This week in the labs, we covered the usual assortment of geeky topics and we’re all looking forward to the iPhone event next week.
Below you’ll find the week’s new videos and podcasts, a few of the conversations happening in the member community, and what’s coming next week. Most of those links lead straight into the Labs community on Circle, so they’ll only open if you’re a member. If you’re a Labs member who hasn’t set up your Circle access yet, send me a note and I’ll get you in. For members, this is your week at a glance. If you’re not one yet, it’s a peek at what you’re missing.
The Week’s Releases
This Month in the Labs – August 2026
Roundup · August 31 · all tiers
The August wrap-up went up in all three tiers on Monday. Every video, podcast, and live session from the month, collected in one place.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
MindNode MCP Support
Video · September 2 · Pathfinder & Insider
MindNode just added MCP support, so you can now hook your AI right into your mind maps. I gave it one dictated prompt and watched it build a full map of my MacSparky content pipeline, channels, platforms, and all.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
WhatCable – Free USB-C Cable Identifier
Video · September 3 · all tiers
Every USB-C cable looks the same and they are not the same. WhatCable is a free utility that identifies what a cable can actually carry, and I walk through it.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
The Lab Report for September 4, 2026
Podcast · September 4 · all tiers
Tim Cook is done running Apple. After fifteen years, he’s moved to executive chair and John Ternus is CEO, effective September 1.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
In the Community
I’m gently being pushed up the MacMini ladder (Labs Discussion Board)
A member set out to replace an M1 Mac mini and watched the spec climb one reasonable-looking step at a time.
Grok Bot (Labs Discussion Board)
One member asked whether anybody else has been trying Grok Bot and got back a long hands-on writeup.
If you’re a Labs member and haven’t joined the Circle community yet, let me know and I’ll get you set up.
Coming Up
Apple’s event is Wednesday and we’re getting together right after. Here’s the calendar through the middle of October.
Labs iPhone Event Meetup · September 9, 12:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs September Meetup (After Dark) · September 10, 18:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
September Deep Dive – The Mac Studio Home Server · September 17, 12:00 Pacific
Labs Jam Session – Browsers · September 24, 12:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Q4 Quarter Planning Meetup · October 1, 10:00 Pacific
Labs October Meetup · October 8, 14:00 Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
October Deep Dive – Local and Private AI on a Mac · October 15, 12:00 Pacific
Links of Interest
- Everything is a song. Austin Kleon’s weekly list of ten, this one carrying remembrances of Dolly Parton, Yayoi Kusama, and Tim Curry.
- Experiencing Apple’s live immersive baseball broadcast. John Voorhees on watching part of a live Yankees-Red Sox game in Apple Immersive Video.
- Apple was caught off guard by AI demand for the Mac mini and Mac Studio. MacRumors on why the new desktops arrived early.
- Ford explains why it chose Apple Maps over Google for its new EVs. 9to5Mac on how that decision got made.
Join the Labs
The videos, podcasts, and live sessions above are inside MacSparky Labs. Join at macsparky.com/join.
I write about getting more from your Apple gear. If this was useful, go deeper in the Labs or grab the weekly newsletter.