The Green Light Never Lies – Mac Geek Gab 1151 episode image

Fresh off Macstock, you get the full debrief on this year’s gathering before diving into a stacked round of Quick Tips. You’ll learn how to disable Summarize Notification Previews to stop needless battery churn, clear every unread Apple Watch notification in one shot, and weigh whether it’s finally time to move to macOS Tahoe. There’s a heads-up that Mac minis and Mac Studios are back in Apple’s Refurbished Store, a slick Control-Tilde trick to reveal formulas in Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice, the case for a USB-only cable when you’re heading into DFU recovery mode, and clever moves like stretching a Kindle book loan with an old iPad, building reusable packing-list templates, and scheduling an automatic weekly reboot to keep your Macs running clean.

Then you tackle your questions: setting the default audio app on your iPhone, when prepaid mobile data might be the smarter play (and when it’s not!), and a big Don’t Get Caught warning that macOS 28 is dropping support for encrypted HFS+ drives, so decrypt or reformat those external volumes before you upgrade next year. You’ll also hear how Claude Code can become your new macOS troubleshooting partner, including some honest thoughts on leaning on AI to fix your machine.

Cool Stuff Found rounds it out with UDM14 for Google results minus the AI summaries, Backdrop for live macOS wallpaper, Clock Rings for tracking time in decimal, and a cheap camera lens cover that works across your MacBook, iPad, and iPhone. As always, come learn at least five new things.

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1151 for Monday, July 20th, 2026
- July 20th: National Fortune Cookie Day
- MGG Monthly Giveaway – Win a license to Mole
00:02:00 Macstock Debrief
- Some new-for-the-first-time attendees
  - David Pogue
  - Ken Case
  - Ken Ray
  - Paul Conaway
Quick Tips
- 00:00:01 DLH-QT-Disable Summarize Notification Previews to save battery churn
- 00:06:16 Pilot Pete-QT How to clear all your unread Apple Watch notifications
- 00:08:34 Is it time to update to Tahoe?
- 00:09:25 Mac minis and Mac Studios available again in Apple’s Refurb Store
- 00:12:31 Companies safeguarding your data
- 00:16:46 Marina-QT-Control-Tilde shows the formulas in Excel (and Google Sheets, and LibreOffice, but not Numbers)
- 00:20:03 Tony-QT-Use a USB-only cable for DFU Recovery Mode
- 00:21:49 Harvey-QT-Use your old iPad to extend your Kindle Book loan period
- 00:24:40 Todd-QT-1150-Create Packing List Templates and Sections
- 00:27:50 Don-QT-Schedule a weekly reboot for your Macs
  - sudo pmset repeat restart U 05:00:00
    - (“U” means sUnday)
- 00:33:40 Pilot Pete-QT-Green light Means the Camera is On
Sponsors
- 00:36:56 SPONSOR: Coveron. One scam can cost you everything – use code “macgeekgab” for up to 76% off at https://coveron.com/macgeekgab to safeguard your identity.
- 00:38:10 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
Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared!
- 00:39:33 Dave-How can I set the default audio app on my iPhone?
- 00:45:30 Doug-Why go prepaid for mobile data?
  - US Mobile (allows network flexibility)
  - Get $25 to join America’s Super Carrier, plus get 30 days free when you transfer your number!
- 00:53:10 Gary-DGC-macOS 28 to drop support for encrypted HFS+ drives
- 00:58:10 Dave-QT-Use Claude Code for macOS troubleshooting
- 01:03:57 Some thoughts on Troubleshooting with AI
Cool Stuff Found
- 01:05:35 Mike-CSF-UDM14 to get Google results sans AI summaries
- 01:09:34 Javier-CSF-1128–Backdrop – Live MacOS Wallpaper
- 01:11:34 -n-Eric-CSM-Clock Rings to track time in decimal
- 01:15:39 Pilot Pete-CSF-Camera Lens Cover Macbook, iPad, iPhone
01:18:48 MGG 1151 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
- feedback@macgeekgab.com
- 224-888-GEEK
- Active MGG Sponsors and Coupon Codes List
- BackBeat Media Podcast Network