Assoc. Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Jud Brewer - TMO BGM Interview

Dr. Jud Brewer is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University, as well as a research affiliate at MIT.

As an addiction psychiatrist, Dr. Jud has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including both in-person and app-based treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. He is the author of The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits.

In this sparkling and entertaining interview, I pepper Jud with questions about his chosen career, consciousness, mindfulness, reward-behavior, breaking bad habits and how to cope with the isolation and stress of our current pandemic. You should get into the habit of listening to Dr. Jud!

Writer and Raconteur Bob 'Dr. Mac' LeVitus (#2) - TMO BGM Interview

Bob “Dr. Mac” LeVitus is a writer, book author and raconteur. He writes for the Houston Chronicle and The Mac Observer, and he specializes in the “Dummies” books about Apple products like the Mac, the iPad and iPhone.

In this episode, Bob and I focus on the practice of working from home. We covered work strategies and techniques, workspace and hours, software vs. paper tools, clothing and eating, task management, multitasking vs. single focus and more. We delved into microphones and cameras for a Mac as well as some video conferencing apps and touched on the notion of spending time learning unfamiliar but essential internet technologies. We closed with a discussion of music to work by and a great library app called Libby.

I Made a Loop – Mac Geek Gab 808

Are your fans blazing during those Zoom calls? Is your laptop plugged in more frequently now? Have an issue printing? How about choosing between NAS vs. USB-C drives? You’re in luck! These are just a sample of the questions your two favorite geeks answer during this week’s show. John and Dave then share some Cool Stuff Found, some tips, and more. Press play and enjoy learning at least five new things!

Catalina Nonplussed By HFS – Mac Geek Gab 806

Do you want a dock with more USB-C ports? If so, why? John and Dave have some ideas for you. How should you best manage your USB-C-powered devices? Or what if you need a backup internet connection with your cell phone? These questions, plus more questions, plus some Cool Stuff Found, plus your Quick Tips round out the episode. We know… it’s a lot! That’s what it takes to learn five new things each week together, isn’t it?

To RAID or Not (to RAID)? – Mac Geek Gab 805

Do you close your Terminal sessions correctly? Does iStat Menus work after you migrate? Are you getting Notes to launch as fast as possible? You’ll be able to answer “yes” to all three of these things after just the first few minutes of this week’s show. Stick around and learn about taming CarPlay, sharing Calendars, using a VPN with your Apple TV and much more. You’ll definitely hit your quota of learning at least five new things with John and Dave this week.

Taming System Preferences, Podcasts, Email, and More – Mac Geek Gab 803

Sometimes things just get out of hand with your devices and need to be wrangled back into line. Today’s targets: System Preferences, the Podcasts app, IMAP email, and much more. Plus, some early replies on our search for the best way to tame our episode watch lists are already in, too! Listen as John and Dave talk through all of this, add some Cool Stuff Found, and more.

CES - Danby Stops Porch Pirates with Danby Parcel Guard

LAS VEGAS, NV — Parcel theft, or “porch pirates” are an increasing issue in many areas.  They will take your parcel shortly after it’s been delivered, or when you’re not home.  Danby can help secure your parcels and even catch a thief with the technologies in Danby Parcel Guard.

Avoid RISCy Behavior – Mac Geek Gab 795

Ever have an iOS device that won’t stay connected to your Mac? How about needing to connect your Thunderbolt 2 devices to your new Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac? What about proving your location in the past? Or looking up phone numbers?

These are just a few of the questions John and Dave tackle this week. Of course, Cool Stuff Found and Quick Tips are healthily represented as we drive towards the end of 2019. Just make sure to avoid RISCy behavior. Or don’t, and be like Chuck Peddle!

We Are All Tracked, All The Time

The New York Times has published a stunning report showing the full extent of how we are tracked via our smartphones. Obviously, it’s behind a paywall, but if you can get to it the piece is well worth reading.

After spending months sifting through the data, tracking the movements of people across the country and speaking with dozens of data companies, technologists, lawyers and academics who study this field, we feel the same sense of alarm. In the cities that the data file covers, it tracks people from nearly every neighborhood and block, whether they live in mobile homes in Alexandria, Va., or luxury towers in Manhattan. One search turned up more than a dozen people visiting the Playboy Mansion, some overnight. Without much effort we spotted visitors to the estates of Johnny Depp, Tiger Woods and Arnold Schwarzenegger, connecting the devices’ owners to the residences indefinitely.

Spotify Free Tier Coming to Alexa, Sonos, And Bose Devices

Spotify’s free tier is coming to Alexa powered devices. It will also work on Sonos and Bose devices, Techcrunch reported. Previously only those with a premium subscription could access their music on such speakers.

In the case of Alexa devices, like Amazon Echo speakers or the Fire TV, users will be able to ask Alexa to play Spotify’s playlist, like “Today’s Top Hits,” or their personalized playlist, “Discover Weekly,” among others. The service can also be set as the default, so you can use commands like “Play my Discover Weekly,” “Like this song,” or “Pause,” and more, without having to say “on Spotify.” Meanwhile, on Sonos and Bose speakers, users can set up Spotify Connect from the Spotify app. This works with Bose smart speakers and soundbars, as well as all Sonos smart speakers, including the new indoor/outdoor speaker Sonos Move and the Symfonisk IKEA WiFi Speaker, integrated with the Sonos Home Sound System.

iCloud Keychain vs. Catalina Cage Match – Mac Geek Gab 786

Today, your two favorite geeks dig into your questions about recovering photo data, removing malware, resolving iCloud Keychain in macOS Catalina, and more. But that’s not all! You’ve got some great tips for automating those un-automatable Personal Reminders, fixing DNS, Mono Podcast Listening, and creating disk images. All of this and more from Dave Hamilton and John F. Braun, as soon as you press play. Do it now and don’t get caught!

Eight (GB) is Enough – Mac Geek Gab 783

Catalina is out and your geeks have migration and installation tips to share from their experiences. Take a listen to this episode before you upgrade, for sure. But Catalina isn’t the only topic this week, folks. Lots of iOS 13 tips and tricks, lots of other macOS stuff, and all of your questions answered, too!