Bug with regards to .tar.gz in Chrome when 'Asking where to save downloads'

This is a documented bug:

https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=83084

Look for a nightly build or update to potentially address this or perhaps choosing another browser. Hat tip to jaume for the comment alerting us to the specific issue being tracked.


External monitor can't be detected anymore

There's only one thing to do.... take it in for service.

When I connect the dongle it's visible as BillBoard Device in the
System Information -> USB (both Macs have that).

The fact that it's being detected means your port is functioning.  Now, you didn't specifically say so, but I'm assuming that the built-in display is working.  Since you have the Intel Iris (Integrated) graphics, there's no failure with the graphics chipset (there's no discrete GPU)
However, there is a video mux (multiplexer) chip that "sends" video to the LCD, the external monitor, or both.  This has likely died.

Macbook Pro on but display is blank

You've done a lot of diagnostics - actually gone a bit overboard with the re-installation of the OS.  Safe Mode or Recovery Mode is sufficient for this.  For the future, try this first and if you absolutely must have a clean install, do it to a USB flash drive (32GB is sufficient) so you're not wiping out your drive (and all your work) as a diagnostic procedure.


Is there a way to refresh a Finder file listing?

Yes!
A simple AppleScript can instruct the Finder to tell its front window to update every item. Such an AppleScript can be saved as an Application and then dragged to the Finder toolbar to give you a refresh button.
The AppleScript you need is quite simple:
 tell application "Finder" to tell front window to update every item

Paste the above text in Script Editor (in the Utilities folder), then use Export -> Application. THAT executable should be dragged, with CommandOption, to the Finder toolbar (that is, the top bar, not the sidebar).
You can change the icon following this answer.


When I update my app, does it need to be re-approved?

Yes it does, but the review times are much faster. I just submitted an update and it was reviewed and live within 5 days (counting the weekend).


Feasibility of swapping two MacBook Pros (both hard drive and RAM)?

The RAM speed won't be a problem, the system will detect the speed of the RAM and run it at the maximum compatible speed. Hard drives also won't be a problem. (you will want to do a "fresh" install of the operating system)

As for the RAM voltage, I think that would be a problem. I'm not completely sure though. Whatever you do, make sure you run the Apple Hardware Test and babysit the machine while its running. Chances are if it passes all the tests, you're good.


Can I use an iMac as monitor for MacBook Pro?

No, as the first iMac which allows this is the 27-inch Late 2009 iMac, as explained here.

There are, though, some Applications which may achieve something similar, requiring both computers to be connected to the same LAN/WiFi/VPN, and sending all the information, the one to be displayed on the second computer working as a display, through it. Such as ScreenRecycler. You can find some more here.


How can I find and edit my external hard-drive's .fseventsd folder?

Files and folders starting with a '.' are invisible in Finder by default. You have to activate this option in order to view/delete them.

Open Terminal and typ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true, after that, restart your Finder.
To hide those files again, open Terminal and type defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false and restart Finder again.

But remember, they are hidden for a reason, so don't mess around with this kind of folders unless you are absolutely certain of your actions...


Getting an unlocked iPhone 4/4S to work on T-Mobile

Will the iphone get 4g speeds

No it won't. iPhones, even 4 and 4S, are not 4G devices. The 4 is for the iPhone fourth generation, but they are in reality 3G devices. So you won't get better speed than 3G (for sure).

I'm not sure for the network itself since I'm in Canada and I don't look at US providers very often. From memory T-Mobile has a different (AWS) network than AT&T so that could also affect your connectivity and speed. You better check the phone versus provider specifications (or someone else doing the same as you).


how do I enable the root user from the Directory Utility?

You don't need to put anything in there if you're working locally, just click 'Open Directory Utility' [which you did, based on your second pic]

Then…
Edit menu - Enable root user [only available once you unlock Directory Utility, which it looks like you did]

...I would wonder why you need root unlocked - you really don't need it in OS X, you can sudo anyway


Viewing the Account Name of multiple Apps in iTunes

Just click on the app

and push Command + "I", or right-click on the app and click "Get Info", or click on the app and navigate to File>Get Info (sixth command from the bottom).

All three of these will allow you to see the account name and email of the person who purchased them.


How do I stop .dmgs from automatically mounting?

As Administrator user, remove read access from /System/Library/CoreServices/DiskImageMounter.app (and /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app to be on the safe side) for "Everyone" (in the Get Info dialog in the Finder).


How to launch an iOS Simulator with Safari open using a single command?

You can open a webpage in safari using :

xcrun simctl openurl <Device UDID> http://www.google.com

You can determine the Device UDID by running xcrun simctl list

Just run both command using the && operator.

xcrun instruments -w "iPhone 6 (8.1 Simulator)" && xcrun simctl openurl <Device UDID> http://www.google.com


Go to Settings > Music. Is "Show Apple Music" switched to "on?"

You cannot have Apple Music enabled and sync your music library. It will only make those songs in your library available via the cloud.

You must choose, for your device, if you want to have Apple Music (which has a paid subscription fee of $9.99 after a trial period) -or- sync your music library.

You can, however, download songs individually onto your device for offline use.


How to unrate multiple album ratings at the same time?

I was looking to do the same thing the OP requested here. This was my solution:
Open the Music app (formerly iTunes in macOS 10.14 and earlier) and do one of the following:

create a new smart playlist with the criteria that album rating does not equal zero stars (the star to the left of the first star) then open up that smart playlist and select all the songs therein
sort tracks by album rating and select all the songs that have a non-zero album rating.

Next, open up Script Editor.app and paste in the following script:
tell application "Music"
    repeat with theSong in selection
        set album rating of theSong to 0
    end repeat
end tell

You may need to run it more than once as it may fail as the selection changes while songs are being removed from the smart playlist. After a successful execution, all manual album ratings will be removed. Some albums may still have grayed out ratings: these are from the song ratings themselves and aren't actually album ratings.


If you don't want to reduce the time for a password prompt after the screen saver starts you can use Keychain Access. Start it and in the preferences choose to show the status in the menu bar

You will be then able to lock the screen immediately with Lock Screen:


Does the iPod Touch 5th Generation have a magnetometer sensor?

Here is table about which device has which sensor.

Look to magnetometer compatibility.

So sensor is absent on iphone + iphone 3g + any iPod including iPod 6 gen.


Each platform comes with one or more specific platform binary interfaces that define how operating systems (or stand-alone programs that are not operating systems) must be structured.

The first run parts of an operating system is generally defined in binary machine code. The CPU will read the machine code, divide it into instructions and carry out those instructions. The instructions make up the operating system.

All operating systems running on a specific platform must abide to the same (or a small number of) binary platform interface. They again offer an application binary interface (ABI) to user programs running on top of the operating system. The ABI is a mix of the platform binary interface and specific requirements for that specific operating system. Some operating systems offers multiple ABIs.

A platform in these terms is a combination of a CPU architecture and model and various peripherals (for example a platform could be a Mac with an Intel x64 CPU, UEFI firmware interface, etc.).


When the monitor is connected, the dock should change its position

In System preferences -> Displays -> tab Arrangement, you can drag and drop the menu bar (white rectangle) to the desktop you want to be the master. System remembers that and everytime the same display model is connected it sets up automatically.

If you want to see the dock on the other screen, run the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen and hold it there, the dock should move.


App to see how my application are using my upload internet bandwith?

Is it 600KBps (600 kilobyte per second) or 600Kbps (600 kilobit per second)? For the latter it would take 5 days to upload 30GB with optimum upload speed. You say it took 10 days. I would say that is reasonable. You can use the System Monitor app to monitor network traffic. It doesn't make clear what app is using the network, but it does make clear if upload is only half of what you would expect.


What is postgres and why is it running on my system?

PostgreSQL is a relational database engine. You might have  heard of MySQL? It does a similar sort of job.

Apple, for reasons unscrutable and strange, decided that they wanted to bundle PostgreSQL in some Mac OS X versions as a pre-installed application. Consequently it comes with some versions of Mac OS X.

Additionally, some 3rd party software will bundle PostgreSQL because it uses it to store and manage its data. It won't always be obvious what the program is.

PostgreSQL generally uses little CPU, RAM or disk I/O unless it's actually being used for serious work, so it's fairly safe to ignore it. If you're really determined to get rid of it (say, you think it might be stopping your non-SSD-based mac from spinning down its hard drive) then stop it and leave it installed but not running. If nothing breaks, disable it in launchd, but do not uninstall it. That way it has no effect  but is easily restored if you discover there was a problem after all.

(Note that PostgreSQL databases aren't compatible across versions. If you delete an installed copy of 8.2 then decide you wanted that data after all, you would have to install a compatible build of 8.2 to read the data; installing the latest 9.3 release, or even 8.4, would not work).


What manufacturer and model SSD drive are in the Early 2011 MacBook Pro?

According to Anandtech it's a Samsung brand SSD.

  The largest SSD maker in the world is Samsung. Samsung makes the drives offered by Apple in its entire MacBook/MacBook Pro lineup. Samsung makes the drives you get if you order a Lenovo X300. In fact, if you're buying any major OEM system with an SSD in it, Samsung makes that drive.

I spoke with a few of the guys at work that replace these and they told me that they don't really pay attention to the brands, It's OEM. But the ones that he could remember where Samsung and Seagate.

Now this doesn't speak to the brand that ships, but just what is replaced (if needed) when you bring it in for repair.


Have you tried removing all the songs from the device and just allowing a handful to sync?

Sometimes the tracking database gets in a bad state and cleaning things out lets you know it's safe to sync the whole load again.


How come Safari tells me “Safari Passwords are locked”?

Turns out I just had to enter the password for my macOS user account. That showed me the saved password data that Safari had stored (and presumably synced via iCloud), which was mostly records of me clicking on “Never for this website” when asked if I want to save a password.


My ex-girlfriend uses my Apple ID to log in to her iPad. Do I have to give her my Apple ID password to reset it?

