Chromations or Aberrations or a Sheen

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!
Quick Tips
00:00:01 Set Camera Control to double-click to open the Camera app (Todd)
Nomad Traditional Leather Case
00:06:26 Cmd-Shift-Backtick runs the app switcher right to left (Paul)
00:09:13 Hey Safari, describe an extension (Stephen)
Stephen’s prompt:
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 Hey S-Lady, Snooze! (Adam)
00:16:21 Shortcuts to travel by: switch eSIM networks automatically (Kevin)
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.
More Quick Tips
00:23:34 Add your children’s details to your own iPhone Medical ID (Marcelo)
00:26:22 Cmd-Shift-T reopens multiple closed browser tabs (Jeff)
History > Reopen Last Closed [Window|Tab]
00:28:25 Check and confirm your presumed system settings (Andrew)
00:32:32 Managing notification settings
00:37:05 Share contacts in spite of Apple’s restrictions (SarasotaSteve)
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
00:49:20 How do I fix macOS 27 Golden Gate woes with login items, Hazel and Spotlight? (Jeremy)
Rebuild the Spotlight index:
sudo mdutil -a -E
Bartender for macOS 27
00:58:23 How do I share iPhone Health app data with my doctor? (Michael)
Vitalina app
01:04:37 Can AirPods Pro provide hearing protection...