The eSIM Showdown, Sync Mysteries, and Must-Know Mac Tricks
Mac Geek Gab — Apple Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting
U.S. Mobile and MVNO Flexibility
Dave explains U.S. Mobile's ability to choose networks and how plan choices affect switching costs and coverage.
Buckle up, geeks! This week’s Quick Tips have you refreshing the App Store like a pro, turning Finder’s Quick Actions into a PDF-combining powerhouse, swiping that iOS cut/copy/paste bar like a power user, and finally taming horizontal scrolling on your non-Apple mouse.
Then it’s tales from the road: Adam wrestles eSIMs into submission with a Starlink cameo, Linda accidentally invents her own ISP, Mint Mobile’s tablet plan steps into the spotlight, and Dave shares what he learned from TP-Link about the FCC saga you’ll want in your ears before your next router purchase.
Your questions get the full treatment, too. VaShaun learns how to keep his SSID intact when switching providers (including travel router magic!), Jim battles a stubborn Trash with rm, lsof, and fuser so you Don’t Get Caught staring at undeletable files, and GW finally gets a straight answer on why sync is so hard.
Cool Stuff Found rounds it out with WhiteScreen.Online turning your devices into panel lights, Zenringer landing at half price, the Basic Bookmark Checker tidying your digital life, the Flipper Zero cloning whatever’s clonable, and the OBDEleven gen 3 unlocking your car’s hidden settings. Hit play and geek out.
- 00:00:00 Mac Geek Gab 1141 for Monday, May 11th, 2026
- May 11th: National Technology Day
- MGG Monthly Giveaway – Enter to win a Function101 Apple TV Button Remote
- The MGG Merch Store is Live!
- Quick Tips
- 00:00:01 Michael-QTR-Refresh Appstore Update
- 00:03:00 Bill-QT-Making a PDF with “Quick Actions” Menu in Finder
- 00:05:30 Lucas from Chicago-QT-Swipe the bar/menu of cut/copy/paste options on iOS
- 00:07:16 ACTUALLY combining PDFs on the Mac in the Finder
- 00:09:12 David-QT-Horizontal Scrolling with a Non-Apple Mouse!
- Stories from Travels
- 00:11:43 Adam and The eSIM
- 00:21:51 LindaNET (because Linda had a DSL line and resold her high speed internet)
- 00:22:32 Mint Mobile Tablet Plan
- 00:26:04 Dave vs. TP-Link and The FCC
- Sponsors
- 00:28:00 SPONSOR: CarGurus. Meet CarGurus Discover, a new search feature where you can look for vehicles based on the way you think—using your own words. No more being boxed in by filters. Check it out at https://cargurus.com/
- 00:29:11 SPONSOR: NordLayer Browser. The business browser built for how modern work actually happens — giving IT the visibility and control to secure SaaS, stop phishing, and prevent data leaks right at the source.
- 00:30:08 SPONSOR: CleanMyMac. Get Tidy Today! Try 7 days free and use our code MACGEEK for 20% off at clnmy.com/MACGEEK
- Your Questions Answered and Tips Shared!
- 00:31:30 VaShaun-Can I Keep my SSID when I get a new provider?
- Use your home’s same SSID/password on your travel router so everything connects all the time
- 00:39:01 Jim-How do I empty a stubborn Trash on my Mac?
- rm vs. rmdir vs. rm -rf
- sudo lsof +D /path/to/folder
- sudo fuser -v /path/to/folder
- Command-Shift-Period in Finder shows hidden files
- 00:50:27 GW-Why is Sync “Hard?”
- 00:31:30 VaShaun-Can I Keep my SSID when I get a new provider?
- Cool Stuff Found
- 00:58:11 Stephen-CSF-WhiteScreen.Online turns your device into a panel light
- 01:01:12 Michael-CSM-Zenringer (link gets you half price for MGG listeners)
- 01:02:16 Donald-CSM-1128-Basic Bookmark Checker to clean things up!
- 01:03:13 Rob in STL-CSF-Flipper Zero for cloning (your?) badges and more
- 01:06:34 Richard-CSF-1111-ODBEleven gen 3 for tweaking your car’s settings
- 01:09:11 MGG 1141 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!
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