The Context Machine

Bryan and Jeff share their thoughts on the DOJ’s court win that Google is its monopoly status to unfairly dominate the online search market, and what impact that could have on Apple. Bryan shares his changing perspective on Kindle Unlimited and the single change that would get him to publish his books there. Sources referenced in this episode: Google reportedly pays $18 billion a year to be...

Bryan and Jeff explore the ships of Starfleet in The Roddenberry Archive, note that Apple once again earned all the money, and share an app for tracking wildfire activity. They also talk about Jeff’s experience as a new D&D player. Sources referenced in this episode: The Roddenberry Archive APple Q3 2024 Earnings Report Watch Duty Mando’s mid-life crisis N-1 Starfighter Naboo Royal...

Bryan and Jeff take a look at the ugly resurrection of The Unofficial Apple Weblog as an AI-generated content farm and the intentional misrepresentation that the writing team includes the staff from before the site shut down in 2015. They also talk about why Apple isn’t joining OpenAI’s board of directors after all, and Bryan shares a Mac app to help writers develop the plot for their...

It’s PSA time on The Context Machine. Bryan and Jeff discuss opting out of Meta using your content to train its AI model, along with Jeff’s favorite option for replacing Bartender on your Mac. Bryan also shares the services he’s found to help promote and distribute ebooks and audio books for indy authors. Sources referenced in this episode: flick.social on opting out of Meta AI c...

Bryan and Jeff discuss the iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and visionOS 2 announcements from this week’s Apple World Wide Developers Conference. They also look at what’s coming this fall with Apple Intelligence. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: visionOS 2 watchOS 11 iOS 18 iPadOS 18 macOS Sequoia Apple Intelli...

Bryan and Jeff take a look at Bryan’s new short story, King Liam, First of His Name . They also share their thoughts on the Apple Music top 100 albums list, chat about borbs, and offer a teaser for Jeff’s upcoming presentation at Macstock 8 in July. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: King Liam, Firs...

Bryan and Jeff catch up on reader email, and also take a look at two Apple TV+ shows: Sugar and Dark Matter. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: Netflix Net Income 2010-2023 Cult Pens Dark Matter Sugar Bryan’s new book Accidental Intelligence Mason Truman on Threads Jeff is speaking at Macstock 8 July 12, 13, and 14 &#82...

Bryan and Jeff talk about the backlash to Apple’s M4 iPad Pro commercial, and also look at the just announced M2 iPad Air, M4 iPad Pro, and Apple Pencil Pro from the company’s “Let Loose” media event. Sources referenced in this episode: Apple’s “Let Loose” media event iPad Air with M2 processor iPad Pro with M4 processor Apple Pencil Pro Rock Paper Pencil...

Bryan and Jeff look at the hype surrounding Apple’s unannounced but rumored AI features, and Jeff has some questions about choosing a fountain pen to carry when he’s away from his desk. Sources referenced in this episode: Tim Cook’s 3-Word Response to a Question About Apple’s AI Plans Is the Best I’ve Heard Yet Pilot Vanishing Point Lamy Safari Pilot Kakuno Iroshizuku...

Bryan and Jeff discuss what Apple may be planning to improve Siri, along with how the company could give indie authors more options for selling their books. Bryan also gives us some real time coverage of a big Bitcoin block halving event. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: Alleged HomePod Display Component Again Shown Off in...

Apple licensed content from Shutterstock presumably for its own AI efforts, which gets Bryan and Jeff looking at the ethics behind the methods many AI companies use to source the data they rely on to train their own models. Surprisingly, they didn’t have to edit for inappropriate language. Sources referenced in this episode: Inside Big Tech’s underground race to buy AI training data De...

Bryan and Jeff get a little hot under the collar over the US DOJ antitrust case against Apple and they’re tense over reports that Apple is in talks with Google to use Gemini as part of its own generative AI efforts. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones NYTimes echoes rep...

Bryan and Jeff talk a little about Dune now that Dune: Part 2 is out, and look at the news that Apple acquired the AI company DarwinAI. They also chat about the status of Bryan’s short story, King Liam , a couple Vision Pro apps, and fountain pen ink. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: Dune: Part 2 Adam Interviews&#8230...

