Good afternoon Techstravaganza friends,
This afternoon, Ali provided a retake of the iCatcher tutorial. Give it a listen at the following link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5VIHe2E74b0SeTitgQfvik
Show Notes
Workshop Recording Initialization and Introduction: Aliasgar Moosa officially opened the live workshop on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, thanking attendees and outlining a tour of “iCatcher,” a podcast application used to listen to and manage podcasts (00:25:18). Aliasgar Moosa planned to cover the podcast tab, search functionality, playlist tab, and application settings. Jackie Castrogiovanni briefly interrupted due to a phone ring before muting their microphone using keyboard shortcuts (00:27:11).
- iCatcher Podcast App Search Demonstration: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated the iCatcher application using a touchscreen interface without reviewing VoiceOver commands, noting they were using an unreleased test version of the app that might differ from the App Store version. Aliasgar Moosa navigated to the search tab at the bottom of the screen, searched for “locked on blue jackets,” and activated the follow option for the daily podcast published by the Locked On Podcast Network on September 29, 2026 (00:30:09) (00:32:42).
- Podcast Tab Navigation and Category Overview: Aliasgar Moosa navigated back to the podcast tab and scrolled through an extensive catalog of podcasts to demonstrate how to identify the end of the list (00:32:42). The demonstrated list included numerous entries ranging from sports shows like “9 to 5 Mac happy hour” and “Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney” to technology and accessibility podcasts like “Apple Vis,” “Blind Bargains audio,” and “Vispero Connect” (formerly known as FScast) (00:33:52) (00:44:04).
- Podcast Filtering Options: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated the filtering capabilities within the podcast tab, showing how to filter podcasts by status (such as all, following, not following, downloaded, streaming, playable, unplayed, and unplayed not ready to play) and by categories like hockey, which displayed 13 matching podcasts (00:45:29). Aliasgar Moosa explained that users could apply multiple categories simultaneously, though noted some initial confusion with the filter selection interface (00:47:26).
- Batch Deleting and Managing Podcasts: Aliasgar Moosa and Siena Trigiani demonstrated how to manage and delete multiple podcasts simultaneously within the edit mode of the podcast tab (00:50:23) (00:56:31). Instead of deleting or unfollowing items individually, Aliasgar Moosa selected multiple inactive or unwanted podcasts in batch view and executed a complete deletion after confirming the prompt (00:51:25) (00:56:31). Siena Trigiani praised iCatcher for its flexibility in allowing batch management, noting it provided an efficient alternative to handling podcasts one by one (00:57:53).
- iCatcher “Inbox All” Playlist and Navigation: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated the “inbox all” playlist feature within the iCatcher application, explaining that the tool helps filter and organize new episodes that are not yet ready to play. During the demonstration, various podcasts were visible, including The Tom Gazola Show, Locked on Senators, and the Bill Kelly podcast (00:59:07) (01:02:18). Additionally, participants discussed keyboard shortcuts for raising hands, noting control-alt-H for PC and control-command-H for Mac (01:02:18).
- Managing and Queuing Episodes: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated how to manage episodes within the “inbox all” playlist by marking specific items as played, selecting multiple episodes simultaneously, and moving them into a “nighttime” queue playlist. The episodes managed included sports content such as Maple Leafs coverage and baseball season discussions (01:03:36) (01:06:36).
- Podcast Player Customizability and Control: Palmer Douglas asked questions about the playlist creation and episode management workflow, prompting Aliasgar Moosa to explain that iCatcher provides full control over downloading, organizing, deleting, and queuing podcasts compared to traditional podcast players (01:08:21). Aliasgar Moosa noted that the nighttime list functions specifically as a playback queue rather than a literal evening listening slot (01:11:57), and subsequently initiated a batch download for eleven selected episodes (01:13:07).
- Exporting Podcast Media Files: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated how to export media from the app by selecting an episode from the Bill Kelly podcast, navigating the share sheet, and using the “send download to” option to save the MP3 file directly into iCloud Drive (01:14:03).
- Configuring “Inbox All” Playlist Rules: Aliasgar Moosa reviewed the settings and automated rules governing the “inbox all” playlist in iCatcher, which included autofill preferences and specific inclusion parameters such as keeping episodes unplayed, non-downloaded, and newer than seven days. Exclusions were also applied to filter out episodes already present in the playlist (01:17:39) (01:19:57).
