The Mac Observer's Mac Geek Gab Enhanced

Fresh out of Apple's keynote and State of the Union talks, Dave and John digest their thoughts together, live for you (or, well, live to tape... not tape but digital... oh, you know what we mean!). Then it's time for some serious followups from the last two episodes. Photos, Watch layouts, Genius Bar tips and more. And maybe, just maybe, John and Dave might have to have a spirited disagreement to celebrate their 11th anniversary!

Need an expert's guide to the Genius Bar? Forgot your PIN code but Touch ID still works? Hurry up and follow today's advice to save your data. Need to get Internet to another building far away (but not too far)? How about using HomeKit? These are the questions your two favorite geeks answer. Plus, they'll give you some truly expert advice for handling yourself at the Genius Bar. Download and enjoy!

When in doubt, apply water, right? Listener Chris did, and it worked! Matthew takes us on a tour (through his mind) of the Pocket Dial Conspirary, and Matt asks some questions about eero. And that, folks, is what Mac Geek Gab is about: answering your questions and sharing your tips. Topics include helping Terry save PDFs to different locations from print dialogs, helping Joan to safely disable iCloud photo library, helping Michael set up his Apple Watch and MUCH, much more. Download, listen, enjoy and learn!

Logic Pro X, Hackintoshes and ghost calls are a few brand new topics for the show this week. Of course, some of your old favorites are here, too and, yes, OK, we'll talk a little bit about routers again, as well. All that plus a few Cool Stuff Found entries rounds out the show, brought to you by your two favorite geeks.

iPhones and keyfobs, batteries and USB-C, external Thunderbolt GPUs, the internet of things vs. SSIDs... there's a lot to weigh in on here, folks, and John and Dave give you their thoughts along with those of your fellow listeners. Download and enjoy!

Lots of Cool Stuff Found to start the show today, including two different menubar monitor alternatives. Then it's on to Mail. It works well for some, and a few tips are shared. Others have trouble with Mail and some solutions are discussed. All your Mail are belong to YOU, at least for this episode. Then, are you paranoid when you buy a new Mac? Should you be? Find out all this and more in today's episode!

Sound is a funny thing, so are pronunciations and ringtones, and yet your two favorite geeks have some great tips for you about both of those. Need to replace the Finder? Need to diagnose a malfunctioning port on your Mac? How about restoring your magically disappearing printers? Your geeks have you covered there, too. Plus, Dave talks about his experience with an iPhone SE. All of this and more for you today on MGG!

Several of your fellow listeners are ingenious folks, having come up with some clever solutions to tricky problems. Join Dave & John as we all learn how to backup and restore your OS X text substitution preferences, use AirFoil to cusomitze your Mac's audio, restore Snow Leopard's zoom and scroll functionality to El Capitan, fix a wet iPhone 6s and more. The show is chock full today, and you're all to thank for it. Plus, Dave and John answer your questions, too!

BUBM, Yurbuds, ME05, MM1 QODE, Fastfari and more are not just random characters we typed into this field, they're names of just a few of the products included in this week's Cool Stuff Found segment! Then it's on to your questions about publishing FlickR photo albums, using iCloud on the web from your iPad, Saving space with better versioning and more!

600 Episodes and (almost) 11 years of podcasting hasn't stopped John F. Braun and Dave Hamilton from answering your questions and solving your problems. That continues with this episode, sharing tips about iCloud login issues, answering questions about Double NAT, Fusion Drives, and downloading iTunes purchases. They help manage your backups and sort out your default mail. And THEN they peer into their crystal balls for the future, just for fun.

The OS X 10.11.4 update breaks some things for folks, Photos storage is a concern to more than a few listeners, and a little more about wireless networks to round out last week's discussion. All that plus tips about making sure your Finder windows are where you think they are and learning how to use Activity Monitor to see what your apps are doing right now. Download and enjoy!

2016 is the Year of the Router (as crowned by John and Dave), and this week's episode includes some discussion about exactly how to choose the best router for your setup... especially if you're a geek. Bluetooth devices, too, are ubiquitous among us, and a few listeners are having trouble with theirs so John and Dave take to the mailbag to answer those questions, too. Plus, the entire episode begins with Cool Stuff Found. It's guaranteed to be entertaining and informative from beginning to end. That's infotainment, folks!

Some great tips to start off here, including learning that cut and paste is possible in Finder. We also learn what Time Machine excludes natively, and what the most and least popular 4-digit PINs are. Plus, Apple had an event earlier today ... Dave and John had an event right after it, Mac Geek Gab 597. Hear what they have to say about Apple's day, too!

What is it you've been saving your fourth finger for? John and Dave share a tip with the answer. Lots of tips today, in fact, including more about pasting plain text, finding SSD firmware updates, a NEW tip for deleting pesky files and much, much more. Download and enjoy!

The apps you choose to run on your MacBook can have a significant impact on your battery life; learn which ones pass John and Dave's muster. Then learn what they have to say about listeners' questions about a dirty Mail sandbox, router recommendations, firewalls and more. Cool Stuff Found starts the episode, too, folks!