Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting

Bring back a tap-to-stop button for alarms and timers in iOS 26 with one Accessibility setting, then let Siri do the math when you ask for a timer that ends at a specific time. You’ll also learn how tapping the time in Apple Podcasts shows when your episode will actually finish at your listening speed, why your Apple Watch’s suggested replies suddenly got smarter, and how your cursor can glide between two Macs sitting side by side. Plus, fix shared external drives that refuse to let you write by checking the volume’s permissions, and find out why Siri AI can fail when Tailscale routes you through an exit node.

Then it’s your questions: get Migration Assistant to see your old Mac (you have to run it on both) or skip it and just move your mail, decide whether an iPhone 18 Pro really makes Siri AI better than your 16 Pro, and get two-factor codes to auto-fill in Chrome with a simple click-away-and-back trick. You’ll hear why browsing Time Machine backups on a NAS crawls and what to look for in a UPS for your Mac mini. And in Cool Stuff Found, add a ring light to any Mac with LightBuddy, Webcam Ring Light or RingLight, snooze your reminders with Unforgetful, confirm your security patches with SilentKnight, and clean up a noisy mic with Waves NS1.

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1167 for Monday, November 9th, 2026

November 9th: Carl Sagan Day

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 Bring back tap-to-stop alarms and timers in iOS 26 (Ben)

00:03:07 Ask Siri for a timer that ends at a specific time (NibsUK)

00:04:58 Tap the time in Apple Podcasts to see when an episode ends (Stanley)

00:09:23 Apple Watch now suggests smarter replies to texts (G. Wallace)

00:13:12 Move your cursor between two Macs without thinking about it (Chris)

00:15:19 Check the permissions on your shared drives (Badger)

00:16:47 Siri AI fails when using Tailscale exit nodes (Doug)

Sponsors

00:23:50 SPONSOR: Hostinger. Hostinger builds your vision step by step. Create your website today. Go to https://Hostinger.com/MGG and use code MGG for 10% off now.

00:25:18 SPONSOR: Stio. Ski season’s almost here. Gear up now, the way the locals do. Go to https://stio.com/mgg for 20% off your order.

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Your Questions Answered

00:28:26 Why Pete’s Chrome froze on the ad video

00:31:54 Why won’t Migration Assistant see my old Mac? (Badger)

00:35:34 Does an iPhone 18 Pro make Siri AI better than a 16 Pro? (James)

00:40:54 How much do the iPhone camera upgrades matter?

00:45:06 Get two-factor codes to auto-fill in Chrome by clicking away and back (TNPAPA)

00:47:52 Why is browsing Time Machine backups on a NAS so slow? (NASANut)

00:52:14 Choosing a UPS for your Mac mini (JDSmith)

TrugyTex PwrMini P1

Cool Stuff Found

00:59:52 LightBuddy, Webcam Ring Light and RingLight add a ring light to any Mac (Andrew)

01:03:00 Unforgetful adds snooze to your reminders (WillRun4Fun)

01:04:25 SilentKnight checks your Mac’s security patches (Steve)

01:06:19 Waves NS1 to filter noise

01:07:06 MGG 1167 Outro

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The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts

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Hold Option while you drag a window edge and your Mac resizes around its center, and that’s just the start of what the Option key unlocks, from hidden Wi-Fi diagnostics to extra Bluetooth details in your menu bar. You’ll also learn how to update every Apple TV in the house straight from the Home app, why toggling Cellular Data revived an iPhone after iOS 27.2 when a reboot didn’t, what Reset Network Settings really costs you, and how a few well-named Notes give Siri’s new personal context something worth remembering. Plus the gang compares how they’re actually using AI right now, from Claude skills to coding agents that review each other’s work, then runs through Apple’s big week: the touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display, the M6 MacBook Pro and iMac, and an OLED iPad mini.

Then it’s your questions: find a medication reminder that bends around shift work (and count what vibe coding your own costs you in time), make Apple Mail always put attachments at the end, have your iPhone read your daily affirmations aloud with one simple Shortcut, and reach your NAS securely with Tailscale Serve or Cloudflare Tunnels instead of opening ports. And before you trust your left-behind alerts, open each AirTag in Find My and check its exceptions list, because Find My may have quietly added places you never picked. Don’t Get Caught!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1166 for Monday, November 2nd, 2026

November 2nd: All Souls Day

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 Option-drag a window edge to resize around its center (Chris)

00:03:28 Update your Apple TV’s tvOS from the Home app (Rich W)

00:05:09 Option-click your Wi-Fi menu (and everything else)

00:07:53 Toggle Cellular Data to bring back service after iOS 27.2 (Doug)

00:09:56 Beware Reset Network Settings

00:12:48 Use Notes as persistent memories for Siri AI (Robb)

00:17:26 Toggle Siri’s ChatGPT extension and give it its own voice

00:19:36 How are you using AI today? (Andy)

Sponsors

00:31:10 SPONSOR: Stio. Ski season’s almost here. Gear up now, the way the locals do. Go to https://stio.com/mgg for 20% off your order.

