CalendarAgent continuous error generation in MacOS 10.12.4

The possible problem is that database schema or some of database entries are incompatible with latest Calendar app. Or may be these entries are corrupted.

There are 2 possible solutions:

fix db which is tricky.
drop db - it's just cached data of your cloud accounts.

to do the 2nd option:

stop Calendar App (ctrl+q), then
open ~/Library/Calendars and
remove Calendar Cache files (you may just trash them)
start Calendar App again.

You will need probably reactivate your calendar accounts.

To do so, open calendar app settings and choose desired accounts in accounts section


Duplicate contacts in iPhone 4 with two Exchange accounts, one is Lotus Traveler

The data stores can get confused. It's usually a server issue but you seem to have narrowed that out by the details you posted.

Giving the iPhone a totally fresh database then re-establishing sync often helps when the databases are failing to sync correctly.

Since there is no way to just start over for contacts only, you have a short dance of steps.

Disable all contact syncing over the air.
Power cycle the phone
Use a test account (i make a new user account on my mac with an empty address book) - syncing from iTunes to overwrite all contacts stored on the phone clears the data store well. You can have iTunes only overwrite the contacts and not affect any other data on the iPhone.
Sync back to your main iTunes if desired, then finally re-enable contact sync over the air.

Since the contact database gets restored from a backup, restoring the phone won't cure contact database errors. If you can re-set up the phone, you could restore and set it up as a new device also.


How to browse /usr in an Open File dialog?

Inside the Open File dialog, press : shift + command + g . This will let you enter a path.

type /usr and press return


Will Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) file/rsync-based clones to a "target disk mode" T2 MacBook work?

I cloned my old Mac Mini 2012 onto my new 2018 Mini (with a T2).
Trying to remember exactly how I did it (in terms of what volume booted and how they were connected) but there are two important points:

After cloning, the OS would not boot, and I had to reinstall the OS on top of newly cloned disk. (Keeping all my data, apps and settings.)
The Admin user on the disk does not have a 'Secure Token', and can't be used to change Secure Boot settings. Follow Peter Thorn's excellent answer in this question.

I've previously cloned a succession of my Macs over the last 15 years or so, and never had a problem before.


How to prevent iOS from dimming or changing the screen brightness

iOS dims the display just before the Auto-Lock period.

You can set this period in Settings → General → Auto-Lock.

However, if Settings → Battery → Low Power Mode is set to on, the regular auto-lock setting is disregarded.


Applescript with get every file loop fails

Perl's File::Find is ideal for iterating over all the files in a folder. This approach deals with one file at a time, is fast, and memory efficient.

Use AppleScript to present the folder choice and then pass the selected folder path to your perl script:

set myFolder to choose folder with prompt "Choose a folder:"
do shell script "perl /path/to/perl/script.pl " & quoted form of POSIX path of myFolder

The perl script can then deal with traversing the files. Below is sample perl script for iterating over files and filtering to only eaf and pfsx suffixes:

#!/usr/bin/env perl

use strict;
use warnings;

use File::Find;

# Get the first argument passed to the script
my $argument_path = shift;
die("ERROR: an argument must be provided\n") unless $argument_path;
die("ERROR: the argument must be a folder: $argument_path\n") unless -d $argument_path;

# Iterate over every file and folder within the $argument_path
find sub {

    my $filename = $_; # relative to current working directory

    # Skip all but .eaf and .pfsx file types
    return unless $filename =~ /\.eaf$/;
    return unless $filename =~ /\.pfsx$/;

    print $filename."\n";

    # ... deal with the file or folder here

}, $argument_path;


Aha! I figured it out with the help of

http://www.iphoneforums.net/forum/iphone-help-15/unsupported-url-after-limera1n-jailbreak-4114/

When I had reset all settings on my iPod to fix my YouTube app, it turned browser changer back on.


Is there a third-party Finder app that remembers custom column widths in List View?

On the latest version of Sierra, in list view in a Finder window, holding the option key while double-clicking the divider between the “Name” column and its adjacent column. then releasing the option key and closing then reopening Finder to that same folder… the width of your name column retains its new set value in list view.  This only works on a per folder basis You can set custom widths for your name columns in list view for any folder of your choosing.

Here's the kicker though!!  I believe if you resize the finder window itself, this will reset your custom column widths.


changed user path and lost aliases in .bash_profile

I think these are not related. What you're seeing is the default bash prompt, which is defined in /etc/bashrc:

$ grep PS1=  /etc/bashrc
PS1='\h:\W \u\$ '

From the bash man page:

 \h     the hostname up to the first `.'
 \u     the username of the current user
 \W     the basename of the current working directory, with $HOME abbreviated with a tilde

What's happened is that your hostname is not being set correctly. It related to your network settings. It was discussed on superuser: https://superuser.com/questions/318509/hostname-issue-in-mac-os-x-lion

And on the /etc/paths.d/git file, what you did is correct. If you have git installed in /usr/local/git/bin, then the install usually creates that file for you. But the contents are trivial, so you can create it yourself. It should have a single line, containing the path to the bin directory you want added to PATH for all users:

$ ls -l /etc/paths.d/git
-rw-r--r--  1 root  wheel  19 Sep 17  2009 /etc/paths.d/git
$ od -ta /etc/paths.d/git
0000000    /   u   s   r   /   l   o   c   a   l   /   g   i   t   /   b
0000020    i   n  nl
0000023
$ wc -l /etc/paths.d/git
   1 /etc/paths.d/git
$ cat /etc/paths.d/git
/usr/local/git/bin


Password in user settings is no longer valid

It seems with heat issues, you'll want to make a very good backup at night after it's been cool or off all day and then wipe it and test if you can rely on this hardware.

The software can't possibly work when the hardware is throttling or stopping the processing. Without charging circuitry - you can't really use a portable Mac. Also, it will be hard to separate a shut down due to SMC failing to sense proper charge / voltage and this might have nothing to do with normal sleep.

Looking at this from the outside, I'd start with a clean install to see if you can confirm all the symptoms are directly or related to hardware.


My iPhone is giving unexpected, creepy reminders

There are two options that are most likely.

Option #1:

Someone has gained access to your iCloud account and has been adding reminders remotely. If this is the case, you should be grateful that they are just adding reminders as they could do far more.

Solution #1:

Reset your iCloud password immediately and set up two-factor authentication.

Option #2:

Someone has gained physical access to your iPhone and either knows the password or your phone is unprotected.

Solution #3:

Change your phone password to something other than 1234, and make sure that it is enabled all the time.

Lastly, remove the reminders.


Do you need an iPhone to build iPhone apps?

Strictly speaking, no, you do not need to have an iPhone in order to build iPhone apps. The iOS Simulator does a pretty good job and allows you to test how your app is likely to work on a range of iPhone models (or other devices).

However, having some physical devices you can install your apps on is certainly an advantage. In my own app development there have been a number of times that I've identified that something just hasn't looked quite right on an iPod, iPhone or iPad (whereas in the Simulator it looked fine). And, I've also had instances where something didn't quite look/work right in the Simulator, but it was fine on a physical device.

Only you can decide whether keeping your iPhone is worth more to you than selling it.


Terminal script to create folders and copy files based on part of filename

If all your files follow the convention of dirname - the_rest_and_ext (have the - in the middle) you can use something like:

for f in *; do
   dir_name=`echo "$f" | sed 's/ -.*//'`
   mkdir -p "$dir_name"
   mv "$f" "$dir_name"
done

If all the files have the same extension, you can change the for to something like:

for f in *.ext; do

NOTE: make sure you know what you are doing.


How can I change the circular photo on title bar of Mail.app?

Try re-adding the Gmail account in Mail.app. This should resolve the issue.


How to reclaim unoccupied disk space with Disk Utility?

The answer is in the screenshot you posted. "To resize a partition on the selected disk, drag its resize control and click Apply." You should be able to just increase the size of the Macintosh HD partition to use the free space. I would recommend backing up first to be safe.


Applescript to delete iMessages from Messages app

Can you create a Folder Action to empty the ~/Library/Messages folder at intervals?


My grandmother's computer had the same issue. After trying a bunch of stuff, I ended up deleting the IMAP account and re-added it and everything works fine now.

As commented, you could also use the connection doctor (search for it in help if you can't find it under the menu structure for Mail) and see that all of the servers and passwords are set up correctly. Often an old setting can go stale or the preference file could get corrupt and need a new password to be stored for the sending side of email.


Is it possible to run a windows OS off a Flash drive/thumb drive on a Mac?

In theory, yes, but in practice it would be quite slow and cumbersome doing so from a flash drive.

My suggestion would be to search here for an answer to whatever your Bootcamp issue is (or ask a question about it).

However, if you really want to bypass the internal drive, then I would recommend using an external hard drive (instead of a flash drive) to run Windows from. Be aware though that the process for doing this is quite involved. For example, read this question for one way to achieve what you want.


Navigate to a certain tab and close that tab in OSX Terminal

In OSX Terminal, hold down the keys ⌘+Shift while arrowing right or left. This will allow you to switch between active tabs.

When on the tab you wish to close, as you noted, ⌘+w will close that tab.


How to add a libreoffice launcher for writer?

As of version 6, in the OsX version of LibreOffice there are NOT separate applications to be run.

It is possible is to create a "launcher" for each LibreOffice components, for example with Applescript, and then to add the resulting app to the Dock or in the Applications Folder -to be indexed by spotlight.

The single line Applescript:

do shell script "/Applications/LibreOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice --writer &> /dev/null &

launches Writer (to launch the other components you use their names instead of writer, that is --calc, --impress, --draw, --base, or --math)

Save the Applescript as an app, and even change its icon (you can google for Libre Office icons or you can search for them http://www.iconarchive.com) and the "illusion" is complete


How to download orginal photos from iCloud Photo Library to PC?

Go to https://www.icloud.com/#photos.
Go to Albums -- All Photos folder.
Click Select Photos on top-right of the page.
Select first photo and Shift-select last photo.
You should see all photos are selected now.
Click Download in top-middle menu.


Take a look at this article by Mike Barron, NetBoot Part 4.

