Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting

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

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

The Debut Film Podcast – Adam’s new podcast!

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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

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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"

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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!

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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

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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 1162 with a stack of quick tips. You’ll stop your iPhone’s Camera Control from firing on every accidental squeeze, flip the Mac app switcher into reverse without lifting a finger, and ask Safari to describe an extension and build it for you. You’ll snooze your alarm with S-Lady and get (a little) relief from macOS 27’s hybridsearchd CPU hog. You’ll also borrow a brilliant Shortcuts automation that swaps eSIMs the moment your plane leaves the gate. Then you’ll add your kids’ vital details to your own Medical ID, bring back every closed tab with Command-Shift-T, share contacts despite Apple’s Family Sharing limits, and learn why a quarterly check of your firewall, privacy, and notification settings keeps you from getting blindsided. Pilot Pete, Adam Christianson, and Dave Hamilton also dig into the iPhone 18 Pro color controversy to find out whether it’s chromations, aberrations, or just a sheen.

Then your questions get answered. You’ll fix macOS 27 Golden Gate headaches like broken login items, a Hazel that’s gone on strike, and a Spotlight index that needs a fresh start. You’ll turn your Apple Health data into a readable report your doctor can actually use, and you’ll learn how to make your AirPods Pro work as real hearing protection at your next concert. Finally, you’ll find the best path to building Shortcuts, whether that’s a trusted field guide or letting AI write one for you. Press play, tune up your settings, and whatever you do, Don’t Get Caught!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1162 for Monday, October 5th, 2026

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 Set Camera Control to double-click to open the Camera app (Todd)

Nomad Traditional Leather Case

00:06:26 Cmd-Shift-Backtick runs the app switcher right to left (Paul)

00:09:13 Hey Safari, describe an extension (Stephen)

Stephen’s prompt:

Produce four sliders to adjust the brightness (50-200%), contrast (50-200%), saturation (0-200%) and hue of all images. Label sliders B, C, S, H. Include a minimize button labelled -. Put the panel half way up the window. Include a reset button to return values to 100, 100, 100 and 0. Minimise after 10 seconds since last use. Reduce empty space in panel. When minimized only show standard brightness and contrast icons (black and white versions) side-by-side. Tap on those to restore panel. Save the values.

00:12:22 macOS 27 (developer beta 2) begins to resolve hybridsearchd high CPU usage

00:13:21 Hey S-Lady, Snooze! (Adam)

00:16:21 Shortcuts to travel by: switch eSIM networks automatically (Kevin)

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More Quick Tips

00:23:34 Add your children’s details to your own iPhone Medical ID (Marcelo)

00:26:22 Cmd-Shift-T reopens multiple closed browser tabs (Jeff)

History > Reopen Last Closed [Window|Tab]

00:28:25 Check and confirm your presumed system settings (Andrew)

00:32:32 Managing notification settings

00:37:05 Share contacts in spite of Apple’s restrictions (SarasotaSteve)

00:40:50 iPhone 18 Pro color controversy

Sponsors

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Your Questions Answered

00:49:20 How do I fix macOS 27 Golden Gate woes with login items, Hazel and Spotlight? (Jeremy)

Rebuild the Spotlight index:
sudo mdutil -a -E

Bartender for macOS 27

00:58:23 How do I share iPhone Health app data with my doctor? (Michael)

Vitalina app

01:04:37 Can AirPods Pro provide hearing protection? (Rob)

01:13:05 What’s the best way to build a Shortcut? (Mark)

MacSparky’s Shortcuts Field Guide

01:19:55 MGG 1162 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 1161 with a round of Quick Tips: flip through browser tabs with Command-Shift-[ and ], kill your iPhone flashlight with one tap, and learn iOS 27’s new swipe-down layout, where notifications, Siri, and Control Center each get their own corner. You’ll also bring CarPlay widgets back into your life, compare the apps on all your Macs with one Terminal command (and a little AI help), and find the Identity Documents collection hiding in iOS 27 Photos.

Then Don’t Get Caught by SIM protection blocking your new iPhone setup, a watch battery “replacement” that quietly swaps your Apple Watch and takes blood oxygen readings with it, or a GPS-only Apple Watch that can’t call for help when you need it most.

Next, your two geeks and a pilot figure out why iCloud Drive won’t keep your files local, share how they juggle iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Synology Drive, and help a caregiver limit an iPhone’s outgoing calls to a trusted few. You’ll get the right way to speed test your internet from your router, a fix for Siri AI that won’t leave, and an update on hybridsearchd eating your Mac’s CPU in macOS 27.

Stick around for Cool Stuff Found, where Adam finally ends years of naked-iPhone with a screen protector (and a dose of shame) that goes on perfectly every time. Press play and get your answers before your gear gets you!

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1161 for Monday, September 28th, 2026

September 28th: National Family Day

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Quick Tips

00:00:01 Follow-up to MGG 1160: Command-Shift-[ and ] switch between browser tabs (Todd)

00:04:45 Turn off the iPhone flashlight with a quick tap of the icon (Martin)

00:07:37 iOS 27 swipe-down has a third option now (Dr. Dream)

00:08:47 Use CarPlay widgets again in iOS 27 (Andrew)

00:13:08 Compare the apps on all your Macs (Andrew)

Save a list of your installed apps:
ls /Applications > ~/Desktop/apps-list.txt

00:17:51 iOS 27 Photos has an Identity Documents collection (Manhattan Glen)

00:21:50 Genius Scan to scan documents

Sponsors

00:23:38 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

00:25:01 SPONSOR: BBEdit, the power tool for text from Bare Bones Software at https://barebones.com … now with integrated Notebooks and extended language support.

Don’t Get Caught

00:26:14 Disable SIM Lock before transferring to your new iPhone (Bill)

00:28:27 Follow-up to MGG 1159: replacing the battery might replace your Apple Watch and lose features (Brian)

00:34:42 Think carefully before buying a GPS-only Apple Watch (Doug)

Your Questions Answered

00:35:47 Why is iCloud Drive not syncing all of my files? (Joe)

Cirrus & Bailiff from Eclectic Light

Dropbox

OneDrive

Google Drive

Synology Drive

Resilio Sync

00:45:38 How do I limit an iPhone’s outgoing calls to only certain people? (HiFiGMan)

Sponsors

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Follow-Ups

00:58:40 Follow-up to MGG 1160: use your router’s speed test app (Andrew)

Netgear Orbi

Eero

UniFi Cloud Gateway Max

01:01:19 Siri AI hangs around too long (Larry)

01:04:50 More about hybridsearchd CPU usage in macOS 27

Cool Stuff Found

01:10:00 Spigen GLAS.tR EZ Fit screen protector (ATC)

AILUN iPhone Screen Protectors

01:21:18 MGG 1161 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!

Mac Geek Gab iOS app

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