In all honesty, there is of course only so much you can tell about a particular topic. That’s especially true if you don’t cover the news.
Perhaps after 500+ episodes everything has been said about planning your day in OmniFocus or using a mail client?
Agreed.
I don’t think the show has run out of topics or everything has been said. Tech is notoriously ever-changing, and so are the people that use it. I don’t listen to every show anymore, but I do come here often and get a lot from it.
Thank you @times_reader, I do whole-heartedly agree.
After years of listening to some of Relay (and friends) podcasts the only ones I have kept on my “listen all” playlist are ATP, Automators (I cc @D_Rehak, it should be a video show) and Bookworm. That means I am down to just one actual Relay podcast from what used to be 8-10 a few years ago.
I listen to an occasional episode if someone I trust recommends one. However, most of the Relay podcast’s content is predictably following the Apple event/product release cycle with a pre/current/post coverage phase pattern with a total duration of 4-8 weeks. Occasionally holiday shopping recommendations get mixed in. Not to forget about the “new year, new setup” phase, quickly followed by the “I reverted all my changes” season.
MPU MAU stands/stood out, but even those episodes I more often skip entirely or at least a lot of chapters these days. I mostly enjoy the interview episodes, because they cover topics outside of the podcaster echo chamber. Yet, they always feel hasted and I would often wish for a follow-up episode a few weeks (not years) later with the same guest, who answers listener questions.
AppStories, Connected, Upgraded and other Viticci and Myke podcasts that I used to listen to are largely entirely off the table for me these days. Often they are too opinionated, less reflected. The return on invested time to listen to the episodes is minimal and just not worth it to me.
Test Drivers looked interesting at first but already ran out of steam after just a few episodes.
Flashback is interesting, but not every episode captures my attention. Piecing together internet and consumer tech history by doing a retrospect is a great and niche idea. Quinn is very knowledgable and most importantly well prepared, whereas I often get the feeling that some other hosts just show up to fill the podcast’s expected time slot. Here’s the thing, I prefer others to respect my time, as well.
Subnet was the most interesting podcast concept of Relay in the last years.
The biggest issue these days is that the content mainly revolves around the specific “problems” that self-employed podcasters face. Apple tech podcasts have become an echo chamber for podcaster-centric problems.
This is an issue in itself and that is why I care and take the time to type this post. We all know that people at Apple loosely follow them. The problems that advanced and experienced Apple users face, who’s main income stream is not generated from podcasting, are heavily underrepresented, which skews the feedback Apple gets.
Certainly, scheduling yet another guest appearance of a fellow Relay host is easier than finding someone else (dev, user, …) to interview.
I also care, because over the last years I used to take great pleasure in following the podcasts, but it has changed and it was about time to move on. 
I have replaced most of Relay’s podcasts with the Launched podcast, where the actual developers of indie apps are interviewed and you can learn about their struggles and their motivation to create an app.—It’s great.
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I agree and repetitive interviews with the same guests such as Omnifocus and Drafts covering mature software grows stale.
The exception is Merlin Mann, I have to listen to those episodes multiple times as Merlin’s brain is going a million miles an hour.
There is a lot to discover out there. I previously sent a message to MPU that they should interview the founder of World Brain’s Memex.
How about the founders of Obsidian, Roam Research, RemNote, Nodebook?
Or August Bradley about his Notion LOS. One of the fastest YouTube channels from 0>10K subs in less than 8 months.
I have not even seen a show about Miro even though they are now a sponsor of MPU.
Microsoft “Teams” is growing at an astounding rate and Microsoft has up its game with all their apps on the Mac and IOS. I recently went back to Outlook on both the iPhone and Mac and enjoying the experience.
One of the issues is that it does take an increase in that most valuable resource of time.
Secondly, even though I am an old fart at 61, I have recently learned how much most people are resistant to change. I quit my previous position at a Hi-tech company due to their reluctance to change. Now I have the most satisfying job of my life driving hi-tech processes at a Fortune 100 Hi-tech company. I have learned to NOT underestimate the Comfort Factor/NIH.
The constant stimulation of the brain is necessary in order for it not to atrophy. Medical scientists only recently discovered this and are one of the contributing factors to dementia.
There is so much innovation being done in the collaborative software arena.