In the article Mike walks through the dscl commands he used to share folders on Mac OS X for the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) and Server Message Block (SMB) protocols:

  The toughest one so far has been file sharing. In our lab we share all our Work partitions to the entire internal network over AFP and SMB. In the past we used SharePoints to modify the NetInfo database to do so, but this functionality has all been moved over to Directory Services. To complicate matters, SAMBA no longer relies simply on standard SMB configuration files in standard locations, and the starting and stopping of the SMB daemon is handled completely by launchd. So figuring this all out has been a headache. But I think I’ve got it!


Is it safe to buy a MacBook Pro from some guy on eBay?

This is a question with an impossible answer. Use the age-old adage "if it seems to good to be true, it is."

For the most part, eBay is a mixed bag. It really depends how you shop and what kind of items you are in the market for. Personally, I've been burned far more than I've actually saved and no longer use the service. I will likely give you a biased answer and if pressed, say "no." Unless it's a private seller (which likely won't part with their machine for "substantially" less), I would be wary. Apple maintains strict pricing on their products, which is why only marginal price savings can be found.

As for where do most people get theses Macs; if they are selling them for substantially less, then you likely won't get a genuine product, or they have likely acquired them illegally.

AppleCare must be purchased and registered through Apple. No other company can provide you with that kind of coverage. Period. Discounts on the coverage (as with select Apple devices) can be had using their educational discount, which applies to students. And to qualify, the product and the plan must be purchased through their Education Store.


how to display 4:3 full screen game on widescreen monitor without stretching?

Right-click the port in your Porting Kit library, press "Wineskin Tools" -> "Launch Wineskin". In the window that opens, press "Screen Options".

Select "Override" instead of "Automatic" in the top, then select "Fullscreen" in the left and choose the "Resolution" that you want to use below.

Also, that port uses Mac Driver, which is incompatible with the configurations above, so uncheck the "Use Mac Driver instead of X11" box. Be warned: the game was tested with Mac Driver and not X11, so it may not work if you disable that box. If it stops working, you can repeat the process and check that box again.


How to keep MacBook Pro from stopping Time Machine when sleeping?

If your MacBook supports Power Nap and is connected to power, go to System Preferences → Energy Saver → Power Adapter → Enable Power Nap while plugged into a power adapter. This will allow Time Machine to wake the computer for a backup.


You can do this by:

In the Finder, press ⌘⇧G to Go to Folder.
Type "~/Library/Services"
Find the service you no longer want
Drag it to the Trash


You already have everything you need.

Open up disk utility, select the top filesystem under the DVD on the left side and create an image of it (CD/DVD master, is the format you should select, if I recall correctly) and save it to the location of your choice.

When it is done the DVD image will remaim in the list in the Disk Utility window. Eject the source DVD and insert your blank. Select the DVD image in the Disk Utility window and click on Burn Image (if it is not in the toolbar, it should be a menu choice).

Not as easy as Toast but easy enough...


Magsafe-2 car charger for 2015 MacBook Pro?

I tried to find this kind of product a few years ago. I could not find anything relevant. Nowadays, no more luck.
An inverter may be the only solution, although it may not be the best for you.
There are also integrated battery+inverter products like GoalZero Yeti but it may be too expensive or "over the top" depending on your needs.


Apple Force Touch - How do I make it feel like the old tap-to-click?

Go to system preferences and navigate to accessibility.

Disable "Spring-loading delay."


Usually you don't need any additional tools like FTP-clients because you already have direct access to your file system via the Finder or the shell.

Since your host resides in a private network and connects to the internet via a gateway (your router) remote users don't have direct access to your Mac - they don't even know that it exists.

To enable access for remote users, you have to forward the public port 80 (and possibly port 443) on the router to the respective host's ports. Usually the router interface already contains preconfigured port-forwarding rules or you have to add them yourself:

public-router-ip:public-port –> host-ip:private-port

Here is an example of a D-Link router interface. Here I assume your host has the IP 192.168.0.2 and your web-server has the ports 80/443 open, the router's IP is 201.23.45.23:

All requests to 201.23.45.23:80 and 201.23.45.23:443 are forwarded to your internal host and its respective ports then: 192.168.0.2:80 and 192.168.0.2:443.

Name is here: a human readable name tagging the service. This may be the protocol name (e.g. HTTP) or a service name (e.g. Web server (http)). The drop down menu Application Name will probably auto-populate it - I don't own a D-Link Router so I don't know this.
In IP Address enter the IP address of your local Mac hosting the web server - not your public IP. The drop down menu Computer Name will probably show all available hosts in your internal network.
Public/Private Port as well as Traffic Type are self-explanatory.

The designations may differ slightly in your router's interface!

The standard MAMP http/https ports are 8888 and 8890 though. If you haven't changed this, the proper port-forwarding rules on the router would look like this then:

This means: all requests to 201.23.45.23:80 will be forwarded to 192.168.0.2:8888 and 201.23.45.23:443 to 192.168.0.2:8890 respectively.

You may even tell your clients to access the web server at port 20080/20443 (e.g. mysite.online:20080/main.htm). This is not recommended and inconvenient for your clients - it's just an example to show how to do it.

The forwarding rules with the standard MAMP http/https ports are then:

If you want to operate your own web server like this, I advise to set up a virtual machine (connected to a bridged interface - not NATed!) with VirtualBox, VMware Fusion or Parallels, install OS X & MAMP and run it there.

This will prevent ravaging your real system.


Set your Finder window to List View, then right click in the header bar where it says Name, Date Modified etc & check Date Created


Preventing Safari background tabs disconnecting from server

I think the setting you’re looking for is Disable Hidden Page Timer Throttling, located under Debug → Miscellaneous Flags.

If you haven’t enabled the Safari Debug menu yet, triple-click the following line and paste it into a Terminal session:
defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu 1

Now completely quit Safari, then reopen it. The Debug menu should become available.

If you’re on Safari Technology Preview, the Terminal command is:
defaults write com.apple.SafariTechnologyPreview IncludeInternalDebugMenu 1


How can I relocate an iTunes library from a Time Machine backup?

The preference in iTunes tells it where to read and write your files. It will not move the existing music library. You should set this to your HDD/Music, and you're done. Consolidate will then pick up the files you have left elsewhere (e.g. the now unblessed ~/Music) and copy them over for you.


What could cause two different iphones to incorrectly show my address as their location?

Pure guess, but …

The geomapping for the local WiFi connections is incorrect.
Somebody recently moved house & took their router with them, or bought one from someone else, etc, etc & the locations database has not been updated to reflect this.

Find my iPhone relies on already 'knowing' the position of all available WiFi APs [irrespective of whether or not it can or has ever connected to them] to triangulate the current location.

See How Google-and everyone else-gets Wi-Fi location data for a background story.
& HT5467 Updating WiFi router location in Apple's database? for some ramblings on what happens when the database doesn't get updated.

As far as a guess on why two different people had the same issue, that has me stumped, unless the 'owner' of the out-of-position WiFi is also the source of the vanishing phones.


You need to specify the bundle identifier when using the -b argument.
In this case, the bundle identifier is com.apple.driver.AppleSDXC

sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleSDXC

If the same error message is returned, then the kernel extension was not loaded to begin with.

You can check this information using kextstat | grep -e SDXC

Regardless, to find the Bundle ID:

/System/Library/Extensions/AppleSDXC.kext/Contents/Info.plist the bundle identifier is stored under the BundleID key:

<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
<string>com.apple.driver.AppleSDXC</string>


Can I use my iMac late 2015 non-retina display in Target Mode?

Here are the iMacs that support Target Display Mode:

See more: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592


Add your custom mail sounds to ~/Library/Sounds. Then they’ll show up in the Mail preference pane.


Target Display Mode -- Pressing command-F2 does nothing

iMac 27 5K Late 2014 model and later no longer support Target Display Mode.


How to force quit an app that doesn't show in the Force Quit Applications menu?

The Force Quit menu will only show foreground windowed applications, not all processes.  Launch Activity Monitor, and search for the name of the app, or look for processes marked in Red with "Not Responding". There is a Quit button in the toolbar, where you can choose to Force Quit a process.

Items in the menubar are sometimes controlled by the SystemUIServer process, which may also need to be restarted.


How easy is it to reinstall MacOS and change my disk setup?

Install to the internal using erase install steps.
Migrate data / apps / settings from the external using the migration assistant portion of the os setup assistant.


Workaround for wrong HID usage descriptor sent by Bluetooth Gamepad?

I'd look at either getting some software to reproduce what the windows drivers do or look at hardware that has drivers for OS X.

http://joystickmapper.com/
http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/

Also, on OS X, the games you are looking to use need to also support looking for wireless controllers, so that might be an issue for you as well that needs to be overcome.


Blocked websites on macOS host but not on Win7 virtual machine

The firewall might be blocking dynamically, and if so, it could decide on a large number of factors that are hard to guess or summarize.

For example, firewalls can tell what platform you are using, as well aspects of the network configuration.

What you describe could be summarized as: based on the assumption that Windows is blocked less from YouTube than macOS, your computer is not being blocked for its location on the network, but usually because it is running macOS (in this specific environment). If that same network device was running Windows (or more specifically a Windows-based browser), YouTube works, in this specific case.


Choose only the first input file from input

The following example AppleScript code is the minimum coding to achieve the goal presented in the OP, that is to only act on the first file dropped on the Automator created AppleScript application using a single Run AppleScript action:
on run {input, parameters}

    if input is {} then
        set inputFile1 to ¬
            quoted form of POSIX path of ¬
            (choose file with prompt "Please select a file to process:")
    else
        set inputFile1 to quoted form of ¬
            (POSIX path of first item of input)
    end if

    tell application "Terminal"
        if not (exists window 1) then reopen
        activate
        do script "echo" & space & inputFile1 in window 1
    end tell

end run

Note the use of echo in the do script command for testing purposes, instead of xxx as in the OP.

Note: The example AppleScript code is just that and does not contain any error handling as may be appropriate. The onus is upon the user to add any error handling as may be appropriate, needed or wanted. Have a look at the try statement and error statement in the AppleScript Language Guide. See also, Working with Errors. Additionally, the use of the delay command may be necessary between events where appropriate, e.g. delay 0.5, with the value of the delay set appropriately.


you can use imessage. and with OS X Mavericks  you can take it as notifications too.