- Configuring the “Morning” Playlist and Keyword Rules: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated the configuration of a separate “morning” playlist in iCatcher, highlighting that it utilizes a keyword and category rule to automatically include downloaded episodes from designated categories (01:22:30). Palmer Douglas and Sienna Trigiani discussed how these customizable rules provide significantly more flexibility than standard podcast applications like Apple Podcasts (01:27:30), while Macara Slobodian noted the utility of the rules before stepping away from the meeting for lunch (01:28:52).
- Bulk Categorization of Podcasts: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated how to update and replace categories for multiple hockey podcasts simultaneously—including Locked on Islanders, Locked on Blue Jackets, and Locked on Canadians—by selecting them in bulk and assigning them to the “morning” category (01:31:40). Following this update, Aliasgar Moosa downloaded a Locked on Islanders episode concerning a leadership shakeup, verifying that it successfully appeared in the morning playlist (01:36:21).
- Importing External Media Files into iCatcher: Aliasgar Moosa demonstrated the media import feature in iCatcher by navigating to the experimental settings, selecting an audio file named “broadcast map intro music” from iCloud Drive, and attempting to import it into a newly created custom podcast titled “projects” (01:41:36) (01:44:44). During this process, the application and screen reader temporarily crashed before recovering (01:46:16), leading Sienna Trigiani and Aliasgar Moosa to discuss the practical utility of importing media, such as decompressing zip folders of audiobooks to manage them with playback position memory (01:48:58).
- Comparing Podcast Applications and Pricing: Palmer Douglas asked how iCatcher compares to other options like Overcast, Downcast, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, to which Aliasgar Moosa responded that iCatcher is preferred due to its superior customizability and flexibility without requiring a user account (01:50:29). Sienna Trigiani and Palmer Douglas confirmed that iCatcher operates on a one-time fee model costing $6.99 CAD without monthly subscription charges (01:51:39) (01:54:11), and the meeting concluded with a brief exchange regarding calendar software preferences (01:55:59).
- Google Calendar and App Usage: Siena Trigiani and Aliasgar Moosa discussed the usability of Google Calendar, noting the effectiveness of schedule, month, day, and week views. Palmer Douglas shared that they use various Google apps on a Pixel phone, including YouTube, Drive, stocks, photos, Gmail, Lookout, Play Store, and web browser. Addressing the variety of tools, Aliasgar Moosa suggested organizing a series on the Google suite, leading to a consensus among Aliasgar, Palmer, Jackie Castrogiovanni, and Siena to cover Drive, Docs, Gmail, Google Keep, and Google Meet (01:57:48).
- Upcoming Techstravaganza Extra and Google Glasses: Siena Trigiani mentioned turning off drop deck monitoring due to latency issues that slowed down speech. Palmer Douglas shared that Gemini was used to find out about Google Glasses release dates, indicating that audio-based models will launch this year while display models are slated for January of next year. Building on this, Siena announced an upcoming Techstravaganza Extra event on Friday to review Meta glasses and showcase additional features (01:59:59).
- Development of Excess Email App: Siena Trigiani discussed creating a prototype for a screen reader and assistive technology-friendly mail app named Excess Email, utilizing Gemini for coding despite having no prior coding experience. The underlying problem motivating this project is that existing desktop mail clients are limiting across devices or place multiple email accounts behind paywalls, which creates barriers for assistive technology users. Jackie Castrogiovanni agreed with these limitations (02:01:10) (02:06:49). Siena reported completing phase one today—which involved building and testing features and accessibility implementations—with the next phase involving the transformation of the local prototype into a desktop app for Windows and Mac that is expected to be user-ready within a couple of months (02:02:44).
- Outlook Calendar Usability and Personal Productivity Habits: Palmer Douglas described an issue encountered with the Outlook app on iPhone, explaining that when double-tapping a start time to create an event, users must switch from schedule view to date view using a toggle located next to the done button (02:04:21). Palmer also outlined personal productivity habits, which involve writing things down, memorizing details, and using the Outlook calendar app. Aliasgar Moosa proposed conducting a session on the Outlook calendar, and Siena Trigiani requested a couple of weeks to experiment with the application before providing a tutorial (02:05:55).
- Evaluation of Project Management Apps Asana and Trello: Palmer Douglas evaluated two project management apps, noting that Asana provides reliable due date notifications despite mobile calendar setup being somewhat difficult, whereas Trello makes board and account creation easy but lacks clear notification integration when linked with overall calendars (02:07:54). Siena Trigiani noted having no prior experience with Asana or Trello. Aliasgar Moosa and Siena brought the meeting to a close, with Siena thanking Aliasgar for help with the tutorial and reminding everyone about the Tech Extravaganza Extra scheduled for Friday from 7 to 9:00 p.m. Eastern time (02:09:14).
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