So yes I think all that can be told on Omni, Drafts, and the other old standards have been done with only incremental improvements in the near future, but there is so much more out there in that are in initial stages of tech.
MPU’s statement of having an upcoming episode on Research software sounds exciting and many of the software titles that I list above fall into that category, but this going to take a lot of show prep.
The episode covering email software, where they brought in multiple guests was fresh and well received.
So I suggest dumping Mindnode and jumping on Miro for some collaborative brainstorming sessions.
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I agree with a lot of what you have said but this in particular is what has turned me off quite a few podcasts over the course of the last year.
For myself personally, and I understand we all have our own preferences, my favourite episodes of MPU are with guests who are not podcasters, developers or videographers. I realise why it is more difficult to get these type of guests, but I feel I learn about industries I didn’t know about before as well as about tech and app goodness. These episodes almost always stand out to me as highlights.
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I really miss Subnet.
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Unlike many people here, I have very few listener credentials. I started listening to MPU at episode 520.
I have one (probably flawed) thought:
Most apps covered can be discovered with a quick Google search. Conversely, more obscure apps/workflows are not covered.
That said, I haven’t listened to many back episodes so I could be wrong 
I love the show and always learn something. The Apple Notes discussion convinced me to finally transition from Evernote. The Apple Watch taught me at least three new things. I didn’t know I didn’t know those things so I would not have been motivated to Google them. Most of know that we are getting this information for free, right? That said, I am looking forward to a future episode on DevonThink. I’ve barely touched the surface of that application.
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Couldn’t agree more with the thoughts here. David and Katie taught me to do things with my mac I didn’t know were possible. I was able to go paperless and automate things at my small business I would have never figured out with out them. They literally changed my life even though I came to the podcast as a very good nerd.
Now we don’t get in the weeds anymore that is saved for other podcasts like Automators. MPU is now just for entry level nerds and people too nostalgic to move on to where the real information is.
Giving us the info on well known apps that everyone that has installed it already knows. Well it’s a real bummer.
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I can appreciate the Mac Power Users podcast just the way it is! I’ve been listening since the VERY first episode and I have learned a great deal. Insights Dave or Katie gave years ago can reverberate today or even tomorrow. That’s the nature of learning! And Dave, Katie and Stephen are fine teachers. They have opened countless doors for me. (Now just add that to countless listeners… who in turn point others in the “right” direction…)
Katie provided the perfect foil for Dave. Stephen and Dave blend in quite nicely. Each coupling have their own merits. Both teams are unrivaled!
As a teacher, I’d advise aiming toward the average listener, making sure you hit the top and whisk on down for the neophyte. Also, when covering an app, for example, to introduce it simply and then get more specific and increasingly technical. But I think these two podcasters do all that. Dave is terrific at explaining things!
I’d like to hear more about the endless possibilities of the iPad (especially creatively) and to keep cognizant that many of us don’t have the money to buy all sorts of cool toys. I’d like to see Agenda covered in more depth and maybe branch out a bit from your trusty reliable apps.
Idk! Stephen and MacSparky are working hard, consistently providing a FREE podcast of the highest quality, maintains this website etcetera etcetera etcetera and yet gets accused of clandestine agreements with vendors. I’ve listened to other podcasts but I always bounce right back to MPU where I belong!
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Guess after so many episodes we have all become Power Users and have less A Ha moments. Nothing wrong with some great themes “revisited” and ported to present day. Many classic episodes available.
I second a show on WFH tools like Messengers, Zoom, Teams, Webex, Slack, Monday.com etc…
Also think an update on Mac privacy and security is long overdue. Passwords, Yubikeys, Firewalls, VPNs, private browsers, ad/tracker blockers, Cam/Mic blockers, encryption, theft protection and app updaters … the works! Not just the apps, but “under the hood”. Think there are some interesting podcasting hackers out there to give some perspective.
It’s been a while traveling with Macs/iPads was covered. I am now using Tripmode to manage my MBP on the road. There used to be great tools like Controlplane, Sidekick, Home and Away, Workspaces dealing with the problems of taking Macs on the road and changing profiles, settings and connections. No doubt you can create profiles in Keyboard Maestro to emulate what these apps did or tinker in settings of many apps, but would love the hear about great present day solutions.
