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Episode 243: The Device at Hand

Back to Work

5by5

Creativity, Dan Benjamin, Merlin Mann, Constraints, Barriers, Productivity, Technology, Careers, Society & Culture, Business, Work, Communication

4.82.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 October 2015

⏱️ 95 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

TOPIC: It's Business All the Way Down.

This week, Dan and Merlin talk about joys and frustrations of contemporary consumer technologies. So great yet so frustrating. So powerful yet so hobbled. It's weird how, as great as the newest tech ever gets, we so quickly find we're bumping right up against business, business, business.

Then, there's some more discussion of updates in iOS 9 and what we can now do with iPhone 6s, highlighting the astonishing power of trackpad mode.

Finally, some updates on Dan's cord-cutting and how one may choose how and what we're each willing to pay for—and how it's just no fun to amortize other people's garbage with your own time.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello.

0:02.0

Hey Merlin.

0:03.0

Hi Dan, how are you?

0:04.0

I'm doing good, how are you?

0:06.0

I'm doing quite well.

0:07.0

Got a different mic again.

0:09.0

Yeah, what's one this time?

0:10.0

I'm back to the 87A.

0:11.0

Okay.

0:12.0

Arcos says it sounds better so I'm trying to again this week.

0:14.0

Ooh, I vote for the other way.

0:16.0

Okay.

0:17.0

How are you?

0:18.0

We're doing good.

0:19.0

Yeah, what's one to wait?

0:20.0

What don't you like about this?

0:21.0

Ah, the muffled, strangely weird sound that doesn't sound like you in person.

0:29.0

Hmm.

0:30.0

I like the way you sound in person.

0:32.0

And the mic that makes you sound the most like you sound in person is my vote.

0:37.0

And that's the SRSM7 that you were on.

0:39.0

You don't sound bad on this one, but I like the sound of your voice on the other one

...

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