  If you’re a texter, you’ll love Messages on iPhone, iPad, and iPod
  touch. Now they all come with iMessage, a service that’s an even
  better kind of texting. Because it’s free for you and anyone texting
  over Wi-Fi using an iOS device or Mac with iMessage. And it’s
  unlimited.* So say as much as you want.

i hope it helps you..


Would I notice much of a difference between a new 2014 Mac Mini and the 2012 server edition?

The 2012 server is much more powerful than the gimped high end 2014 version and has beaten it in speed tests, too.

You cannot install your own RAM in the 2014 model.

You would see no difference in regard to playback between the two, a MacBook Air i5 could handle that task just as ably. Where you will see the difference is with conversion times and processing power, with the 2012 server coming out far ahead.


Don't know about the error message but the command also reports Install of Rosetta 2 finished successfully. So to check whether Rosetta actually got installed

Install an "old" application not recompiled for M1 yet (if you don't have one, any free application from the Store which hasn't been updated since May 2020 will do)
Run it to see if it works.

You can then also check in Activity Monitor by enabling the "Architecture" column there. If any process shows as"Intel", Rosetta is installed


Creating REAL typewriting effect on mac (similar to Type.js but with actual keyboard input)

Here as quick and dirty answer with some Apple script I found online:

set fc to read POSIX file "/path/to/file.txt" as «class utf8»

set the text item delimiters to (ASCII character 10)
set mylines to text items in fc
repeat with currentline in mylines
    write_string(currentline)
end repeat

on write_string(the_string)
    tell application "System Events"
        tell application "TextEdit" to activate
        repeat with the_character in the_string
            keystroke the_character
            delay 0.05
        end repeat
        key code 36
        key code 123 using command down
    end tell
end write_string

The Apple script requires an empty open document in TextEdit and a source text file /path/to/file.txt (with strings/text etc.).

It probably works with other text editors also.

Additional keystroke sound and random delays:

If you replace

            keystroke the_character
            delay 0.05

with

            do shell script ("afplay " & "/path/to/sound.wav" & " > /dev/null 2>&1 &")
            keystroke the_character
            set d to random number from 0.2 to 0.5
            delay d

you will get some sound too. (example keystroke sound file (direct d/l link!))

Additional office sound:

Add the line somewhere at the beginning of the script. You can set the volume with "-v "!

do shell script ("afplay " & "/path/to/officesound.wav" & " > /dev/null 2>&1 &")

Example: office sound - People - indoor crowd - government office - people in queue. (requires Login/Register)

If I find some time, I'll add some open new document ... lines.


Why is my iPhone using 4G data when in range of my WiFi?

When the phone is asleep (also known as hibernation mode), the WiFi radio is shut off after a time to conserve battery power. Anything that occurs on the phone, such as receiving notifications, background app updates, et cetera, uses the cellular network instead of WiFi. The one notable exception would be iCloud backup, for which the phone wakes the WiFi radio.


Why must I source .bashrc every time I open terminal for aliases to work?

In short, you are putting your aliases in the wrong file .bashrc, that is why you need to keep running source to get the aliases working in any new login terminal instances.

From Chris Johnsen's comment at Why doesn't .bashrc run automatically?

    By default, Terminal starts the shell via /usr/bin/login, which makes the shell a login shell. On every platform (not just Mac OS X) bash does not use .bashrc for login shells (only /etc/profile and the first of .bash_profile, .bash_login, .profile that exists and is readable). This is why “put source ~/.bashrc in your .bash_profile” is standard advice.

For more information, see the manual page for bash:

man bash

Then look under the INVOCATION section.


What automatic script runs with Bourne Shell (/bin/sh) for root?

This answer comes close to answering the question, but I need to start using sudo su - instead of sudo su in order to switch from regular user to root or the /var/root/.profile script won't execute.

Now, unless Apple changes this, regular users by default will get the Bash shell, instead of the Bourne shell, which is unlike the root user. So, for those users, simply editing ~/.bash_profile will work fine.


This typically happens when the CPU has been working and the system needs to push more hot air out. I think the firmware within the machine manages this but I'm not quite sure. My air does it and I just put it away anyway. I've never experienced anything bad with it.


Is it possible to insert a 8 GB RAM stick and a 2 GB RAM stick into a Mac?

The answer to the general question is yes - Macs have never required paired RAM although many machines get a 5 to 15% speed boost if you pair the RAM. In some integrated graphics applications on the 2007/2008 era designs, this could be larger a speedup for some graphics operations.

As long as your Mac doesn't exceed the total RAM the CPU/logic board wants to handle, you can split up the banks in any way you choose.

For your specific models, I would look at a reputable RAM seller like Ramjet to see if people have been reliably making more RAM work in your specific models. Often Apple will say the maximum RAM is 4 GB but 8 will work well if you have top of the line chips with the correct timing. Also - be aware that mixing speeds of RAM (1066 vs 1333) can be problematic or cause the system to fail to start up. Normally, permanent damage is not done to the memory or the computers when you place the wrong RAM in, but it can lead to aggravating crashes, video glitches and slowness.


What is your view using mac pro 8 core 8 GB system for software development?

You will definitely get a performance boost by upgrading from the Linux box to the Mac Pro. However, I don't believe that you'll see a huge difference in terms of actual performance between that Mac Pro and, say, an iMac with a 3.6Ghz i5 and 6 or 8 GB RAM.
As long as you're not doing a lot of gaming or other graphics-intensive or math-intensive things, the iMac should seem to the user almost as fast as the Mac Pro.
There's no harm getting the Pro, but I think you may as well save yourself the money...

As for running a VM, that's easy. You can even, with Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion, run Windows apps and Mac apps side-by side.
Other software to look into is Boot Camp (free, supplied by Apple, restart required to switch systems) and Sun/Oracle VirtualBox (free, no restart required, some features missing).

As for the learning curve: It's not too bad. Lots of people make the transition. IIRC, 50% of Mac purchases are first-time Mac users. Apple offers a Switching 101 guide to help you out. Also, if you're used to Linux, you'll catch on quickly. Besides, most of the CL stuff is the same, so you'll always be at home there.

As for SSDs: They're really, really fast. You can see various tests and comparisons run by manufacturer OWC here. For best shock value, watch their video where they race an SSD machine with an HDD one to boot and open apps from CS5. It's pretty amazing...

A cordial welcome to the world of Mac!


App Store Promo Codes - What happens if used after a new version is released

Once you release an app update, all previous promo codes become invalid and promo codes cannot be used. They also expire four weeks from the day they’re generated.


Which Trans Music Manager equivalents exist for OS X?

I haven't personally tried it, but AudioSlicer may be a good candidate

  AudioSlicer is a Cocoa GUI application
  for Mac OS X that finds all silences
  in an audio file and allows you to
  split it into several smaller audio
  files and to name/tag them properly.

Doesn't seem to do the Gracenote tag fetching, but you could use Jaikoz (tag from MusicBrainz db) or SimpleTagger (tag from Amazon db) for that.


I finally found the issue!

It was an iPhone game called Minesweeper which runs as a widget in the Notification Center/Today View. I guess to be in the Notification Center/Today View as a widget, it has to be running, yet it was not listed as a running app when I double tapped the home button.

I have no idea why Minseweeper was causing the high CPU or why it occurred randomly, but as soon as I deleted Minesweeper, the problem went away.

The only reason I discovered the cause of the problem was because I was in the Battery app in Settings and I happened to tap a section of the Battery Level graph and it showed app activity for that specific moment in time. Minesweeper was there at 30% usage and I hadn't run that game for months.

I hope this solution helps someone somewhere!


Clean install of Mavericks via Snow Leopard using Time machine dat recovery

First thing is to backup your system but you don't need to reinstall your computer via DVD. Instead there is a terminal script which will take the version of the Mavericks installer you got from the Mac App Store and install it on a USB stick. Pretty sweet stuff: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5856

You need a USB stick roughly 8 GB or larger and it should be erase before hand. There is another version of the command line that is as follows

  sudo "/Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia" --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath "/Applications/Install OS X Mavericks.app"

With this the USB drive needs to be called Untitled and this will do all the necessary steps in the background. Be aware it will take 30-40 minutes for this to copy over but when it is done you'll see a $ sign.

Now with that created please restart your mac, hold down alt and choose your USB device. Once you have the install option erase your hard drive through Disk Utility and then you can proceed with a fresh install of Mavericks.

I would recommend re-downloading Garageband from the Mac App Store fresh instead of transferring it from TimeMachine... hope this helps you out and if you have further questions just comment.


LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed with error -10810

The error occurs because JVM failed to launch - the Java application itself has been hardcoded to load libserver.dylib. This file exist for Java 1.6 and older, but not for Java 1.7 and above.

Workaround

Create the directory structure and symlink from libjvm.dylib to libserver.dylib

$ sudo mkdir -p /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_05.jdk/Contents/Home/bundle/Libraries/
$ sudo ln -s /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_05.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/lib/server/libjvm.dylib /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_05.jdk/Contents/Home/bundle/Libraries/libserver.dylib

Note that this is specific to JDK 1.8.0 update 5. The paths will need to be updated in three places for future versions.

Solution

Modify the Java application's code so that it will not look for libserver.dylib. You should really not hard-code the path to JVM. Instead, use /usr/libexec/java_home if you need the path of JVM in OSX.


The first thing to check is if the Time Capsule was told explicitly to share the files over the internet using bonjour or simply sharing to the WAN.

Have you verified that the active profile on the Airport is set to allow this?

My example has these turned off (you can see them under the guest access control)


On OS X in Safari, how to speed up or bypass the transition/animation in the 2-finger swipe to go back?

I realized I could user Better Touch Tool to do what I need. So, I'll post it as a work around.

In the Trackpad preferences, disable the Swipe between pages option.

In Better Touch Tool, add a trackpad gesture for Two Finger Swipe Right (I use natural scrolling) and associate it with the 3F Swipe Left (Page Back) action.

