e90 – The iPod at 20

October 22, 2021

We're celebrating another major milestone in Apple history: the 20th anniversary of the announcement of the iPod. We cover its incredibly rapid development, its worldwide popularity, and the fact that we still carry widescreen iPods with touch controls today.

Side, angle, and front views of a 1st-generation iPod.

Development

The History of iTunes, part 1 and part 2
development timeline tweet
Tony Fadell interview at Computer History Museum
physical design
technology
- Toshiba 1.8" hard drives
- FireWire
- the "digital hub"
- Pixo operating system
the name
- Vinnie Chieco
- Wikipedia articles with lowercase first letter

Launch

Legacy

multiple generations
modding: r/iPod, DankPods
iPod nano reveal
the dock connector will not die
iPod touch
- upgrade fees
- 1st generation ad remastered from Nick Haley's original version
"iPod's Dirty Secret"
a widescreen iPod with touch controls
iPod phone prototype
Apple's favorite musicians: The Beatles, U2
Primephonic acquisition

e89 – Mac OS X at 20

March 24, 2021

We're back with a special episode to mark the 20th anniversary of Mac OS X. We remember what it was like to enter the lickable world of Aqua, leave behind our Classic apps, and grow with macOS over two decades.

If you want to keep listening to Brian and Ed, check out their current podcast, One More Thing!

Pre-release

e81 – The NeXT Transition
Mac OS X Server
Developer Preview 1
Developer Preview 3
- the infamous menu Apple
- the also infamous single-application mode
Public Beta
- Music Player
  - Audion face
- Sketch
- HTMLEdit
- Bomb.app

New features

Missing features

Later additions

🧭 Safari (10.2)
💬 iChat / Messages (10.2)
🔨 Xcode (10.3)
🌌 Time Machine (10.5)
- ☂️ MobileMe Backup
📲 Mac App Store (10.6.6)
😁 Emoji (10.7)
🛎 APFS (10.13)

Special > Shut Down…

January 28, 2020

After over five years of producing Simple Beep, we've decided to stop recording on a regular schedule. We're really proud of the collection of episodes that we've created, and we plan on maintaining them for as long as possible for our friends in the Mac community.

But just like shutting down a classic Mac, there is always the possibility to hit Restart. It won't be next month, but someday there will be big Apple news to put in historical perspective or another milestone anniversary to celebrate. When the time comes, we'll be back on the microphone for e89.

e88 – The iPad at 10

January 27, 2020

In our final regular episode, we celebrate a great milestone: the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the iPad.

Follow Up

General Magic site still live (thanks, @cabel!)
breaking news being desktop-published
- Fetch

Before the iPad

The Keynote

videos
"Last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it."
Le Corbusier armchair
- iPad 2: The Chair
It's Road Trip
iBooks
- Kindle 2
- Delicious Library
$1,000 rumors
the name is fine, guys.

Original iPad and Beyond

A-series chips
Mike Matas' interface design
accessories
3rd generation: "Resolutionary."
""iPad (2017)""
iPad-focused podcasts
- Canvas
- Adapt
Chirp developer conference
Joe Hewitt's take
Gruber's review
Thoughts on Flash
- Flash officially deprecated
iBooks antitrust case
Ed receives his first iPad

e87 – Desktop Publishing

December 14, 2019

This episode we cover the desktop publishing revolution, the Apple-led trifecta that kicked it off in the late '80s, and how it's evolved over three decades. For a holiday bonus, Ed talks about how he used a Mac to design and lay out his family's Christmas cards in the '90s. And finally, we wrap up the year with an announcement.