Don’t just give the password - that gives full access to your account - she could change the password on you... Make it that you enter the password and reset... Either meet or she sends you the iPad...


Is there anything which can make this process safer?

Yes.  The user.
90% of hacking is social engineering.  It's not what people think it is; some bleary eyed geek sitting in a dark basement surrounded by high caffeine content energy drinks and a seeming endless supply of Hot Pockets tapping out cryptic code on a keyboard as they somehow overcome whatever defenses you thought you had.
There are the vulnerabilities and the exploits that hackers do take advantage of and some of them are really cool (for instance, I can take control of a domain connected Windows machine simply by making the on screen keyboard launch command prompt as an admin, but that's another story for another day).  However most of the hacking is how we can get people to give up the goods.
Where this applies is to be cognizant about what you're doing.  The "knee-jerk reaction" to seeing a dialog box with a password is to do exactly what you are thinking right now:  type in your password.  What you need to do is get the habit of doing is taking a pause and asking yourself why.

If you're doing what you've always done and suddenly out of the blue you get a password request...ask why it's showing up now.

If you're installing something, ask why does it needs admin rights - it's probably legitimate, but a quick pause to mentally verify is always good (I do this when shopping too..."do I really need this thing?")

If you're on a website and you see a pop-up, ask why would they need that?

The key here is to take a moment and rationalize why you're entering your credentials.  *You can always hit "cancel," you won't break anything, if you're not sure.
Something to consider...
Remember, most hacking is social engineering.  Hackers know that most people don't want to go through the hassle of remembering different passwords for different accounts.  If they can get your email address by examining cookies and then trick you into revealing a password, they now can try virtually every service (Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, etc.) to see what can be compromised.
Something more to consider...
Hacking is not about taking complete control of your system to make the mouse do crazy things or move files and folders.  It's about lateral jumps, or in layman's terms:  what access can I get on computer A that will give me access to computer B or system C?  Hosing up your system only alerts you to their pretense which means you'll likely shut the door.  They don't want that.


Internet connection very slow only in my house and only with my Mac

Internet or Wi-Fi problem

Open System Preferences... > Network > Wi-Fi > Advanced... > TCP/IP
and note the IP address of your Wi-Fi router.

Let's say it is 192.168.1.1.

When you are in your bad network situation,
open a Terminal and enter the following command:

ping -c 100 -s 1992 -q 192.168.1.1

to check your Wi-Fi quality of connection and let run this command for nearly 2 minutes.
Make a copy of the result and include it in your question.

If is tells 0% packet lost, then your problem is a general Internet problem. If it tells your that you have some packets lost, then your
problem is on the Wi-Fi side.

I suspect that this might be your case.

Analyse a Wi-Fi problem

Download the iStumbler software:

iStumbler

This version is free:

iStumbler 99

This is an excellent quality software and running without problem on from Snow Leopard to Yosemite (I didn't yet tested it on El Capitan or Sierra).

When you are in your bad network situation,
let iStumbler run for 10 minutes, order the output along the Level
column in decreasing order. Make a screen capture and include it in your question.

IP or DNS problem

Open a Terminal and enter the following command:

dig www.apple.com

This command will ask your DNS server how it does resolve the www.apple.com in an IP address.

Include the output in your question.


How can I access cache files in chrome in IoS?

If the PDF is still available online, you can access your browsing history in Google Chrome and find it there (if not already deleted from the history).

If the PDF is no longer available online, but online stored in the offline disk cache on your phone, you cannot access it from within Google Chrome, or from other apps on your iPhone.

You can however get to the cache by connecting the phone to a computer and use a program that allows you to explore the file system. That could be for example iExplorer from Macroplant or dr.fone Transfer from Wondershare.


How can I recover files in an app bundle that were lost after an OS update?

I managed to recover my file by downloading the free version of Disk Drill.  I used the deep search options locate removed files on my Mac; you can view results by type of file, however names as far as I can see are not conserved, so you will have to preview each file one by one.  To actually recover the file you must upgrade to the Pro version of the software.


How can I launch an AppleScript app I'm creating without moving my mouse?

You can set a keyboard shortcut to run your AppleScript, either from anywhere or only with certain conditions such as only in a certain application or with certain data selected.

Open Automator.app and create a new Service.

Add the Run AppleScript action to your workflow and paste your AppleScript code into the marked location.

At the top of the workflow, set the service options to receiving ‘no input’ in ‘any application’ so that the service is available anywhere. Alternatively, specify a type of data and/or application to limit when you can activate this service.

Save the workflow with a suitable service name.

Open System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Services and find your service in the list. If you chose ‘no input’, your service will be under General, otherwise it will be under the type of data you chose as input.

Set a shortcut to activate the service.


Can I still set my account picture to an image from disk in OS X Mountain Lion?

You can drag in any picture from the Finder into the Preference Pane to change the custom image. Not as convenient as using the Open Dialog though...


What is the position of HD Heads during a spin down?

The heads are parked out of the way. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive#Landing_zones_and_load.2Funload_technology, specifically:

  Modern HDDs prevent power interruptions or other malfunctions from landing its heads in the data zone by either physically moving (parking) the heads to a special landing zone on the platters that is not used for data storage, or by physically locking the heads in a suspended (unloaded) position raised off the platters.


How can I mount a Time Machine sparsebundle so I can modify it?

You can delete all backups of specific folders from the Time Machine interface.

Enter Time Machine (from the Time Machine menubar interface or from the Dock)
Navigate to the /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems folder
While the gems folder is selected, right click and choose Delete All Backups of <items(s)>
Confirm that you wish to delete it and enter the Administrator credentials

If you have changed your machine's name after the reinstall, then Time Machine won't show your older backups. You can either rename your machine to the name it had before or press Option while clicking on the Time Machine menubar item and select Browse Other Backup Disks... to go through your backups.

See Should I delete old backups? If so, How? for more information and other ways to work with the AirPort Time Capsule.


I turned off Contact's new "Show Contacts Found In Mail" feature (Contacts > Preferences > General > "Show Contacts Found In Mail" or "Show Contacts Found In Apps" in later versions of macOS), and that seems to have shut down suggestd crashes in my log. That also deleted ~/Library/Suggestions/harvestqueueold, which was previously filled by what looked like a bunch of temporary files. I'm going to try turning it back on now and see if the crashes resume.


How do I restore my notes on macOS Sierra?

A very quick grab of all of the note body fields from the database:

sqlite3 ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes/NotesV6.storedata "select ZHTMLSTRING from ZNOTEBODY" > ~/Desktop/notes.html

There is more organization in the database, but this will give you all of the text itself. The titles are listed separately in the database but should also be at the top of every note body, so this should be enough for reconstruction hopefully!

Edits:

Replace the ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/Library/Notes/NotesV6.storedata with the location of your NotesV6.storedata file ;)

Also depending on the version of OS X/macOS Notes that made the file, it may be NotesVN.storedata for a different N.


Can I check if the cooling system of my Macbook Pro 15" Early 2013 works as intended?

a faulty charging cable can cause all kinds of problems. That could have started your issue and it may have grown from there as it is what is sending power to all of your macbook, it is not limited to what it can break.

one question I have is what are the circumstances for the use of the laptop. meaning are you using the laptop on a desk? on your lap?

you can always get a laptop stand that has fans built in, and will help cool the system, and keep it from overheating due to being on your lap, or a blanket, something like that.

the temps you are seeing are pretty high, here's an article with some people discussing the temps in their MacBook of that year.

as far as finding parts, I would suggest talking with the best MacBook experts on the planet at Rossman Group as I'm sure they can find the part, and will be sure to diagnose any problems and where they stem from. I spend quite a bit of time on his youtube channel watching him repair boards, and other issues, he is one of the true original MacBook and apple product repair geniuses. Plus he's pretty funny with his rants.


Is there an option/shortcut in Safari 6 to focus the search results after a search?

Let me make a clarification.

The problem is real, and we got it with the unique URL bar behaviour in Safari 6.

If you make a google search from the URL bar, Safari doesn't bring the focus to the document, but (for some reason, e.g. assuming you continue with typing new search keywords) leaves the focus in the URL bar. This causes that you can't instantly use the very advanced keyboard handling of Google's search results pages - which is: from the input field TAB gives you a selector arrow and you can navigate with keyboard arrows.

For using the search result page's keyboard handling, you have to bring the focus to the document. Now, whether it's easy or not depends on your keyboard settings in System Preferences. If the setting which says "Full Keyboard Access: In windows and dialogs, press Tab to move keyboard focus between:" is set to "Text boxes and lists only", then it's easy to bring the focus to the document by hitting Tab only once. But if it's set to "All controls" (which actually happens a lot if you're accustomted to using the keyboard in UI navigation), then Safari brings you through all the bookmark bar items and such buttons when you hit Tab. This is definitely a no-way.

You always need to switch back to "Text box only" (by hitting Ctrl-F7). The problem is that in this mode you can't navigate between form elements like checkboxes and buttons.

In Chrome the problem doesn't exist, because Chrome always brings the focus to the document when doing a search.

Apple should definitely address this issue.

Until then, a workaround can be that you hit Ctrl-F (moves focus to in-page search), then hit Tab 4x.


Keyboard shows on iPhone 4 on lock screen and home screen

This is a glitch — simply reboot to fix it, either by rebooting normally or by doing a hard reset (hold both home & power until the Apple logo appears).


Photos plugins: use TIFF instead of JPG as interchange format

Short answer : If the plugin has no option to select "TIFF", you'll have to live with JPEG

Long answer: When you look at the example source code that apple provides for Photos plugins (Photos sample code for plugins), you can see that the file types for the output are explicitly set to kUTTypeJPEG by

            guard let destination = CGImageDestinationCreateWithURL(output.renderedContentURL as CFURL, kUTTypeJPEG, 1, nil)

This means that the plugin decides the format it writes to. If the format is hardcoded and the plugin does not give you the choice to change the output format to TIFF, you will have to live with its choice. If it allows you to write to kUTTypeTIFF, you get what you want.

