If only we'd had any sort of Apple news to talk about this week! Last week Christina and the crew reviewed WWDC and looked ahead to this week's product introductions. You can download past shows from Talkshoe, Stitcher or subscribe in iTunes.

We'll be live tonight (6/21 at 10 pm ET) and quizzing all the new iPhone 3G S owners on the team -- not to mention taking your calls, questions and suggestions during the show. We'll also offer a special Father's Day salute to all of the Mac daddies out there. Please do join in!

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

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It's on the master list of 3.0 features, but we've been sent enough tips and suggestions about it to conclude that the advanced podcast/audiobook controls came as a pleasant surprise for lots of iPhone and iPod touch owners who upgraded.

In the 3.0 version, from the playback display for a podcast, tapping the screen brings up a set of expert controls: a button to email a link to the podcast's page on iTunes; a 30-second "What's that, now?" instant rewind button; and a playback speed control to give you 1/2 speed, normal or 2x "FedEx mode" playback.

The scrubber bar itself has been given a charge, even though it doesn't look any different until you tap it; it displays the relative playback position within the episode being played. Dragging horizontally gives you high-speed scrubbing (previously known as "just plain old scrubbing"), but if you keep your finger on the screen and drag down, your scrub rate lowers step by step through half-speed, quarter-speed and 'fine scrubbing.' This detail control makes it a lot easier to cue up a particular spot in a long show or book chapter.

I've started to enjoy listening to some of my longer subscriptions in 2x mode, especially when I have a fixed amount of time to listen to the podcast but I still want to cover as much of it as I can. Even shorter news-centric podcasts can sometimes benefit from a speed boost. If any of you try out the 2x mode on an audiobook, do let us know how it works for you.

Surprisingly, I find myself using the 'email this' button quite a lot, especially to let friends and family know about some of my favorite shows. I imagine they'll be getting tired of that pretty soon.

Have you ever wondered what goes on "behind the curtain" at TUAW? Podcaster extraordinaire Chuck Joiner is the man behind the popular Mac-related podcasts MacVoices, MacNotables, and the MacJury. Chuck recently spent some time with Mike Rose, Christina Warren, David Winograd, and myself discussing the past, present, and future of The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

The episode has just gone live, and you can listen to us by clicking this link to MacVoices or by subscribing to the podcast [opens iTunes].

Last week the TUAW Talkcast was jam-packed with pre-WWDC excitement! Michael Rose, newcomer Michael Jones, and myself talked rumors, expectations and took calls from the beautiful people in web-radioland. Our on-ground reporter Brett Terpstra joined us at the end of the show and it was a great time. Check it out in Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

Tonight, we're live again going over the post-WWDC wrap-up, discussing the new iPhone 3G S, the new MacBook Pro line and updated MacBook Air, Snow Leopard, hatred of cell phone subsidies (it's not just AT&T), and the latest trend in App Store rejections. I'll be hosting, Mike R. will be joining us later in the call and we'll have some new members of the team to introduce to the Talkcast regulars. It's going to be a blast, so make you tune in!

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Last week we had a full house for the talkcast as we covered the rumorscape and went in-depth on the future of television in a Boxee/Hulu world. You can download the show, along with all past shows, from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

We're live again tonight with a preview of the WWDC keynote, only a few short hours away. It's open phones for attendees and developers, and we'll also discuss the GearLive rumor of Monday availability for the new iPhone. We're getting some buzz from our tipsters about out-of-stock status on the iPhone 3G and mystery boxes under lock and key in Apple stores... so should we mark this as 'plausible?' Call in and chime in.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Talkcast time again! It's been two weeks -- we skipped last week's show due to the Memorial Day holiday in the US, but you can always download past shows from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

We'll be back on the air and eager to hear from all of you for tonight's show, tackling the news of the past week and your questions and troubleshooting requests. We'll drill through the rumor backlog and start getting our notebooks shined up for WWDC in a few short days.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

The guys over at the RetroMacCast sent us a link to their latest episode, featuring an interview with none other than Rob Janoff, the designer of Apple's old rainbow Mac logo. The interview starts a little less than halfway into the show, and it's cool to hear a voice right out of Apple's past.

