In this week's Chit Chat Across the Pond, Adam Engst of TidBITS joins me to talk about his decision process on choosing an iPhone 17 over the 17 Pro. One of the things I like best about Adam is how, just like me, when he starts digging for an answer which should be knowable, he's like a dog with a bone and won't stop until he succeeds.

The main decision point between the 17 and the 17 Pro is whether someone really does care about the 8X telephoto lens vs. the macro lens. We tried to figure out how many photos we really took with the 5X on the iPhone 16 Pro, but that turned out to be a much harder task than you would think. We tried Apple Photos smart albums, but for reasons you'll hear, you can't really do it that way.

Using the open source command line ExifTool from exiftool.org/... (also available through Homebrew) and his able assistant ChatGPT, he was able to create a script that queried our Photos Libraries to determine how many photos we had taken in the last year using the different camera/lens combos on the iPhone 16 Pro. While you hear us talking he hadn't yet perfected his script but he eventually beat it into submission!

Of course, Adam has written up an article describing this descent into madness and even published the script if you care to download it. You can find his article at tidbits.com/....

Read an unedited, auto-generated transcript with chapter marks: CCATP_2025_09_25

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CCATP #821 for September 17, 2025, and I'm your host, Allison Sheridan. This week, our guest is a real throwback for the show. If you've been listening for a very long time, you may remember this guest as creating the best Honda Bob commercial of all time, where he performed it as a Klingon war commander. He's the man who coined the term for his own podcast, "Making technology work for you." He's brilliant, he's funny, he is, as my father used to say, "drilled off center". Please welcome back to the show after close to a decade-long absence, the one the only, Knightwise.

Knightwise and I have stayed in contact over the years, sending texts back and forth here and there. This week he sent me a message asking for help finding a way to force macOS into letting his client view his MacBook Air's desktop (not speaker notes) while giving a presentation. I dug around, testing some ideas, and didn't succeed in helping him, but when he figured out a solution, he suggested coming on the show to tell us about the creative solutions he comes up with for his clients.

A few links he talks about:

• BetterDisplay Pro on github.com/...
• knightwise.com/... "once in a while" writing and podcasting
• Co-owner of The Rangers at deRangers.be/...
• Look for Jo Hendriks on LinkedIn

Read an unedited, auto-generated transcript with chapter marks: CCATP_2025_09_17

Join the Conversation:

• allison@podfeet.com
• podfeet.com/slack

Support the Show:

• Patreon Donation
• Apple Pay or Credit Card one-time donation
• PayPal one-time donation
• Podfeet Podcasts Mugs at Zazzle
• NosillaCast 20th Anniversary Shirts

Referral Links:

• Setapp - 1 month free for you and me
• PETLIBRO - 30% off for you and me
• Parallels Toolbox - 3 months free for you and me
• Learn through MacSparky Field Guides - 15% off for you and me
• Backblaze - One free month for me and you
• Eufy - $40 for me if you spend $200. Sadly nothing in it for you.
• PIA VPN - One month added to Paid Accounts for both of us
• CleanShot X - Earns me $25%, sorry nothing in it for you but my gratitude

In this week's Chit Chat Across the Pond, Adam Engst of TidBITS fame and fortune joins me to talk about recent changes to AppleCare. While the big story of the day is AppleCare One, there have been changes over the past few years (and even this year) to what AppleCare covers and how it's charged. After discussing those changes, we get into the huge pitfalls and dangers in AppleCare One. If you don't pay attention, it's fairly easy to end up with a worse deal.

Read an unedited, auto-generated transcript with chapter marks: CCATP_2025_08_26

• Setapp - 1 month free for you and me
• PETLIBRO - 30% off for you and me
• Parallels Toolbox - 3 months free for you and me
• Learn through MacSparky Field Guides - 15% off for you and me
• Backblaze - One free month for me and you
• Eufy - $40 for me if you spend $200. Sadly nothing in it for you.
• PIA VPN - One month added to Paid Accounts for both of us
• CleanShot X - Earns me $25%, sorry nothing in it for you but my gratitude