So, about this interest of mine in Apple
A healthy proportion of the podcasts I listen to are focused on Apple Inc. I’d say healthy is the right word there. I get a lot out of following this company; as they say on the Bombshell podcast, it’s the thing I follow like a sport that isn’t a sport. It’s not that I write code for the Mac, or the iPad. I don’t use many applications outside the norm, though I’m still a devotee of Scrivener for my research writing. I have found, over the years, that the products and services that combine to shape my computing experience say various things about who I am, and how I try to live my life.
I try to be organised. My Apple stuff gives me ample opportunities to organise, and reorganise, the ways I used it. The lack of clutter on my iMac desktop. The way my iPhone apps are organised. The menubar and the dock. Keyboard shortcuts: I'm all over that stuff. The way it’s all arranged on my desk, to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing, both accessible and minimalist.
I like there to be connections between parts of my life. And I like the way different Apple devices talk to each other, sharing data and settings, to help it feel like a relatively cohesive overall experience. They call this an ecosystem, and one where you get more out of each device as you add to your collection and their overall utility increases. That’s fine with me, and for the most part it works.
I like trying to understand aspects of communities and networks, and maybe even being part of them. There’s a whole lot I’ll never know about how computers and devices work. Other people are far more invested in the Apple way of life than I am, because it helps them pay the bills and put food on the table. But I’m there on the periphery, using some of the same products, deciding how they can best play a part in my life.
I like podcasts that help me feel good about the things I like, such as being organised, connected and engaged. The Apple flavoured podcasts that soaked up so much of my listening time over the 10 days in question do all of that. There’s Cortex, with its fortnightly discussion of which calendar app is best, what the optimal balance should be between work and home life, and how best to survive the pandemic experience. Spread between ATP, Connected, Upgrade and more are various overlapping and interlinked takes on the latest news from Apple and its vast hinterland of developers, competitors, regulators and customers. From Adapt comes a podcast with an agenda: making the case for an iPad first/only lifestyle. The podcasters in question aren’t really fanboys (and very occasionally fangirls), because they are quick to critique and criticise the company. But they care about Apple and they want the best for those who use and develop the platforms and services that are tied to it.
So, in bullet points:
The Apple stuff I use says something to me about myself. For the most part its positive.
I’ve invested a fair amount of money in it all over years, but so be it when it delivers.
Time is a factor too, as it’s nigh-on 16 years since I got my first Mac (an eMac) and iPod, in the summer before I started my Masters.
Using this stuff is enjoyable, and I have a job that allows me to use and deploy all these devices in order to carry out both my creative and administrative work.
This blog post is self-indulgent, of course it is. It’s navel gazing and self-congratulatory. But I’ve stuck with this company, this brand, for a decade and a half and it’s worked out ok. Those various podcast hosts are on my side and I'm on theirs – we’ve got each other’s back.