They talk about the inception of the logo -- how Apple came to Janoff's firm and what they originally asked for in terms of a design. He actually had very little guidance when first creating the logo, and in fact hadn't seen any of Apple's branding or even heard of the company before he created the now-iconic image. He also talks about how lucky he was in choosing the image -- he saw it as a pretty obvious choice to use a picture of fruit for a company named after said fruit, but like any great logo, there ended up being layers of meaning behind that apple bite (or byte, as he points out).

Nothing really earthshaking in the interview (he hasn't had contact with Apple since, and even he says that the mythology behind the company has much more to do than just the familiar logo), but hey, if you're hanging out today during Memorial Day and need something interesting to listen to while barbecuing, you can tune in and learn a little bit about Apple's corporate history.

It's a quiet weekend here at TUAW HQ, as most of our US-based team is enjoying a well-deserved break over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Since everyone's drinking mojitos by the pool, we're not doing a talkcast tonight (sorry!), but you can grab last week's show (featuring host Christina "C-Mac" Warren and the rest of the usual suspects) direct from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

Here's a quick update on some of the stories making Mac and iPhone news this weekend:

• Daring Fireball's John Gruber weighs in on the upcoming iPhone refresh rumors, citing informed sources who tell him that the CPU and RAM upgrades for the next-generation handheld will deliver impressive performance boosts, making this year's model up to twice as fast as the iPhone 3G. He also backs up the expected addition of a magnetometer and a video-capable improved camera (alongside the long-rumored video editing tools on the phone). You can see a thorough roundup of the state of iPhone rumors over at Wired's Gadget Lab. Perhaps the upcoming iPhone refresh is behind the expected ramp-up in distributed support hiring noted earlier this week.
  
• Kwame Jones discovered a preliminary interface for renting and purchasing movies & TV shows on the iPhone and iPod touch, which should be loads of fun even though it will be limited to WiFi connections.
• MDN and other sites have noted a North Carolina effort to get Apple to build a major server farm in the Tarheel State, with up to $46 million USD in tax incentives available if the company reaches a $1B investment threshold in nine years. Seems a shame that lawmakers declared the scuppernong grape as the official state fruit a few years ago, doesn't it.
• Glenn Fleischman from TidBITS pointed out that the UVA freshman computing survey is out again, showing more impressive gains for the Mac platform year-over-year. UC Davis shows a tripling of share for the Mac over the past three years.
  
• In a very quick turnaround, Cartier sued Apple for two iPhone apps that it claimed ripped off its products -- and then promptly withdrew the action. Nicely done.
• The First Ascent team, videoblogging their way up Mount Everest using solar power and MacBook Pro laptops, reached the summit earlier this week. Congratulations!
• The long-admired Windows photo app ACDsee finally released a Mac beta this week; it's worth a look.
• More photos and inside views from the Zurich Apple Store opening via ifoAppleStore.

Got something that's too good not to share? Give us a tip!

Here's a telling sign of the popularity of iPhone development: we posted about an online course being offered by Stanford just a few months ago, and in that time, the course has been downloaded over a million times through iTunes. The director of iTunes U at Apple says this is the fastest any course has ever hit the million mark.

Only those attending Stanford will get credit for completing the 10-week course, but the material is available to the public right there in iTunes. And of course there are lots of ways to learn how to make apps on the iPhone -- Auntie TUAW has answered that question, and we've even got an iPhone Dev 101 series to help you wrap your mind around all of it. The iPhone itself seems made for newbies, and considering that there's apparently lots of money to be had in Ye Olde App Store, it's no surprise that people are flocking in huge numbers to the documentation.

Whether any of those apps are any good, of course, is still up in the air. But who knows -- someone who starts with the free iTunes U course might one day be a game-changing designer. There's got to be at least one winner in those million downloaders, right?