Hope this helps you.


Stop Xcode from Hijacking my File Associations

Absolutely there is!
Unfortunately because Xcode is installed through the Mac App Store, we are unable to control / prevent the change from occurring in the first place. The automated installation takes care of that for us.

How to Change the Default Programs
Luckily there is an easy fix to resolving the issue and reversing the change. The only caveat of which is the fact that this is done on an extension-based level.

Go to any file whose extension you don't want to open with Xcode (e.g. my file.java).
Right click on it, select Get Info (or CMD I).
Under Open With, select your editor for that extension.
Click Change All to make the change global across all files of this type.

I believe some IDEs or even individual Text editors will ask if you would like to associate them with the most common formats for software development - with Xcode that's a little less optional. Anyway, hope that helps, let me know if it did and how you make out. I'd be interested in following up with you on this.


How to extract all WhatsApp data before Feb 8 2020 when privacy terms change against your favour?

I originally wrote this as a comment, but since one user suggested I write it as an answer, here it is:
I'd recommend using iMazing for managing, exporting, and viewing, your iOS device's files. One particularly nice feature that iMazing supports is the ability to export WhatsApp conversations in PDF form as well as all media items. NOTE: the free version of iMazing is limited to a certain number of exports, though.
iMazing's website has pretty detailed guides and explanations on how to manage your WhatsApp data. Go to their "Export WhatsApp Chats" page (feel free to read it to see what you can do with iMazing) and scroll down to the How To's section. Here, you'll see the following support pages:

How to export and Print WhatsApp Chats and Attachments from iPhone? (link)
How to transfer WhatsApp from one iPhone to another? (link)

They include YouTube videos as well in their support page articles to show you how to export the data. All the GUI interface pictures are for their macOS version, however the procedure is virtually identical on Windows.

On a side note, iMazing also provides a very powerful feature: exploring your iPhone's file system (support article here). It's a super cool feature that allows you to explore how iPhones store their data and all.


Why I have 3 different Java versions on my Mac?

Different applications will link to different Java libraries. Older apps will most likely require Java 6 (1.6.0_65), whereas newer apps will link to newer builds of Java respectively.

By way of example, I know that the Mobile Connect app for my old Huawei 3G modem requires Java 6 to be installed, Adobe Photoshop CS6 requires Java 7 (IIRC) and your browsers will most likely request you to run the latest Java, which is Java 8.


Sierra has changed IPv6 link-local addressing. Why/how?

There hasn't been any documentation made available for this feature (so no information on how the addresses are generated), which is indeed new in Sierra, nor can it be disabled. Apple announced this feature at WWDC 2016.

Essentially Apple is generating IPv6 addresses that are unrelated to the MAC address in order to prevent tracking of users based on MAC addresses assigned to Apple. The link-local address is generated once and does not change (since there's less privacy concern in local-only communication), whereas the non-temporary address will change when connecting to a new network.


How to restore a backup to iPhone 6s using out of date iTunes/OS X?

Are you able to borrow a friend or family member's computer to connect and restore the backup? If so, here's the instructions to get to your backup, and copy it elsewhere (it's ok to copy it to a Windows computer to restore as well):

In iTunes, go to the iTunes Preferences and then the Devices tab.
Right click on your backup and select "Reveal in Finder" (it may be that or "Show in Finder". I don't remember what version that text changed ;))
iTunes will open the ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup folder. Each folder in here is an individual iOS backup named by the device UDID (making it a long folder name), and the Show in Finder should have highlighted your specific backup. Copy that folder to your USB thumb drive or whatever you're using to copy.

We'll need to copy that folder on to the other computer into the appropriate spot for iTunes to pick it up, so here are the instructions for Windows and Mac to get to that MobileSync > Backup folder.

Windows:

Windows 8 and 10: In the search bar type %appdata% (with the percents) and press return/enter. A file browser window will open to the user's Application Data folder.
Windows 7, Vista, XP: From the start menu, select Run. In the run box, type %appdata% (with the percents) and press return/enter. A file browser window will open to the user's Application Data folder.
From there, navigate to Apple Computer >  MobileSync > Backup.

Mac:

Open Finder, and select the "Go" menu at the top of the screen. Hold the Option key, and select the "Library" menu option from the Go menu. (On OSX Lion and above, Library will only appear with the Option key held.)
From Library, navigate to Application Support > MobileSync > Backup.

You'll want to copy the folder for your backup into the Backup folder, so the folder is sitting next to any other backups already on the system, very similar to how you found it on your mac.


How to do IP masquerading on MacOS (10.14+)?

I believe under pf you are required to edit the pf.conf file for NAT. The OpenBSD PF page has some more information on the syntax.

Murus is a frontend for pf configuration if you're happy using a GUI rather than CLI.

The linux/unix or networking stack exchange sites might be helpful places to ask about pf if the OpenBSD page doesn't cover your question.


How to move a file to another drive via drag & drop without pressing Cmd

This is not possible when using drag and drop between drives as of macOS 10.12.x Sierra.

There is also no known method to change this behavior.

Alternative

Instead you may use these keyboard shortcuts:

CommandC to copy the items in Finder
CommandOptionV to move the items without copying.


You can reduce size and fit to patch size with Preview (which is the default application for PDFs). In the print dialog, select paper size and adjustments as required:


If you mean an iPhoto library for storing masters/etc, you can create a second library by holding ⌥ when launching iPhoto. You can create a new library and will be prompted for a location to store it.

If the library is unavailable when launching iPhoto, the original library will be used again (or one created if the original library can't be found).


Can you lock the sorting order in Mail? (OSX 10.11)

There doesn't appear to be an easy way to do this, so I wrote a Mail plugin for it. You can download it here, and the source code is available here. I wrote it for macOS Sierra, so if it doesn't work on your mom's computer please let me know.

To use it:
1. Open Mail and select the tab you want to lock.
2. Close Mail.
3. Copy the .mailbundle file to ~/Library/Mail/Bundles.
4. Reopen Mail. The header should now reject clicks.
5. To uninstall, remove ~/Library/Mail/Bundles/MailHeaderLock.mailbundle and restart Mail (and to change the tab, move the plugin to somewhere else, and follow these steps again).


What can I do to regulate iPhone charging rate (make it charge slower)?

Fast charging your phone via a MacBook is not going to "damage" your battery anymore than other kinds of charging. Yes, high temperature can affect the battery, but a temperature of 38 degrees C is not a problem in charging your phone.

There's no need to limit the charging rate beyond what the iPhone does automatically by itself.

Also there's no setting in macOS that will allow you to limit the power supplied to the phone charging through a USB port (besides limiting it to 0 by turning the port off completely).


I found this site here.
It appears that your mac can only use the 1333mhz ram sticks, the 2012 models can work with the faster memory.
The site also states that 16gb is not suported but unofficial it will work anyway.

In this answer a similar question is answered, if it works it wil run at 1333mhz since your ram slots can't go any faster.
But since macs are really picky about the memory you use there is a big chance it won't work at all.


How can I remove the Reading List column in Safari?

Select View > Hide Reading List, press ⇧⌘L, or press the button on the bookmark bar.


I know you said that Audacity is too complex, and I agree that the interface is both overwhelming and difficult to figure out.

That said, trimming and fading out an audio file in the app is actually very straightforward and you get a lot of additional power that's still easy to use (see the bit I added on normalizing down at the end). Here's my walkthrough:

Open the File

Select the Area to Keep

Just drag the cursor across the waveform area. Press the spacebar to play/pause, or click the waveform at any spot and press the spacebar to play from there.

(Instead of selecting the "keep" area and trimming you can select the areas to remove and just hid the Delete key.)

Select Trim from the Edit Menu

Or press CmdT

The trimmed file:

Select the Area to Fade

Select Fade from the Effects Menu

The now-faded result:

Export as MP3

Choose mp3:

Edit or enter file metadata:

Done!

Normalizing the Audio

Because you're in a more powerful editing app, you could also take a moment to Normalize the file. This brings the audio levels up to "full", meaning the file is as loud as it can be without clipping or distorting anything.

Normalizing is generally great for podcasts and other spoken tracks, though isn't always recommended for music (sometimes the fact that it's quiet is intentional).

Here's how to normalize it while it's still open:

Select the Track

CmdA for Select All is quick, or just double-click the waveform area.

Choose Normalize from the Effects Menu

Use the default settings:

The resulting normalized audio:


Java Plugin for Chrome on OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2

You are in luck, Apple released a "fix" for this issue:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5559

Basically Apple has provided some terminal commands that move the plug-in from the disabled folder to where it needs to be to work in Chrome.

However you would be better off (read: SAFER!) by using the updated Java plugin from Oracle and a browser that can use that plugin, like Firefox or Safari.


How can I see the old episodes of a podcast on iPad?

It depends on the author of the podcast. Some authors limit their podcasts on iTunes but do offer them via their website (it gives them extra traffic).


How do you get terminal to echo / print all key strokes?

Found it

sed -n l

Really useful for debugging problems with terminal programs that benefit from complex bindings like vim.

Or just use cat or sed


How to enter multiple tasks at once as batch or text import in OmniPlan?

You need to paste the list into the list of tasks, not into the title of a single task. Make sure you've selected a task, rather than the title field of a task.

This is the title field selected. ⌘V here pastes the list into the title field of a task.

This is a task selected. ⌘V here pastes the list in as separate tasks.


How do you change the order that users appear on the login screen?

Technically this isn't possible, since accounts are shown in alphabetical order by default and there's no option to change the sort order.

As a workaround, however, if you prefix the full name of an account with a space, it'll sort at the beginning of the list. So for example, if you want to have two accounts called "Hello" and "Test", but with "Hello" on the right, name the other account " Test" (note the space).