Last but not least: would very much be interested in a dedicated show on hosted Macs (Macstadium, Macincloud etc). So many use cases beyond app development and web servers that can be thought of. Automation (DING!), proxies, RDP access from locked work PCs, VPN server, Secure Mail server, Family Hub, Plex server etcetera…
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I am a relatively long time listener (about 5 years) and I still enjoy the Podcast, but I also agree with many of the posts here. But maybe some of the problem is with the premise – which seems to me to "discuss apps and what they can be used for and why they are useful (or not, as the case may be). The probably is that there is a finite number of apps worth discussing and most of them have been discussed. Yes, sometimes there is a new one or a new version, but it is getting to be slim pickings…
Maybe another approach would be pick one or two apps and have some really expert users (which could be David or Steve in some cases) and talk in depth about some of the cool or edgy or clever things they do with the app and some idea of how they do it. Maybe DT and Evernote or Bear and Evernote (just focusing on notes apps since they are the current thing). One or two apps in a podcast. I use DT, I use MailMate, I use several SetApp apps, etc. I would love to spend 30 or 40 minutes listening to the nitty gritty details of how to make some of these apps do some tricks…sorta brings new meaning to Power Users.
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I agree 100%. While I enjoy listening to a good conversation that David and Steven provide, I really listen to learn. And it’s been a very long while since I’ve learned something via MPU
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Well to spice it up @ismh and @MacSparky recommedation for your guys.
Invite guests who are avid users of two or more competing products (Ex. Evernote and AppleNotes, OneNote and Evernote, Good Notes and Notability, Scrivener and Ulysses, BBEDIT and TextMate, Roam and Obsidian, Airmail and MailMate, Screenflow Vs Camtasia etc). Have a debate between the features and how they use the product. How they would adopt their choice of products for features they don’t have. Differing use cases, applications, work arounds will be an interesting twist to the podcast.
You never know when two or three guests are in a podcast new workflows and more advanced tips can come out. Some spontaneously. It will be a fun one too to hear from contrasting guests in the same podcast.
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A battle royal!!! That’s spicy 
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Appreciate @times_reader bringing this up and do agree to a certain extent. I’ve been listening for about 200 episodes and there is inevitably some repetition. However I still learn and so make tweaks here and there to my workflow as I go along.
By this stage one of the main reasons for listening is because these guys have become my mates! I smile when David goes off on one or Stephen dives into some historical detail. I’ve got to know them and I’d miss them now if they weren’t part of my week.
This forum is where I go to for real Power. Someone here always has some experience of detail I might need which just needs to be searched or asked for. And it’s friendly as this frank and open discussion has shown.
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For those that are saying we have all come up to speed as Mac Power Users and are learning little I would say a few things:
- As some have said, the sense of community is great.
- I feel David and Stephen are fellow travellers (as is Rose) so it’s great to listen to them - on our shared journey.
- I get ideas from MPU (and Automators and…)
- I personally feel validated - a gift which is so hard to come by from those around me in my day-to-day life.
This still all works for me - at least 5 years in.
(On a personal note, the David/Katie pairing kind of inspired me to get my own Floridian female co-host for my own podcast.)
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Well considering that many software developers are introverts (I count myself in that group) we all tend to focus on the vision roadmap. I see no need to invite debate but instead collaborate with the targeted user base instead of developing apps in a black hole.
I myself am repealed by Connor’s persona enough not to join the community or use the software and instead am participating in activity collaborative communities of Obsidian, MyMind, and Memex that align with my core beliefs.
We can look at this glorification of debate leading to more division among people reaching a global scale wherein the end it really does not matter to try to win people to your camp. I like to objectively look at the entire app landscape be it Windows/Mac/Linux and utilize each to their respective strengths.
The key is to find what aligns with your workflow process and objectives and this does not have to be justified by negatively chastise something that do not meet your individual requirements.
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A debate doesn’t necessary mean to be negative. It can be constructive. May be debate was a wrong word to be used here
I find the critic overblown.
The average user does not even know that Spotlight exists, not even talking about Alfred and other alternatives.
The average user uses MS Office and what ever web apps they use at work.
The average user has never heard of TextExpander or thought about the benefits of text replacement beyond email signatures.
The average user has maybe changed the speed of his mouse but never heard of or used BetterTouchTool
I know mayby 20 Mac users, none of them have any of the typical MPU apps or ever heard of them.
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