Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting

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 MGG 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 Mouse 00:03:37 CSM-Ottograph 00:04:37 Rough Draft Coding has taken on new life 00:12:08 JT-CSM-BAM to close apps you’re not using 00:15:04 Alejandro-CSM-HEVCut shrinks videos and photos on iPhone 00:17:31 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/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 00:23:45 Welcome Home, Apple! 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 MOAR CSM 00:59:36 Ben-CSM-Sundrop photos to show your kids growing up 01:01:30 @n-Taylor-CSM-Odie, an automatic iPhone car mileage tracker 01:03:00 Tilak-CSM-MailRules to sort your inbox with plain English rules 01:04:45 Jiaming-CSM-Discrity shows which apps are using your Mac’s camera and microphone 01:06:08 Tejas-CSM-NotchPop to enhance your MacBook’s notch 01:07:50 Phil-CSM-Faro helps you decide what movie to watch 01:09:10 Jason-CSM-MailKeys to add Gmail shortcuts to Apple Mail 01:10:23 Aki-CSM-Driftlog, a self-populating travel map for your iPhone 01:12:28 Saif-CSF-LidKeeper to let your Mac finish it’s jobs after you close the lid 01:14:22 Raffi-CSM-Floodtide for updating your Mac’s apps 01:17:23 Donald-CSM-ThreadSaver for backing up Messages 01:19:22 MGG 1164 Outtro 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 [email protected] 224-888-GEEK Active MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes List BackBeat Media Podcast Network

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 October 5th: National Do Something Nice Day MGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a MGG T-Shirt! The MGG Merch Store is Live! MGG Monthly Giveaway Quick Tips 00:00:01 Todd-QT-Set Double Click to open the camera app Nomad Traditional Leather Case 00:06:26 Paul-QT-Cmd+Shift+Back-Tick AppSwitch in Right to Left Direction 00:09:13 Stephen-QT-Hey Safari, Describe an Extension 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 Adam-QT-Hey S-Lady, Snooze! 00:16:21 Kevin-QT-Shortcuts to Travel By – Switching eSim Networks seamlessly! Sponsors 00:20:18 SPONSOR: Eleven Labs: ElevenAgents can help build experiences that your customers will actually love. If you handle customer interactions, you can start with a demo at elevenlabs.io/MGG 00:22:06 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. MOAR Quick Tips 00:23:34 Marcelo-QT-Add your children’s details to your own iPhone’s Medical ID 00:26:22 Jeff-QT-Cmd+Shift+T to reopen multiple closed browser tabs History > Reopen Last Closed [Window|Tab] 00:28:25 Andrew-QT-Check and confirm your presumed system settings 00:32:32 Managing Notifications Settings 00:37:05 SarasotaSteve-QT-Sharing Contacts in spite of Apple Restrictions 00:40:50 iPhone 18 Pro Color Controversy Sponsors 00:46:43 SPONSOR: Origin is endpoint AI observability. See what a trace looks like at https://originhq.com/macgeekgab 00:48:02 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG Your Questions Answered – [email protected] 00:49:20 Jeremy-GoldenGate Woes Call for Help sudo mdutil -a -E Bartender for macOS 27 00:58:23 Michael-How to Share iOS Health App Data with Medical Professionals? Vitalina app 01:04:37 Rob-Airpods Pro Hearing Protection Provided? 01:13:05 Mark-?-Best method to build a shortcut? MacSparky’s Shortcuts Field Guide 01:19:55 MGG 1162 Outtro 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 [email protected] 224-888-GEEK Active MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes List BackBeat Media Podcast Network

You’ll learn how to ask S-Lady to find a family member through Find My so you don’t have to call them, and why Command-Backtick (one key up from Tab) cycles windows inside a single app while Command-1, 2, 3 hops tabs in Safari, Chrome, Comet, and even Mail. You’ll follow Dave down the iPhone system data rabbit hole, where 59GB of mystery storage led to a full wipe, a genuinely useful “keep eSIMs and erase data” option, and then 52GB creeping right back three days later. You’ll turn an always-on Mac mini into an AirPlay music server you drive from the Remote app, so the party keeps playing after you make a beer run. You’ll discover that Terminal’s Secure Keyboard Entry checkbox is why your TextExpander and Rocket Typist snippets quit firing. And you’ll hear the cheapest Wi-Fi fix in history: delete the speed test app. Plus, AI as a genealogy research partner: the kind that surfaces buried leads you verify yourself. Don’t Get Caught after a macOS update wondering why Hazel stopped filing your bank statements: the rules were fine, but Spotlight’s index was in a bad state, so rebuild it with OnyX or Terminal and reboot. You’ll get real numbers on the Apple Upgrade Program: zero percent APR, financed through Klarna, three mandatory choices at the end of your term, and a “good condition” clause nobody defines. You’ll learn the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s screen really is bigger than Series 12’s, and that a 99-cent app called O2 Buddy puts blood oxygen back on your wrist. Then you’ll rethink family contact cards using smart lists built on a keyword in the Notes field, and hear why Contacts is the one thing Dave has ever lost to sync. Watch where new contacts get saved, or you’ll be staring at a text thinking…old contact, who dis? Closing it out: why Siri still wants a data connection for requests that should never leave your phone. 00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1160 for Monday, September 21st, 2026 September 21st: Wife Appreciation Day MGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a license to SuperDuper! 4 The MGG Merch Store is Live! Quick Tips 00:00:01 Si-QT-Find my person with S lady 00:03:05 Dennis-QT-Cmd+` to Change Windows Cmd+[n] (n=number) to change tabs within an App 00:06:31 DLH-Keep your sims and erase the data 00:12:47 JW Blat-Using your Mac as an AirPlay music server 00:15:43 Pilot Pete-QT-Kill Secure Input Quickly if Terminal is Open TextExpander Rocket Typist 00:18:15 QT-Fix your WiFi by deleting the SpeedTest app 00:25:50 Russ-QT-Using A/I As a Genealogy Research Assistant MGG Reviews at https://macgeekgab.com/reviews 00:32:33 VirtualStash-MGG Review-Best podcast out there Don’t Get Caught 00:33:45 Pilot Pete-DGC-After a macOS update Spotlight Index was in a Bad State OnyX Or one way from Terminal: sudo mdutil -a -i off sudo rm -rf /System/Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100 /.Spotlight-V100 sudo mdutil -a -i on Sponsors 00:36:49 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 00:38:06 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/MGG Apple Event Errata and Updates 00:39:16 Tom-Feedback / Question: Apple Upgrade Program Pricing Structure 00:51:48 Tim A-The Apple Watch Ultra 4 has a bigger screen than the Apple Watch 12 00:54:24 Bob-CSF-O2 Buddy brings Data On Your Watch Anyway! 00:56:26 What did your geeks order? Your Questions Answered – [email protected] 01:00:16 David-What’s the best way to manage Family Contact Cards in Contacts? 01:08:40 DJ Val-Why does Siri need a data connection for offline requests 01:16:28 MGG 1160 Outtro 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 [email protected] 224-888-GEEK Active MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes List BackBeat Media Podcast Network