This week we feature commentator Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer, who covers Facebook’s ongoing woes, which resulted in a substantial loss of its market cap and a huge drop in co-founder Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth. Will Facebook regain its glory, or are too many people suspicious of its apparent lack of concern for your privacy? Gene and Bryan also talk about the throttling problem with the 2018 MacBook Pro, which Apple largely fixed with a software update. But does its thin and light design still prevent the powerful Intel Core i9 processor from reaching its full potential? What about reports of a kernel panic bug that impacts some of the new MacBook Pros and the iMac Pro? Bryan also explains why Ultra HD Blu-ray players, which support 4K video, may not be needed because of the growth of 4K streaming.

In a special encore segment, you’ll also hear from commentator/podcaster Peter Cohen, who also focuses on “Right to Repair” and the upsides and downsides. Peter offers his personal experiences as the employee of an authorized Apple dealer some years ago and how it influenced his opinion about whether Apple and other companies need to allow more repair freedom. There’s also a brief discussion about the concept of states’ rights and how it affects customers where such laws vary from state to state. The discussion also focuses on the HomePod and its possible value as a smart speaker. Both Gene and Peter explain, at length, why a HomePod is not on their shopping lists right now, and whether Apple could sell more copies if it loosened its dependence on Apple’s ecosystem when it comes to being able to listen to your stuff.