The firmwaresyncd system is Apple designed and expected to run at all normal boots. Perhaps the system didn't unmount it once the check was complete.

If you restart your Mac, I've not seen it stay mounted twice in a row, and if you get it always sitting, a support call to Apple might be in order to be sure your firmware is updated if you are running OS updates when asked to. I don't think it's cause for concern immediately, but making sure you would be prompted if you were out of date is a good thing to double check that your security and patches are up to date.


Use the action "Run Apple Script" for example as a keyboard shortcut and use the following code:

tell application "Terminal" to do script


I believe I've found a solution to this thanks to an answer to a similar question, the process that is responsible for the swap-files is /sbin/dynamic_pager, which is triggered by a launchd task found at /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.dynamic_pager.plist. Since this file is located in /System it means that this solution requires System Integrity Protection to be disabled, and for Catalina you will need to perform the changes from your recovery volume.

First step is to take a backup of the original plist:

cp /System/Library/com.apple.dynamic_pager.plist /System/Library/com.apple.dynamic_pager.plist.orig

Now we want to modify the command that is executed. In the original it will look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
        <key>EnableTransactions</key>
        <true/>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>com.apple.dynamic_pager</string>
        <key>KeepAlive</key>
        <dict>
                <key>SuccessfulExit</key>
                <false/>
        </dict>
        <key>POSIXSpawnType</key>
        <string>Interactive</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
                <string>/sbin/dynamic_pager</string>
        </array>
</dict>
</plist>

I modified my ProgramArguments section to the following:

        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
                <string>/bin/bash</string>
                <string>-c</string>
                <string>diskutil mount -mountPoint /private/var/vm disk1s4 &amp;&amp; /sbin/dynamic_pager -F /private/var/vm/swapfile</string>
        </array>

This now runs two commands, the first to mount the internal VM volume at /private/var/vm and the second is a modified call to dynamic_pager telling it to create swapfiles at the new location.

NOTE: In my case the VM volume was disk1s4, and while this should be the case for most systems, you should double check with diskutil list first and modify the new command accordingly.

To activate the changes, either restart or, if you're sure you aren't using a swap-file at the moment, you can unload and reload the launchd task immediately:

launchctl unload /System/Library/com.apple.dynamic_pager.plist
launchctl load /System/Library/com.apple.dynamic_pager.plist

The new swapfile location should now be set, and if necessary you can remove any leftover swapfile(s) (in my case at /vm).

UPDATE: Simpler method

It occurred to me that there may be a simpler solution to this problem; since the dynamic pager launchd task doesn't supply a specific location for swapfiles, it seems it will choose in order of preference, with /private/var/vm being preferred if available. To this end it may be possible to force the use of the internal drive's VM volume like so:

Get the VM volume's UUID (diskutil info disk1s4)
Run sudo vifs
Add a line like so: UUID=9e2cd41c-1566-11ea-9237-ef9cfb4e0fac       /private/var/vm  apfs    rw,nobrowse,union swapping in your volume's UUID

This should cause your system to automatically mount your VM volume at /private/var/vm, and since this will occur before the dynamic pager runs, it should see and select this location, with no need to disable SIP or edit its launch daemon.


Network interfaces missing after software update [iMac 7,2]

Download the 10.6.8 combo update on another machine and copy it to a thumb drive to run on the machine that's down.

If that fails, I would open a ticket with Apple and let them solve the issue.  There's a fee but it gives you the best way to get the best help.


Correct. Xcode is only available via the App Store to non developers here. Registering an Apple ID is free and any email address can be used.

Alternatively, if you are a registered developer you can download the DMG from the Developer site here*

X11 is still a standard part of the Lion installation.

Also, note when registering an Apple ID for the App Store you are not required to provide credit card details as seen below. The option for none is available.

* Developer Account Required


Why is date modified for a folder earlier than date modified for files inside in Finder?

Folders (on MacOS) are more generally called directories, and that's a better description. Each folder is a list of its contents. A folder is modified when the list changes, that is, when a item (a file or a sub-folder) is added, moved or deleted from the list.

Modifying a folder's files or sub-folders does not change the list, so changing a file does not change the folder's modification date. If a file or sub-folder is added or deleted from the folder, then the list is changed and the folder's modification date changes. That's why a folder's modification date is often older that the modification dates of its contents.

Here are some other questions and answers that mention the same issue.

When does a UNIX directory change its timestamp
Timestamps of a directory?
Does change of a file in a directory not change the time of the directory?


Download and install FUSE-Ext2 as described here and then run something like

mkdir /Volumes/Linux
sudo mount -t fuse-ext2 /dev/disk2s6 /Volumes/Linux

You can figure out the device from looking at the output of diskutil list.


Shortcut for showing windows instead of clicking the Dock

This works for some applications but not for all. You can use TextEdit.app to test it.

Open TextEdit.app
Create a new document (CMD+N).
Minimize the document (manually, CMD+M did not work for me).
CMD+Tab to Finder.app

Now everything's set up. The following steps may be a bit tricky.

CMD+Tab to highlight TextEdit. Keep the CMD key pressed.
Keep the CMD key pressed and additionally press the Alt/Opt key.
Release the CMD key.

This will un-minimize only the last window of a certain application. You cannot un-minimize multiple windows without additional scripts/software.


How does File Vault 2 handle a Windows 7 virtual machine

Filevault 2 encryption happens on the fly while the system is running.

It does not affect a specific process or application. However, it does affect the I/O performance to the disk. Because Virtual Machines have a lot of read/write operations to the hard drive, the Machine will start slower when loading from the disk.

I have 15GB Virtual Box image for Ubuntu 11.10. It runs very good because my CPU supports the New AES Instructions for accelerated encryption which Filevault 2 makes use of.

In answer to your question:

As long as you still have 10-15% of total free space on your hard disk, Filevault 2 will handle any large VM.
But, I've looked up the Intel processors used in the 2010 Macbook air models. Unfortunately, none of them support the accelerated encryption!

Because your Macbook Air is not very powerful, I do not recommend using VMs in Filevault 2, or Filevault 2 at all, if you don't really need it.
Enabling Filvault 2 will cause large drops in reading/writing speeds to your flash drive without accelerated encryption.

Also see:

Intel® Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Filevault 2


Strange Camera Shutter sound from Macbook Pro

purely speculation, but is it the screen grab sound (try hitting CMD+shift+3)?

then it could be malware that takes automated screenshots.


Is it possible to launch a Linux application running under Parallels from OS X?

Here are some conceptual answers that would work, and potentially can be expanded to launching any app in any virtual machine space, although insecurely.

Method 1.  Drop boxes.
Each VM has a shared directory from the host machine.  This directory must be publically writeable.

A script on any machine can write a file to any of these directories.
Each VM monitors its directory, and when the file has been closed, it immediately executes it, and deletes the file.

This is incredibly insecure.  At minimum the execution program should be limited in what programs it can run.

Method 2.  Ssh.

In general the command is

ssh user@hostname -c "Command line and parameters in quotes"

This can be implemented MUCH more securely

Method 3.  Netcat.  Might be more valuable if you had a semi-continuous stream of commands from machine A to VM machine B.  The output of netcat on the client machine could be fed to bash.  This gets trick for getting the results back, as backgrounded shell commands will have overlapping results.  However if you were happy with command line results, then a simple ssh to the VM would be sufficient.

I expect other people to improve this answer, but it may give you things to start to tinker with.

I would have entered this as a comment and not an answer, but comments are too small.


Random songs appearing in my iTunes music library after activating iTunes Match

Apple says I should turn off iTunes match everywhere and manually clean these tracks from my library and then turn it on again. I'll report back ...


Fix "You don't have permission" in home folders

Since account "B" didn't exist when you copied that folder over, then the files would not be owned by that user.  You can do a recursive chown to correct the situation.

However, I might suggest that you use the Finder's tools to make the modifications for you.  If you select that folder in the finder and select File > Get Info (or command-I) you can then adjust the owner in the "Sharing & Permissions" section to change the owner and apply the changes recursively.  To me, this approach would have a lower risk of issues cropping up later.

When she is off at college, remember that you can use Messages to do Screen Sharing.  You can click on "Details" in the upper right corner and ask to share her screen.  Useful for remote troubleshooting!


Can I stop the App Store from exiting every time I install an app?

Apple implemented this in iOS 6. Install iOS 6 and enjoy the updated appstore.


Asking for password when adding new folder in /Users/.../Sites/?

Easy fix. Open Terminal.app and type the following command:

sudo chmod -R -N /Users/*/Sites
sudo chmod -R 744 /Users/*/Sites

(edit: Added -R to recursively change permissions)
(edit: Kudos to ughoavgfhwless for pointing out the -N flag to reset the ACLs)

You will be asked for your password. Enter it (keep in mind it won't show up in terminal). Now, assuming there isn't a more serious issue with your OS X installation, this will correct the permissions on all of the users sites folders. (If you installed OS X on a case-sensitive HFS partition, you need to make sure the case of the command matches the case of the directories. If you don't know about this, it's safe to assume you can ignore this and proceed with the above listed command.)

Good luck and happy chmoding!


Power Photos app removes duplicates I need to keep when copying photos to a new library

This isn't ideal and I can't guaranteed it working in this case, but this is the roundabout solution that I go for when I want to stop any given OS molesting my files: Zip it. If you put the files that Power Photos is deleting in to a zip, move that zip to the external drive, and then uncompress (unzip), you should end up with the duplicates on the external drive. If you can then copy the unzipped files in to the albums that you want them to be in, your problem should be solved.
Also, are you sure that PowerPhotos is the right tool for this job? I commonly see it deleting duplicates advertised as a feature, rather than as something that you're supposed to avoid.


Removing them from your hard drive has no bearing on whether they show up in iTunes. You have to actually remove them from iTunes, too. (Right-click > Delete or Edit menu > Delete while the song is highlighted) The (nearly) only time iTunes knows whether a file in the iTunes library actually exists on the hard drive is when you try to play it.

