SPEAKER_0 [00:00:00]
Dramas, please.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:13]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:20]
This is life
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:22]
with a twist of lemon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:24]
Well, hello, John Kollmeyer.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:25]
Hello, Stanley. How are you? I'm doing good. So I'm I'm actually a little excited about this week's episode because of the list that we compiled over the course of the week.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:36]
One thing that's not on here is, any election updates, which I think is gonna be a a key feature to this episode. What do you think?
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:43]
Right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:44]
Less politics, the better.
SPEAKER_0 [00:00:47]
I actually didn't get any, nasty text messages
SPEAKER_1 [00:00:50]
last week about our episode. So maybe that was You know, that's that's probably because I messed it up, and I, like, overwrote the previous week's episode and I had to go back and get that back up and get my feet all fixed. You're gonna fire me soon, Stan. Yeah. You you definitely fumbled the ball in that release, but it is what it is. So I was rushing.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:08]
I am people do good work.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:11]
I'm curious. Did you see I posted on my blog this last week? I did.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:15]
Oh, no comment. Single comment from you. Everything you loved about the iPhone 12 Pro.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:21]
Yeah. What'd you think of the format? I I wrote it a little differently this time. It was easy to read. Okay. Well, there you go. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:29]
I, I I don't wanna spill the beans here, but I'm gonna reveal another blog article before the end of this episode.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:34]
First though, John yeah. First though, I wanna talk about
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:38]
your continued gaming consternation.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:43]
Well,
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:44]
this last week has been a positive.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:46]
Okay. Well, let's let's back up. Is there any update from Amazon on your Xbox series x? Nope.
SPEAKER_1 [00:01:53]
None. Alright. Nothing at all.
SPEAKER_0 [00:01:56]
So this is the one you preordered to receive on launch day, which launch day was a week ago. Yep. Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:04]
Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I there Walmart
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:07]
got
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:08]
a couple of PlayStation fives, and I literally mean a couple. Like, I'm convinced that they had only a couple,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:15]
and they dropped those. Did
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:17]
you have any luck?
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:18]
Nope.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:19]
Generally,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:20]
most of the time, the website crashed before I could get to checkout.
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:25]
I don't know that I ever got to checkout
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:28]
on
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:29]
the PlayStation five release day. I I got to checkout. I did not get any further than checkout. Right. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:36]
this was weird. They they released a batch at noon, three, six, and 9PM.
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:43]
Yep. And I I guess it was to spread out the load or to make it more equitable for people to get It didn't work. Yeah. It definitely didn't work. What was amazing to me was at twelve and 3PM,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:53]
the website,
SPEAKER_0 [00:02:54]
like walmart.com,
SPEAKER_1 [00:02:55]
flat out crashed. Like, you couldn't even get there to find a car There was an error error message on a white page.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:04]
And I I continue to be amazed by this because this happened
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:07]
on the actual PlayStation five launch day with just about every retailer that sold it. It also happened with the Xbox,
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:15]
including
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:16]
on microsoft.com.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:18]
And I'm I I just I don't I don't understand
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:22]
why this Amazon did not go down.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:24]
They just fumbled their preorders.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:26]
Well, that's not that's not entirely true. If you remember the day of on the Xbox one, we got, what was it? The dog the dog image No. Sure. For a bit where they got overloaded. Now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:36]
it didn't grind to a halt in the same way, but they definitely were like, that particular page was unavailable. And I will say that Amazon
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:42]
at least distinguished between
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:45]
the,
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:46]
like, the page for the Xbox Series x and the rest of the website. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:52]
I wonder how much money Amazon loses
SPEAKER_1 [00:03:55]
per minute of downtime.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:57]
Oh, it's it's gotta it's gotta be unbelievable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:03:59]
I mean, how much that is. But just just rewinding here for a minute, I cannot fathom
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:05]
how bad
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:07]
all of these experiences are. It doesn't matter if it's Target, Best Buy, GameStop,
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:12]
Walmart, Microsoft,
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:13]
or Amazon.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:14]
New Egg. New
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:16]
Egg. Yeah. Yeah. New Egg too. They were they were all garbage. I mean, they were absolutely garbage, and I think it's a miracle.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:22]
It's it's a literal miracle that I somehow snagged
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:25]
two Xbox Series Xs
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:27]
on launch day.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:29]
Yes.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:30]
It is. I snagged the preorder on launch day that was Amazon overselling.
SPEAKER_1 [00:04:36]
I wonder if anybody's suing Amazon for misleading information.
