Podcast

e13 – The History of iTunes, part 1

We chronicle the launch and early history of iTunes, from the acquisition of SoundJam up through version 3.0. Along the way we unearth bizarre Apple web services, people go crazy over burn folders, and Steve Jobs slips up.

Links for this episode:

The "i-" prefix

iTunes 1.0

non-sponsor: Conflict Catcher 8 (winner of the 1998 Eddy Award!)

iTunes 1.1

iTunes 2.0

iTunes 3.0

e12 – Music on the Classic Mac

Before streaming, we listened to music on our Macs from CDs and low-quality MP3s found in shady corners of the Internet. This episode, Ed and Brian tell the Audion story, declare themselves children of the filesystem generation, and struggle to pronounce the word "earbuds".

 

e11 – Triumph of the Nerds, part 3

We conclude our coverage of Triumph of the Nerds, finally reaching the famous "sugar water" quote. Come learn how Microsoft did everything right, Apple permanently lost its soul, and Oracle wound up dominating the internet…or not.

Sculley and his PowerBook 160/165

Sculley and his PowerBook 160/165

Stephen Spielberg rocking a Microsoft Bob hat.

Stephen Spielberg rocking a Microsoft Bob hat.

e10 – Triumph of the Nerds, part 2

This is the episode when we don't talk about Apple much. (Sorry!) We cover Triumph of the Nerds part 2, including IBM's reactions to the success of the Apple II, Steve Ballmer gesticulating wildly, and Microsoft trying to be nimble.

Links for this episode:

frog dot gif

frog dot gif

e9 – Triumph of the Nerds, part 1

We embark on watching the classic PBS documentary mini-series Triumph of the Nerds. We learn a little we didn't know about the early history of Apple, get excited with Woz, and facepalm with Jobs over the many offensive things that got said and done in the computer industry 20+ years ago (and, sadly, still today).

Links for this episode:

Triumph of the Nerds

Episode 1, scene by scene

I think a nerd is a person who uses the telephone to talk to other people about telephones. And a computer nerd therefore is somebody who uses a computer in order to use a computer.