In December 2012, the first version of Action Launcher released. In this episode, long-time Action Launcher user Jesse Wilson hosts yours truly in a discussion about the ensuing five years.
This is a wide ranging discussion, covering not just Action Launcher itself, but a number of topics including how app development has changed during that time, our evolved feelings device system updates, how to help surface features in an app and much more. But don't be fooled, there's plenty of Action Launcher chat here.
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Warning: this episode contains coarse language.
It's the fourth annual "… of the year" extravaganza, in which Jesse Wilson and I each bestow 20 highly coveted and equally made up awards based on 2016's technology news.
Some of the awards include classics like “moonwalk of the year” and “lipstick on a pig of the year”, as well as new entries like “you dropped the ball at the finish line of the year” and special one I felt obliged to add for myself titled “biggest personal egg on face moment of the year”.
Follow Jesse on Twitter: @jessewilson.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
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Jesse Wilson returns to the show to chat all things Action Launcher with me.
Topics include why there was more than 6 months between Action Launcher updates to start the year and what I learnt going so long between updates. I also discuss my pushing to release the Pixel Launcher inspired update so quickly after the leaks arrived, how the update was received by press and customers alike. Oh, and I both tease a major feature I withheld from a recent update and find a (valid!) excuse to talk about hidden menu items at In-N-Out Burger.
Follow Jesse on Twitter: @JesseWilson.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
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Note: this episode was recorded after early September's Action Launcher 3.9's update but before late September's 3.10 update.
So. Many. Hardware. Announcements.
Phil and I break down the Pixel phones, Daydream View, Google WiFi, Google Home and Chromecast 4k announcements. We also discuss whether the event lived up the hype Google set about creating, and chat about what we didn't see.
Follow Phil on Twitter: @philnickinson.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Ben Sandofsky and I break down all the announcements of Apple's September 2016 event. We of course discuss all the new hardware, as well as give our thoughts on:
And of course I get my bitch on about a new Apple Watch model that doesn't have an always on display.
Follow Ben on Twitter: @sandofsky.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Hot off the wires, Francisco Franco and I dig into WWDC 2016's watchOS, tvOS, macOS and iOS announcements. What did we like and dislike? What didn't we see that we were hoping for? What did we make of those crazy Music and iMessage announcements?
Follow Francisco on Google+: +FranciscoFranco1990.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Check out Francisco's app 5217 in the Play Store.
Jake Wharton and I conclude our post Google I/O 2016 chat by digging into the wealth of show's developer announcements including Android Studio 2.2, Firebase, Android Instant Apps and more.
Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
What's it like to attend Google I/O? Was the venue switch away from San Francisco to an outdoor venue in Mountain View a good move? What quality level were the technical sessions this year? Why do Google keep making seemingly basic mistakes hosting I/O each year? Was the move to abandon the giveaways of previous years a good one?
Jake Wharton and I discuss all this and more.
Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Many felt I was too negative in the previous episode, where Koush and I broke down Google I/O 2016's keynote. Previous guest of the show Karl Smith was one such person, so he and I decided to dig into some of the areas we disagreed with most in this impromptu follow up episode, and I also offer some further thoughts on what we saw given a few more days to process it.
Follow Karl on Twitter: @punyweakling.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
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Note: the initial release of this episode had audio issues with voices at different levels. Fixed in this latest version. Sorry about that.
Google I/O is here! Koush and I break down all the big announcements such as Home, Allo, Duo and Daydream. We also discussed Google's advancements in AI, the Android Wear 2.0 release, Android Instant Apps and more.
Follow Koush on Twitter: @koush.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Fellow Android developer Annyce Davis joins me for a deep dive into all things Android TV! We dig into our experience with Google TV, the Nexus Player, Android TV built into a TV and more, as well as discussing our gripes with the platform, and how we'd like to see it improve going forward.
Note: this episode was recorded in early March, before Android N was announced, so best keep that in mind when we discuss what we'd like to see in future versions of the platform.
Follow Annyce on Twitter: @brwngrldev.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Turmoil, staff exodus and mud-slinging at Nest. Promising robotics unit Boston Dynamics reportedly up for sale, while the rest of the initiative is seemingly on notice. Reports of unrest at Verily Life Sciences. The other bets of Alphabet seem to be making quite a bit of news of late, and not in a good way.
Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo joins me to discuss all of this news, our feelings on what this might mean for future Alphabet bets, as well as rumors of Google's competitor to the Amazon Echo.
Follow Ron on Twitter: @ronamadeo.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
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Well that came out of nowhere! Google surprised us all by announcing Android N. In this episode, Ty Smith and I dig into all the newly announced features, discuss our impressions of our time using the N Preview, chat about what features didn't make this release that we were hoping to see and more.
Follow Ty on Twitter: @tsmith
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
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Note: Unfortunately due to a couple of issues on my end, this episode's audio quality is a little off. My apologies 😕.
Most device reviews happen at launch time, but often our impressions change as we spend significant time actually using the device.
In this episode, fellow Android developer Brian Griffey and I discuss our wildly differing experience of actually using the Nexus 5X and 6P as a daily driver for the last three plus months.
Follow Brian on Twitter: @briangriffey
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Warning: this episode contains mild coarse language.
Jesse Wilson and I break down all of 2015's news and developments by doling out awards to the tech space's newsworthy people, products and companies.