I also added a gesture for swiping left for page forward.


How to create TextMate project that contains all files in a folder (and updates dynamically)?

Isn't it how it's working already?

I just tried drag'n'dropping a folder on the Textmate icon, it opens in "project mode", then I added a file to the folder, which Textmate did too, when gaining focus. And deleting the file and focusing Textmate made it disappear from the project pane.


iMessages sent from email address and not received by iPhone

On your iPhone, turn iMessage off and back on and wait for activation.


iPad being using in wall mount battery swollen

This always (eventually) happens if you use a Lithium battery long enough (and assuming nothing else breaks first).

It also happens prematurely and would be covered by AppleCare / Warranty even if you do everything right in less common circumstances.

To counteract this use newer hardware on iOS 11.3 or higher which have charge management features to optimize for always plugged in situations.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208710

Secondly, the cooler you can keep the battery, the less likely thermal fatigue will accelerate aging and eventual failure, but this expansion or a refusal to charge ultimately happens even if you keep the device permanently cool and properly managed and charged.

The main thing you can control is when the battery discharges and when it charges. A lower wattage charger is probably marginally safer since it will generate less heat when charging since the charge takes longer, so I would possibly consider very lower wattage chargers if you had a fleet of 100 of these and never needed a fast charge and could get away with trickle or low charge rates.

I wouldn’t change anything based on less than 3 or 4 failures since you’ll waste more time and resources swapping out chargers and not get much data in return. Once you’ve seen one iPad get a swollen battery, you’ll know how to gently touch the screen and detect the bulging before it separates the glass and get it in for diagnosis and a spare battery. Your failed unit or iFixit will show where on each screen to test for pressure / contact on the backside of the LCD panel.

I like the idea of powering them down somewhat regularly, but I don’t have evidence that in a population it will make any difference whatsoever. For people that need the battery to work, keeping it used in all ranges of the charge / discharge cycle can probably help marginally - but if you always run on power, it won’t really matter if you have an accurate measure of charge status and could get away with every 6 months draining and wiping and setting them up so you know which are starting to age.


No, I'm not aware of any software for Linux that allows you to change the EFI firmware password on your Mac.

If you have a recent Mac that supports internet recovery you can reboot straight into internet recovery mode, even if the boot disk has been formatted or overwritten. Once you've booted into a recovery environment, you should be able to use the firmware password tool.

If you have an earlier Mac, then your best bet is to find another working Mac and create a bootable installer to get into recovery mode without needing to overwrite your Linux installation.


Not receiving Text Messages after upgrade to iOS 7

I had something similar. To fix it, go to the Settings app, then General, then scroll down all the way to the bottom and tap Reset.

This gives you various choices, but Reset Network Settings is what you want:

you will then be given a confirmation to Reset Network Settings -- tap the text.

The phone will restart, and your Messages and texts should work fine. You may have to enter your WiFi passwords again, and on my phone, Mobile/Cellular, the toggle for Mobile Data / Cellular Data had been changed, so it may be an idea to check that.


Identify Menu Bar App — Up Arrow Line Underneath

That looks like the caps lock icon from an external keyboard.

Are you using an external keyboard, maybe along with Logitech software?


How i recover my icloud username and password

Try this site: Find your Apple ID.

  If you can't remember your Apple ID, just provide us with some information and we'll find it for you. Then we'll help you reset your password.


Yes, this is possible, but it may not behave the way you want.

What I mean is that adding a folder to the right-hand side of the Dock allows it to spring open, and also provides you with options as to how its contents should be viewed and sorted. Placing it on the left-hand side does nothing except open the folder for you within the Finder. If this is acceptable, then follow these steps:

Wthin the Finder, select your folder and press commandI (or go to File > Get Info)
In the Get Info window that pops up, you’ll see a Name & Extension field. Add .app to the end of the folder name.
Press return and in the pop-up window that appears, click on the Add button
You’ll notice that the folder icon has changed - ignore this for now and leave the Get Info window open
Now add the folder to the location you want
Now go back to the Get Info window and remove the .app you added to the folder name at Step 2
Press return and in the pop-up window that appears, click on the Remove button
You can now close the Get Info window

In a few moments the folder’s icon should return to normal and you can now click on it within the Dock. Remember, doing so will only open the folder in the Finder.

Note: If you ever accidentally remove the folder from the Dock you will need to repeat the 8 steps above. However, you may find you need to restart your Mac before doing so.


Can I save an hard copy version of my iCloud Photo Library on iPhone?

Before turning off iCloud Photos, you can make Photos download the originals. You'll need enough space on your iPhone first though.

  To download the original photos and videos on your iOS device, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Photos and select Download and Keep Originals

Get help with iCloud Photos - Apple Support


Can I restore my regular iOS apps after jailbreaking?

Yes, yes, and yes. You can essentially use just about any function of a iPhone exactly the same on a jailbroken iPhone.


The culprit here is the Cisco AnyConnect client. Apparently Cisco changed the way AnyConnect works for Big Sur (to get away from kernel extensions), and the new approach adds three "filters" that are visible in the Network panel.
The main filter shows as "connected" even when AnyConnect itself is not actually connected and indeed when the application isn't even running.
Removing the filters outright immediately restores network speeds back to normal. It also (unsurprisingly) breaks AnyConnect, which then tries to re-add the filters the next time it's run. That's going to be a problem for Future Me to solve.


The services are:

._airplay._tcp.local

This is a Bonjour advertisement for the network service that enables AirPlay of video content. I.e. this allows iOS devices to discover the Apple TV as a "remote display" that it can display video on.

._mediaremotetv._tcp.local

This is one of the network services that makes the Apple TV Remote work - i.e. the app or Control Center built-in feature for remote controlling Apple TV devices from iPhones and iPads. This service is advertised on the network via Bonjour to ensure that iOS devices can discover the AppleTV.

._companion-link._tcp.local

This service is seemingly not documented by Apple, but seems involved in making the AirPlay 2 system work.

._raop._tcp.local

This network service is called Remote Audio Output Protocol. It is essentially saying that the AppleTV works as an AirPlay audio receiver. This Bonjour advertisement allows iOS devices to discover the Apple TV as a "speaker" that you can send audio to.

._sleep-proxy._udp.local

This is a Bonjour Sleep Proxy. The idea is that the AppleTV can respond to various network queries for other devices that are currently in low-power mode to lower energy usage. For example it could be a Mac offering a shared iTunes library or a shared printer. The AppleTV can then answer network requests for these servers while the Mac is in sleep mode - for example allowing the user to list the shared printers available on the network. However, when the user chooses to print something, the AppleTV will wake up the Mac and transfer the request to it.

_homekit._tcp.local

This is a network service regarding HomeKit, Apple's system for communicating with and controlling devices in the home. Think controllable light bulbs, shades, door bells, whatever. The AppleTV works as a proxy in such a setting such that the user can control devices remotely (i.e. while not at home) even though the devices might be Bluetooth only and out of range. Note that ordinary HomeKit devices on the network advertise as _hap._tcp instead.

._touch-able._tcp.local

This is another of the network services that makes the Apple TV Remote work. This service concerns device authentication. I.e. if you want to for example play a Youtube video on the Apple TV, the Apple TV can require that the device is authenticated before being allowed to do so. In practice authentications work by the Apple TV displaying a PIN-code on the TV that the user enters on the iOS device. This PIN-code is transferred using the service advertised as "touch-able" to authenticate the device.


Transfer progress on Clash of Clans from iPad to iPad Mini Ai3

This question has been asked multiple times on the forum. Did you perform a good search?

The simplest way is to log into gamecenter using the old apple id used on the iPad. When downloaded CoC and after playing some missions ( 3 or 4 i think) there should be a pop up aski g if you want to import your current town.


Is the iMac an older model with a hard disk instead of an SSD? It takes a while for hard drives to 'spin up' compared to an SSD in a newer MacBook Pro.


I assigned 2 disks to TimeMachine and when 1 goes missing, TM complains, but it should seamlessly continue to use the 1 that is present?

I have Time Capsule and Time Machine setup on my MacBook Pro.
The Time Capsule is always available at home. The Time Machine is only available sometimes.
macOS never complains about the Time Machine drive being unavailable, unless it's been like 7 days (which almost never happens).


Getting PCIe attached SSD to show up as internal drive for BootCamp

Apparently it is not possible to have neither a PCIe flash nor PCIe-attached SSD drive show up as internal on a Mac Pro. I tried multiple PCIe flash and PCIe SATA cards and none showed as internal, even those claiming to be bootable on Mac.

On a side note, even though I could not get FreeNAS (FreeBSD based NAS software) to boot from a PCIe add-on card, I was able to install Windows 8.1 on a PCIe flash drive and it shows up in the boot menu when holding down the Option key as EFI.


How to avoid erasing iPad content when using different iTunes library?

Syncing to the home PC iTunes would lead to the iPad data(Music and books from work) getting backed up to the iTunes and you can keep both the data. And again when you attach it to the work PC iTunes, the backup of the iPad(games from home) would get backed up. The total data would be on iPad as well as the both(Home and work) PC iTunes.


What's this little white circle on my Mac's screen?

The best way to catch the culprit is to quit running apps (both in Dock and Menu bar) one by one until the circle goes away.

As identified by OP by following the above mentioned approach, the circle is created by an app called MacID which along with along with it's companion iOS app Unlox lets one unlock their Mac using their iOS device.


Time Machine Backup to Airport Time Capsule

When backing up to a Time Capsule, it backs up over the network.

The first backup will be several hundreds of gigabytes; this takes a while. However, subsequent backups are smaller, since it only transfers files that have changed.

Also, if the Time Capsule is not available (eg MacBook taken offsite), then it creates local snapshots and waits for the Time Capsule to become available again. It won't attempt to transfer the data over your Internet connection.

More info:

HT202301: About Time Machine local snapshots
HT201250: Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac


When selecting "Display native values", the actual value depends on the color profile of the monitor, which explains the difference.

Forcing a single profile, like sRGB, should give the same result across different screens.