00:32:41 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG.

New Apple Stuff

00:34:03 Apple’s big week of announcements

00:35:33 The new touchscreen MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display

New M6 MacBook Pro

Apple adds more AI features to Creator Studio

00:43:47 New M6 iMac

00:44:51 OLED iPad mini…and more!

Your Questions Answered

00:47:23 What’s the best app to remind me to take medication? (Colin)

00:53:48 Beware the time sink of vibe coding

00:55:13 Due app for customizable due dates

00:57:19 How do I make Mac Mail insert attachments at the end by default? (David)

00:59:54 How can my iPhone read my daily affirmations to me in its own voice? (Roy)

01:03:27 Use Tailscale Serve or Cloudflare Tunnels to reach your NAS securely (Scott, following up on MGG 1164)

01:10:09 Why is Adam’s Facebook not showing him the time?

Don’t Get Caught

01:14:41 Check your AirTags’ left-behind exceptions in Find My (Andrew)

01:19:42 MGG 1166 Outro

MGG Monthly Giveaway

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Pilot Pete’s Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts)

The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts

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Kick off Mac Geek Gab 1165 with a stack of Quick Tips: find the four new options hiding in iOS 27’s jiggly-icon mode, see how Messages remembers where you were when you jump back through a thread, and control which direction Photos moves after you delete a shot. You’ll keep a stubborn printer visible just by leaving Print Center open, play your favorite podcasts through your Mac with iPhone Mirroring, and turn StandBy into a desk-side HomePod remote.

Then it’s AI time: update the model on your scheduled agents before they quietly run on last year’s brains, get Siri AI’s full answers on iPhone and Mac, and size up Instinct, Muse, Dots, and Grok Bot as Apple’s assistant falls behind (again). You’ll also learn about the API credits hiding in Claude Max plans and a double-click trick that snaps any window to full size, with a Siri swear jar to keep the tips honest.

Then your two geeks and a pilot answer your questions. Find out why your Mac’s scheduled shutdown never fires and which apps fix it without Terminal, run the flashlight test that tells you whether a dying display is worth saving, and pick the right webcam for your Zoom calls, from Insta360 and Obsbot to the Continuity Camera already in your pocket. Finally, tackle the macOS 27 Finder change that grabs your file extension along with the file name, plus the keyboard workaround that brings your muscle memory back. Press play, get your answers, and whatever you do, Don’t Get Caught!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1165 for Monday, October 26th, 2026

October 26th: National Pumpkin Day

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 iOS 27 adds four new options to jiggly-icon mode (Dr. Martin)

00:03:44 The iPhone Duo order experience

00:08:26 Jumping back in Messages remembers where you were (NASANut, following up on MGG 1163)

00:11:27 Choose which way Photos moves after you delete a photo (Daymon)

00:13:03 Leave Print Center open to keep pesky printers available (Michael)

VueScan

Sponsors

00:20:09 SPONSOR: Stio. Ski season’s almost here. Gear up now, the way the locals do. Go to https://stio.com/macgeekgab for 20% off your order.

00:21:46 SPONSOR: Hims is changing men’s healthcare by providing convenient, quality care, 100% online. Start your free online visit today at https://Hims.com/MGG.

More Quick Tips

00:24:12 Listen to podcasts on your Mac by mirroring your iPhone (Henry)

Belkin Continuity Camera Mount

NightStand Mode == StandBy

00:27:19 Update the model on your scheduled agents

00:30:30 See Siri AI’s complete responses on iPhone and macOS (Bill)

00:35:12 Instinct and Muse vs. Siri AI

And Dots and Grok Bot

00:43:37 Claude API credits on Max plans

00:44:47 Quickly expand the window you’re working in (Bruce)

00:46:34 Start a Siri Swear Jar (Mark)

Sponsors

00:47:45 SPONSOR: Origin is endpoint AI observability. See what a trace looks like at https://originhq.com/macgeekgab

00:49:06 SPONSOR: BBEdit, the power tool for text from Bare Bones Software at https://barebones.com … now with integrated Notebooks and extended language support.