Also, if you use the above method, it will offer to remove the song from your hard drive at the same time it is removing it from iTunes.


will not take merit for someone else suggestions... here they give at least two good advices:

https://superuser.com/questions/794877/how-do-i-read-a-pdf-in-2-simultaneous-views-split-view-mac


How to remove mails from mail app and maintain google calendar synchronized with Apple Reminders?

Try system preferences -> Internet accounts -> uncheck mail from google account


You can simply go to System Preferences → Sound → Output and choose your output device. Lag applies here too.


How do I charge my iPhone 6 without it being on the whole time?

Plug the phone in to power
Then turn it off

If your charger is overloaded, faulty or your cable has issues, there could be an interruption of charge and the device will start up then. There's no way to prevent this necessary feature - it's a fail safe to turn on the device after replacing the battery or other system events that could cause the power to be low.


How do I tell AppleScript to read the contents of the "Network" Finder window?

It appears that the Network Finder window isn't a folder. Attempting to get the location of Network gives the following error:

Can’t make «class cfol» "" of application "Finder" into type alias. (-1700)

…and attempting to get the location of the containing folder gives:

No result was returned from some part of this expression. (-2763)

Therefore I believe that Network is not a folder.


How to add the current slide number plus the total slides in Keynote?

Keynote has no such feature (counting the total number of slides).

Semi-manual solution: Add the total number of slides as a text-box " /10"in your Master configuration. Place it next to the automatic slide number that Keynote generates.


Could two WD Passport Ultra 1TB drives be used in the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini enclosure as RAID 1?

Although that enclosure accepts 12.5mm drives, those WD Passports have the USB connector built into the drive. They don't have a standard SATA connector and therefore cannot be used in that enclosure.


Purchasing Apple Mac Software: Options Available to the Consumer?

Is the Majority of Software available for the Mac now available for
  purchase from the Mac App Store ? Are there Pros & Cons to Mac App
  Store purchasing?

I don't know exactly how you would compile those numbers, or if Apple even releases numbers for the Mac App Store, so it's difficult to say how the "majority" is sold.

As for pros and cons, probably the biggest pro is Mac App Store purchases can be used on any number of Macs that you own (see Apple's FAQ); you don't need to buy additional licenses for each machine as long as it's for personal use. Also, updates are delivered through the store, so you get a notification when updates are available.

Installing from the Mac App Store is also presumably more secure because Apple has tested and approved all apps before making them available (and can revoke an app developer's certificate, which is a benefit assuming a rogue app sneaks through, but could also be a negative if they abuse that ability).

  Do people still purchase directly from the company website that
  created the software as an electronic download - I understand most
  companies offer a free trial (usually 30 days)

Well, sure, why not? There's no requirement that all apps have to go through the Mac App Store. However, the Mac App Store does not offer trials, so you'll need to purchase directly from the developer if you want a trial (assuming they offer one).

  Do people still buy "boxed software" from retail outlets and online
  retail stores ?

Again, sure, of course you can if you want.

  If the software is available via all these routes and maybe purchased
  in other ways, is there a recommended (instinctive) way or do people
  just go through the above options and see which turns out to be the
  cheapest?

I'd say the Mac App Store is the easiest and most straightforward option for most users, since it's integrated right into OS X and updates are delivered automatically.


How do I set up Firefox to keep only cookies from select sites, when I use Firefox-Sync?

Firefox Sync doesn't support site permissions, unfortunately.

It's been requested with bug 470699: add yourself to the CC list to be notified of future development.


Understanding macOS's Keyboard Shortcuts

"Move focus to active or next window". If I have multiple windows running, what's the "active" or "next" one?

This will put the focus on the topmost window of the currently active application ( which itself can be toggled by super+tab / Command+Tab ). This allows you to input keyboard commands to that window even if it somehow lost focus.

If the topmost window already has focus, it will rotate to the next-topmost window, regardless of which application it belongs to. This might cycle through a mixed set of Finder windows and Chrome windows based on this 'z-index'. This is the order they visually appear in, such as which was most recently clicked or opened.

  "Move focus to the window toolbar". What's the window toolbar?

This is a kind of control that some OS X native applications use. In Finder you can see it is used to select the kind of file view to display (icons/list/etc). Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to the floating window". What is the floating window?

This is a kind of special window that some OS X native applications use. It remains on top. Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to next window". What's the next window? And how does this shortcut differs from the first one in this list?

This will move the focus to the next window of the currently active application. Switching between multiple Chrome windows, for instance. It will not, unlike the "Move focus to active or next window" function, select windows belonging to a different application.

  "Move focus to the window drawer". What's the window drawer?

This is a kind of control that certain OS X native applications have in their interface. Not many applications seem to have bothered with this.

  "Move focus to status menus". What are the status menus?

The status menus are the items in the top right corner on default settings. This include the clock and your username (the logout/shutdown menu),  as well as any icons added by applications.

They really could have been named better, or have tooltips, but a lot of the descriptions would likely be oxymoronic as they aren't easy to explain in a vacuum. Some of the issues appear to be the legacy features in OS X that were intended for use by app developers that didn't become very well known or popular.

Corrections or additional examples are are welcomed in the comments.


How do I repair a corrupt Time Machine sparsebundle that is only showing the most recent backup?

Not completely sure if it will works since I don't know when the snapshot was taken (before or after an update).  You can go into your system preferences, spotlight, privacy tab, add your hard drive, reboot, remove the hard drive from spotlight and let the spotlight re-index (this can take a while).  Try going into time machine again.

Updates have messed up Time Machine when doing a clean install and upgrade for quite a few people and this was the fix.


Incompatible software with newer operating system versions

What causes some applications to be pre-identified as incompatible
  while other simply fail to work?

It all depends.  Some binaries are compiled with a flag that indicates which is the minimum OS version it will run on.  There's also the Info.plist that contains minimum OS versions.  Finally, the application itself can check to see if it will run on a particular OS version.

Unfortunately, older apps like OmniGraffe 4 which was released back in 2005 probably don't use any of the version checking (and is incompatible) which is why it crashes when launched.


Buzzing sound on Macbook Pro mid 2012 due to optical drive fixed?

The sound is totally normal on older MacBook models and it's not a bug. It's from the optical drive looking for a boot up disk.


How to a pull a window to my second monitor that's above the current one when the menu bar is in the way?

I've just tried this in Snow Leopard (10.6.8) without issues...

Menu bar on bottom (primary) screen, secondary screen above and dragging windows between the two is no problem.

To do this, I've used the following configuration under Displays in System Preferences:

Check that your settings match and let us know how you get on.


The quick answer is that iBeacons use bluetooth low energy, so simply turning off bluetooth will opt you out of tracking as well as notifications.

The longer answer is that iBeacons don't track you or your iPhone/iPad in the same manner that WiFi scanning and cell towers actually can track your devices. You choose which beacons to pay attention to.

Think of the difference between a red traffic light and a red light camera. The red light is a beacon that you could choose to track and pay attention to. The red light camera doesn't care whether you are paying it attention - you get captured if the device is recording. The license place on your vehicle is the same as your WiFi MAC address. It is trackable and traceable. Bluetooth low energy and iBeacons doesn't have any trackable item until you pair with a specific device so you are safer than with WiFi.

For this reason, most retailers have been tracking WiFi for years before iBeacon bluetooth were introduced. Even though bluetooth has the ability to work at shorter ranges and provide a more precise location, it has privacy built in to the way beacons are architected. You will want to disable WiFi and perhaps turn off your cell entirely if you want to have more meaningful privacy in store spaces where companies are monitoring traffic. With iOS 8, you can just forget all the WiFi networks you don't want to track and the device should be anonymizing your WiFi MAC address (the license plate) so that everyone has the same "mask" on until you actually join a specific named network.

In summary, to avoid seeing any iBeacon advertisements, don't install apps that will look for certain beacons and do things. If you do install those apps or passbook items, then disabling bluetooth will still opt you out of iBeacon activity on the device.


Does it make sense to format an external HDD as APFS?

APFS gives several benefits over exFAT, for example:

Protection against meta-data corruption caused by for example sudden power loss, system crash or if disconnect the external hard drive without unmounting it first. exFAT only detects corruption using checksums, but cannot rollback like APFS.
Better support for full disk encryption
Allows snapshotting the file system (i.e. you can create "frozen" versions of everything on disk, which will never change - even when you continue to alter the contents of your files)
Allows cloning a file into two copies that can be independently changed while only requiring the disk space for one file plus the size of the differences compared to the other file

On the other hand, exFAT has a range of advantages too:

Older file system that is "tried and tested" for years on macOS
Simpler file system with less overhead
Most probably slightly faster (but this will depend on the final implementation in the release version of High Sierra)
As you mentioned, the drive can be used without extra drivers on Windows

Only you can decide which set of benefits are most important for you.


App store update page doesn't seem to be loading properly on Mac OS El Capitan 10.11.6

It's been that way for quite a while - I'd assume it's simply no longer supported for El Cap, but I have no citation for that.
You have to bear in mind that there will no longer be any updates for any apps on El Capitan [nor indeed for the OS itself] - many apps are now minimum spec Mojave, some a little older some newer, but no-one is going to be testing against El Capitan any more. It was superseded 5 years ago & generally support is to 3 years.
As noted, this applies up to High Sierra - the only difference on High Sierra is it lists all the updates you can't have, also in plain text ;)


Cannot connect multiple PS4 controllers through bluetooth

I successfully managed to connect 2 DualShock 4 on my Mac mini 2012 running High Sierra 10.13.6 using a Bluetooth Dongle (not with the builtin Mac mini BT controller).

Both gamepads could not be connected simultaneously as described in the question.
Purchased Mac-compatible Bluetooth USB dongle (https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B009IQB3US/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1). You need to check for Broadcom chipset to be supported by Mac (no driver needed). Then voilà! Both gamepads connected / working at the same time.