The first thing that could be wrong is not stepping through the guide to triage this:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204095

The once iTunes can see the device, repeat for the next app if needed.


I can't create new iOS 11 HomeKit automations

Not viable for many, but deleting and rebuilding my home enabled this feature. I use an ATV4 for a hub and tried disconnecting/reconnecting to no avail.


How do I extend the end of a clip in iMovie?

Click the clip after the clip that you wish to pause
Press ⇧← to go back to the end of the clip that you wish
Press ⌥F to add a freeze-frame
Delete the third clip
Set the second clip to Fit or Crop to Fill


Cannot alter MBP Power Management Settings

I identified a serious problem between power management and sleep states management
in version 10.13.4 of MacOS X (I had regular crashes on sleep and hibernate exit: around 5 times a day, and files modifications lost).
I thoroughly tested 10.3.5 and Apple seems to have fixed many problems.
standby 1 isn't anymore causing a crash on encrypted filesystem on hybernate exit and on sleep exit,
acwake 0 is working as expected.
But lidwake 0 is still not working, thus potentially causing the MacBook Pro overheating in a bag around the lower part of the screen and the upper part of the keyboard.
The DestroyFVKeyOnStandby 1 isn't yet in the documentation and causes a crash on hibernate exit.
The documentation (man pmset) isn't appropriate for the pmset command:

some options aren't documented,
others aren't behaving as documented.

pmset -g pslog is pretty useful to understand this behaviour which is changed without notice and without documentation.
I advise you to download MacOS X 10.13.5 combo update
Now I recovered a MacBook Pro I could use to work.
NB: I didn't tested 10.13.0..3 nor 10.13.6 nor 10.14.... (nothing needed, not yet a free dayfull of work to waste on tests, and no time to spend for an editor who doesn't make a correct documentation).


Run html+css+js application as a Mac OS X app

You could also use Fluid to create a site-specific browser. SSBs often feel more like restricted versions of browsers than standalone applications though.

One example of a Fluid application is https://github.com/drdrang/drtwoot.


This happens on occasion. For some reason Photos stops removing full-resolution versions of photos. If your iCloud Photo Library is up to date, go into Settings / Photos & Camera and disable iCloud Photo Library.

This process may take a long time, and will leave all your full-resolution downloads on your device.

You can open the Photos app to see the number of photos decrease. Don't do anything until it's stabilized. Once it has, wait a few more minutes just to be sure, then delete all remaining photos. Remove them from Recently Deleted as well.

You can now reboot and turn iCloud Photo Library back on with Optimize Storage enabled.


Installing Snow Leopard or Leopard on an early 2009 MacBook

Leopard  (10.5) came out in 2007, Snow Leopard (10.6) was in 2009.  Most of the time when this error occurs, it's because the hardware didn't exist when the installation media was created, so it doesn't know how to install.  Typically, the hardware contains hardware for which the installation media doesn't contain proper drivers.  More importantly, though, Leopard and Snow Leopard are out-of-support.

The early 2009 MacBooks will support the latest version of OS X, Yosemite (10.10).  To ensure you're running a supported OS, I would install OS X 10.10.  If you or her were to take this laptop into an Apple Store, they can assist with installing Yosemite.


How to merge two JPEG files back into a single JPEG (Both sides of a receipt in single image)

Process followed

select both source JPEG files in finder
Open them together in preview app
Print from preview app to see the print option dialog box
Configure print layout to output 2 pages in single sheet
Select "Open PDF in Preview" from the PDF dropdown menu (a new preview document opens with both source images in a single page)
Save this untitled document as JPEG

I hope this helps. Feel free here to post any other way than this, that might help.

update: For more technically savvy users, using imagemagick :)
convert image1 image2 +append result


Microphone not working after water spilled on iPad

If some water got in the microphone it may still be damp.  You could try putting the iPad overnight in a sealed bag with a couple of handfuls of rice which will take up any dampness.


FFLibraryUpgradeLock error while opening iMovie library from another machine

I ended up just creating a dummy file called FFLibraryUpgradeLock inside the lib directory

$ touch ~/Movies/iMovie Library.imovielibrary/FFLibraryUpgradeLock

and then started iMovie. Everything works fine now and I can see all the projects in the old library.


Require password to wake computer by specific condition

You can use ControlPlane:

Add a context named home from the contexts tab.
Enable the nearby WiFi network evidence source from the evidence sources tab.
Go to the rules tab and add a nearby WiFi network rule that sets the context to home.
Add two screen saver password actions from the actions tab:

Another option is to add a line like this to crontab:

* * * * * system_profiler SPAirPortDataType|grep -q 'network name'&&x=false||x=true;osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to tell security preferences to set require password to wake to '$x


Is bootcamp 6.0 supporting Target Display mode of an Imac to a Windows 10 OS?

Nope, this is not possible. Target display mode only works if both machine are in macOS, as mentioned in the Apple KB article Use your iMac as a display with Target Display Mode.

  If your iMac is currently started up in Windows, it won't enter Target Display Mode. Target Display Mode isn't supported in Boot Camp.


The email reminder function was removed some time before iCal was renamed to Calendar. Presumably it was a security risk, but I can't find a good link explaining the exploits that used that pathway to harm people.


You can drag the screens into the arrangement you wish in the Displays Control Panel, just click, hold, drag. The screen you are moving will show a red surround on both the panel & the display itself, so you know which is which.

The secondary display must, of course, be connected at this time. It will only appear in the panel when active.


Mark phone number as 'cannot receive iMessages'

See if you can opt that SMS number out of iMessage entirely at https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage as explained in more detail at How do I disable iMessage for a contact who no longer has an iPhone

If that doesn't work, contacting AppleCare to enlist the support of an engineer might be needed. In the short term, you can disable iMessage entirely and SMS functionality should be restored for all SMS eligible costacts, but you lose iMessage for everything else as well.


Cannot use Disk Utility to create partition from free space on external USB drive

I think Disk Utility misses a proper EFI partition at the beginning of the disk.

If you don't want to completely erase the drive you should be successful following the steps below:

Open Terminal and enter the following to get an overview:

diskutil list

The 3 TB disk is your external disk. In the next steps I assume the disk identifier of your external disk is disk1
Get the block size of the external disk:

diskutil info disk1 | grep "Device Block Size"

In the next steps I assume that the Device Block Size is 512 bytes. If you get another block size (i.e. 4096 bytes) leave a comment.
Get the partition table of the external disk:

sudo gpt -r show /dev/disk1

The result is similar to the output below (your sizes are different though):

       start        size  index  contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34      262144      1  GPT part - E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE
      262178        2014
      264192  2244603904      2  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
  2244868096  2048002015
  4292870111          32         Sec GPT table
  4292870143           1         Sec GPT header

Unmount the external disk:

diskutil umountDisk /dev/disk1

Now add a third partition with

sudo gpt add -b 2244870110 -i 3 -s 1000000000 -t 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC disk1

I left some unallocated space (2014 blocks) between partition 2 and 3.

The resulting partition table looks like this then:

       start        size  index  contents
           0           1         PMBR
           1           1         Pri GPT header
           2          32         Pri GPT table
          34      262144      1  GPT part - E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE
      262178        2014
      264192  2244603904      2  GPT part - EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7
  2244868096        2014
  2244870110  1000000000      3  GPT part - 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC
  3244870110  1048000001
  4292870111          32         Sec GPT table
  4292870143           1         Sec GPT header

You should choose a bigger size than 1000000000 blocks. The number of blocks has to be dividable through 8. The max size in my case would have been 2048000000 (1000000000 + 1048000001).
Now format the new partition with a file system and name the volume (in the example below Backup):

sudo newfs_hfs -J -v "Backup" /dev/disk1s3

Mount the volume and verify it:

diskutil mount /dev/disk1s3
diskutil verifyVolume /dev/disk1s3


Can Apple mail only sync the last month of a Exchange email?

The feature to prevent your Apple Mail from downloading all of your emails has been removed from the application.

2290. How can I prevent Apple Mail from downloading all of my messages? : Frequently asked questions : ... : ITS : University of Sussex


Workarounds for "cp -p" not preserving nanoseconds on High Sierra with APFS?

Good to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this is a problem. I ran into it while writing a Python script for monitoring parts of my macOS (10.15.7) filesystem, which also involved coping files. The script sometimes behaved erratic and produced unpredictable output. After some poking around I found out that the incapability of cp -p to preserve nanoseconds is the core of the problem.
One workaround for your problem (but not for mine) could be coreutils: gcp -p behaves as intended.


How can I stop iOS updates from downloading automatically via Wi-Fi, on my iPhone 6s with iOS 9.0.2?

Apple isn't 'forcing' downloads on you, but instead is making it convenient and easy to stay up to date on Apple software. That may sound like a spin on the point of view, but Apple doesn't want you on the latest release so they can crow to the press about update percentages.

They do this for at least two reasons: 1) it reduces their support costs, as customers migrate off older code, and 2) it provides critical security updates and bug fixes that may put your device and data at risk.

Apple does drop support for older OS (if you have an original iPad, you know it is 'stuck' on iOS 5).

Automatic download of the updates does not mean that you are forced to take the update, it just means the update package has been downloaded to your device. Installation is still something you must approve, and kickoff. The phone will not update the OS without your input.

You won't suffer from new features or anything in the new updates until you apply them, so other than using some storage space, there is no downside to having it downloaded in the background.

Something to consider: Apple includes many security updates within its OS updates, most of which are (sadly) not well documented in the update notice. skipping these updates may put your device, and data, at risk.


spotlight search for folder within finder

Yep, just search for what you want in the top right of the finder window. As long as you are not in gallery view mode, have your mac updated to the latest version, and have made sure the application is searching the whole mac, it should show a section called folders. There, it will show all of the folders that match your search.


How do I find out my Mac OSx admin password without changing it?

OS X does not store a plain-text copy of your administrator password. This makes it impossible to have the computer show you the existing password.

OS X can only test if an attempted password is the administrator password.

OS X has no way to show you the original. The original is immediately thrown away when the password is set; only a hash of the password is kept.

Why? Hashed Passwords

Passwords are stored as mathematically derived hashes of the original. This hash makes it possible to determine if an attempted password matches the real password, but it also makes it impossible to determine the real password.


