Yeah, I recognized his name and he has been on before. I think I kinda had the same reaction before...just very dry and measured (but then kinda smug and "nyah nyah" at times). Nowhere near as bad as Marco Arment (I can't listen to that pud).
I like when funny people are on, because it usually prods Gruber into being the same...and he really can be. Sometimes he'll say something perfectly and I'll chuckle for five minutes. But I think he takes his cues from his guests, so he was pretty low-key and laid-back on this episode.
But I like when he's really into something and laying it down.
The best episodes - and there have only been two - are the ones with Joanna Stern from the
Wall Street Journal. She's funny and quick, and she has Gruber chuckling the entire episode. Some people just make stuff funny when they talk, and how they phrase things or the things they point out. She seems to be that way. Those are two solid episodes. She's my favorite guest of his, followed by Jason Snell (who's kinda the Bob Ross of Apple stuff...he's just pleasant to listen to, and is never obnoxious or snarky).