Recommendations:

Delete all BT devices paired from Mac
Make sure Mac picked up the BT dongle as controller vs builtin one (ALT-click on BT icon and check for MAC address change).
Reconnect / pair BT devices
I had to reset one of my DualShock (https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-reset-ps4-controller-4174025)

PS: could not answer similar question Use more than one PS4 Dualshock controller over bluetooth due to lack of reputation

Hope it helps.


Turning File Vault on, and instantly upgrading to macOS Big Sur is not a problem?

I manage macbook pros all day everyday, and I absolutely do not recommend upgrading OS's in the middle of encryption.
That said, since it's a new machine with no files on it, and since you enabled it already, chances are that by the time I post this, the encryption process is complete (only if it has been connected to power! otherwise the encryption pauses until it IS connected to a power source).


Downgrading Aperture 3.4.3 library to 3.0

Attempting to open the library repair tools by holding down ⌘⌥ while opening that library and then clicking Cancel results in Aperture correctly opening it and adjusting the version number in the library file so that it can be normally opened on future attempts.

Adjustments, including the updated Highlights & Shadows, seem to properly downgrade.

Video available at http://youtu.be/JYKSSJ4CQrQ


How do I convert my mac mini into a remote server?

For private use, a product like TeamViewer could be used, but for a more integrated solution you would need more knowledge (which can be attained for free) to setup and maintain a server.

There used to be a simple solution using iCloud’s Back to my Mac, but that is phased out as far as I know. (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT208922)

Running a remote desktop session without strong encryption is not recommended and leaves you vulnerable to assorted attacks, so a self-supported setup will be more involved than you might imagine.


Dropbox.com not accessible on Yosemite 10.10.3

For some reason your connection time is very long.

Lets test it.

Open the Terminal app located in your Utility folder.

Now type Ping dropbox.com

It should come back with something like this

  PING dropbox.com (108.160.172.232): 56 data bytes

  64 bytes from 108.160.172.232: icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=19.474 ms

I have about 15 to 20 milli seconds (ms), you are showing few hundreds ms (500). that is definitely not good.

Based on your results you have a Ping (some Internet address) problem while your Internet speed is very good.

Usually that comes from the DNS (Domain name Server), not resolving the Internet address correctly/Fast.

First lets clean your DNS cache, just in case something is stuck in there.

Use Terminal and run sudo discoveryutil mdnsflushcache enter your password when asked. Now you should have a clean cache and can start over.

Next would be to run a trace route (to Dropbox) to see where is it going and where it takes forever. In Terminal type Traceroute Dropbox.com and wait for it to finish (it takes few moments.
The first line is to your router and it should be less the 1 ms (I have 0.7 ms). The following lines are other routes (you can see the names of the servers). I end up with 30ms to the dropbox.
Lets carefully check your Network settings step by step.

TCP/IP -Use DHCP

DNS- we discussed that (but take note how many you have in there and what they are)

Proxies- they should be all off

Hardware- Automatic (MTU-Standard 1500)

Lets see who is using your Internet. Turn off programs like Mail, Browser, Skype ect. to make that a short list.

Now type lsof -i -P in Terminal and look who is still using your Internet.

There is a small application/Script that will evaluate all DNS servers around you and recommended which one is fastest for you to use. Give it a try, I use it and it does help with the DNS stuff.
The following is to just check the content of your Host file. Follow the instructions here to test your Host file setting.


Open addresses in google maps instead of apple maps

Unfortunately, you can't (unless you jailbreak your iPhone).
Anyway, from iOS 8, you are allowed to use your preferred navigator, once Maps has been opened:

Open an address (it will open with Apple Maps by default).
Tap the "car" button, as you do to get directions.
Tap the "share" button, then tap "Transport apps".
Choose the app navigator you prefer, among the installed ones (i.e., Google Maps). You will be redirected to the one you chose.

It's not as changing the default, but it's surely easier than typing an address manually in your preferred app.


Setting up a git (ssh) server using OS X Server

You need to create a "bare" git repo: a repository that can never have files checked out. Everyone pulls and pushes from the server like normal, but nobody can actually work on the server (unless they make a non-bare clone).

If you are creating a new repository called "my_bare_repo.git", you can make it bare like so:

cd /Users/git (or whatever)
git init --bare my_bare_repo.git

Using your git server

On the client machine, you would clone the repo like so:

git clone ssh://user@yourmachine.domain.com/Users/git/my_bare_repo.git

If you have an existing local repo, you can add a remote origin like so:

git remote add origin ssh://user@yourmachine.domain.com/Users/git/my_bare_repo.git

Then use the server app to set up "sharing only" users that can use ssh services. You can manage the users and profiles locally or remotely through web and/or server app. The ssh access is controlled in the Server entry in the top left - then click on Settings on the right and select SSH.


How to extend PATH of LaunchAgents in ~/Library/LaunchAgents?

You can use the following for example:
<key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
<dict>
    <key>PATH</key>
    <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/sbin</string>
</dict>

Add it to your XML Plist file in an appropriate manner so it doesn't break the other key groups.
I'd place it at the top of the XML Plist file, for example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/sbin</string>
    </dict>

Then the rest of your XML Plist file.

Notes:

If my XML Plist file in ~/Library/LaunchAgents is calling a shell script, I typically set the PATH (path) in my scripts as well as at times use the fully qualified pathname of the executable.

When using Launch Agents and Launch Daemons, I highly recommend reading the manual pages for launchctl, launchd.plist and launchd.

You can read the manual page for command  in Terminal by typing command and then right-click on it and select: Open man Page


I know this doesn't answer the question specifically, but are you sure you are on wi-fi when its available and not just solely on 3G? I've made that switch in the past and forgotten to go back. Also, have you installed any apps recently around the time the spike occrured?


Kernel CPU usage shows more than 100%, temperature low, fan speed high

Not sure where you get the CPU temperature but it does not seem to be accurate, if the CPU usage is so high.

For detailed and accurate report on the CPU I use

that creates report like this

To possibly solve your mystery...

Open Console in your Utility Folder

The Type "Kernel" in the search box.

Now you can see what Kernel is busy with.

You can copy and paste here for us to help you with reading.

In this case my kernel is running at 6% CPU


Problem loading images on Cultofmac.com in Safari and Chrome

Someone at work Suggested I change my DNS servers to openDNS and see if that resolves the problem.

As it may be that the DNS server from my provider is what is slowing down the page load due to the cross domain calls.

I just tried googles 8.8.8.8 and  8.8.4.4  DNS servers.

It turns out that this is indeed the case.
The images load as one would expect. And changing back to the IP's DNS the Problem reoccurs.

But I do not really want to change my DNS servers. So will be asking a separate question related to this.


How do i import photos from a Lumia phone to El Capitan's Photos app?

You can use this soft :

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mobile/support/product/nokia-photo-transfer-for-mac/

  Use this software to transfer photos and videos between your Nokia
  Lumia phone with Windows Phone 8 and your Mac computer or laptop with
  Mac OS

After that you can import your photos (stored on your computer) by using Photos.

Photos -> File -> Import ...


How can I keep settings consistent between Macs?

There really isn't a one size fits all answer, but I can think of four ways to accomplish your task if you care to spend some time setting this up.

Macs are Unix, so simply check in your ~/Library/Preferences and /Library/Preferences into some sort of code control system. You can then do diffs and most plists are text or easily converted into text (using PlistBuddy) so you can isolate exactly what you have changed.

There are numerous tutorials available - Penn's wiki on Manipulating Plist files is particularly nice and directed to people with unix skills.

There are plenty of Managed System software like Apple Remote Desktop or others like Casper if you wish to get software designed explicitly to manage user preferences.

Server accounts would be easy to set up for minimal cost if you have a spare machine (or virtual machine). Again - some work, but mobile accounts do work well for many people.

Lastly, don't overlook simply migrating the user account from the mac that is correct to the other mac periodically and just making a system where you are disciplined about how you record the times you change a setting.


What is a fast, universal way to launch a particular app (from within any other app)?

Besides the hardware functionality you mention in the last paragraph of your question, I think the only other solution is to use the NFC support in Shortcuts like this:
Open up the Shortcuts app and tap the Automatics tab in the bottom of the screen. Tap the "Create Personal Automation" button and then choose "NFC". Tap the "Scan" button and hold the NFC tag on to the phone. Then tap "Next" and "Add Action" and choose the app functionality to launch.
Now you can use the tag to trigger the launch at any moment.
NOTE: You need an iPhone XS or later that supports background tag reading.


'Go to Folder' disabled from new Finder window

It's possible the feature has been disabled. You can delete the override using the following:

defaults delete com.apple.finder ProhibitGoToFolder && killall -HUP Finder


Is that possible to change IMEI on Iphone 5?

Apart from the fact that it is illegal (in most if not all countries), you might want to think about why you would ever want to change the IMEI on your phone. I can think of only a few reasons why you would want to do that:

clear the identity of a stolen phone
clear information about phone manufacturer and model
research

Numbers 1 and 2 are highly questionable I would say. But to answer your questions:

Depending on the phone it could be possible, unless a one time programmable chip is used to store it, changing the IMEI would mean changing that chip, and since that's usually baked on the phones motherboard, it requires you to change that completely then.
Why is it made so hard? Well to prevent you from clearing the identity of a stolen phone mostly.

Consider the IMEI of your phone the same as the chassis number of your car, why on earth would you want to change that, unless you have criminal intent?


How to fix 'half-ejected' state of non-connected drive

Aside from restarting the system, there are probably a half-dozen straightforward, reliable and perfectly appropriate ways to go about completing the process of fully detatching a drive which unexpectedly stopped prematurely at the point of unmounting. I had two terminal commands which would get the job done come to mind immediately, and I know them both well enough to feel no need to double-check the man pages before typing away. That said, my advice is to deal with the situation by... restarting the system. Let the OS run the myriad of shutdown and startup integrity checks and multi-step boot-time safety procedures and recovery functions we have no idea even exist. While I'm adventurous enough to mount shadow-file disk images in the kernel [/usr/sbin/hdik], I defer to the authority of the local filesystem structure when it comes to keeping an eye on the integrity of my backup drives.

