Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting Podcast By Dave Hamilton Pilot Pete & Adam Christianson cover art

Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting

Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting

By: Dave Hamilton Pilot Pete & Adam Christianson
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Summary
 Get answers to your Apple tech questions every week! Dave Hamilton, Adam Christianson, and Pilot Pete share tips, tricks, and troubleshooting advice for your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and more — all delivered in a fun, friendly way that helps geeks and everyday users alike. Don’t Get Caught without your tech working right!The Mac Observer, Inc. 2026 Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Seventeen Hours to Save Five Minutes

    Seventeen Hours to Save Five Minutes
    Nov 2 2026
    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 DayMGG Monthly Giveaway 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 Settings00:12:48 Use Notes as persistent memories for Siri AI (Robb)00:17:26 Toggle Siri’s ChatGPT extension and give it its own voice00:19:36 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/macgeekgab 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 announcements00:35:33 The new touchscreen MacBook Pro MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR DisplayNew M6 MacBook ProApple adds more AI features to Creator Studio 00:43:47 New M6 iMac00:44:51 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 coding00:55:13 Due app for customizable due dates00:57:19 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 GiveawayBandwidth Provided by CacheFlyPilot 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) PodcastsMGG Merch is Available!Mac Geek Gab iOS appMac Geek Gab YouTube PageMac Geek Gab Live CalendarThis Week’s MGG Premium ContributorsMGG Apple Podcasts Reviewsfeedback@macgeekgab.com224-888-GEEKActive MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes ListBackBeat Media Podcast Network
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Wake Up, It’s Time to Go to Sleep

    Wake Up, It’s Time to Go to Sleep
    Oct 26 2026
    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 DayMGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a MGG T-Shirt!The MGG Merch Store is Live! Quick Tips 00:00:01 iOS 27 adds four new options to jiggly-icon mode (Dr. Martin)00:03:44 The iPhone Duo order experience00:08:26 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 MountNightStand Mode == StandBy 00:27:19 Update the model on your scheduled agents00:30:30 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 plans00:44:47 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/macgeekgab00:49:06 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 ProInsta360 Link 2C – $150Obsbot Meet FlipContinuity Camera 01:12:20 Did macOS 27 change how Finder selects file names? (Todd)01:15:59 MGG 1165 Outro MGG Monthly GiveawayBandwidth Provided by CacheFlyPilot 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) PodcastsMGG Merch is Available!Mac Geek Gab iOS appMac Geek Gab YouTube PageMac Geek Gab Live CalendarThis Week’s MGG Premium ContributorsMGG Apple Podcasts Reviewsfeedback@macgeekgab.com224-888-GEEKActive MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes ListBackBeat Media Podcast Network
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    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Cool Stuff Made for an Audience of One

    Cool Stuff Made for an Audience of One
    Oct 19 2026
    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 DayMGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a MGG T-Shirt!The MGG Merch Store is Live! Cool Stuff Made 00:00:01 Michael-CSM-Tap2Click adds tap-to-click for Magic Mouse00:03:37 CSM-Ottograph00:04:37 Rough Draft Coding has taken on new life00:12:08 JT-CSM-BAM to close apps you’re not using00:15:04 Alejandro-CSM-HEVCut shrinks videos and photos on iPhone00:17:31 CSM-WatchBlocks-An Apple Watch game Sponsors 00:20:56 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG00:22:20 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 00:23:45 Welcome Home, Apple! 00:28:09 New Apple HomeView Smart Speaker with Screen and Siri AI00:38:31 Apple HomePod mini 2 with Siri AI, better Sound00:43:49 New Apple TV 4K with Siri AI00:57:23 Apple Home Collection with LG and Schneider MOAR CSM 00:59:36 Ben-CSM-Sundrop photos to show your kids growing up01:01:30 @n-Taylor-CSM-Odie, an automatic iPhone car mileage tracker01:03:00 Tilak-CSM-MailRules to sort your inbox with plain English rules01:04:45 Jiaming-CSM-Discrity shows which apps are using your Mac’s camera and microphone01:06:08 Tejas-CSM-NotchPop to enhance your MacBook’s notch01:07:50 Phil-CSM-Faro helps you decide what movie to watch01:09:10 Jason-CSM-MailKeys to add Gmail shortcuts to Apple Mail01:10:23 Aki-CSM-Driftlog, a self-populating travel map for your iPhone01:12:28 Saif-CSF-LidKeeper to let your Mac finish it’s jobs after you close the lid01:14:22 Raffi-CSM-Floodtide for updating your Mac’s apps01:17:23 Donald-CSM-ThreadSaver for backing up Messages 01:19:22 MGG 1164 Outtro MGG Monthly GiveawayBandwidth Provided by CacheFlyPilot 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) PodcastsMGG Merch is Available!Mac Geek Gab iOS appMac Geek Gab YouTube PageMac Geek Gab Live CalendarThis Week’s MGG Premium ContributorsMGG Apple Podcasts Reviewsfeedback@macgeekgab.com224-888-GEEKActive MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes ListBackBeat Media Podcast Network
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    1 hr and 21 mins
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Three guys talking about Apple tech, they don’t get political. and they don’t get too geeky. I Always learn at least five new things each show. If you Join the mail list they have links from everything they talked about in the show which is awesome. They have a feedback email that you can ask questions, supply tips or cool stuff found.

3 guys talking about Apple Tech

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