gift ideas to give and get from your MacVoices friends. Look for the shows in the feeds and on our YouTube and Vimeo channels, and check out the master list on the link above.

Show Notes:

Chapters:

00:14 Opening Remarks
03:28 Holiday Greetings and Decorations
03:35 Guests Join the Festivities
05:02 Apple’s Silo Renewal Announcement
12:35 Tracking Luggage with AirTags
17:23 Apple Vision Pro Innovation of the Year
19:59 Exploring Other Innovative Products
23:51 App Store Award Winners Discussion
27:00 Game of the Year and Thrasher
34:27 Competition in Headset Market
40:29 Google and Samsung Headset Insights
46:40 Privacy Concerns with Google Products
55:12 Looking Ahead to CES 2024

Links:

Apple officially renews sci-fi drama Silo for two more seasons to close out the story
https://9to5mac.com/2024/12/16/apple-tv-renews-silo-2/

United and Air Canada can now use Apple AirTags to track lost luggage
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/12/united-and-air-canada-can-now-use-apple-airtags-to-track-lost-luggage/

Apple Vision Pro Named 2024 'Innovation of the Year'
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/12/11/vision-pro-named-innovation-of-the-year/

Apple Reveals iPhone App of the Year and More 2024 App Store Awards
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/12/11/2024-app-store-award-winners/

Google and Samsung Android XR headset takes on Vision Pro
https://www.cultofmac.com/news/google-and-samsung-android-xr-headset

Guests:

Web Bixby has been in the insurance business for 40 years and has been an Apple user for longer than that.You can catch up with him on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Eric Bolden is into macOS, plants, sci-fi, food, and is a rural internet supporter. You can connect with him on Twitter, by email at embolden@mac.com, on Mastodon at @eabolden@techhub.social, on his blog, Trending At Work, and as co-host on The Vision ProFiles podcast.

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession ‘firsts,’ including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC).

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He’s been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

Brittany Smith is a trained cognitive neuroscientist who provides ADD/ADHD, technology, and productivity coaching through her business, Devise and Conquer, along with companion video courses for folks with ADHD. She’s also the cofounder of The ADHD Guild, a community for nerdy folks with ADHD. She, herself, is a self-designated “well-rounded geek”. She can be found on Twitter as @addliberator, on Mastodon as @addliberator@pdx.social, and on YouTube with tech tips.