I further suggest that before engaging in any direct action on the drive, you check SuperDuper's log. Had something gone Terribly, Terribly Wrong, SuperDuper would have announced it at the time, so that's not the reason for taking a look. I suggest it on the odd chance of encountering a hint about the source of the glitch.

Likewise, consider checking /var/log/diskarbitrationd.log for its take on recent events and the opportunity of greater enlightenment. (Naturally, I won't mention taking a passing glance at the content of /etc/fstab.)

edit :: supplemental information

The two commands which occurred to me were umount﹡ and diskutil.

I looked over the documentation for umount to ensure my memory of its usage was reasonably accurate. I was confronted with the revelation that for, oh, twenty years or so, I had overlooked the man pages' NOTES section, fully quoted herewith:

  Due to the complex and interwoven nature of Mac OS X, umount may fail often. It is recommended that diskutil(1) (as in, ``diskutil unmount
  /mnt'') be used instead.

What can I say? Due to the complex and interwoven nature of my residual cognitive capacity, I may fail often.

As for diskutil, the particular command I would have issued turned out to be a valid one: diskutil unmountDisk force [device]. You'll want to consult the manual pages for full usage options and syntax.

Regarding the non-existence of /var/log/diskarbitrationd.log: apparently, you foolishly neglected to create it… Oh… Wait…

I sometimes [see ¶ four, above] forget that this or that background process I have running is not part of a default OS installation. That was the case here with the disk arbitration server daemon, located at /usr/sbin/diskarbitrationd. No sense in your bothering with it now.

If you care to, and at your convenience, consider using Disk Utility to examine the backup drive's partition scheme and filesystem. If more than one volume exists on the device, which is likely not so for a backup drive, hold down the ⌘-Command key while clicking on the device name along with the indented volume names below it. Then use the Verify Disk option in the First Aid tab to check the drive for errors.

﹡ Not a typo.


Full privileges on .command file, but it says I don't have appropriate privileges

You need to set 'execute' on the file for it to allow you to run it:

chmod u+x /path/to/file.command

u is the owner of the file, +x adds 'execute', so u+x gives the owner of the file the ability to execute it

…then you can run it in the future by double-clicking it.


Correct me if I'm wrong here, but you'd like a hostname to direct you to a specific IP address of your choice. If so, edit the hosts file located in /etc/hosts by adding a line like this below the localhost entry:

123.45.67.89 devops-01

Again, correct me if I'm misunderstanding you.


2 iPads, same iCloud account, but contacts lists are different!

Are both iPads synchronized to the same email accounts?  FOr example, my iPhone only Gmail access but my iPad Pro has access to multiple Gmail and Hotmail accounts.  This could account for the variation.  The only way I know to fix mismatched contact lists is to either export one and merge it into the other one.  I'm not sure how easily this would be on an iPad, but if you can send them both to a Gmail account, Gmail has the ability to detect/merge duplicates, etc.


How to analyze/resolve Gmail timeouts in Apple Mail?

Close Apple Mail and flush your DNS cache - imap.gmail.com is actually a collection of servers and occasionally your DNS will send you a bad one.

In El Capitan the command is sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

It's different for earlier versions.

Even the connection logging in Mail didn't show that DNS was the problem, only that it was a timeout in my case. Unfortunately this is only one possibility.

A way to check is by running the following in Terminal:

$ telnet imap.gmail.com 993
Trying 64.233.187.109...
Connected to gmail-imap.l.google.com.
Escape character is '^]'.

test
FConnection closed by foreign host.

(I typed test there, and the server doesn't understand that so I get disconnected. This proves that the connection between the computer and GMail is fine)


How to Delete a MacOS Notification Center Widget?

It is probably unsafe to delete executables without knowing if the main app executable depends on them.
Widgets are .wdgt files. To completely remove the widgets you must delete them from your machine or move them to a different folder. There are 2 Library folders on your computer. Each Library folder has a Widgets folder. You may remove the widget from the widgets folder to get rid of it. One Library folder is in your home directory. /Users/username/Library, and the top level folder is /Library. You cannot edit the latter on macOS Catalina.
It may also be possible that apps bundle the widget in the .app bundle. So right click on the myapp.app file & "show package contents". Some folders in, Resources folder may contain a wdgt file.
You can also use app like EasyFind to search the whole Mac for the extension.
If you need the app, but not its widget:
Open the notification panel and click on Today at the top of the pane. After that look to the bottom of the Today view and you should see an Edit button. Click this button. Now the active widgets will appear on the left. There will be a red circle at the top of each widget. Click this to remove the widget. See the images below.

After clicking Edit we see:


Mail.app with El Capitan displays message titles in undersized width

Delete the folder ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail

You may have to re-enter some preferences. I use MailTags and had to re-enter license data and preference information.


How to restart PostgreSQL installed by Brew in OSX?

Brew has that covered:

brew services restart postgresql


If my wife moves from her iCloud storage to the family shared iCloud will she lose her files?

No, your wife won't lose her files. Turning on Family Sharing simply adds the features to her iCloud account, which can include more data, and other features. She will see options on what of her iCloud data she wishes to share.

When you leave a Family, your iCloud simply loses the Family sharing benefits, including shared apps, photos, etc. But the data doesn't get deleted, it remains unless you actually delete to make room. This way, if you rejoin the family it simply makes the data visible again. The data does remain visible on the iCloud account of whoever set up the Family share in the first place, btw.


How to change the cursor hotspot in OS X 10.8.5 Mountain Lion?

I'll give you an answer you'll hate. You would have to batch change the .png of the all OS cursors in:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HiServices.framework/Versions/A/Resources/cursors

In the neighbourhood of a 100 pngs and adjusting singular pixels is what I see as the only option because there is no other way I can think of to adjust the 'active hotspot'


is it possible to connect two external monitors with mini displayport + thunderbolt to displayport or hdmi?

The thunderbolt port and display port are the same port.  So it's not two separate ports.

That said, due to the high bandwidth nature of thunderbolt, I suspect we will be able to daisy chain monitors in the future, as well as having thunderbolt "hubs" where multiple devices can be plugged in.

But for now, it's one port.  So only one external monitor.


what is the correct ownership for files in /Applications

The correct owner of an application bundle within /Applications for preinstalled Apple apps is: root

The correct owner of an application bundle within /Applications for packaged installers user installed apps is: root

The correct owner of an application bundle within /Applications for drag and drop user installed apps is: $USER

Where $USER is typically the short name of the person who installed the app. Otherwise, use the short name of the USER who is to own the file.

Here are the results of the ls -leO@d command run from Terminal on the Fritzing application bundle:

$ ls -leO@d /Applications/Fritzing.app
drwxr-xr-x@ 3 me  admin  - 102 Jun  6  2016 /Applications/Fritzing.app
    com.apple.quarantine     57
$

Same command run on the directory mentioned in the error message shown in the OP:

$ ls -leO@d /Applications/Fritzing.app/Contents/MacOS/fritzing-parts
drwxr-xr-x@ 15 me  admin  - 510 Jun  6  2016 /Applications/Fritzing.app/Contents/MacOS/fritzing-parts
    com.apple.quarantine     57
$

To change owner of a user installed app, e.g. for Fritzing, use the following command in Terminal:

sudo chown -R $USER /Applications/Fritzing.app

Note you can leave $USER as is written if you are the logged in USER and you are taking ownership.

Also consider checking the permissions and adjust as needed. As in this case for Fritzing:

sudo chmod -R 0755 /Applications/Fritzing.app

As I have Fritzing installed and working, and its permission are as previously shown, I believe the error message is somewhat erroneous and is being caused by you not being the owner. Changing ownership as previously shown should resolve your issue.


Can Terminal access the microphone in Catalina? (for SoX, FFmpeg, Ecasound, pyaudio etc.)

If Terminal isn't showing up in the System Preferences list for microphone permissions, open it by:

open /System/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/MacOS/Terminal

Then run a program that uses the mic e.g.

sox -d -d

(Not a pre-installed program. This will let you hear your mic input)

That should trigger it to request. If that didn't work try running the command on a different command line e.g. iTerm2. This is a problem and solution similar to the one for Audacity on Catalina. I'm not sure what the exact cause is though.


Airport Extreme won't work: "Cannot be setup by this software"

You can actually get this old piece of technology to work fairly well with a few easy steps.

Power off the Airport Extreme and any other router it is connected to for 20 seconds.
Turn everything back on and wait for lights to stop flashing.
On your iPhone go to Settings > Wi-Fi.  Turn on the setting for Ask to Join Networks.  This will make it so the phone always asks you before joining an unknown wireless network.
Now go to Settings > General > Software Update.  You will be prompted to Select a Wireless Network with the Apple Network abcdef as an option.  Touch it.
You should now be connected!  There is no need to actually perform the rest of the software update at this time.

I think this works because - one, the software update tool really wants you to download (very large) iOS updates on Wi-Fi to save your data.  And two, the Airport extreme for some reason only works if you ask to join the network such that the network selector will pop up.  It's a hack, but it works!


Wake-up issues with Macbook Pro (late 2011)

Try resetting your SMC. It's inter alia responsible for the opening and closing behavior of your MacBook Pro:

Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

Source: Apple Support pages


Mac terminal stop hard drive from spinning

In a Terminal or script, you can use the pmset command to sleep/wake the computer and more.

From: man pmset

sleepnow - causes an immediate system sleep

sudo pmset sleepnow

Schedules the system to automatically wake from sleep on July 4, 2016, at 8PM.

sudo pmset schedule wake "07/04/16 20:00:00"

Note: I've added sudo to the above pmset commands as this is necessary unless running as root which under OS X is not the norm.