Bryan and Jeff pour one out for Apple’s Project Titan. And thanks to Bryan, Jeff is now playing in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, so they look at how playing the game remotely works. SPONSOR: HIMS – Hims is changing men’s healthcare by providing simple and convenient access to science backed treatments for erectile dysfunction, hair loss, weight loss, and more. The entire process i...

Bryan and Jeff explore Apple’s announcement that iMessage is about to get encryption technology designed to thwart quantum computers. They also rant about ethics in AI LLM training, and also look at how more people seem to be grokking what Apple Vision Pro is. SPONSOR: HIMS – Hims is changing men’s healthcare by providing simple and convenient access to science backed treatments for er...

SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in this episode: Professor Terry Austin Apple Vision Pro ScreenFlow Bryan’s new book Accidental Intelligence Mason Truman on Threads Review the show on Apple Podcasts Where to find us: The Context Machine on Twitter The Context Machine Facebook Group – Facebook The Context Machine on Mas...

Apple’s brand new Vision Pro is finally in people’s hands and on Bryan’s face. Jeff and Bryan invited special guest Barry Fulk on so we can have two users share their face-on experiences and tell Jeff what he may or may not be missing out on. Sources referenced in this episode: Apple Vision Pro Why Tim Cook Is Going All In on the Apple Vision Pro Read books and listen to audioboo...

Bryan and Jeff discuss Rabbit’s R1 personal AI assistant device, and also share their thoughts on Apple’s press release about App Store changes to comply with the EU’s DMA requirements. It’s the Mac’s 40th anniversary, so they chat about the special event at the Computer History Museum commemorating the event. SPONSOR: HIMS -Hims is changing men’s healthcare by provid...

Apple’s Vision Pro is available for pre-order, so Byran and Jeff take a look at the order process and dealing with prescription lenses. Bryan also gets to gloat because his will be delivered on release day. Jeff binged the first season of Stargate SG-1 after Bryan discovered last week that he hadn’t seen any episodes. There’s more fountain pen talk, too, because Jeff has question...

Bryan and Jeff talk about Apple Vision Pro now that we know when it’ll ship. They also look at LG’s transparent television, plus the FTC’s plan to stop marketers from abusing product reviews. Bonus: Jeff has a new found love for fountain pens which delights Bryan to no end. Sources referenced in this episode: Apple Vision Pro LG transparent TV I’ve looked through LG’s...

Amazon Prime Video is going to charge a premium to not have ads in streaming content, and Bryan and Jeff have plenty to say about that. They also share their thoughts on ever-shorter TV series now that all six episodes of Slow Horses season 3 are out. Bryan’s streaming service budget is on the table, too, as they figure out just how much he’s spending each month to see everything he wa...

Bryan and Jeff dissect GM’s latest excuse for dropping CarPlay and Android Auto. They also look at some shows they’re enjoying now, like Slow Horses season 3 on Apple TV+, talk about getting up to speed for the new Doctor Who specials, and get excited for the upcoming Foundation season 3 along with Apple signing on the Murderbot series. Bonus: Bryan has some tips on how to support your...

Apple and Goldman Sachs are parting ways, so Bryan and Jeff look at what happened and what Apple may do next to keep Apple Card alive. They also have some thoughts on the irresponsible way law enforcement agencies and some media outlets stoked fear over iOS 17’s Name Drop feature. SPONSOR: LinkedIn Jobs  – Post your job for free at  LinkedIn.com/ACM . Sources referenced in thi...

Bryan and Jeff look at some street-style artists they like, and share their thoughts on Monarch Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV+. Jeff also gives Bryan a high-level look at passkeys. Sources referenced in this episode: SMiLE on Instagram Eddie Gangland on Instagram sabet on Instagram Monarch Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV+ Passkeys Bryan’s new book Accidental Intelligence Mason Truman on Thre...

Bryan and Jeff share their take on what Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring predicts Apple may have in store for AI, plus they look at the companies pulling ads from X this week. They also dive into Netflix’s Bodies series with a big spoiler alert. Sources referenced in this episode: Apple is working on generative AI. Morgan Stanley shares how it could monetize it. OpenAI announces leadersh...