MacVoices20 Okt 2025

MacVoices #25264: Live! - Another Power Bank Recall and Logitech Pushes Cancel On the Pop Smart Button

A MacVoices Live! discussion covers another major recall—this time ESR's HaloLock power banks over fire risks—and explores why power bank failures remain common despite reputable brands. Chuck Joiner, Dave Ginsburg, Brian Flanigan-Arthurs, Jim Rea, Marty Jencius, and Norbert Frassa also react to Logitech's sudden shutdown of its Pop Smart Button, raising questions about product obsolescence, support lifespans, and smart home stability.

MacVoices is supported by SurfShark. "Go to https://surfshark.com/macvoices or use code macvoices at checkout to get 4extra months of Surfshark VPN!"

Show Notes:

Chapters:

[0:00] Opening banter and introductions
[3:58] Baseball, SpongeBob, and background fun
[10:42] PowerBank recall alert — ESR HaloLock safety hazard
[12:35] Why power banks fail and lithium battery risks
[16:05] Airline safety and lithium battery transport rules
[17:47] Manufacturing quality concerns and recall logic
[17:48] Logitech's Pop Smart Button shutdown explained
[21:56] Product lifespan, customer frustration, and costs
[23:47] Smart home reliability and Apple HomeKit discussion
[25:34] Logitech Harmony remote worries and alternatives
[27:23] Closing notes and credits

Links:

ESR recalls over 50,000 HaloLock wireless power banks due to fire and burn hazards
https://9to5mac.com/2025/10/10/esr-recalls-over-50000-halolock-magsafe-power-banks/

Logitech will brick its $100 Pop smart home buttons on October 15
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/10/logitech-will-brick-its-100-pop-smart-home-buttons-on-october-15/

Flic

Guests:

Brian Flanigan-Arthurs is an educator with a passion for providing results-driven, innovative learning strategies for all students, but particularly those who are at-risk. He is also a tech enthusiast who has a particular affinity for Apple since he first used the Apple IIGS as a student. You can contact Brian on twitter as @brian8944. He also recently opened a Mastodon account at @brian8944@mastodon.cloud.

Norbert Frassa is a technology "man about town". Follow him on Twitter and see what he's up to.

David Ginsburg is the host of the weekly podcast In Touch With iOS where he discusses all things iOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and related technologies. He is an IT professional supporting Mac, iOS and Windows users. Visit his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/daveg65 and find and follow him on Twitter @daveg65 and on Mastodon at @daveg65@mastodon.cloud.

Dr. Marty Jencius has been an Associate Professor of Counseling at Kent State University since 2000. He has over 120 publications in books, chapters, journal articles, and others, along with 200 podcasts related to counseling, counselor education, and faculty life. His technology interest led him to develop the counseling profession 'firsts,' including listservs, a web-based peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Technology in Counseling, teaching and conferencing in virtual worlds as the founder of Counselor Education in Second Life, and podcast founder/producer of CounselorAudioSource.net and ThePodTalk.net. Currently, he produces a podcast about counseling and life questions, the Circular Firing Squad, and digital video interviews with legacies capturing the history of the counseling field. This is also co-host of The Vision ProFiles podcast. Generally, Marty is chasing the newest tech trends, which explains his interest in A.I. for teaching, research, and productivity. Marty is an active presenter and past president of the NorthEast Ohio Apple Corp (NEOAC).

Jim Rea built his own computer from scratch in 1975, started programming in 1977, and has been an independent Mac developer continuously since 1984. He is the founder of ProVUE Development, and the author of Panorama X, ProVUE's ultra fast RAM based database software for the macOS platform. He's been a speaker at MacTech, MacWorld Expo and other industry conferences. Follow Jim at provue.com and via @provuejim@techhub.social on Mastodon.

Support:

Become a MacVoices Patron on Patreon
http://patreon.com/macvoices

Enjoy this episode? Make a one-time donation with PayPal

Connect:

Web:
http://macvoices.com

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/chuckjoiner
http://www.twitter.com/macvoices

Mastodon:
https://mastodon.cloud/@chuckjoiner

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/chuck.joiner

MacVoices Page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/macvoices/

MacVoices Group on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/macvoice

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuckjoiner/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chuckjoiner/

Subscribe:

Audio in iTunes
Video in iTunes

Subscribe manually via iTunes or any podcatcher:

Audio: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesrss
Video: http://www.macvoices.com/rss/macvoicesvideorss

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(1954)

MacVoices #20109: Shelly Brisbin Discusses The Latest in Accessibility and Her Book, iOS Access for All (2)

In second part of our discussion with iOS Access for All author Shelly Brisbin, she talks about how iOS and macOS compares to other platforms, who's making progress in the accessibility area, and how...

6 Apr 202033min

MacVoices #20108: Shelly Brisbin Discusses The Latest in Accessibility Her Book, iOS Access for All (1)

Shelly Brisbin has put the finishing touches on the latest revision to her book iOS Access for All, and joins us to discuss some of the improvements to accessibility in iOS 13 and iPad OS 13, whether ...

3 Apr 202032min

MacVoices #20107: MacVoices Briefing - Five More Ways To Improve Your Videoconferencing

By popular demand, Chuck provides five more ways to improve your videoconferencing skills. Find out what to do and what not to do. (And no, these five tips won't cost you any money either.)

2 Apr 202011min

MacVoices #20106: Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus On His Training, Music, Productivity Hardware (Part 2)

Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus continues his discussion of being productive while working from home with an update on the training he provides at Working Smarter For Mac Users, some of the things that he is do...

1 Apr 202033min

MacVoices #20105: Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus's Productivity Tips For Working At Home

Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus has spent most of his career working from home, so what is new to many us is his normal. Bob tells us some of the challenges he faced early on, how he overcame them, and how he c...

31 Mar 202036min

MacVoices #20104: MacVoices Update - 2020-03

In the update for March 2020, Chuck talks about some changes to the MacVoices format, the new "MacVoices Thinking" benefit for Patreon supporters as well as an upcoming new benefit that is under const...

29 Mar 202010min

MacVoices #20103: Peter Cohen on the new Mac mini, iPad Pro, and MacBook Air (Part 2)

In the second part of our discussion of new Apple hardware with Peter Cohen, we turn to the inevitable question of whether the iPad can replace a Mac laptop, and if it can, should it? Peter has some t...

27 Mar 202025min

MacVoices #20102: Peter Cohen on the new Mac mini, iPad Pro, and MacBook Air (Part 1)

Apple's latest hardware releases go under the microscope in our discussion with Peter Cohen. In Part 1, the discussion starts with Apple's timing in releasing these devices, then digs deep into the Ma...

26 Mar 202034min