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:40]
I don't I can't do you believe there would be a justification for a lawsuit there? I don't know, man. I don't know. It's 2020, man. You're you're pretty frustrated, so I I'm sure it seems justified though from from that perspective. And I'm not even a gamer. I'm trying to get back into gaming. Yeah. Well, so
SPEAKER_0 [00:04:59]
the the thing that I I just I don't know, man. I I had no confidence that my preorders went through. That was I I told you that's why I got the two that I did because I I literally got the GameStop and the Microsoft one at almost the exact moment. You know? Had two I was multitasking.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:18]
I
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:19]
I didn't feel comfortable canceling either. Unfortunately, our friend Patrick
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:24]
claimed one of them, so it wasn't wasn't a big deal, but Because we thought that I got one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:29]
We well, yeah. We did. We totally did. Otherwise, I would have claimed it. But but if you remember, like, I was
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:35]
more confident in the Microsoft one than I was in the GameStop one because I thought, well, at least Microsoft knows how many they have. Right. You know?
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:43]
But, GameStop GameStop came through. It was fine. And,
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:46]
I will say I shared a little bit of your frustration. Amazon
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:50]
messed up or delayed whatever
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:53]
my launch day controller.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:55]
I ordered an extra controller, and that did not come on launch day.
SPEAKER_0 [00:05:58]
But it came a day late. Yeah. Which, you know, it's not the end of the world. But December 31. Yeah. December 24, whatever it said it was. Oh, I'm so sorry, John.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:09]
So yeah. First, we tried to preorder the PS fives,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:15]
and, like, nobody was getting those. Yep. So that's when we switched to Xbox. And then we all thought we had them secured,
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:22]
Then Xbox
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:24]
doesn't come through
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:26]
with mine or Amazon doesn't come through with mine. So then we try PlayStation five again, three attempts at walmart dot com.
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:36]
Are are you gonna hunt down any Black Friday releases? Because I gotta think some of these are gonna drop on Black Friday.
SPEAKER_1 [00:06:43]
Possibly. I get notified
SPEAKER_0 [00:06:45]
of releases for a bunch of different online stores. Okay. I think I think that's your next best chance is to snag one there. I have heard of some people getting lucky going into physical stores, like retail locations. Who does that? I I don't know. Apparently, people do. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:04]
I I've I've heard of that. I've read about that. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:07]
maybe that's worth it. I don't know. I think I would find that more frustrating.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:11]
I have not been able on, like, target.com
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:14]
to find
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:15]
any available,
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:16]
like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:18]
machines anywhere.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:20]
Right. So because I was totally ready, John, even if you weren't, to hop in the car and to go buy a physical one so that I could They were in stock. That I could send it to you. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:29]
Yeah, man. I mean, at this point, like, I'm I'm so bummed for you that I would I would, you know, go out and find
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:37]
So I should start checking your zip code and 50 miles from there? Yeah. I mean, do it. Hey, whatever you gotta do, man. I'm I'm here for you. I I will support you. So you've been playing squadrons. I think we talked about that last week, didn't we? Well, I think I alluded that I had it because I don't know had I had I actually turned it on by the time we recorded it? I guess maybe I had.
SPEAKER_0 [00:07:55]
Yeah. I think so. And I had started going through the prologue, I believe. I tell you what, it's
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:01]
it's a really cool game, and the graphics are just unbelievable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:06]
I am really glad that I have a 120 hertz television. I can't remember if I told you that before, but I I feel like the quality of this picture
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:15]
is just so smooth from frame to frame.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:18]
It's it's really unbelievable.
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:20]
I've continued to play that. I don't I don't play it every night. I I just haven't had the time, but I really do enjoy it. I I spent some time on a couple training missions
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:29]
so that I wasn't as awful as I it seemed like I was, and I probably still am pretty awful. But at least, you know, I got a chance to get my bearings and all that. But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:39]
the soundtrack to this thing is unreal, man. It is so good. It's like My guess is John Williams didn't come
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:46]
come up with it. Right? I you know, I haven't actually looked it up. I should look it Probably not. But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:51]
I had I had a couple weird issues
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:54]
with my setup. I was being prompted for my password,
SPEAKER_0 [00:08:58]
my my Microsoft password,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:01]
every time I I turned it on, and it it was just driving me bonkers. And I I maybe that's normal, but it didn't seem normal to me, and it took me a while. It was definitely not obvious. I found out how to how to disable that. I feel like actually there have been a a number of things like that that are just not
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:19]
obvious to a newcomer,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:21]
and there's no paperwork in in the box. Like, there's nothing
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:25]
to tell me
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:26]
what what to do, you know? And and so I was I was mortified when this happened, but
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:32]
I didn't know how to turn it on. The first the first time it came on, right, like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:37]
it I plugged it in. It just it just went. But then Patrick
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:40]
texted me that it was the the hot cross bun icon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:45]
The, the circle of the XXX. Yeah. Yeah. That one. It looks like a hot cross bun. Anyhow,
SPEAKER_0 [00:09:51]
apparently, that was a button on the front. I had no idea. I what I was doing was I was ejecting the disc and putting it back in to wake it up. Either one. Yeah. Yeah. No good. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:01]
you know what real gamers do? What? They just leave it on all the time? No. They they use the button that's on the controller.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:08]
That will wake the whole console all up? Yes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:11]
Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:12]
Well, I you learn something new every day. I this
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:15]
I think I I don't know if there's it's just none of it's been obvious to me,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:20]
and I
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:22]
I feel so dumb.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:23]
Like, I feel I I'm so I'm a software engineer. Right? Like, I shouldn't be this clueless.
