On episode 419 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa share tips and discuss financial literacy topics as they prepare for summer break. We have helpful links in our full show notes. Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Find Melissa here and find Elisa here or here. Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
Topics Discussed
What to do when your Apple Card expires
Using credit cards versus a checking account to autopay utility bills, subscriptions, and other credit cards balances
Teaching kids about financial literacy
Help your kids establish credit (possibly) by adding them on as authorized users of your credit card.
On episode 417 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa discuss passkey rollout and management frustrations with how to work around some of the pitfalls. We have helpful links in our full show notes. Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Find Melissa here and find Elisa here or here. Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
Setup for Passkey to Autofill
If your credential manager uses vaults, decide how you will implement using a Private Vault vs regular Vaults set to be shared vs the Shared Vault in your own use case scenarios.
Configure iOS, macOS, and browser settings for autofilling passkeys from 1Password and not iCloud or browser autofill. Pick one or the other to prevent conflict.
You only need to see one passkey in your credential manager. It’s in the account where you might see multiple passkeys set up for different devices. It’s up to the service as to whether or not they will let you revoke or rename a passkey and you might have to dig through many settings to discover where they keep passkey management. Amazon, for example, wasn’t very intuitive.
Just because a product or service is listed in the directory does not mean there is a passkey system set up yet. It only means there are plans to implement it in the future.
On episode 413 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa discuss the answer to life, the universe, and how it could be passkeys. We have helpful links in our full show notes. Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Find Melissa here and find Elisa here or here. Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Episode artwork by Melissa Davis. The passkey icon is a trademark of FIDO Alliance, Inc.
On episode 406 of Geekiest Show Ever, it’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Elisa and Melissa share advice for keeping online accounts safer and try to use Amazon’s new passkey feature while recording live. Tune in to see how that turned out! Check out full show notes here https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse406-cytober/ Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Send us your feedback. Email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found on X at elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at TheMacMommy.comEpisode art by Melissa Davis based on a photo by Tara Winstead.
Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
On episode 403 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa discuss tips for getting life done with tech from installing smart plugs and running utility apps to managing the healthcare of a loved one. Check out full show notes here https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse403-healthcare-tech-tips/ Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Send us your feedback. Email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at https://TheMacMommy.com/Episode art by Melissa Davis
Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
On episode 400 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa discuss building furniture, smart home tech that irritates their husbands, ways to monitor a home remotely along with glitches that can occur and what to do about them. Check out full show notes here https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse400-throwing-out-the-game-of-life/ Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Send us your feedback. Email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Mastodon for additional tips and conversation. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at https://TheMacMommy.com/Episode art by Melissa Davis
Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Twitter for additional tips and conversation: https://twitter.com/GeekiestShow. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at https://TheMacMommy.com/
Geekiest Show Ever is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Products made by Apple mentioned in this podcast are a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.
On episode 383 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa share tips for managing healthcare and life using their favorite apps. Check out our full show notes here https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse383-so-many-portals/ and look for additional tips and referral links. Episode Artwork Credit: Photo by Michael Dziedzic on Unsplash.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Twitter for additional tips and conversation: https://twitter.com/GeekiestShow. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at https://TheMacMommy.com/
On episode 371 of Geekiest Show Ever, Elisa and Melissa share their favorite Mac utilities with the most beautiful interfaces. Melissa attended an outdoor festival and shares what she learned about high-tech wristbands. We’ll have links to the apps and resources we discussed in our full show notes which you can check out here: https://www.geekiestshowever.com/gse371-useful-utilities/ Episode Artwork Credit: Melissa Davis
MacPaw, a developer founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, makes *amazing* software. We want to show our support, so please read the MacPaw blog for more information on how you can also #StandWithUkraine https://macpaw.com/blog
Disclosure: Elisa and Melissa have been provided with review licenses for some of the software discussed in this episode. They have not been paid to positively review these apps. They just really love the software and think it’s both useful and beautiful! Melissa may earn an affiliate commission on MacPaw apps for pointing you to their site.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. You can email us: podcast at geekiestshowever dot com. Follow us on Twitter for additional tips and conversation: https://twitter.com/GeekiestShow. We’d like to hear from you, so let us know which tech topics interest you most. Elisa can be found at https://twitter.com/elisapacelli1 and Melissa can be found at https://TheMacMommy.com/
On episode 352 of Geekiest Show Ever, we discuss some of the troubleshooting experiences we’ve had over the past several weeks to keep our technology mostly working for us and not so much the other way around. We discuss the methods we use with our password manager to create new accounts more efficiently, how to deal with Keychain or web browser password saving conflicts, and more. Melissa files a bug report with Apple! Follow us for additional tips and conversation on Twitter @GeekiestShowhttps://twitter.com/geekiestshow
Tips
Use a password manager to pre-populate the fields on a web form
Instead of just filling out the fields on a website form then trying to take notes later, why not START by PRE-populating the fields in your password manager? This way, as you’re filling out the fields you can copy and paste and it will cut down on errors in data entry.
