All Rhyme, No Reason, Just Tabs

You kick off the year by tightening your Apple habits, starting with smart Quick Tips that actually stick. You build year-based music playlists for offline listening, flip on Airplane Mode when you’re out of service to save serious battery, and let the Health app handle reminders for meds and eye drops so nothing slips. You’re reminded of power-user staples like Cmd-Shift-5 for screenshots, learn how Google Sites can double as a surprisingly effective bookmark manager, and get clarity on when and how to disable VPNs properly, including on Apple TV for region-locked content. Along the way, you discover tools that reliably track Apple refurb inventory and dig into the oddly fascinating logic behind Safari’s tab close order.
Then it’s time to not get caught. You hear why Time Machine now warns you when your backup drive is too small, why storing Notes “On My Device” can bite you later, and how increasing cloud storage often means increasing local storage, too. Listener questions keep things practical, from tracking a missing Apple TV remote to deciding when an iPad beats a laptop. A deep dive into strange Safari tab behavior brings it all home, followed by Cool Stuff Found that helps you update Macs more intelligently, evaluate startup risks, replicate Mac setups with Ansible, and even capture insights from podcasts using AI. It’s a fast, practical reset that helps you start the year sharper, safer, and a little more in control.
00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1123 for Monday, January 5th, 2026
January 5th: National Whipped Cream Day
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Quick Tips
00:00:01 Joe-QT-Make Year-based Music playlists for offline listening
00:04:44 John-QT-Use Airplane Mode to save your battery when you’re out of service
00:06:53 Steve-QT-Use the iPhone Health app to remind you about medications, eye drops, and more!
CES 2026 Sponsor: BusyCal (with code MACGEEK10)!
00:12:26 Avraham-QT-Remember to use Cmd-Shift-5 for Screenshots
00:17:36 Andrew-QT-1115-Use Google Sites as your Bookmarks manager
00:21:32 Jason-QT-1122-Shut off your VPN from within the app, not Settings
00:23:03 Joe-QT-Use AppleTV VPN for region-locked content
00:28:51 Ben-1121-Refurb Tracker reliably tracks Apple refurb inventory
00:30:22 Ben-QT-There’s Logic to Safari Tabs Close Order…right?
Don’t Get Caught
00:32:11 Doug-DGC-Time Machine now warns you if your drive is too small
CES 2026 Sponsor: CCC Backup
CES 2026 Sponsor: MacPaw
00:41:29 Jose-DGC-1104-Be aware if you’re storing Notes On My [Device]
00:43:50 Doug-DGC-Increasing cloud storage means increasing local storage
Reviews
00:46:37 Apv9-MGG Review-Absolutely Essential LIstening for Apple Users!
Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared!
00:47:41 Skylar-Can I track my Apple TV remote?
00:50:17 Which remote control do you use?
00:53:27 Glenn-When do you reach for your iPad vs. your laptop?
OmniOutliner
01:02:54 Juergen-Why the crazy tab behavior?
01:09:20 CES 2026 Coverage Sponsors
Eero
Ecamm for Zoom integration
Cool Stuff Found
01:11:39 Steve-CSF-Latest for updating your Mac’s software
SwitchGlass
01:13:01 Arvydas-CSF-MacPersistenceChecker to risk-score all your startup items
01:14:17 Alan-CSF-1121-Use Ansible to replicate user preferences between Macs
01:15:16 Dan-CSF-SnipD AI-powered Podcast app for capturing and learning from episodes
01:17:09 MGG 1123 Outtro
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