Does this usage pattern warrant getting more memory?

In general, operating systems tend to work towards having "cache + memory used" equal the actual amount of physical memory. The more that is cached, the greater the likelihood that certain operations can be sped up.
In general having more RAM means that the operating system with the same work load is able to cache more things, which could potentially speed some operations up. It is not however an indicator that you "need" more RAM as such.
However, your screenshots does indicate that you're using 1.8 GB of swap. That could be an indicator that more RAM is necessary. Coupled with the fact that you experience a lag when switching apps - it does sound likely that more RAM could be helpful.
I would try using the Terminal and running the command top. It will show a list of processes running on your Mac, and at the top it will list the number of "swapins" and "swapouts". If you have top running in a visible window, and then try switching between the apps that you use - then check if the those two numbers start rising when you experience the lag. If that's the case, I think a RAM upgrade would most probably improve the situation.


print at the command line, how can I print landscape

From man lp:

       -o landscape

Looks like it should do what you need :)


How do I get a notification sound on my iPhone 5?

Method 1

Settings > Notification Center > Snapchat > Toggle Sound

Method 2

Snapchat > Settings Button > Notifications > Toggle it


Low quality Apple Music app audio when doing conference calls

Are you using a Bluetooth headset? If so, try the following:

Go to System Preferences → Sound → Input and select a device other than your bluetooth device, for example "MacBook Air Microphone."

Note that if you disconnect your bluetooth device, you might have to do this step over again. Inconvenient, I know.

This is because bluetooth does not have enough bandwidth for 3 audio channels at the same time, so it is either: (1) two speaker channels (stereo) or (2) one speaker channel (mono) and one microphone channel.


If you have access to other Mac, you can boot yours in target mode. Attach it to the other system. It should show up as an external drive on the other system. From there, you can either fix the permission, or reload your operating system.

If you don't have access to another computer, you may want to ask around for a USB drive that has a system installed. (Friends, family, Apple store, Ebay, etc).


I tried: it works.

Here is how:

I have a time machine volume and a backup of it. I update this backup every two months, using Super Duper.

Recently, several successive mistakes made my time machine volume loose its first two years of backups. I then had a primary time machine volume with all backups but first two years and a backup time machine volume with all backups but latest two months.

I decided to experiment. Starting from scratch on a new hard drive, I copied the backup time machine volume to the new hard drive with Super Duper (backup all files using erase and save option). Then I copied the primary time machine volume on top of that, again with Super Duper (backup all files, using copy files that are different).

I ended with a new working time machine volume including all backups, from day one up to today.


I am not sure about the GT120. However, per this post, yes can get full 4K resolution (3840x2160) @ 30Hz with the Radeon 5770 and an ACTIVE Mini DisplayPort to HDMI connector that supports 1.1 and not just 1.2. However, this will get you the full resolution, and not the 300dpi screen doubled "Retina" (aka HiDPI mode) experience. If you download SwitchResX it will list possible options for you.

I can confirm this worked perfectly to get both 3840x2160 and 1920x1080 HiDPI (Retina) with a Mac Pro, Radeon 5770, an Acer B286HK, and a regular mini-DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable.


How do I get a printer to work on the new MacBook Air M1?

To resolve the "Open Print Queue" button not working, go to ~/Library/Printers and set each printer to "Open using Rosetta" on the "Get Info" screen.  This resolved the problem on both of the printers configured on my M1 MacBook Air.


I suggest you restart your box to make sure that it’s just not a problem there. You could technically turn off the AirPort and turn it back on (that’d restart most of the stuff), however the “problem” could be on the Kernel level, which would only be fixed with a proper restart or even a hardware buffer, which a cold shutdown would most likely fix.

In any case, if you still want to experiment, try changing the Channel from Automatic to something you can use in your country and move it, maybe somebody (neighborhood?) brought new devices or networks next to you and that causes new interference that wasn’t there two days ago.


iPad fails to appear in Finder over Wi-Fi

Relaunch the Finder. For that Option-click on the Finder icon in the Dock, then click Relaunch.


Long command in terminal.app cause a bug

I have a hunch that this is primarily caused by your accented characters (çã) in your directory name, because this is not a problem by default:

Special characters, unprintable or otherwise, frequently cause problems with classic terminals / shells.

Try opening a new terminal tab/window, and see if this problem occurs immediately, or if it doesn't occur until after you enter a directory with special characters.


iPhone app that shows app usage statistics?

Cydia's App Stat does exactly what you've requested. As far as I can tell, it exists since April 1st:

  New Tweak in Cydia, App Stat, shows you your app usage statistics, frequecy of use, use of time and recent use. Supports IPhone, IPod Touch, IPad running IOS 3.2 or later. Free on Cydia Search for it.


Can you create shortcut in Lions Launchpad?

Assuming you still have the Launchpad icon on your dock try dropping the app you want to be added to Launchpad on it.

Haven't tried it myself, but I recall reading about it somewhere.


Activity Monitor in Mavericks "Show Memory Usage" dock icon gone?

It seems that this feature – since Apple has changed the way how they display memory usage – isn't a option anymore:

  This is no longer an option, especially since Mavericks has new memory management routines (ie, memory compression) that make the charting of memory usage less straightforward. Apple has switched to a new "Memory Pressure" approach to viewing memory usage, which is available in the Memory section of Activity Monitor, but so far has not been added as a Dock icon option. Hopefully Apple will do so, as this would perhaps be one of the more useful Dock icon options.

I've got that from here one would hope that at some point we could graph memory pressure in the dock using Apple's Activity monitor as opposed to needing to open the whole tool with a window that shows many other items.


Cannot read external hard drive after installing Linux?

Well, if you had data already on the drive, it's gone. You could use a data recover, or ship it off somewhere. But, I'll just go into formatting the drive.

A. Sorta. Generally Linux uses a diffrent type of format for drives (ext4, and a couple others) so it could be that it did work, and your Mac just can't read it.
B. If it really did get messed up (you can't boot it into it) then :

Go to Disk Utility.
Click on your drive.
Click on the "Erase" tab.
If you'd like to, enter a name for the drive. Or, just keep it as Untiled if you'd like to try Linux again.
Select a format type, if you'd like to. Fat works best for cross-device compatibility.
Click the "Erase" button.
Get some coffee, or water, depending on the size of your drive.


Mac Google Chrome Not Responding; how to investigate and fix?

My friend, ask yourself how deep you desire to know and how far you are willing to go.  If you desire merely a working Chrome, reinstall it and hope that all will go better.

If you want more than that, then let us explore what tracing and profiling can tell us.  You will need Xcode and need the command-line tools installed.  If you have chrome still running, then pull up a Terminal, and let’s profile chrome for a minute when it starts beach-ballin’.

sudo sample $( pgrep Chrome ) 60 -f ~/Desktop/chrome.profile.txt

You can also use Instruments for the same:

sudo instruments -l 60000 -t Time\ Profiler -p $( pgrep Chrome )

You likely will spot something in there that takes up most of the time.  Time now for trace.  When you are ready, straight bust a dtruss on Chrome, to see the low level:

sudo dtruss -a -f -n Chrome 2> ~/Desktop/Chrome.trace.txt

Let it run for a minute.  Then stop with CONTROL-C, as I recall, off the top of my head.  Then examine that trace file!

Enjoy, and Good Yule,

F.


App called TV appeared then changed to videos

This happened to me when I changed to the US iTunes Store from the UK one. 'TV' is only available in the US. Logging out of iTunes & App Stores in Settings and logging in again has restored 'Videos' on my iPad


Transfer iTunes library and music to external hard drive

This is is how I have iTunes set up. Just go to iTunes->Preferences->Advanced and change the iTunes Media Folder location to the external disk. The iTunes library file will remain in ~/Music/iTunes and so you ca browse the titles and other metadata,

The one thing that I have found you need to be careful of is if the external disk is not mounted then don't add Podcasts or do much with ITunes as the program will reset the directory path if it can't find the external direve. However the paths to the music files will not be altered so it is only a long term issue,


Remotely wiping a device, as long as you don't set a lock screen message, will look just like a regular wipe of the phone. However, the person with the phone will have to enter your Apple ID password to use it again.

The reason the phone keeps showing up on Find My iPhone is that your Apple ID is still on the phone, to remove it, all you need to do is wipe it then select remove from account. The person with the phone will not need to enter your password to use it again.


How do I add spellcheck / dictionaries in macos Sierra? Got .aff and .dic files

Put them in Home/Library/Spelling.  To get to Home/Library, you hold down the option key while doing Finder > Go


Remove shift key augmentation for Mission Control animation

You can disable the keyboard shortcuts for slow-motion effects by following these instructions:

Open Terminal.
Open the plist file in your user's library preferences folder that contains the setting by typing open ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist and hit return.
A window similar to this will open in Xcode:

For items 34, 35, and 37, set enabled to NO.
Close the file, click Save if prompted, and restart your system.
Enjoy.

Note: 34 and 35 may not be present in the plist if you have never opened the Mission Control preferences pane and changed the "Mission Control" or "Application windows" settings. If 37 isn't present either, simply add it yourself.

This process has been tested with:

OS X Yosemite
OS X El Capitan
macOS Sierra

Source

MacWorld
In Translation


How do I set an icon for a directory via the CLI?

You can create a shell script and name it something like mkdir_WithIconFrom

#!/bin/sh
mkdir $1
cp $2/Icon\r $1
SetFile -a C $1

This will create a directory at the first path you specify on the command line with the icon from the existing directory whose path you specify second on the command line, assuming the target directory has a custom icon.


Can I safely rename all directories in my home directory to lower case?

As far as OS X is concerned, this is acceptable IF you have selected a non-case sensitive filesystem.

The non-case sensitive filesystem is the default, so unless you selected case sensitivity during installation of your operating system (or in Lion's most likely case, your previous operating system), you should be fine.

