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
A Few Notification Tips from Your Pal, MacSparky
Post · October 12 · all tiers
I shared a pass through notification settings, starting with the apps that haven’t earned the right to interrupt you. The post covered promotional alerts, badges, and when an app should be allowed to make a sound.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Siri AI for World Knowledge – Ask Better Questions and Check the Answers
Video · October 13 · all tiers
I showed how I used Siri AI for everyday questions and kept a conversation going with follow-ups. The examples ranged from why stars twinkle to woodworking and planning a museum visit.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs Billing is Moving to Circle
Announcement · October 13 · all tiers
I posted an update about moving Labs billing from Memberful to Circle. It explained what members should expect during the transfer, including keeping their membership price, renewal date, and Labs access.
Gear Update – The Elgato Prompter XL
Post · October 14 · Pathfinder & Insider
My camera discipline needed some help. I shared the larger Elgato prompter I’d been using to keep my eyes on the lens, with photos of the clamp and mount it took to get it onto my desk.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
TrillMark – Custom Mac Notification Sounds
Video · October 15 · Pathfinder & Insider
After Monday’s notification cleanup, I showed how to give the useful Mac alerts their own sounds. TrillMark also offered visual alerts, and I walked through setting it up for Shortcuts and avoiding double sounds.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
October Deep Dive – Local and Private AI on a Mac
Live Deep Dive · October 15 · Pathfinder
Thursday’s Deep Dive was about running AI on your own Mac, with a beginner’s look at models, memory, and what local tools could realistically do. The link below leads to the event page; the recording will follow.
The Lab Report for October 16, 2026
Podcast · October 16 · all tiers
I covered Apple’s new HomeView and the rest of its home announcements, including the app limits and extra costs of putting HomeView on a wall. My editorial asked whether a smart home would work for the people who didn’t set it up, and my media pick was the Blue Planet series.
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
In the Community
Secure Input Blocking Snippets (Labs Discussion Board)
A member followed up on the October meetup with notes about Secure Input interfering with TextExpander and Alfred. The thread looked at background apps and Input Monitoring permissions, with more troubleshooting notes promised as the member reconstructed the steps.
Synology – Personal Cloud w Chat and Meetings (Labs Discussion Board)
Could a Synology replace a paid Slack group for a family partnership? A member started exploring its chat and meeting tools and asked for experience from others. The replies included another chat option and requests for a report on how the experiment went.
iPhone 18 Pro Buzz (Labs Discussion Board)
A member heard static during calls on a new iPhone and asked whether anyone else had the same problem. Replies offered a different experience on a Pro Max and raised possible hardware or carrier issues. The thread hadn’t settled on a cause.
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
Next week, I’ve got a miniature Macintosh clock to show you, along with an AI assistant you can reach by text message. There’s also time to read along for our next book club.
Labs Book Club – Meditations for Mortals · October 29, noon Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link | Member Link
Labs November Meetup · November 7, 10:00 AM Pacific
Pathfinder Link | Insider Link
Links of Interest
- Mike Schmitz explained how to capture useful ideas with the Obsidian Web Clipper, including a template that asked you to put the idea into your own words before saving it.
- Michael Tremblay described putting a pause between a sensation and our reaction to it. The practice started with noticing the sensation before adding a story about what it meant.
- Mark Ragland shared what he learned from his first year of writing on Substack, including how pocket notebooks became his subject and why keeping a publishing schedule hadn’t made his writing process tidy.
- Austin Kleon’s weekly collection of things worth sharing included drawing, copying favorite poems, and making things by hand.
- Seth Godin asked whether our vivid memories were reliable, and what might change if we allowed for another version of the same event.
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.