Last week, both Mikes (Rose & Schramm) joined Steve, Kelly and the gang as they talked Mother's Day and Macdom (with a special visit from The Mac Mommy herself). You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

I've been sidelined the last couple of weeks thanks to some stormy weather and an ear infection, but I'm back tonight and will be filling in for regular host, Michael Rose. Hopefully some other TUAW comrades will join me and we'll talk news of the week, take your calls and discuss all things Mac and iPhone. Join us live at 10pm ET using Talkshoe or calling in directly.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Last week's show featured our own Mike & Kelly, and a surprise visit from guest Ged Maheux of the Iconfactory, talking about the release of Twitterrific 2 for the iPhone -- plus questions and calls from the audience. You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

We're back live tonight, and in honor of Mother's Day in the US we'll be talking about Macs and Moms: doing tech support for your parents, encouraging switcher Moms (and Dads), providing advice for would-be Mother's Day iPhone purchasers, and more. Your calls and contributions, as always, are extremely welcome.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Last week's show got rolling a little late, but we did have the opportunity to introduce you all to our two newest team members and discuss the billion-app threshold. You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

We're back live tonight, and since the big story of the week (Verizon's dance of the seven veils with iPhone) is more speculation than specification, we're throwing open the phone lines to all of you. Got Mac or iPhone questions? Something you have to get off your chest? Christina & I, plus some possible special guests, will try to tackle your issues for you. One topic we'd like to hear about, if there are iPhone devs who can make it for the show: the notable level of frustration with slow payment from iPhone app sales. Tell us your story.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Last week, Mike and Dave enjoyed an interview with AJ from Marketcircle and covered all the news that was fit to yammer about. You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

Later tonight at 10 pm ET it's time for us to be back live with this week's show. We'll be talking about Mac botnets, one beeeliyon apps from the iTunes App Store, Apple's quarterly results, and plenty more. We're also hoping to introduce you to our two newest colleagues, Kelly G. and Brett K.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only interface, or you can stick with the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in so we can hear your dulcet tones. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. SIP or Gizmo users can connect directly to Talkshoe by following the instructions here. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

If you joined us last Sunday night, you heard an unvarnished rant in five-part harmony as Dave, Christina, Mike S., Mel and I all weighed in on the ongoing series of "Laptop Hunters" Microsoft TV ads (yes, there's a third one now: an adorable mother-and-son team of laptop shoppers who shockingly still find time to slag the Mac as a kiddie machine while they browse the aisles) along with MacHeist and the other news of the week. You can download the show from Talkshoe or subscribe in iTunes.

Tomorrow night -- Easter Sunday, 10 pm ET -- we'll be joined by a special guest: Mitch Wagner of InformationWeek, also known (in Second Life, anyway) as the metallic talkshow host Copper Robot. Bring your questions for Mitch about Apple news, virtual communities, social media & the public sector... we'll be covering the entire waterfront.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only interface, or you can stick with the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in so we can hear your dulcet tones. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. SIP or Gizmo users can connect directly to Talkshoe by following the instructions here. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.

Microsoft ads tweaking Mac buyers as wacky, spendthrift, fashion-focused "cool kids." The paper of record goes after the iPhone. Pirates at the gates of the App Store. Yes, that smell in the air is the familiar fragrance "Eau d' Pomme Retour" -- the springtime scent of Apple-bashing.

It's time to come and hang out where everybody knows your name, or at least your Talkshoe handle: the TUAW talkcast is back tonight after a week's hiatus (we're all feeling much better, thanks ever so). Join us at 10 pm ET tonight for a roundtable discussion (including your questions, comments, and rants) covering the Apple news of the week -- including the range of naysayers going after the Apple brand with gusto.

To participate on TalkShoe, you can use the browser-only client, or you can try out the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, for maximum fun, you should call in. For the web UI, just click the "TalkShoe Web" button on our profile page at 10 pm Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VOIP lines (take advantange of your free cellphone weekend minutes if you like): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *-8. Talk with you then!

Recording support for the talkcast is provided by Call Recorder from ecamm networks.