When selecting file system case sensitivity (or not), it should also be known that while the operating system itself will be okay with this, certain applications may not. There are problems using nearly all of Adobe's applications on a case sensitive file system. At the time of this answer, the Adobe Knowledge Base article regarding this issue was last updated roughly 9 months ago (2010-11-03) and this is still the case. Adobe's only answer to the problem was, and remains, to not use case sensitivity.

It is possible that other software also suffers from this issue, or may suffer from similar issues if a case sensitive filesystem is used.


Macbook pro mid-2010 randomly cuts off. Panic report

Yes the GPU panics are almost certainly due to a defective discrete GPU card. I have the same 2010 MBP and have noticed 10.9.3 has increased the frequency of these fatal crashes significantly.

I'm using the https://gfx.io utility to turn off this discrete card whenever possible but many apps force it on.

P.S. Here is the link from the replacement program, but it had ended: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203554


You have to "Edit" the session.

The easiest way to do this is to right click on anywhere on the open iTerm2 window, select Edit Session...  A Preferences pane will appear and under the General tab, look for the Profile Name selection box.   Double click on your desired profile.


Shortcut to multiple commands for cleanup

You have a couple of options to do this....
Create a bash script.
#!/bin/bash
rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/* ~/Library/Caches/
sudo rm -rf /Library/Logs/* /Library/Caches/*

Assuming you've named it "cleanup" first make sure you set it to be executable:  chmod +x cleanup.
Then put it in one of the directories in your PATH by copying it or symlinking it:  cp cleanup /usr/local/bin or ln -s ./cleanup /usr/local/bin/cleanup
Make an alias
alias cleanup="rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/* ~/Library/Caches/; sudo rm -rf /Library/Logs/* /Library/Caches/*"

Put that alias in your ~/.bash_profile so it's set every time you start a Terminal session.
Now that it's an alias, you can execute the command cleanup from Terminal and it will run those two commands.


There is a similar file in macOS (/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist), but it's not intended to edit the file manually.

Instead the prefpane System Preferences > Network is used to set-up several "locations". A "location" provides a custom network set-up including activated or deactivated network interfaces or IP and proxy settings. The default location is "Automatic".

An example set-up is shown here:

In the left pane the interfaces are listed. By choosing an interface its configuration is shown in the right pane.

By hitting the Advanced button you are redirected to some special settings including the proxy settings.

By hitting the drop-down "Locations" and the gear you can edit the name or duplicate a locations profile:

In your case do the following:

Rename the "Automatic" profile to "Lab" (or "Work"/"Institute") hit Done and hit Apply.

Then duplicate the Lab profile, rename the copy to "Home" and hit Done.

Choose the profile "Home" in the Location drop-down and hit Apply. Configure the IP-settings for your home network: DHCP or manually.
Click the "Advanced..." button > Proxy and deselect all proxy settings - if any exist, hit OK and hit Apply.

Now at work/university choose the "Lab" profile and at home the "Home" profile in the Apple menu > Locations.


Adding shell script to $PATH is still not executing properly

The best way in your case is to cd to the projects directory that you are looking at and run the shell command from there.
executables can be run from the PATH as you have tried but also it you give the path to them.
So for project1
cd /Users/My_Name/desktop/projects/project1

then run the script using a path
./scriptname.sh

or use the shell directly
sh scriptname.sh

If you are being taught the teacher should have good reasons to believe you already know this or they should have provide a book or other notes to describe how unix shells work.


You can add transparency and a blur effect to windows, and you can also set these values seperately for active windows vs inactive windows, making the inactive windows much more transparent for example.

You'll find these settings in Terminal.app Preferences - Settings - Window. Click the colour picker to define them.


I've come up with one approach for the LG 34" 5k2k screen...

On the same mac, I connected with a thunderbolt 3 cable, and then via an adaptor I connected the same mac via HDMI, the solution being the mac thinks you're connecting to two screens, and the LG monitor thinks it's receiving two input signals which can then be displayed via PBP mode.

I have a 75/25 split and I'd say the resolution on the 25 side needs to be modified so text is readable which for me is at 800x1350, which doesn't give much space but just about works... I wish it supported 70/30 and it'd probably be better.

If someone has a single-cable split screen solution for what I describe, I'd love to hear it!


Have him sign out of the App Store in settings, then sign in again, then purchase a free app.

This resets the digital certificate that tells the device it can run apps for that account. Often these certs expire if you don't download anything for a year or more and renewing them happens when you request a new app.

When this is done, also check on iCloud backups and enable them if you can. An ounce of prevention, etc....


Laggy MacBook Pro on High Sierra and 2 external displays

I don't know why I didn't try this earlier, but a SMC Reset did it.

So I guess sensors were a little off and that was it? Any additional technical details is still much appreciated.


There appears to be no public default or setting to adjust the algorithm used by Mail – at least as of OS X 10.11.

Augment or Switch Your Mail Client

Consider using a third party tool like gpgtools to augment your e-mail security:

  GPG for Mail is an open source plugin for Apple Mail. Encrypt, decrypt, sign and verify mails using OpenPGP with a few simple clicks.

Alternatively, consider switching to another e-mail client that better addresses your security concerns.

Tell Apple

Be sure to provide feedback about your concerns directly to Apple via Mail feedback. Every report helps justify the engineering time.

You may also find the CSDA mailing list useful for reaching the involved Apple engineers.


Mavericks won't install on brand new SSD drive

I had the same problem "an error occurred while preparing the installation. Try running this applications again". When you run the installer again, instead of trying to install to the SSD, install the Mavericks OS onto the usb drive (hopefully you have a big enough usb drive to contain mac os and installer) and then reboot with the USB Mavericks OS. Computer is now running os off usb drive. Then open the installer that is also on usb and find the ssd. I had to restart once to get the ssd to show up in disk utility, but you might get lucky. Good luck hope it works for you. (my ssd OWC Mercury 240).


Removing duplicate songs in an Apple Music playlist

The best and most comprehensive automation source for iTunes is Doug’s scripts.

https://dougscripts.com/itunes/index.php

I would guess this is a pre-made script for this as is, and if not, you would probably have to use the duplicate finder you want and filter the input to only be playlists. You would need to sign in to your Apple Music on a Mac long enough to run that script of course. I’m guessing someone could make a Workflow automation that only runs on iOS but I havent come across some example of that yet. Maybe this jogs someone’s memory about a ready-to-run script in workflow app.

Workflow by Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workflow/id915249334?mt=8


How Apple Music and iTunes Match work together?

Apple Music and iTunes Match are complementary:

both will allow you to match (and upload if unmatched) your locally owned songs
Apple Music allows you to stream those songs as well as a good deal (but not the whole) of the iTunes Store catalog without downloading them, or download the matched songs as 256kbps FairPlay-wrapped DRM-encrypted AAC as well as the unmatched ones in their original format.
iTunes Match allows you to download (and listen as it downloads, even if it is in a temporary cache, which makes it look like streaming) matched songs as DRM-free 256kbps AAC (still wrapped in an thin FairPlay container but inconsequential and unencrypted) as well as the unmatched ones in their original format.

So be very wary with Apple Music matched songs: be sure to back up your original files, or you'll be left with only DRMized ones. You can see the type of match by adding some info columns in the song list view in iTunes.


Google is your friend: http://www.jacsoft.co.nz/Tech_Notes/Mac_Keys.shtml

Bypass startup drive and boot from external (or CD): commandoptionshiftdelete
Boot from CD (Most late model Apples): C
Force the internal hard drive to be the boot drive: D
Boot from a specific SCSI ID #. (# is SCSI ID number): commandoptionshiftdelete#
Zap PRAM: commandoptionPR
Boot into open Firmware: commandoptionOF
Clear NV RAM. Similar to reset-all in open Firmware: commandoptionNV
Disable Extensions: shift
Rebuild Desktop: commandoption
Close finder windows (hold just before finder starts): option
Boot with Virtual Memory off: command
Trigger extension manager at boot-up: SPACE
Force Quadra av machines to use TV as a monitor: commandoptionTV
Boot from ROM (Mac Classic only): commandoptionXO
Force PowerBooks to reset the screen: R
Force an AV monitor to be recognized as one: commandoptionAV
Eject Boot Floppy: Hold Down Mouse Button
Select volume to start from: option
Start in Firewire target drive mode: T
Startup in OSX if OS9 and OXS in boot partition: X or commandX
Attempt to boot from network server: N (Hold until Mac Logo appears)
Hold down until the 2nd chime, will boot into 9?: commandoption
OSX: Watch the status of the system load: commandV
OSX: Enter single-user mode (shell-level mode): commandS


How do I recover a file which cannot be opened due to using Japanese characters in the file path?

I got it. Even though the file didn't appear in the folder, I searched for it within Finder and it came up. Simply renamed it and then opened it in Word normally.


The MacBook Pro internal SuperDrive uses a standard SATA connector. You should be able to use any SATA > USB cable to mount the SuperDrive externally.
It was a common modification to replace a MacBook's SuperDrive with a second Hard Drive. Those people then had the option to use the SuperDrive externally, as in the video below:

Connect your Macbook superdrive / optical externally via USB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEcpomwJbHc


Does OS X Mavericks have Activation Lock like iOS 7?

Macs do not have Activation Lock.

The only Find My iPhone lock that is present on OS X is the force lock from selecting the device in the Find My iPhone device list and clicking Lock. Simply reinstalling OS X can't lock a Mac unlike iOS Activation Lock.

Note that Find My Mac will register the serial number (or other hardware identifier) for the purposes of recording a single Mac and that reinstalling OS X will not remove this identifier from Apple's servers and may show a "Find My Mac is already in use" message if you attempt to set it up in the future.


How can I run a shell script with admin privileges from Applescript?

You can pass administrator privileges to a line of AppleScript which requires administrator privileges by appending "with administrator privileges":

do shell script "security add-trusted-cert -d -r trustRoot -k /Library/Keychains/System.keychain ~/Desktop/MyWiFiCertificate.crt" with administrator privileges


The MacBook Air (from early 2008) does neither have a Recovery HD by default nor an Internet Recovery.  You would need to install the original OS with the medium you received with your computer (Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard) or if you either have the disc or a USB stick version of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, you can install that as well (disc version will require either a USB SuperDrive or a second Mac with an optical drive you can share). Once done, you can at least use your computer again already.

