MPU, Cult of Mac and Mac Geek Gab
Have you decided how you will do backups?
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Iāve enjoyed and learned a great deal over the years to Mac Geek Gab and Mac Power users. More recently Security Now is a must-listen. Steve Gibson has improved his presentation and is now more relaxed and easy to listen to. I enjoyed ATP for a while but eventually tired of the derisive political comments so I donāt listen to them any more.
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One advantage of podcasts is we can fast-forward when the hosts/reporters say something offensive or speculate about things of which they have absolutely no knowledge.
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They avoid politics as much as they reasonably can. I listen to ATP because they have opinions.
I disagree with all of them on many things. The only topic that makes me fast forward is Casey on temperature scales. If I ever meet him, itās gonna be a throw-down and not about which is the ābetterā scale.
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I listened for the first time in a long time recently and canāt understand the appeal. All three hosts are quite repetitive and the amount of time Marco spends opining on subjects of which he is completely ignorant (or operating off several year old information) was significant. It should be my dream podcast - Iām obsessively pedantic like John and Iām a 40-something non-drug-using Phish Phan like Marco but I just found it unbearable. To each his own!
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This is something I have noticed has crept in over time. Iāve been meaning to write to them about it. Heck, I do it myself, too, but Iām aware of it and try to check myself often.
The trouble is there is no peer to this podcast, for me. There was one, once, which shall remain nameless, but I abandoned it in disgust due to the behaviour of one of the hosts. Not on air but directly to me. Iāve lately considered going back, but I just cannot bring myself to.
My perfect podcast would be one where:
- The hosts take their topic seriously,
- but not themselves, and
- have a truly international outlook.
That last is a very rare thing. Honestly, if the hosts are US or UK citizens, they almost have to have lived in another country for at least a year. At the very least have close family that live in other parts of the world.
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Yes, I think so.
I am currently experimenting with using the iPad as my only device. All of my files are stored in iCloud, with the exception of my book project, which I keep in Ulysses. The Ulysses library and backups are saved on the device, and the library also syncs through iCloud.
My archiving and backup workflow on the iPad is as follows:
- I create a PDF copy of anything written in Pages and save it to a dedicated archive folder in iCloud. This ensures that I always retain both the editable Pages file and a fixed PDF version of every document worth keeping.
- I export and save the Ulysses library weekly to an archive folder in iCloud and to Google Drive.
- I maintain a recurring task to compress the folders containing my articles, presentations, and book project. I then upload these compressed folders to Google Drive, where I keep the three most recent versions as archived backups.
This provides several layers of protection:
- The original working files in Ulysses or Pages.
- A weekly exported copy of the Ulysses library saved in archive folders in both iCloud and Google Drive.
- All Pages documents and their PDF versions stored in a dedicated iCloud archive folder.
- Compressed archives of my most important work stored in Google Drive, with only the three most recent versions kept to remain within the free storage limit.
Depending on the size of the compressed folders, uploads may take some time, ~ one hour, but I allow them to run in the background while I continue other work.
This workflow gives me redundant backups at no cost.
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I respect Marcoās knowledge a lot, but Iāve also noticed this recently with him specifically. I almost roll my eyes to say āare you covering this AGAIN?ā But in general I enjoy ATP a lot, certainly for the dynamic between them.
Iām trying not to be ungracious, and I do understand the āno homeworkā conceit of ATP, but itās one of many podcasts I think would benefit from heavy editing to reduce the length by 30-60 minutes without removing any (new) content. Talking off the cuff is difficult to do without being repetitive and thatās why (IMO) so many podcasts are at least 30 minutes longer than they need to be.
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I donāt listen to any podcasts anymore because they all cover the same main topics. This week it will be 40 podcasts talking about what Apple releases. Regarding the length of the podcasts, it is my opinion that they stretch them out to get more advertising dollars. I have to believe with so many podcasts competing for those dollars, the podcasters have had to lower their price to the companies wanting ads.
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If youāre specifically referring to tech podcasts - and it sounds like you are - I agree. Iām down to 2 of those, one being MPU which has very little ānewsā and rumors coverage.
Even the too long tech podcasts Iām not willing to say do so for advertisers. I think they just donāt do a lot of prep on what theyāre going to say and so theyāre working it out āon airā in realtime.
There are lots of non tech podcasts I enjoy that cover all sorts of different things, are well produced, and donāt come across like 2-3 hosts vamping to fill time.
I mean no disrespect to the hosts, but I think AppleInsider is among the guilty. Iāve also noticed too much cynicism by one of the hosts for my taste.
Yes, I was referring to tech shows. I do listen to a few non tech podcasts about the US National Parks and travel in general. With advertising, I think back 10 - 15 years ago when I listened to Leo Laporte a lot when he was one of a few podcasters. Now, due to the easy entry into podcasting, the amount of them have grown exponentially.
Looks like you have everything covered. Sadly a lot of manual work to make up for Appleās, IMO, refusal to include a true backup for iPadOS.
Since you have included Google Drive, if you run Google Photos on your iPad you can also automatically back up your Apple Photos.
Iāve been doing this for several years and find I prefer the features of GP. It has better search, found 96 faces where Apple Photos found 10. And I can share photos with anyone, even people without a Google account.
I detest political discussion in my tech podcasts
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Yes, it takes a little manual work, but not much. Setting up the backups only takes about 15 minutes per week. The only part that requires extra time is uploading large compressed folders to Google Drive. But as I mentioned earlier, while thatās running, I simply turn to other work. In the grand scheme of things, Iām spending about 15 minutes a week on this backup system, which Iād say is an excellent return on investment. 
As for Google Photos, I like the idea of an additional backup, but honestly, Iām not sure I trust Google with my photos. I place Google just barely a little lower on the totem pole of ick than Facebook. 
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Iāve been using Gmail since the beta, and Apple services starting with dot Mac. If I had to choose just one photo service I would drop Apple Photos, mainly because I donāt trust iCloud with my data. After 23 years Apple cloud services is still a black box.
Googleās paid services, Workspace, Drive, etc. offer the same security/privacy certifications as Apple as well as being compliant with government, finance, healthcare, and educational organizations around the world.
If all these trust Google I feel I can too. But everyone has to make their own decisions when it comes to privacy and security.
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That is fair, and I was aware of that. Our school uses Google Workspace. Still, I was thinking in terms of the free version. I canāt see a reason to pay $100 a year for Google Workspace as an individual. For some people, it may be the perfect solution, but for me, I already pay for Apple One and rely on Appleās apps and hardware. I donāt see a place in my personal workflow for the paid version of Google Workspace. Again, Iām only speaking for myself. Obviously, it is the right choice for others. 
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FWIW, I used the free version for years before subscribing to Google Workspace.
About the only data of mine that hasnāt been leaked by credit bureaus and medical services companies, etc. are my photos. And itās not just because I use better passwords, etc. than the celebrities whose photos were leaked in 2014. IMO, most people photos arenāt worth the effort it would take to access them.