SPEAKER_1 [00:10:30]
So, nope. One password integration on the Xbox that we know of. So Oh, man. If that if that's a thing, that would be epic.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:38]
Because I I'll tell you what,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:40]
I'll
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:41]
just put this out here.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:43]
The the strain that this device has put on my marriage
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:47]
is unreal because I have a 64 character
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:51]
password that includes,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:53]
you know, funky Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:55]
Special characters. Right. And it when you're trying to enter that in with the controller,
SPEAKER_0 [00:10:59]
it's it is just awful, and they it doesn't show you what characters you've entered in. So every time I had to punch it in, I had missus Lemon do an Audible character by character
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:09]
to punch it in. Yeah. Do they at least show you
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:13]
the the password on the screen? Do you have an option to view it real? No. There's no. It's not there. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:18]
So you make one mistake and and, like, you're starting over. It it's not fun.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:24]
So I I don't know. Maybe maybe I don't need a 64 character password.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:28]
Maybe that's part of the problem. But I think even at 32 or even at 16,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:33]
that's not gonna be fun at all, you know? No.
SPEAKER_1 [00:11:37]
This is for people whose passwords are password.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:40]
Yeah. Well, exactly. Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:44]
Had Quirky. I've I've had my moments. I've had my moments.
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:47]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:49]
all hope has not been lost. Now I I struggled with this whole getting a console with my Switch,
SPEAKER_0 [00:11:55]
and and it sounds like you did a little bit too.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:00]
So, yes, I bought an in handle switch because
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:03]
Stan talked me into it to
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:06]
basically
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:08]
I don't know. It was like shopping therapy for not being able to find any other console.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:13]
And and for still having a hole in your roof.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:16]
Yeah. Let's not even go there this week.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:19]
So, yes, I'm the proud owner of a Switch from GameStop
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:24]
in Cedar Rapids.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:26]
I found it on the website, and apparently, they do same day home delivery.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:30]
Which is wild and crazy and cool. I guess, we're And they use DoorDash to make the delivery. So Hey. I mean, DoorDash will do anything, I guess.
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:41]
Did
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:42]
was there a, like, a premium charge for the the home delivery?
SPEAKER_0 [00:12:46]
Yeah. But it was, like, 50% off. So I paid, like, $4 to get it delivered. So Oh, that's that's a that's a no brainer. I I totally do that. So the Nintendo Switch then came a couple hours later?
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:58]
No.
SPEAKER_1 [00:12:59]
The games
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:00]
and Joy Cons
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:02]
and a separate or, like, a replacement pre owned right Joy Con came
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:09]
within two hours.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:10]
Wait. Wait. Why did you need why did you need a replacement right Joy Con? I didn't. I didn't order it.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:16]
So it comes. I'm looking, and I'm like, there's no switch here.
SPEAKER_0 [00:13:22]
Okay. And that was that was the important thing. Like, no matter how that played out, that was the one one important thing. So did you
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:29]
did you panic, or did you, like, I just give up? I just I just called. I did I think I said told missus Kollmeyer, like, my luck I have no luck whatsoever.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:39]
I was terrified that it was gonna be gone. So I placed the order online, then they don't send it, and then somebody else ordered it or bought it in store or something like that. So that Out of out of my fear. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:50]
So I call him,
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:52]
and the guy's like,
SPEAKER_1 [00:13:56]
there wasn't a switch on that order. I'm like, I spent this was, like, almost a $500 order there. There better have been a switch on there. But he's like, let me go look.
