This week we feature outspoken commentator and podcaster Kirk McElhearn, In this segment, Kirk starts the discussion by talking about his use of 8TB drives for backup, as Gene examines the lower prices for SSD, which cost several times that of traditional hard drives. Both are concerned that Apple still charges $1,400 for a 2TB SSD upgrade for the Mad mini. With the recent announcement from Apple CEO Tim Cook that the company would miss its earnings guidance, the possible reasons are discussed. In addition to the sales falloff in China, and the fact that people hang onto their devices longer, should Apple consider offering lower priced models to compete better? What about the iPhone SE, which met the needs of people who want small handsets at a relatively affordable price. Apple has run closeout sales on the SE, but only briefly.

You’ll also hear an encore presentation of a segment with commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles, who covers Apple’s expected TV programming, and how it might be presented. What about the new rumors of an updated TV app that will showcase the programs free and present other streaming services for in-app purchases? Does the world need yet another streaming service? What about Google’s decision to cancel Plus next year, which is yet another service the search giant has canceled over the years. Did it ever stand a chance against Facebook? What about Facebook’s own security problems, and will that ultimately lead to another social network eventually catching fire and taking over the market? Consider that young people these days are mainly focusing on YouTube, which is owned by Google.