When the Internet Spits You Out – Mac Geek Gab 1135 episode image

You’re about to spend an hour geeking out about the moments when your tech life goes sideways and how to keep it all under control. You’ll hit World Backup Day prep, tame your email with smart rules and categories, turn your AirPods into stealth earplugs, and learn Mac power tricks like killing stubborn processes and using Reminders so your birthday rewards never slip by. Along the way, you’ll hear from listeners about pre-emptively swapping NAS drives, upsizing your Synology, and the best way to get your movie library playing cleanly on your iPad.

Then you’ll dive into the fun stuff that happens when the internet spits you out in the wrong place, from working around VPN restrictions to making sure you Don’t Get Caught when networks get weird. You’ll remember John Martellaro and his dents in the universe, plus load up on Cool Stuff Found like AirTag sleeves for your Apple TV remote, faster AirDrop-style sharing with Blip and LocalSend, and even AI that can drive your car with Comma 4.

00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1135 for Monday, March 30th, 2026
- March 30th: National Pencil Day
- Pentel Twist Erase
- MGG Monthly Giveaway – Enter to win a copy of SoundSource from Rogue Amoeba!
00:05:05 World Backup Day is tomorrow!
- Fastmail backs up your email!
Quick Tips
- 00:00:01 Bill-QT-1134-Set macOS to always open new documents in tabs
- 00:09:09 P2-QT-use noise cancellation with AirPod in one ear
  - Using AirPods as earplugs
  - Comply Foam Tips for AirPods
- 00:14:00 SXSW: Shokz OpenDots One
  - Shokz OpenFit Pro
- 00:18:46 David-QT-Host your own cloud mail rules
- 00:24:48 n-Ben-QT-1131–Train Apple’s Mail Categories for your own emails
- 00:26:17 John-QT-Use killall -9 if you really need to kill a process
  - killall -9 “[process name]”
  - killall -KILL “[process name]”
  - Check Activity Monitor’s View menu
- 00:37:17 Tim-QT-Use Reminders to remember your birthday rewards
Sponsors
- 00:38:30 SPONSOR: BBEdit, the power tool for text from Bare Bones Software; now with integrated Notebooks and extended language support.
- 00:39:41 SPONSOR: Stamps.com With Stamps.com you can send from your computer or phone 24/7. No long lines, no low supplies, open any time. Go to stamps.com and use code mgg to get sixty days risk-free!
Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared!
- 00:41:01 JP-Should I Replace Drives Pre-emptively in my NAS?
  - Synology Monthly Disk Health Report
  - Synology Hot Spare
- 00:47:14 How about adding larger drives to your NAS?
- 00:51:06 Roger-What’s a better way to display and play movies on my iPad?
  - VLC
  - Infuse
  - Plex
- 00:55:42 Mark-How can I use a VPN and bypass VPN restrictions
- 01:00:02 CSF-GoodReader for playing movies
- 01:00:43 GW-Glowing MacBook Apple Logo
- 01:03:00 Remembering John Martellaro and the dents he put in the universe
  - Finding John Martellaro’s Space Shuttle Lander Simulator for Apple ][
Cool Stuff Found
- 01:08:04 James-CSF-Elago AirTag sleeve for AppleTV 4K remote
- 01:09:45 -n-Ahkeens-CSF-1132-Blip is reliable, AirDrop-style replacement
  - Allison-CSF-Blip to give a better AirDrop-like experience
  - LocalSend
- 01:11:53 Greg-CSF-Comma 4 uses AI to drive your car
01:18:05 MGG 1135 Outtro
- MGG Monthly Giveaway
- Bandwidth Provided by CacheFly
- More shows
  - 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
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