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:08]
And to his credit,
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:10]
he himself
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:12]
drove out and made the swap.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:14]
Oh, okay. Well, that's that's that's cool. So you got it, and And I got rid of the replacement rate Joy Con.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:22]
That's just so random, man. That's just such a random
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:26]
replacement part. So what games did you get? So I got
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:31]
Mario Kart eight
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:33]
and Super Mario Odyssey.
SPEAKER_0 [00:14:36]
And what I mean, you wanna give a preliminary verdict here?
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:41]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:42]
Super Mario Odyssey is awesome,
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:45]
and
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:47]
I
SPEAKER_1 [00:14:49]
have put probably a couple hours on that now. And I hit a very frustrating point, which means it's a good Mario game. But it's given me good gives me vibes of Super Mario 64 where you jump through the paintings and stuff like that. It's really well done.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:04]
Great game that
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:06]
kids can pick up and do it and still challenging enough for people like us to fight through it. Well, look, man. Everything's challenging for me when it comes to gaming.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:16]
Right.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:17]
And then
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:18]
Mario Kart is
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:20]
true to Mario Kart going back to '64 at least.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:25]
And
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:27]
we played that the night I got it after I finished smoking ribs,
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:31]
and we split two races to two races. And then missus Colmire played with me, So I actually got missus Colmire to play a video game. Nice. Now would you classify Mario Kart as a party game?
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:43]
Probably.
SPEAKER_1 [00:15:44]
Yeah. It seems like arcade racer.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:46]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:47]
It's, you know, there's not a lot to it, but it's it's just fun. It's just good clean fun.
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:54]
I I don't know that it has the longest, like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:15:58]
game life, you know, when you when you play, like, because you get to a point where, like, okay, I've done this.
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:03]
But, which is kinda where I'm at. However, it was fun racing you. It was fun racing you while talking to you, which I think is the key about that whole, like, competitive play. So apparently,
SPEAKER_0 [00:16:15]
there's, like, a phone app that you can actually chat with your online party through. Yeah. I just can't imagine it's gonna be much better than FaceTiming you. Right. So I don't know. We we could definitely try it, but what what was the I mean, was the tipping point that you didn't get the Xbox, or or was there something else? Because, like, I I've been telling you, you should get a Switch, I I feel like, for a very long time. Forever. Yeah. Yeah. So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:41]
yeah, not getting the Xbox and then failing these PS five attempts.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:46]
I
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:48]
looked okay. Maybe I can find a Switch somewhere because I'm, like, in a gaming mood. I wanted to play my Xbox on release day.
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:55]
So yeah. So I started looking
SPEAKER_1 [00:16:58]
for switches to see if anywhere available, and this came up. So These are these are very waffled, though. Yes. And you you
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:05]
talked me into it because Stan Lomond makes me spend too much money. Well,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:11]
so this is a very different kind of console than the Xbox, and it is also I mean, you play a very different kind of game, in my opinion, than you do on the Xbox. And I think the thing about Nintendo,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:23]
the games that they themselves make,
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:26]
that IP is so high quality. They have great storytelling.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:30]
They've got great characters.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:32]
They just put together some really truly
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:34]
fun games.
SPEAKER_0 [00:17:36]
And I I don't know. Have you been mostly playing the Switch on the TV, or have you been playing it in in hand too?
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:42]
So I've been mostly playing on the TV. So with Odyssey,
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:46]
it makes use of the Joy Con motions a lot. Okay. You can play it handheld, but, it's just
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:53]
I think it's a better experience when you play it on the TV. But I did I did take it out of the
SPEAKER_1 [00:17:59]
TV dock and played upstairs on the couch for a while yesterday, especially, like, the NES
SPEAKER_1 [00:18:05]
emulator games. So I played some Super Mario Brothers and some baseball and stuff like that. Okay. Good deal. Good deal. So I I think I
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:14]
Nintendo has found a sweet spot in
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:17]
this dockable
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:19]
console that, quite honestly, looks pretty good on a television.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:23]
Yep. It's not like four k graphics or anything. I don't think it has to be. But it also has that portability element, which which I just it adds another dimension to it for in terms of relaxing. So I would routinely, like, go grab the Switch, sit in my chair in my office,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:37]
and play Mario Deluxe, which is a fantastic game, by the way. If you like that kind of classic platformer,
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:44]
totally recommend. I mean, if you're playing classic Super Mario, this will be up your alley.
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:49]
But I I don't know. I think I think there's definitely I'm convinced
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:53]
that there is
SPEAKER_0 [00:18:55]
room in my life for both devices, which means there's room in your life for both devices too.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:00]
And
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:01]
Just becoming an expensive end of the year, Stan.
