Crossed Wires
Episodes
Designed by Humans
04 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What makes a beautiful app interface, a stunning icon, or that little bit of UI magic that shows the care poured into the design process? Our returnin...
3D Load Letter
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Did you grow up wishing you could make real 3D objects from your computer, maybe if you're British you remember the cartoon 'Penny Crayon'? Well, in t...
Liquid Gas
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, we're back again, and you'll get to hear exactly what's kept Jae and James so busy over the last several months. We're joined again by Alex Lowe ...
Intelligence Powered
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a hectic few months here for the team, but on November 4th 2024 we sat down with Alex Lowe for coverage of Apple's end of October announceme...
Can You Hear Me?
07 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Without fail, Apple released their next iPhone, a new Apple Watch and some new software for their range of devices. What we didn't expect was for Appl...
Handholding
09 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Do you remember when smartphones weren't just running Apple or Google's OS, when you really did need a stylus to do anything, and when the very idea o...
Hair Helmet
24 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's Apple Event time again; recorded a few weeks after Apple's WWDC 2024 Keynote, James, Jae, and Alex sit down for a chat about everything Apple ann...
Crushing It!
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Apple held their 'Let Loose' event on May 7th, 2024 and not long after the 'dream team' of Crossed Wires Apple coverage gathered to discuss the new iP...
Hosting a Mastodon
03 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As centralised social media platforms become more and more hostile, with not only toxicity from undesirable elements but also massive privacy concerns...
Educating AI
15 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The hype around AI continues to grow, often muddling genuinely useful elements like machine learning, pattern recognition, and properly and ethnically...
Framing a Better Laptop
01 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever purchased a new laptop, you’ll know only too well the pain of configuring your new system to get your dream setup. With some manuf...
Weaving a Tapestry
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our pleasure to be joined again by The Iconfactory’s Gedeon Maheux, this time we’re talking less Star Trek and more Tapestry, no not that ...
Build-A-Browser
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With so many choices in browsers on desktop, mobile, and even our vehicles, it’s important to look under-the-hood to understand the differences bet...
The Fruit and The Droids
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Whether you work in tech, produce tech content, or just happen to use a smartphone, a single question can spark debate and an explosion of extreme vi...
The UniFi Appreciation Show
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
You’ll have heard James and Jae wax lyrical about their love for the UniFi line of networking gear on our live streams and in past episodes with Al...
Playing with Wires
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a time when internet access meant using an analogue modem to dial a phone number in order to connect to the internet at speeds of up 7 kiloby...
Fastest Event Yet
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In what’s starting to become a Crossed Wires tradition, James, Jae and Alex gather to discuss Apple’s latest event, which was scarily short at ju...
Adventures in Programming
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of programming, we may tend to think of Matrix-esque nerds sat in front of green-on-black screens absorbed in code that makes less sens...
Why Not Blind Accessibility?
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Accessibility is essential to allow everyone to enjoy experiences that they may have, in the past, missed out on due to a lack of vision, a lack of h...
Lightning Be Gone
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before we go into this week’s new episode, we’d like to thank everyone for their patience whilst both Jae and James have had what can only be des...
OnLive: A Cloud to the Past
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cloud Gaming is something you might have heard about; you may have even used a service like GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming or even the recently depar...
Switched
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been over 6 years since Nintendo released their hybrid-console, the massively popular Switch to the world and it would be fair to say that thi...
Writer’s Pad
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’re like me and enjoy a good novel, with gripping stories, fleshed out characters, and developed worlds of intrigue then you may wonder how i...
WWDC 2023
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
First of all, sincere apologies for the delay in getting this episode out to you all. Editing a nearly four hour recording session down really is som...
Your Next Cloud?
03 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last few months, we’ve been looking for a home for all of the data we generate for the whole of Crossed Wires, everything from artwork, sh...
A Good Day to Podcast!
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As many of you may know, or figured out very quickly, I’m a massive Star Trek fan, to the point that I can probably quote many episodes and movies ...
Banned!
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As our politicians and elected officials debate the dangers of TikTok and end-to-end-encryption (E2EE), we need to look beyond the hysteria and scape...
The Ferrite Attraction
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As I’m sure long time listeners will know, we use Ferrite by Wooji Juice for all of our editing here, it really has become indispensable to our pro...