If you, however, want to reinstall Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, you will first have 10.6 Snow Leopard installed and fully updated (see above what that will require). Otherwise, you would need a USB stick with the Lion Installer on it to bypass installing Leopard or Snow Leopard.


Unfortunately you can't change the font for Console.app OOTB with macOS
Console.app uses the font that is located in the application itself (/Applications/Utilities/Console.app/Contents/Resources/Fonts/). If you delete it, which is not recommended, the default font it will revert to Helvetiva.


xD card is really slow to read in Mac OS 10.6.4

Have you tried opening “Image Capture” and see if it works from there? I’ve had similar problems in the past with my Kodak.


How to type a TAB character on an iPhone

following answer is not to insert tab, but for indent line.

(currently 2016/05)
for the user of iPhone while using Note app,

on the line you want to indent, touch screen on the current cursor
then pop-up appear for more editing, you can select indent among of these.


The following example creates a com.domain.programname.plist file in:

~\Library\Preferences

defaults write com.domain.programname CFBundleExecutable $value

If you want an Info.plist file this example creates one on your Desktop:

defaults write /Users/$USER/Desktop/Info CFBundleExecutable ExecutableName

You could set the path to inside the .app bundle, say it's in Applications:

defaults write /Applications/AppName.app/Contents/Info CFBundleExecutable ExecutableName

For other permutations read: man defaults


MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) keboard and trackpad are not working

In this model the trackpad and keyboard plug into the logic board directly, the top case just houses it but has no logical components for those in it.

This issue might not actually be the logic board, if I remember correctly the logic for the keyboard goes to the logic board, route back through the trackpad then back to the logic board via the trackpad IPD cable.

Since you've already reset the SMC and it didn't permanently fix it, I would first try another IPD/trackpad cable, if not resolved then try replacing the trackpad itself next.

It's unlikely to be the keyboard, hopefully not the logic board.


Lion installation gets stuck after reboot at Apple logo

Here are some things you can do (short of reinstalling the OS)

Start in Verbose mode (cc George)
Start with cmd-r using the disk utility to repair disk permissions
Start in Safe mode (hold Shift)  to see if non OS apps are doing that.
Reset your SMC


You can use an automated central logging system, like Filebeat + ElasticSearch. The automated collection of logs you are referring to could be CMD+ALT+CONTROL+SHIFT+. which is a sysdiagnose command. It takes a long time to run and isn't generally considered a good idea to use as 'standard' log collection.

Using something that is actually made for collecting logs will help you out a whole lot better than a simple script.

If you wanted to go the script route anyway, you can create an applescript that collects to logs and copies it to a server. You can then make a Calendar appointment which has the option to add a script as an action. Another method would be using osascript from the commandline in combination with a crontab entry.

A third more user-friendly option for situations where you don't have a proper server system where you can add these things is Apple Remote Desktop Administrator. You buy it from the App Store and then you can setup periodic jobs to gather logs. You will also be able to completely remotely manage all the Macs.


Can I charge from portable battery on a Late 2013 MacBook Pro?

You would need an inverter to go from USB-C Power Delivery's DC to AC to Apple's Magsafe 2 DC adapter. Going DC to AC and then from AC to DC is inefficient. Also, as far as I can tell, a USB-C PD inverter doesn't exist.

As a quick note: MacBooks with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 do not support charging via their Thunderbolt ports, only via Magsafe. Thunderbolt 3 supports USB-C Power Delivery and MacBooks with Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C ports charge exclusively through them.

Let's consider a new battery that has an AC outlet. RavPower makes a battery pack with an AC socket, but you are hard-pressed to get a single charge for a Magsafe-based laptop. Anker makes the PowerHouse 2, a $500 beast that could charge a recent MacBook Pro 13" about 6 times. (If The PowerHouse had USB-C PD ports, the number of MacBook recharges would certainly be higher, but wouldn't do you any good, as your Late-2013 MacBook Pro uses Magsafe.)

This is assuming that portability is key. If you are in a car (or have a 12V battery that you can clip into), a power inverter could be acceptable.


Can I compress SMS content to free up storage?

The app iExplorer can export one, several, or all messages from your iPhone and save them in a number of ways. Once you have exported and archived the conversations onto your Mac or PC, you can delete them from your phone & reclaim space.

The easiest takes each conversation and exports PDFs out of them with images attached in-line:

Other options let you save images & other attachments in a variety of ways:

Lowest price point is US$35, and well worth it.

[Full Disclosure: I'm just a happy customer who has no financial stake in Macroplant.]


Can iTunes ignore store credit and use a credit card instead?

According to Apple's page, it uses the following order for song purchases:

Song credits.
Gift certificate, prepaid card, or allowance credits.
Credit cards.

Thus, it would appear that you cannot charge a credit card without using up your credits or gift certificates first.

However, similar to what @Nick said, you could just open up another account, add the credit card to it, and then gift the items you want to your original account.

Update: Based on my own tests of self-gifting, these are my findings:

Gifts will deduct money from the credit card on your account; they will not use up song credits nor gift card credit. This means that you do not need to open another account, just add it as a credit card and gift it to yourself.
You cannot send a gift to the same email address as your iTunes account. This can easily be circumvented by sending it to one of your other email accounts.
The easiest method of gifting to yourself is to select the print option. It will show you a code which you then use to redeem the song. It will allow you to redeem the code on the same account.


How to fix broken text to speech rate on Big Sur

Well, it looks like it is a regression from macOS 10 to macOS 11. I confirm your saying, it worked and now Siri's voice speed can't be controlled anymore in Preferences Pane > Accessibility > Spoken Content
Apple does not notify anything about it in macOS 11's doc
The feature seems to be broken and bugs about Spoken Content are not new on MacOS. Look at this for instance.
Unfortunately, I think your only option is to open a bug ticket on Apple's website and wait until enough people are complaining about it to get it fixed.


Xcode, Command Line Tools, GCC, and HomeBrew

Judging from the following command line output:

xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed, use "Software Update" to install updates.

it appears that you only have Xcode's command line tools installed. They are a requirement for running homebrew.

To build iOS apps you will have to download the full xcode package with the IDE and all the necessary tools. You can get Xcode from the AppStore: Link


How to register AppleScript as default web browser in Yosemite?

My experience is that you can no longer define an AppleScript applet as the default handler upfront by the Info.plist. And, if you try, by including LSIsAppleDefaultForScheme in your Info.plist, that applet will no longer even be allowed as a handler for the URL type at all. After upgrading to Yosemite, my applet would no longer be called when I clicked a link using my custom protocol. I instead got the not-handled system error when clicking the link. Once I removed LSIsAppleDefaultForScheme, it began to work again.

It seems perhaps more difficult to get Mac OS X to recognize alternate handlers for http and https. When I tried setting my Info.plist for those, the applet failed to show as an option for "Default web browser" in the General system preference pane. However, the third-party preference panel RCDefaultApp was able to see and set my applet as the handler for the http protocol by using its URLs section, and that seemed to work. However, even that was a bit odd: if the applet wasn't open but a different applet with a different BundleID was open, the first time I click an http link brought that other applet to the front, rather than launching the correct one.

So, long story short: I'm not sure I have a perfect solution for this, but perhaps RCDefaultApp will help you get it working in a way that works for you.


how can I enable IOS6 tethering without jailbreaking my Sprint iphone 4s phone?

You need to have the "Mobile Share Plan" enabled first from your phone service provider. To see if you have it, find Personal Hotspot. It should be in Settings -> General -> Network -> Cellular Data Network. Please see this article for more information.

Like I said, if you do not see the option for Personal Hotspot, confirm with your carrier that this feature is supported and your wireless plan is configured for Personal Hotspot.


Purchased music lost due to lack of space for iOS 7 update?

On your iOS 7 device:

Launch iTunes
Go to the "Other" tab
Go to Purchased

There you have the songs you bought. You can download them without Apple charging you again.

If Apple charged you again, it's either:

You bought another version of the song
You bought it with another iTunes account


How can I check the cookie in the Safari?

Choose the storage tab, second from the right with the database icon (three stacked ovals).


What does Holding Home Button on Power Off Screen do?

If you continue to hold, you get Siri [iPhone 4S & up]; even from the power-down screen…

…otherwise, you trigger fingerprint security, which requires you to touch but not press the home button from the lock screen to unlock the device [iPhone 5S & up].


There is a way to geting if you follow this link to the Apple website where you will find information on resetting the administrators account password.

You will require a Mac OS install disc as close to the OS you are using as possible


Solution for syncing directory hierarchy of images from Mac to iOS?

You could use Box.

To my knowledge, they used to offer this feature.


If the admin has access to the computer remotely while you are logged in then there isnt much you can do about it. As soon as you connect the drive to the computer (encrypted or not - as you said) the drive will become available to anyone who can login to the computer.

The only sure fire way is to bring in a laptop.

Its also worth checking if your company has an IT policy, it may be against the rules to try to 'hide' a connected device from the systems admin or it might be against the rules for the admin to view personal drives connected to machines.


How can I stop the Photos app showing the "What's New Photos" screen every time I launch it?

This problem eventually disappeared in some minor version upgrade of macOS Mojave I believe (possibly even the upgrade to Mojave itself). I then had the problem that occasionally Photos.app would "forget" that I had set my system photo library to one on an external drive, which was less bad, but still not ideal. Since upgrading to macOS, that problem has however been fixed too, I'm glad to say.


To my understanding, the only workaround involves jailbreaking the iOS device. If you are willing to try that route, you might find this helpful: https://www.reddit.com/r/jailbreak/comments/4hgr0y/tutorial_mounting_a_dmg_on_ios/.

If not, I don't believe there is any other way to mount a .dmg on an iOS device.


How to remove Disabled Software in macOS 11?

Have you checked:
/Users/<USER>/Library/Application Support
/Users/<USER>/Library/Caches
/Users/<USER>/Library/Containers
/Users/<USER>/Library/Preferences
/Library/Application Support
/Library/Preferences
Yeah - basically run through the whole /Users/<USER>/Library folder, and maybe also the whole /Library folder