SPEAKER_1 [00:19:05]
Well, I mean, what are you gonna do? Right? Unless if assuming the Xbox ships this year.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:10]
It it is I've John, I just know it's gonna ship. I can feel it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:14]
You know, the
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:16]
these games are not cheap either. It's it's a No. They've come up. It it really the whole thing can add up. I think the struggle that I've had
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:24]
with the Nintendo Switch is I want to buy so many games.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:29]
Yeah. There there are just so many titles that look awesome,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:33]
and I
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:35]
you know, if they're discounted for $10 on Amazon, I'm gonna pull the trigger because why not? Right? And so
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:42]
my credit card's gotten a little activity this month. I'm I'm not gonna lie.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:46]
But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:48]
yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:48]
Well, John, I'm I'm still rooting for you with the Xbox. I'm glad you're happy with the Switch.
SPEAKER_0 [00:19:53]
And Yeah. Miss this one. Halo yet? I haven't. No. Because I Okay. Like, you're just waiting for me? I well, yeah. I don't I won't say that I'm waiting for you. Maybe I am. It's more or less. I I just
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:04]
I I don't think I can
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:07]
focus on more than two games simultaneously,
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:10]
which is what I'm doing right now, because I'm playing Luigi's Mansion on the Nintendo Switch. By the way, that is an awesome game. That is on my Christmas list. That it's it's
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:18]
way more fun than I thought it was gonna be. And then I'm I'm playing Squadrons
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:23]
on the other, and I'm working on the story in Squadrons
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:27]
very slowly. But I I don't know that I've got room for
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:30]
a third game in there. My my mental RAM is just too limited.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:35]
That's fair. But I don't know. You know?
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:39]
It's I I will say one thing that keeps tripping me up is the controller, the button order is different.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:44]
Yep. And moving back and forth, it trips me up. It trips me up in the worst way. So
SPEAKER_1 [00:20:50]
Yeah. I could see that happening.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:52]
Alright. Well, I'm glad you've joined the ranks of the Switch.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:56]
Let's, let's shift gears.
SPEAKER_0 [00:20:58]
Did you upgrade your Mac OS?
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:01]
I did. Did I do that on Saturday or Sunday? I did it over the weekend in case something went wrong. I think it was on Sunday because you were just you're very
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:10]
Saturday, I was Non sloppy. And
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:15]
Saturday's the day I got my Switch.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:16]
So Sunday, I must upgrade Big
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:19]
Now, I I legitimately didn't think we were gonna talk about Big Sur. Sur this week because it sounded like you were going to wait,
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:25]
like, a month or something before you you did the upgrade.
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:30]
Well, you didn't have any
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:32]
glaring issues. I've run into a couple,
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:35]
but
SPEAKER_1 [00:21:36]
they've been minor.
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:38]
All all the bugs I've encountered have been minor as well. I I would say
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:42]
I I just keep reflecting on how
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:45]
awful the Catalina upgrade
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:47]
was. Right. It was it was so painful. Like, even GA was just so painful
SPEAKER_0 [00:21:53]
that I was holding my breath. Now, the the so the the thing I was telling you, had another blog article that's coming I I drafted a similar article about Big Sur,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:03]
to kinda give my my take. Because I don't know it'll be interesting to see what the upgrade numbers are like for this operating system,
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:09]
but I I believe that last year, the Catalina upgrade
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:13]
gave a lot of Mac users
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:15]
pause.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:16]
I I I really think that that, like, caused everyone to think, maybe I don't need to be on the dot o release. Now granted Right. This ended up being eleven dot o dot one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:26]
So there were apparently some bugs that they wanted to squash. But what's what's your first impression?
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:32]
So overall, I really like it. I think it's a lot of polish.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:37]
Looks refreshed,
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:39]
but still same Mac OS.
SPEAKER_1 [00:22:43]
I have noticed my battery draining faster, so I don't know if that's related or not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:48]
Oh, interesting. So I have not noticed
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:52]
particular
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:54]
degradation in my battery performance.
SPEAKER_0 [00:22:57]
Did you out of curiosity, did you turn on
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:00]
I I don't think this is on by default, but I could be wrong. Did you turn on the optimized battery charging?
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:05]
I did.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:07]
Was that just in this release that that I turned on? I thought it was. I might have to clarify my my write up if it's not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:14]
The the reason I ask is because I I do feel like I've noticed that when I plug it in, it doesn't immediately start charging
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:21]
with
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:22]
like, since the, since the upgrade, I suspect that's related. I I don't know
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:27]
don't know for sure, I suspect that's related. So, yeah, Big Sur, I described it as a fresh coat of paint to the operating system.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:35]
And I think that
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:37]
that analogy
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:39]
holds true
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:40]
the more I think about it because I don't I'm not sensing a lot of functional
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:45]
changes in this operating system.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:50]
So
SPEAKER_1 [00:23:53]
connecting to the AirPods is better.