Chatting AI Ethics
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve probably all had fun recently giving ChatGPT, or other AI chatbots from the likes of Google, Microsoft and others, what we think are fun and ...
Wireless Functionality
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve all had those moments, when the WiFi signal drops right in the middle of our favourite episode, or in that long-overdue catch up call with a ...
From the Archives: Interview with John Staats
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hello it’s Jae here, let me set the stage for this episode: Hop in your Delorean and travel back in time with me, to the year of our Lord 2018 when...
Dances with Sega
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Sega were in a console war with their fellow Japanese rivals, Nintendo. Keen to show what they could do, th...
CyberSecurity 101
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we hear more stories of systems and services being compromised by malicious attackers, often simply referred to as ‘hackers’, we need to be aw...
Rewinding the DV Tape
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you remember sitting in front of your computer with a miniDV camcorder hooked up by FireWire and waiting patiently for the footage to capture to y...
Be Our (Podcast) Host
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already hit our 50th episode, but it’s here and a lot of that is thanks to you, our amazing community who keep ...
Tech for the Elderly
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Whilst many of us have grown up with technology being such a core part of our lives, often glued to our devices for far more of the day than we’d l...
Environmental
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With more and more cloud services hosted in data centres consuming massive amounts of energy, our devices becoming ever more power-hungry, and the co...
Heartfelt Streaming
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James and Jae both have a family history of health problems. One of the biggest areas of concern is heart health. Family members have had heart attac...
Experimenting with Linux
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Over the years, I’ve switched operating systems many times; the big one being from Windows to macOS, but there have been many periods of time when ...
Make Community, and Warcraft
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To many people, the idea of Massively Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games (MMORPGs) can be summed up by the image of an individual sitting in their ...
Open (Source) for Business
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If your experience in business IT has, like mine, been very heavily focussed on Microsoft’s ecosystem and lots of propriety systems that have a str...
Purple MacBook
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Apple announced new M2-based Macs, a new HomePod, and the launch of Advanced Data Protection with little more than a press release and video on ...
Ollie, Space Karen, and an API
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The last week or so has seen some extraordinary rubbish behaviour from Twitter regarding their API for third-party clients, like Twitterrific and Twe...
Steam Life on Deck
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For those of us who grew up with Game Boys and Game Gears, maybe even an Atari Lynx, the concept of full desktop gaming in a portable form factor has...
Something, Something, Blockchain
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The idea of a non-taxed, non-regulated, digital currency can sound incredibly appealing for many uses, but are cryptocurrencies all they’re cracked...
What’s New With SquadCast
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As many of you know, we use SquadCast to record every episode of Crossed Wires, and indeed Charging Status. It’s been such a genuine pleasure to bu...
A Discussion of Macintosh
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With the Macintosh having such a long history, and Apple doing so much over the platform’s life I wanted to get a panel together to discuss all thi...
The Theatre of Social Media
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Content Warning: This episode talks about the potential harm of social media in quite some detail, and whilst no details are discussed, we do make me...
The Gaming News Cycle
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last few years, I’ve become much more of what could be considered a ‘Gamer’, being a Mac user somewhat excluded me from modern gaming ...
Green Bubbles
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last ten years or so, we’ve seen a huge growth in the number of messaging platforms. With Google recently putting massive pressure on Appl...
Cloud Backup & Storage
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There’s a very common saying within the IT support space, that there are two types of users; those who have lost data and those who are going to. T...
Solar Powered
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As energy costs are at an all-time high, many people are looking for ways to cut costs and become more self-sufficient. When it comes to solar power,...
Mastodon – Into the Fediverse
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When I first joined Twitter, I remember the excitement and intrigue over this new platform, using great third-party apps and having intelligent conve...
All About Podcasts
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, this is a podcast episode of a podcast with two podcasters talking about podcasting, say that as quickly as you can and you may win a prize!* ...
Digital Identity
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you ask most people about email, they probably show a genuine lack of interest, it’s not new and it’s not fancy. But, email still plays a hu...
Music on the Amiga
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As many of you know, the Amiga A600 was my childhood computer, so when I saw Ravi doing a DJ set in ‘The Cave’ with Neil a few years back, I was ...
Floating Hippy Villages
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amanda Sloan is a friend I’ve known for years, actually longer than I’ve known James; I’ve known both for a long time. Amanda and I first met w...
