In 2003, Steve Jobs said: “Some people have a problem with open source software. We think it’s great.” It wasn’t just talk. Apple would go on to contribute LLVM and WebKit, two projects that became influential far beyond Apple’s own platforms. WebKit even served as the foundation for Google Chrome. So why doesn’t anyone think of Apple as an open source company?

That question turns out to have an intriguing answer. The ideas behind free and open source software emerged from decades of argument about who owns code, who controls it, and what developers owe each other – debates that predate personal computers entirely. Apple and Microsoft came of age during those debates and drew opposite conclusions.

In this episode, we trace that history from the earliest days of software licensing to the present. We consider how Apple's culture of secrecy often sits uneasily alongside its open source ambitions. And we explore why some Apple projects, like WebKit and LLVM, genuinely escaped the Apple ecosystem while others, like Swift and Darwin, never did.

Special Guest: Martin Algesten, creator of the Rust libraries ureq and str0m.

LINKS

LLVM.org

Swift.org

WebKit.org

Apple’s Open Source website

The XKCD cartoon Charlie mentions

International Criminal Court Sanctions

Martin’s GitHub page

Charlie’s website

Graham’s strength training app

For more about the show, and to get stylish yet fashionable merch, visit our website.

Apple Podcasts is one of the world’s most popular podcast players, with almost 25% market share. The app launched in 2012, but Apple’s support for podcasting goes back much further.

The term “podcast” was originally coined in 2005 as a concatenation of iPod and broadcast. Initially, Apple wasn’t pleased with this abuse of its trademark, and sent out angry cease and desist letters. But it didn’t take long for Cupertino to come around, embracing the emerging standard by adding support in iTunes. This propelled podcasting from its early niche audience to mainstream adoption.

Podcasting’s low barriers to entry have helped to democratize and decentralize broadcasting. But the RSS subscription technology on which it is based was developed with the opposite intent. In the 1990s, big media companies felt threatened by the free-for-all of the web and hoped technologies like RSS would enable them to “push” content onto users’ screens. Fortunately, RSS found a new and better purpose in podcasting.

In this episode, we explore the fascinating story of how podcasting emerged at a time when Apple embraced and promoted open standards. We consider why Apple’s focus has shifted to proprietary technology over the years, and where this leaves Apple Podcasts today.

APPLE CORE MERCH

Check out our merch store, featuring t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, mugs, stickers, and more in retro-geek designs.

GRAHAM'S APP

Check out Graham's strength training app, Reps & Sets, designed for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

LINKS

Apple Hot Sauce

A Brief History of Data Syndication and Podcasting

The first known use of the term "podcasting"

With "pod" on lockdown, Apple goes after "podcast"

WWDC 2005 - Steve Jobs introduces Podcasting in iTunes

Thanks to Martin Algesten for sound engineering this episode.

In 2013, Apple launched a radical redesign of the iPhone’s user interface. iOS 7 represented more than just a fresh new look. It marked a major shift in Cupertino’s design philosophy, which arose from a bitter boardroom bust-up between two of Steve Jobs’ most trusted lieutenants.

Since the launch of the Macintosh in 1984, Jobs had pioneered the use of skeuomorphism, a design motif where apps adopt visual cues from real world objects. Jobs shared this philosophy with tech genius Scott Forstall, who worked on the Aqua interface for Mac OS X, and subsequently led the development of iOS.

In the power vacuum after Steve Jobs’ passing, Ive and Forstall became locked in a battle for the company’s future. When Ive won, he wasted no time in scrapping Forstall’s cherished skeuomorphism. In a matter of months his team had developed a radical new user interface design. iOS 7’s minimalistic style was quintessentially Jony Ive, and it established a visual language that continues to influence Apple to this day.

APPLE CORE MERCH

Check out our new merch store on Teepublic, featuring t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, mugs, stickers, and more in retro-geek designs:
https://applecore.dashery.com

LINKS

Video of WWDC 2013, where iOS 7 was launched:
https://youtu.be/hIigp_bxUcQ?si=41rq99ofJLeaG9pl

Nicholas Carlson for Business Insider in 2014 on Steve Jobs and Quicktime’s brushed metal:
https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobss-signature-design-style-2014-10

Buster Hein for Cult of Mac on the Passbook shredder:
https://www.cultofmac.com/news/ios-7-passbook-ditches-forstalls-dumb-paper-shredder-animation

The Verge on apps that influenced the design of iOS 7:
https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/9/4817146/taskmasters-how-israeli-intelligence-officers-helped-inspire-the-look-of-ios-7

Joshua Topolsky’s hot take on iOS 7 for The Verge:
https://www.theverge.com/apple/2013/6/10/4416726/the-design-of-ios-7-simply-confusing

Jony Ive designs things:
https://www.tumblr.com/jonyiveredesignsthings

Griffin’s website:
https://www.dgriffinjones.com/