SPEAKER_0 [00:23:55]
But, again, I still think that's just a fresh coat of paint. Right? Like, it's a little smoother control
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:01]
in the menu bar. The menu bar got some love. It's got got its little control center, and
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:06]
widgets have returned to the Mac. I like how everybody was saying like Yes. This is widgets
SPEAKER_1 [00:24:12]
were kinda even in the last operating system, but
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:16]
Well, I I mean, yeah. You had yeah. There was car
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:20]
drawer thing. Yeah. This they're more aligned with the iOS widgets. Right? So the idea much better. They seem more functional. So Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:28]
But it's it still amuses me a little bit because macOS
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:32]
used to have widgets way back when dashboard was a thing. Yep. And everybody's talking like these are new.
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:38]
But I again, like, I to me, this this isn't that's not a killer feature. That's not a I don't I don't fly that side bar thing out
SPEAKER_0 [00:24:46]
frequently enough for it to to really, I don't know, change my day to day. I haven't as far as I can tell, these don't I can't drag them onto my desktop either for any kinda, like, permanent positioning. So Alright. They're more like the iPad widgets.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:02]
I I
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:03]
in my little write up that I will release on Thursday,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:07]
I when when this episode drops, I said that the most significant thing for the average user
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:13]
is the messages upgrade.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:15]
Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:16]
And, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:19]
this does unify messages with iOS. So you've got all of the features that you've come to love. I can finally get to my Memojis. Like, there's there's a lot of pluses on the Mac
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:30]
side being aligned here.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:32]
But but otherwise, I think all of this is mostly aesthetic. And I got to thinking about
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:38]
why
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:39]
why it's such a like, this is a big deal. Right? It's eleven point o. We've been with ten point o for the last nineteen years.
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:47]
Right. And I and I think I think this is the operating system
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:51]
that its its main feature
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:54]
is not for anyone on upgrade day,
SPEAKER_0 [00:25:58]
which is I I think it's because of Apple Silicon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:01]
And I was I was thinking back harkening back to my old Mac days, and you probably don't remember,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:06]
OS 10.4
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:08]
Tiger.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:09]
That might have been before your time. Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:26:11]
I remember Snow Leopard.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:13]
Yeah. So so Tiger
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:15]
was a unification of the
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:18]
the visual language. Right? Like, a lot of things became streamlined visually because before that, there were multiple
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:23]
UI frameworks in in Mac OS.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:26]
But the other the other killer feature was it was the first version of OS 10 that was ready for Intel.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:33]
And this is the first version of of Mac OS that's ready for Apple Silicon. And I I really think that the bulk of the change,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:41]
we aren't supposed to see because you and I are running Intel Macs. And I I think that's okay. Right? Like Sure. This this didn't this release didn't cost me anything. I you know, because you don't pay for operating systems anymore.
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:52]
But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:53]
I think it helps explain to me at least why, one, I'm not seeing
SPEAKER_0 [00:26:57]
issues because I think this is largely a Catalina foundation
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:01]
after Catalina got smoothed out, and it's it's a fresh coat of paint. I will say I'm not crazy about all the icons.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:07]
I I don't I don't like the gradients on a lot of these.
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:11]
Yeah. So I noticed that, especially
SPEAKER_1 [00:27:14]
on, like, messages and Safari.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:19]
So Safari doesn't bother me. Messages and FaceTime, in my opinion, are the most egregious side. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:26]
think mail
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:27]
it it very well could be the green. I think I haven't even looked at mail.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:31]
Yeah. Mail mail has this similar, like, gradient color transition issue that
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:36]
messages has going on. I think the the problem
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:40]
ultimately, the problem with messages is the bubble isn't all white.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:44]
Right? That green, like, bleeds over top of it, and it just I don't know. It's just jarring. The other thing maybe this is the thing that upset me the most about this release. They changed the sound when you empty the trash can.
SPEAKER_0 [00:27:56]
Yeah. The recycle bin. You, like, can't even hear it. They changed sounds across the board. Even the startup sound is different. They did. Although, the startup sound is back. The startup sound has been gone for a very long time.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:07]
Not long.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:08]
It's it's been I think if you look around, it's been pretty long, John. Really?