Elisa recommends using a clipboard manager for storing information to copy and paste. This makes data entry easier and more efficient, too. She also recommends using the password generator tool to help you come up with goofy answers to password reset or security questions. Remember, it doesn’t have to be the CORRECT answer, but “Aluminum-Foil ™” is already taken. 🙂
Here is a screenshot that shows the website form fields you need to fill out when creating a new “mySocial Security” account online. We’ll use this as an example because it’s one of the websites that has created a lot of friction for people when they try to sign up. It has a lot of parts to it. You need to pick: a username, password, three password reset questions, and three answers to those questions. That’s eight pieces of unique information in one go! On top of it, the password you pick must meet a specific criteria which they list in the instructions, but if you’re filling out the form and you make a mistake, you might have to start over in an area or you might forget what questions and answers you chose. It can be frustrating if you do not document everything in a safe and accessible place right away.
OR
You could use this method for pre-populating the login entry in your password manager ahead of time. Here is a screenshot of what it might look like in 1Password:
Foam ear tip replacements for AirPods Pro are really helping to reduce ear fatigue. I forget I have them in my ears when I have the foam tips on. Phone calls are soooo much better now. I don’t dread making phone calls nearly as much as I used to. Now, if only I could get better battery life! Since I forget I’m wearing them, the battery drains more quickly. I have gotten better about putting them back into the case to charge, but it’s a habit one has to learn.
Network Issues
Elisa’s Internet Connectivity Experience
Internet speed and consistency is a problem we all deal with from time to time. After rebooting your computer and trying some troubleshooting techniques like booting into Safe Mode, if the problem still persists, it might be worth taking a look at your modem or router. If it’s more than a few years old, it might be time to replace it. If your ISP supplies the hardware, get the speeds you pay for by keeping your equipment up to date.
Hardware Issues
Melissa’s AirPods Pro Replacement Experience
My beloved AirPods Pro ended up being a lemon, sadly. The good news is that it was really easy to get them replaced by Apple under warranty with their DIY exchange program. I purchased them back in November of 2020. First there was a case ID support ticket generated where we triaged the issue over the phone. It was determined that a replacement was in order. They put a hold on my Apple Card and sent me the two replacement parts. I put the defective parts into the boxes and shipped them back and they released the hold on my Apple Card. The whole process took only a few days from start to finish. One of the troubleshooting suggestions was to see if I could locate another set of AirPods Pro to test, but that proved futile. After a doctor appointment, since I was already out of the house, I stopped by our local Authorized Apple Repair place as well as a Best Buy, but neither had a spare AirPods Pro set they could use to help me rule out whether it was the case or just the AirPod for the left ear. When I called Apple back and told them, they initiated a replacement by mail. I could have skipped this part altogether, but I was really curious about what a test might reveal. All told, I was only without my AirPods Pro for about a week and I’m happy to have them working again. I really, really missed them while I couldn’t use them. If this happens to you, it might help to know what options you have.
Troubleshooting Siri with Reminders app issue on Apple Watch Experience
It used to be that whenever I’d raise my wrist then speak the phrase, “Remind me to check the washer in 15 minutes,” Siri would tell me she’d gotten it and the reminder would go automatically to my “Reminders” list because that’s the list I have set as my default list. I used that feature all the time until one day, when I glanced at my watch, I noticed that the reminder I’d just set was being put onto a “Finance” list that I share with my husband. I thought, “This is wrong, I don’t want him getting MY reminders showing up on his Apple Watch or iPhone while he’s trying to conduct classes. How annoying!” (I use Reminders a lot.) So, down the rabbit hole I went trying to document the issue and discovered it somehow became a bug since the last watchOS update. I was able to get the issue escalated to Apple’s Engineering department. It was actually fun talking to one of the Engineers and to see the diagnostic process that’s involved in logging the issue with them. Still no solution, but I’m happy to know it wasn’t something I was neglecting to do. I’ll report back if the problem gets fixed in a future update.
Do you have questions about what you heard in this episode? Please send us your feedback. We’d like to hear from you. Let us know about a tech topic that interests you.