From: Quick Tip: Save Battery by Spinning Down Hard Drive Sooner

sudo pmset -a disksleep 5

sudo - allows a standard “admin” user to run programs usually reserved for the “root” user. These are usually processes that affect the system as a whole – like this one.

pmset - this is the name of the utility we’re using.

-a - this “flag” tells the pmset utility that we’re applying it to all power configurations: battery, charger, and uninterrupted power supply. If you want to affect JUST when you’re on battery power, change this flag to “-b”

disksleep - this is the parameter we want to change: disk sleep time. This parameter is for 10.5 and later; in previous OS versions, you should use “spindown” instead.

5 - this is the number of minutes the system waits before sleeping the disk. OS X’s defaults are 10 minutes. We halved it here, so it spins down faster, but not so fast that it’s always spinning up (which would be counter to our needs). You may need to adjust this number to a point that works best for you.


Shutting down a frozen iPad with broken sleep button

Let it use up all the charge on the battery. Then it shuts down automatically, and you can charge it to use it again.


Keyboard and Trackpad behave erratic MacBook Pro 13 (early 2015)

The keyboard was broken. Apparently very little amounts of liquid can completely brake it. After exchanging the top case/keyboard everything works like a charm.


Is there are tool that can store and retrieve monitor arrangements as presets?

You should try SwitchResX.  It allows you to create Display Sets defining many variables like placement relative to other displays, setting which display is the primary, etc.  Here is the Display Set page showing the options.

It even has the ability to set a keyboard shortcut to each Display Set so you can quickly switch layouts, resolutions, etc.


Microsoft Outlook for Mac 2011 "Not Responding" after upgrade to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan

Microsoft has an update to fix the problem now.

For more information, check out this knowledge base article documenting the problem: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3098396

  Shortly after you start Microsoft Outlook for Mac 2011 on Mac OS X El Capitan (version 10.11), Outlook hangs when it tries to sync with the server. The Spinning Wait cursor is displayed, and the application status is displayed as "Not Responding."

  [...]

  This issue occurs in Outlook for Mac 2011 version 14.5.5 and earlier versions when they are running on Mac OS X El Capitan (version 10.11).

To install the fix, you can either:

Open Outlook and click Check for Updates on the help menu (if your outlook freezes before you can update, you can create a blank profile temporarily by ALT-Clicking on the Outlook icon),
Download the update package at: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=49183


Open your project in XCode. Click the Run button in the upper-left hand corner of the window.

Note that you can chose which iOS device to simulate as just to the right of that button.

If you would like just the iOS simulator, you can open XCode, create an iOS app from a template, run the app, then, with the simulator running, pin it to your dock.

The app itself appears to be in

/Applications/Xcode/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications/iOS Simulator


Safari 10.1 doesn’t display the page correctly:

It seems like you've run into a bug with the Safari renderer. Resize the window vertically and the page reflows correctly. Resize horizontally and the page extends horizontally incorrectly. I'd avoid using tables for layout and stick to using flex.

Extract the image out of the table layout. Replace the following from your code:

    &nbsp;

    &nbsp;

with the following:

Then add the following CSS to .pics-wrapper: width: 851px;.

The solution referred to in your link (not that it would solve the problem here but it's something you asked for) is as follows:

Open the Font Book app from the Applications folder.

Choose the File menu followed by Restore Standard Fonts.


Using Mac in a virtual machine legality?

Snow Leopard Server specifically allowed installation in a VM.  Normal Lion and Mountain Lion also allow installation in the VM in the EULA.  Parallels and VMWare both support installation of Mac OS X guest machines for those versions.

The EULA only allows it if the VMs are running on Apple hardware.


How to block adding new keyboard input sources from login display?

System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Options

Uncheck "Show Input menu in login window"


How do I reduce iPhone data usage on my cell phone plan

To conserve data, you can turn off background app refresh on some of your apps (found under settings) or you can go onto everyone's phones and do the same. The feature was designed to update your Facebook, Twitter and other feeds while your not in the app.
See what apps are using the most data (found under Settings > Cellular, then scroll down to Cellular Data Usage) you will be able to see a breakdown of what uses the most data, so you can prevent this problem from occurring again.
Make sure iCloud Photo Library is off or has the function that only uploads photos on Wi-Fi.
The App Store has recently been given privileges to update apps automatically, and iTunes can download new content automatically. Turn this off for cell data via Settings > iTunes & App Store > Use Cellular Data.


Managed to fix it by running the following command:

sudo chmod +x /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia


There is no way to view a saved password on your iPhone.

However, if the password is a WPA security key, it should be on the internet router itself. The same goes for most other types of Wi-Fi password. Try finding the router and see if you have a line labeled WPA or Passcode, or something along those lines.


Siri - Change language without completing the setup

Select Setup “Hey Siri” Later. Then navigate to Settings > Siri & Search, and toggle on Press Home for Siri. A pop up will appear in your system language. Select the top option to confirm you want Siri on. Then, you can customize Siri’s language and voice. You can now enable “Hey Siri” in the language that you would like.

You will be unable to change the language for Siri until the Press Home for Siri option is enabled.


Is there a way to open terminal rather than terminal emulator?

sounds like you want single user mode?

Hold s while booting the computer.


Russian keyboard vanishes each time my Mac is started

Go to System Preferences -> Language & Region.
Set English as Preferred language. Unfortunately, your macOS becomes English, but it's the only way that solved this problem on my Sierra 10.12.5.


No. The white iPhone 3GS does not have a white face, just a white back cover.


Launching a specific web page from iOS home screen

Safari, the default browser available in iOS has a feature that lets you add a website bookmark to your Home Screen.

The bookmark visually looks like an app icon and when tapped, opens the webpage in Safari. The website favicon is used to represent the app icon. However, unlike Safari bookmarks which syncs across all your Apple devices, this one appears only on the iOS device that you add it on.

To add a webpage bookmark on your iOS Home screen:

Open the webpage in Safari.

Tap on the Share button. In the bottom row, tap on Add to Home Screen

If needed, edit the name of shown below the bookmark icon. Webpage title is used by default.

Tap Add and you are done. The webpage bookmark is now added to the iOS Home screen. If need be, it can be easily removed by following the same procedure to uninstall app (tap and hold until the icon wiggles, tap on ⓧ button at top left of the icon).


iOS in-app purchase: Keeping consumable counter in keychain, do I need to document export compliance

The general consensus I've heard is no, it does not trigger export compliance. The OS is the one handling the encryption, not your app.


To my thinking, a logical place to start and fix this is focus on Safari:

Go to the settings and change the tab behavior, click a link, then change it back to your preference if needed.
Next be sure the issue happens after you log out and log in again.
Next check is you have custom extensions or CSS or malware that overrides the css for all pages - this setting can be hinted from the web page, but should respect your settings in browser. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15551779/open-link-in-new-tab-or-window

Some oddball causes:

Faulty keyboard with a modifier key held down. Could be the main keyboard or any other usb keyboard, screen sharing software or Bluetooth keyboard.
You’ll need Apple’s keyboard viewer or other tool to visualize which modifier is held down of simple trial and error doesn’t help.
Make a new user to see if the apps work with clean user default settings and preferences.
Reinstall the os if you have no luck with anything else. Consider making a backup and doing an erase install - test browser before you load your apps and settings.


According to EveryMac

  *Although Apple only reports that this model can support a single external display up to 2560x1600, Intel reports that this model can
  simultaneously support two external displays up to 2560x1600 "daisy
  chained" via Thunderbolt.

So, no - only one monitor over HDMI. Two If you can daisy-chain compatible Thunderbolt monitors.


Can AirPods be be used with multiple Charging Case units?

Yes, you can use multiple charging cases. Put the AirPods in either charging case to see the AirPod charge level and the battery level of that particular charging case. At the moment, once of my cases shows 94%. Moving the AirPods to the other case shows a 100% case charge level.


Macbook Pro USB 3.0 ExpressCard snail slow

I also have that Macbook Pro (15-inch, 2017, 2.2Ghz) and a non branded USB 3.0  ExpressCard with the NEC UPD720202 Chip. I had been able to install it in my Mac some time ago following instructions found on web, but it stopped working as soon as I upgraded to El Capitan. Now I decided to give it another shot, as some time has passed by. So I found some potentially useful information in some in "hackintosh" related websites and I believe I was able to get it to work again by following the instructions on this site:

https://remonpel.nl/2015/02/usb-3-0-on-macbook-pro-2011/

Basically, it implies that we give up on some important Apple's security measures by enabling the "kext-dev-mode", typing this command in the Terminal:

sudo nvram boot-args="kext-dev-mode=1″

You may also need to get an updated kext file. That page is providing the download link for one that should be compatible with El Capitan, and maybe you can find some other option in tonymacx86.com.

You also need to disable System Integrity Protection. The instructions are here:

http://osxdaily.com/2015/10/05/disable-rootless-system-integrity-protection-mac-os-x/

It consists in entering Recovery Mode (CMD+R right after turning on your Mac) and typing this in the Terminal:

csrutil disable; reboot

Obviously, I would advise you to first start by making a full backup of your files and also by reading those articles and try to understand the security/privacy implications of each step and consider you you are willing to take the eventual risk. I would try to get those two security measures back in place and see if the ExpressCard keeps working as expected. That's what I intend to do in my next reboot, when I get my current backup done. ;)

Update:  I have just re-enabled System Integrity Protection by using the shell command csrutil disable; reboot in Recovery Mode. It seems to be working just fine.


What's a good, actively-developed status-bar-hosted mail client?

Sparrow is $10 on the MAS and does have a status-bar only option.


Facebook Contacts disappearing from contacts

It seems Facebook did this on purpose. Facebook tries to only sync contacts which include useful information.

Friends without contact information other than a '@facebook.com'-email are no longer synced.

[Source]