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:12]
Yeah. Yeah. It really has. So,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:16]
apparently, this was an accessibility
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:17]
thing that they did because,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:21]
you know, folks who are,
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:24]
blind
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:25]
can hear when they their machine actually starts because you don't have any other way to, like, ascertain that. So I thought that was neat, but that that did make a comeback. I find the trash can
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:34]
sound very unsatisfying.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:36]
That one was was a little jarring to me.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:39]
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 [00:28:40]
But I I feel like I'm nitpicking. Right? And then again, that's that's what I do. But There are there's a sound notification when somebody does a tap back on your messages message now.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:51]
Oh. Which I've not noticed before.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:54]
Okay.
SPEAKER_0 [00:28:56]
That's probably a good thing. I've noticed there are some, like, when I'm typing and I don't have an input focused, there's sound there that's much more pronounced. I feel like there was sound there in Catalina, but it was it was very dull. Right. I
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:09]
kinda like the empty trash can sound now. Yeah. It it really is bad, isn't it? Yeah.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:15]
Did you notice it before I said anything?
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:18]
No. You said something before I installed it. Oh, okay. Alright. Well So there you go.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:24]
So the the other kinda, I guess, pseudo killer feature of this operating system that's not available for us is the ability to use
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:31]
iPad and iPhone apps,
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:34]
and you that requires Apple silicon. So it's a combination of the operating system and Apple silicon.
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:38]
Sure. That again goes back to this whole, I think Apple silicon is the killer feature here, which leads me to my next thing, John. Have you did you look at any of the links I've sent you over the last week about
SPEAKER_0 [00:29:49]
the performance of this chip?
SPEAKER_1 [00:29:52]
Not in any depth. You're more about nerdy numbers than I am. I just Oh, man. Produce a podcast and surf the Internet. So This this is a seriously fast little machine.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:04]
I am genuinely impressed. There was a tweet that said something on an Intel Mac took thirty nanoseconds,
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:13]
And then on the silicon
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:15]
running
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:16]
the actual ARM optimized stuff, it took, like, four.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:20]
And running Intel optimized stuff, it took eight.
SPEAKER_1 [00:30:24]
So
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:25]
Yeah. There there's this, like, consistent theme that's popping up. It's basically
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:30]
it it looks like many Intel based applications actually run faster on the emulation layer over top of the Apple silicon than they do on an Intel
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:39]
chip, which is
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:41]
it doesn't make sense. Right? Like, it's mind boggling.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:44]
What shocked me, and I I mean, literally shocked me, was the Verge
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:48]
did a review of the Mac mini, the MacBook Pro, and the MacBook Air.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:53]
And they threatened to give it a 10 out of 10 score. Wow.
SPEAKER_0 [00:30:58]
Yeah. The verge likes to rip on Apple most of the time. Well, they're they're definitely critical. What there was one factor that stopped them on these devices, and it was that stupid front camera, which I already griped about,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:12]
because it's still seven twenty p, and it's still largely garbage.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:15]
Yep.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:17]
But I think that just speaks to these are really, really powerful machines,
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:21]
and they're
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:23]
they just seem impressive. And I I I'll be completely honest with you. If I buy one, I'm probably gonna buy the MacBook Air
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:29]
instead of the MacBook Pro.
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:31]
Which is crazy because you are the one who buys the lemon edition. Everything all maxed out as high as we can go. I I do tend to buy a, you know, pro hardware. What's interesting to me is that the actual chips in the three models I just described
SPEAKER_1 [00:31:46]
are all the same. All the same. Yeah. The MacBook Pro has a fan. That's its killer feature. Did you send me the thing that says, like, it takes a lot to get this fan to actually
SPEAKER_0 [00:31:58]
turn on? That was in the verge article. Yeah. They had to actually work on it, which I like, I there's a part of me that doesn't believe it because the Intel chip fans, they they spin on When you're on sorry. Yeah. Like, they're they're constantly spinning. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:12]
the other thing that I read too, this is on Dieter Bones' review of
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:17]
the MacBook Air on the verge,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:19]
was that that even prolonged,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:21]
like,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:22]
high end processing
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:24]
with the MacBook Air did not make it uncomfortable to touch.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:28]
Also, not something you could say about Intel based Macs right now. Yep. So I'm I'm just fascinated.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:36]
My my dilemma, I think I I would've so I've got two factors here. Right? Is that when
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:42]
an architecture change happens,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:44]
there are a lot of kinks to work out.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:46]
And
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:47]
my first architecture change with Apple
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:50]
was mostly smooth, but I I also had some serious problems with that laptop,
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:55]
about four months after I bought it.