Your Questions Answered

00:50:19 Why won’t my Mac shut down automatically? (Karl)

To schedule a daily shutdown at 11 PM and wake or power on at 6 AM:
sudo pmset repeat shutdown MTWRFSU 23:00:00 wakeorpoweron MTWRFSU 06:00:00

To see the current schedule:
pmset -g sched

Prefer an app? BAM

01:00:12 My monitor is failing. Should I repair it? (Mike)

Which 5K monitor for my Mac? (MGG 1136)

01:04:39 Which webcam should I get for Zoom calls? (John)

Insta360 Link 2 Pro

Insta360 Link 2C – $150

Obsbot Meet Flip

Continuity Camera

01:12:20 Did macOS 27 change how Finder selects file names? (Todd)

01:15:59 MGG 1165 Outro

MGG Monthly Giveaway

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Pilot Pete’s Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts)

The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts

MGG Merch is Available!

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Mac Geek Gab 1164 is all about Cool Stuff Made, the apps you built and sent in, starting with Tap2Click, which finally gives your Magic Mouse a quiet tap-to-click. You’ll hear why rough-draft coding with AI is changing who gets to build Mac software, and how Dave’s own Ottograph fixed per-alias signatures in Apple Mail in a single evening. Then Pilot Pete, Adam Christianson, and Dave Hamilton show you BAM for auto-quitting idle Mac apps and scheduling shutdowns, HEVCut for shrinking iPhone videos to reclaim storage, and WatchBlocks, a full sandbox survival game that runs on your Apple Watch.

Next, Apple’s Welcome Home lineup gets the once-over: the new HomeView smart display with Siri AI and multi-user support, the HomePod mini 2, the new Apple TV 4K with far-field mics and AV1 decoding, and the Apple Home Collection built with LG and Schneider. You’ll find out who should upgrade and who should stay put.

Then the listener-built apps keep coming. Sundrop turns your photo library into a time-lapse of your kids growing up, Odie logs your mileage automatically for tax time, and MailRules sorts your inbox with rules you write in plain English. Discrity shows you which apps are using your Mac’s camera and microphone, NotchPop turns your MacBook notch into a dashboard, and Faro helps you pick tonight’s movie. You’ll also get MailKeys for Gmail shortcuts in Apple Mail, Driftlog for a self-building travel map, LidKeeper for finishing jobs after you close the lid, Floodtide as a Mac Updater replacement before that database goes dark, and ThreadSaver for backing up your Messages. Press play to find your next favorite indie app, and whatever you do, Don’t Get Caught!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1164 for Monday, October 19th, 2026

October 19th: National New Friends Day

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Cool Stuff Made

00:00:01 Tap2Click adds tap-to-click to the Magic Mouse (Michael)

00:03:37 Ottograph adds per-alias signatures to Apple Mail

00:04:37 Rough-draft coding has taken on new life

00:12:08 BAM closes the Mac apps you’re not using (JT)

00:15:04 HEVCut shrinks videos and photos on iPhone (Alejandro)

00:17:31 WatchBlocks, a sandbox game for Apple Watch

Sponsors

00:20:56 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG

00:22:20 SPONSOR: Hostinger. Hostinger builds your vision step by step. Create your website today. Go to https://Hostinger.com/MGG and use code MGG for 10% off now

Welcome Home, Apple!

00:23:45 Apple’s Welcome Home smart home lineup

00:28:09 New Apple HomeView Smart Speaker with Screen and Siri AI

00:38:31 Apple HomePod mini 2 with Siri AI, better Sound

00:43:49 New Apple TV 4K with Siri AI

00:57:23 Apple Home Collection with LG and Schneider

More Cool Stuff Made

00:59:36 Sundrop turns your photos into a time-lapse of your kids growing up (Ben)

01:01:30 Odie, an automatic iPhone car mileage tracker (@n-Taylor)

01:03:00 MailRules sorts your inbox with plain-English rules (Tilak)

01:04:45 Discrity shows which apps are using your Mac’s camera and microphone (Jiaming)

01:06:08 NotchPop turns your MacBook’s notch into a dashboard (Tejas)

01:07:50 Faro helps you decide what movie to watch (Phil)

01:09:10 MailKeys adds Gmail shortcuts to Apple Mail (Jason)

01:10:23 Driftlog, a self-populating travel map for your iPhone (Aki)

01:12:28 LidKeeper lets your Mac finish its jobs after you close the lid (Saif)

01:14:22 Floodtide updates your Mac’s apps (Raffi)

01:17:23 ThreadSaver backs up your Messages (Donald)

01:19:22 MGG 1164 Outro

MGG Monthly Giveaway

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Pilot Pete’s Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts)

The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts

MGG Merch is Available!