But some of the awards include:
Also, the post-show sees an Internet first, with two douchebags discussing Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Follow Jesse on Twitter: @jessewilson.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
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This Nexus 6P is terrific. It's the best Nexus phone ever. Or is it? Well, yes it is.
But fellow Android developer Jerrell Mardis and I still find much to talk about. We cover the good, the great, and even manage to find some things to complain about.
Follow Jerrell on Twitter: @jerrellmardis
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Renowned Apple analyst and iMore.com Editor in Chief Rene Ritchie joins me in part 2 of my discussion about, as I see them, "worrying Apple trends".
Rene brings his astute Apple insight to many of the previous episode's talking points including whether the base line of Apple's products is becoming a bit less appealing than they previously have been, a Magic Mouse that can't be used whilst being charged and much more.
Follow Rene on Twitter: @reneritchie.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
Guest Russell Ivanovic joins me to discuss a variety of Apple's not-so-great recent trends. We dig into a great many of the warts increasingly appearing around Apple's ecosystem, including the experience when first running a device, the less than universally acclaimed new Apple TV remote, the stagnant App Store and app review process, general product stability and more.
We also chat about Apple's ever expanding and confusing product lines, Jony Ive's accountability, as well as discussing Apple's trend to make their cheapest product versions less appealing than was previously the case.
Follow Russel on Twitter: @rustyshelf
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Listen to Russell every week on the Material Podcast on Relay FM.
Guest Phil Nickinson and I chat about all of the announcements from Google's September '15 event. We break down all the new hardware announcements, Google's decision to target the 6P and 5X at different segments on the market and Google's confidence with the camera. We also discuss Nexus Protect, the new Chromecasts, what we didn't see that we were expecting to and more.
This episode is brought to you by my app Action Launcher 3. Go on, leave me a nice review!
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Influential journalist Charles Arthur joins me for a discussion on the lay of the land for Android's traditional OEMs. Inspired by Charles' Premium Android hits the wall post, we dig into the revenues and shipments of these Android devices, dig into why these devices are collectively seeing a declining market share, as well as Apple's position in the market and the potential future implications for premium Android devices.
This episode is brought to you by Action Launcher 3 for Android. Go on, leave me a review (I like the number 5).
Follow Charles on Twitter: @charlesarthur.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
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Supreme iOS/Mac engineer and Apple aficionado Ben Sandofsky joins me to break down Apple's September 2015 event. We dig into all the details of the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV announcements, with detailed discussion on why the iPad Pro was even necessary, the Internet's reaction to the Apple Pencil, the types of games we may and may not see on Apple TV, our fears for 3D Touch and more.
We also give our initial impressions of what was the most unexpected and perhaps bigggest announcement, that of the iPhone Upgrade Program, as well as discussing iCloud's stingy data caps, the 16GB base model iPhone and whether Apple's vastly increased product count and increasinly long keynotes are a worrying sign for the company.
To close out the show, Ben gives some insight into his time as a technical advisor for HBO's Silicon Valley series.
This episode is brought to you by Action Launcher 3 for Android. Go on, leave me a review (I like the number 5).
Follow Ben on Twitter: @sandofsky
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Jake Wharton (aka the most in-demand Android engineer on the planet) takes over the show and proceeds to interview yours truly about all things Link Bubble, my now former app. We discuss everything about Link Bubble, from how I conceived the app all the way up to my selling of the app and everything in between.
Some of the many topics discussed include the early prototyping of the app, my decision making process in applying for a patent on the app, my thoughts on the vocal folk who felt the app was outrageously priced at launch, the companion app TapPath, what it was like for me to temporarily trade in my engineering hat and try my hand at becoming a deal making executive, and a whole heap more.
This episode is brought to you by Action Launcher 3 for Android. Go on, leave me a review (I like the number 5).
Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeWharton
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
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Pitchforks at the ready, as Android developer and kernel tweaker Francisco Franco and I have a lengthy chat about the iPhone 6! We start off talking about how we came to spend time with the latest iPhone, and then dig into three main topics: the hardware, iOS and the platform's apps.
We discuss our experiences using an iPhone on a daily basis, the things we miss most coming from Android, areas where the iPhone is superior, Apple's restrictive APIs and more. Oh, and Francisco demonstrates that he may in fact have a future in politics when we discuss what phone we envisage our SIM card being plugged into on Christmas Day once this year's Nexus phones have shipped.
Follow Francisco on Google+: +FranciscoFranco1990
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy
Guest JR Raphael and I discuss all the week's news. We break down M's official name, as well as discussing the potential implications for future Android version numbers and logos, and of course discuss this week's updated M Preview release itself.
I have my first podcast mini-rant about over-the-air updates of preview releases, and also speculate about a potential reason we have seen M's finalized APIs released earlier this year.
We also chat about on the possibility of multiple Nexus devices for this year, and dig into Google's newly announced OnHub device, including my irresponsible speculation as to why Nest didn't release this product. Finally, JR shares a few thoughts about OnePlus.
Follow JR on Twitter: @jrraphael.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.
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Guest Ron Amadeo and I discuss all the Alphabet related news of the week. We dig into why we think Google have made this move, discuss Sundar Pichai's continued rise, speculate idly on what companies Google might consider acquiring given their new structure and more.
Ron also provides some insight and impressions on the newly announced Galaxy Note 5, and we close things out discussing Stagefright and HTC's financial woes.
Follow Ron on Twitter: @ronamadeo.
Follow me on Twitter: @chrismlacy.