SPEAKER_0 [00:32:58]
And and they wound up they replaced the whole motherboard. I think that was in part. I don't know how much you remember. There was the Core Duo and the Core two Duo, and the Core Duo was super buggy. It was the 32 bit version. The Core two Duo was the 64 bit one. Right. And it was so much better.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:13]
Once I swapped out my whole my whole board and I went I got the Core two Duo, it was a better machine.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:19]
But I so I'm weird with that. I I kinda wanna give it a little bit of time, but I I cannot decide if I need to keep an Intel based Mac or not.
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:29]
And that that is maybe the thing that's holding me back from pulling the trigger on one of these.
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:35]
So,
SPEAKER_1 [00:33:36]
like, the only issue would be if something didn't run on the emulation layer. Right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:42]
Well, yeah, the the thing is I don't know
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:45]
I don't know how
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:47]
widespread the emulation layer is. And what I mean by that is, like, there's there's a bunch of stuff that I still use in the command line that's compiled,
SPEAKER_0 [00:33:53]
and I don't know if Rosetta will run Rosetta two rather, will run that or not. I I'm sure it'll work for a bundled app. Sure.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:02]
But but that's kinda that's one of the things I'm waiting to see. I'm also waiting to see some native drops of
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:09]
apps that are important to me. So Audio Hijack that we use just got an update tonight for Apple Silicon. I'm waiting for Visual Studio Code. I'd like to see a Node JS,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:19]
you know, release
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:20]
that, supports
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:22]
that. And and I I can probably get away with a lot of the things I wanna do using Docker,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:27]
which supposedly has better support in Catalina. But I have haven't I haven't tested any of that yet. So Big Sur. Not Catalina. Big Sur. Gosh. I'm swapping my words around. Big Sur. Big Sur. But,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:38]
I I'm I'm genuinely impressed with the numbers. I think Apple
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:43]
might have actually been modest
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:45]
with their,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:47]
rather,
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:48]
boisterous
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:49]
way of speaking about this new chip.
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:52]
And nerdy way of speaking.
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:53]
Yeah. Oh, it's it's definitely it was such a great note.
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:56]
96%
SPEAKER_1 [00:34:58]
of people
SPEAKER_0 [00:34:59]
don't care. No. They don't. But
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:02]
yeah. You know, you're absolutely right. But I will say, I think, for for a long time, my recommendation was that most people should get an iPad.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:10]
I think that still holds true. However,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:13]
the fact that this laptop runs cooler for longer and can do more,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:19]
in terms of speed and performance,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:23]
probably pivots
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:24]
that a little bit, I think, in terms of of Now,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:28]
what I'm thinking in in my mind is, like, if you are
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:31]
if you are not actually a pro user and you're looking at, an iPad Pro,
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:37]
then then maybe you should be looking at the MacBook Air. I I don't I don't like, again, I'm not saying this for certain, but I I do think there is a a potential
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:45]
for that case to be made. And that's also one of the reasons why I wanna get my hands on it. Now, if it wasn't for COVID, I would actually be at the Apple Store trying one.
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:53]
Sure. But, you know, it is what it is. So
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:56]
I wonder, I wonder how they'd feel if I
SPEAKER_0 [00:35:59]
got got some of those machines to sweat a little bit with some heavy workloads.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:05]
I'm sure the geeks could figure it out. Probably just reset them. So So
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:11]
any movement in your world on an iPad? I I asked because Lucy actually asked me about it this week.
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:17]
No. Because I've been buying too many video game consoles.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:20]
Okay. Alright. Well, I I don't wanna completely
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:25]
completely let this slip by, but you do know that Apple Arcade has some really great high quality games on it. Right?
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:31]
For a subscription price. Right now, I only play for iCloud storage.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:36]
Well, that I'm sure that'll change here eventually. Right? You're gonna get the Apple one bundle at some point? We'll
SPEAKER_1 [00:36:42]
see.
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:43]
Also, for what it's worth, my new iPhone came with a three month,
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:47]
trial of Apple Arcade. So There you go. You get a new device, you get get three months free. Right?
SPEAKER_0 [00:36:54]
There you go. I think I'm set with the the Switch here for for a while. Yeah. I wonder I'll be curious to see how long it takes you to complete Odyssey.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:01]
And then, you bought Odyssey on on
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:04]
physical media. Yes.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:07]
So what we should do, John, is you and I should actually exchange Luigi and Odyssey.
SPEAKER_1 [00:37:12]
There you go. Alright.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:14]
That means I gotta get my act together and and keep playing.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:19]
Alright, buddy. Let's
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:22]
call that an episode. Alright. Sounds good to me. This is Stan Lemon reminding you to help control the spread of COVID nineteen.
SPEAKER_0 [00:37:29]
Wash your hands and wear a mask.