Sleep With Us
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s my first time hosting a podcast since my 19 months hiatus from my former show. I had a great time returning to podcasting, and I believe James ...
Action Packed Retro
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the things that frustrate me the most about my eyesight issues, along with a few other problems, is that I can’t tinker with hardware as much...
Can Hip Hop Save the World?
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’ll be the first to admit my music taste doesn’t usually extend to Hip Hop, beyond some very cheesy 90s Christian tracks. Still, when Manny reach...
Insert Coin to Continue
20 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of my memories of being younger revolve around summer holidays to the seaside, where there was always a reasonably well stocked arcade not far a...
Apple Event Ultra
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It wouldn’t be an Apple Event without every tech podcast in the world gathering to share their thoughts on what the fruit company had to announce. W...
Retro in Just Under an Hour
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Although we’re not a retro-exclusive show, we do seem to have a lot of guests from the retro community; this week is no different as it’s my delig...
The Good News of Macintosh
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, it’s another retro-themed episode, but with a focus on not only vintage Macs but also the world of desktop publishing and pre-press that was sh...
My Pig Ate My Manual
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For those of you wondering about the title of this episode, well you’ll have to listen to figure that out. Pig eating habits aside, it was a genuine...
The Art of Storytelling
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With such a diverse range of stories being told online through platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and more, it’s crucial that we look at the ...
Exploring the Focusrite Vocaster
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As I hope comes across in the episodes, great audio is something I really believe is essential for any content creator; there’s nothing worse than a...
At Home with HomeKit
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As many of our regular listeners will know, I’m a bit of a smart home addict and my platform of choice is Apple’s HomeKit. To dive a bit deeper in...
On The Road to EVs
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For someone who can’t (due to my eyesight) drive, I think it’s fair to say I’ve picked up fairly substantial interest in the future of electric ...
Scam Busting
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Suppose you’ve watched any amount of online video, particularly on YouTube. In that case, you’ll likely have seen those ads for the ‘miracle’ ...
Accessible To All
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is an episode I’m really excited to have been able to record, and I’d like to start by thanking Chris Angel for their willingness to come and...
Cloud Controlled
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Not long after speaking with Cody from Mac Telecom Networks about all things UniFi, I reached out to Alex at HostIFi, as I’d heard about their cloud...
Dub Dub Dee Cee
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been two weeks since Apple’s 2022 WWDC keynote, so myself and our newest team member, Jae, sat down to dissect some of the key announcements ...
Ask Your Newsagent
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this ‘bumper’ edition of the show, I sat down with Andrew and Paul from the Addict magazines, which are wonderful publications focussing on the...
Enabling Accessible Gaming
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As someone who has a visual impairment, and therefore is technically classed as disabled, accessible technology is something that’s incredibly impor...
Cave Dwelling
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, it’s my great pleasure to chat with Neil from RMC Retro, the chief Cave Dweller himself. It would be fair to say that my biggest so...
Networked
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I talk with network consultant and YouTuber, Cody from MacTelecom Networks who also happens to be Canadian so is typically a nice-guy...
SquadCasting
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I chat with SquadCast’s co-founder, Zachariah Moreno, about how things got started, what problems SquadCast aims to solve and some ...
Is Tech Too Complicated?
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I’m really pleased to introduce Jack to you all. We met through the RMCRetro Discord server and after realising we shared a lot in ...
Mobile Videography & Editing
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, I’m joined by Stu Little, a content creator and former photo journalist who now specialises in content around editing professional video ...
Ctrl Alt Atari
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After being accused (rightfully so) of crimes against Amiga, my guest Rees of Ctrl-Alt-Rees joins me to talk about his Atari obsession, dive deeper in...
App Pricing, Piracy, And A Calculator
08 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a bit of a Twitter exchange on the back of some app piracy frustration, I invited James Thomson (best known for his wonderful calculator app, PC...
The Amiga Now & Then
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Keeping with our retro theme, I talk with YouTuber and RetroHour host, Dan Wood, about all things Amiga. We take a look at the costs, and risks, of pu...
Graphics, Cannon Fodder, and a Colouring Book
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In our first episode of the new Crossed Wires podcast, James is joined by Stoo Cambridge, most famous for his work on the iconic graphics of Cannon Fo...