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Customize your Finder icons for instant recognition, stretch your Apple Watch battery on long workouts with Low Power Mode, and jump months back in your Messages history with a single tap. You’ll also learn how to force macOS 27 to download from Terminal when Software Update won’t show it, and how to run separate Claude Desktop apps for work and home. Then your two geeks and a pilot tackle whether you can migrate to a new iPhone from an iOS beta, whether you need Mail.app running to feed Apple Intelligence, and the one Search setting that might be keeping Siri from your data.

The big revelation is that you can now ask Siri why something failed, and she might actually tell you. No yelling required, though an emphatically kind request helps. You’ll get the best ways to connect to your Synology DiskStation without certificate warnings, and find out why Apple Watch battery service may get you a whole new watch, possibly with blood oxygen intact. Cool Stuff Found brings SetShot for tracking macOS settings changes, Marked QL for previewing Markdown in Quick Look, a folding case for iPhone Duo, and news that Apple will replace the Duo’s screen layer when the crease shows up. Press play, ask better questions, and Don’t Get Caught!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1163 for Monday, October 12th, 2026

October 12th: National Gumbo Day

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 Customize your macOS Finder icons (Pilot Pete)

00:03:37 Put your Apple Watch in Low Power Mode during long workouts (Jonathan)

00:06:00 Jump to earlier messages quickly (Pilot Pete)

00:09:14 Can’t see macOS 27 in Software Update? Try Terminal (NASANut)

List the available full installers:
softwareupdate --list-full-installers

Download a specific version:
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 27.0.1

Dash for macOS

00:16:32 Run multiple Claude Desktop apps for work and home (PorthosJon)

Launch a second instance with its own account:
open -n -a "Claude" --args --user-data-dir="$HOME/.claude-instances/work"

Sponsors

00:20:50 SPONSOR: CleanMyMac. Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use our code MACGEEK for 20% off at https://clnmy.com/MACGEEK

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Your Questions Answered

00:23:41 Can I migrate to a new iPhone from one running an iOS beta? (Terry)

00:27:48 Are Pete and Dave still getting iPhone Duo?

00:29:14 Should I be running Mail.app to take advantage of Apple Intelligence? (Barry)

hybridsearchd high CPU usage is often triggered by Smart Mailboxes using “Entire Message” criteria

00:35:21 Don’t Get Caught: make sure Siri can see your apps’ data (Robb)

00:37:22 Siri can answer tech support questions about your Mac

Try asking “Why did that fail?” and it might just tell you!

Sponsors

00:45:51 SPONSOR: Shopify. If you’re ready to stop putting off your business and start selling, sign up for your free trial and start selling today at https://Shopify.com/MGG

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More Questions and Tips

00:48:13 How do you connect to your Synology DiskStations? (NASANut)

MariusHosting.com

00:55:32 Follow-up to MGG 1161: Apple replaced our Apple Watches when we had the batteries serviced (James)

00:57:35 Follow-up to MGG 1161: Apple Watch warranty replacements might display blood oxygen (Martin)

Cool Stuff Found

00:58:48 SetShot tracks macOS Settings changes (Andrew)

01:01:59 Marked QL previews Markdown in Quick Look (also in Setapp) (Allison)

Marked 3

01:05:47 Limitless iPhone Duo Case (Terry)

01:10:12 Apple will replace the iPhone Duo’s folding screen layer

01:12:23 MGG 1163 Outro

MGG Monthly Giveaway

Bandwidth Provided by CacheFly

Pilot Pete’s Aviation Podcast: So There I Was (for Aviation Enthusiasts)

The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

Dave’s Business Brain (for Entrepreneurs) and Gig Gab (for Working Musicians) Podcasts

MGG Merch is Available!

Mac Geek Gab iOS app

Mac Geek Gab YouTube Page

Mac Geek Gab Live Calendar

This Week’s MGG Premium Contributors

MGG Apple Podcasts Reviews

feedback@macgeekgab.com

224-888-GEEK

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