Topic: Core Audio

Adam Curry details the technical specifications of his new MacBook Air setup, praising Apple's "Core Audio" for allowing him to build a virtual radio studio. He explains how he replaced third-party tools like Soundflower and Quicksilver with native OS X features. The discussion also touches on the "planned obsolescence" of software and the demise of Yahoo Pipes.

The podcast begins with a discussion regarding technical delays caused by a recent Apple system update that altered Core Audio drivers. This update reportedly disrupted configurations for Jackpilot and other professional audio routing software. The changes are attributed to Apple's digital rights management (DRM) agreements with the music industry, which aim to prevent high-sample-rate audio hijacking. Companies like Rogue Amoeba have faced challenges on Apple platforms due to these restrictive low-level system modifications.

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak open the show on November 5th, 2009, referencing Guy Fawkes Day and the Gunpowder Plot. Curry describes a catastrophic hardware failure of his customized MacBook Pro, which required an emergency data transfer to a new unibody model to maintain the show's complex audio routing and streaming setup. The transition involved significant software updates and driver replacements to ensure compatibility with the new hardware and operating system.