Time Machine over the network fails and reports incorrect available space

After a bit of digging into the details, I discovered that the sparse image created by Time Machine was limited to about 500GB (475Gi to be exact).  Here is abbreviated output from 'df -h' with both the network share (TMBackups6) and sparse image (disk5s2) mounted:

$ df -h
//xxx@xxx._smb._tcp.local/TMBackups6 5.5Ti 1.7Gi 5.5Ti ...
/dev/disk5s2                         475Gi 427Mi 475Gi ...

Seeing this, I double checked the "Limit each backup..." setting on the server;  the checkbox was cleared, which should mean no limits.  Still, the evidence pointed to enforcement of the default 500GB limit.

At this point I started thinking about creating the sparse image manually with the limit set to a sensible value.  However, I don't do this often a did not relish spending time figuring it out.  Instead, I set the limit to 9999GB and now Time Machine is backing up properly.  To change the limit,

Open the Server app.
Click on the Time Machine service in the left column.
Double click the backup destination on which to set the limit.
Check the Backup Limit check box.
Change the limit in the text box to be larger than the backup drive.
Click the OK button.

Here is a screen shot (cropped) showing the results of steps 4 and 5 with the check box and text box highlighted in yellow (OK button not shown):

I do not yet know if setting the limit larger than the size of the physical drive will cause problems in the future. I believe from Maverick on, Time Machine is aware of both the physical drive size and maximum size of the sparse image.  So don't expect problems.

I am satisfied with this work around for now.  If anyone knows the root cause and a real permanent fix, I would appreciate the info.


How to Stop Website Requests for Location

In Safari 11.1 Preferences > Websites > Location. Bottom right of the window, change "When visiting other websites:" select Deny. This will block all websites and you can white list specific sites in the above list.

You can also right click the address bar and select "Settings for this website" to get to the same options.


Is a classical music friendly "Composer List" view possible in iTunes 11?

Apple added the Composers view to iTunes 11.0.2.

You have to enable this setting under Preferences > General > "Show Composers".

Selecting the Composers tab will display a list similar to the Artists view.


Why does leaked memory appear malloced to kernel_task, and why can't OS X therefore garbage collect it

The core of OS X is not garbage collected; IOKit's libkern C++ Runtime requires developers to manage their own memory.

Mac Memory Management

From How does memory management work in Mac OS X?

  Apple documents the lowest levels of the Mach Kernel and the virtual memory subsystem fairly well on the web as part of it's developer documentation.

  Kernel Programming Guide: Memory and Virtual Memory

  Since that kernel was developed by Carnegie Mellon University, you can find dozens of papers describing it quite easily.

Other Sources

Wikipedia discusses Mac OS memory management.
Apple's support note: Use Activity Monitor to read system memory and determine how much RAM is being used

Garbage Collection

Garbage collection exists at the user or application layer. Even at this layer, garbage collection only helps if the application has released all claims to the memory. A circular dependancy can defeat garbage collection. Garbage collection itself is an evolving area of research and difficult to get right.

Report Bugs and Memory Leaks

Bugs within OS X will be leaking memory. Given the size of the code base, this is almost certain.

Please report reproducible bugs directly to Apple. Every bug report helps and maybe your example will be the one that helps Apple's engineers pin down the cause.


The cycle functionality does not exist but when you arrive to the last one you can activate the shortcut to jump to the first one from Keyboard/Shortcuts in the System Preferences.


How to figure out what app is sending/receiving huge amounts of data on an iPhone?

After several careful readings of your question, something stood out:

  And on top of the huge amounts on 3G, this phone spent very little time outside Wifi.

Your iPhone, when it's in sleep mode, turns off the WiFi radio to conserve battery power. So if you have data hungry apps that are doing things in the background when your phone is sleeping/locked, they're doing it over 3G. Note that the WiFi-off-in-sleep-mode behaviour is somewhat inconsistent. But you can ensure 3G is never used by your phone while you're performing these tests by shutting off cellular data. That way, when it sleeps, it will continue to use WiFi and not 3G for data and you'll be certain to capture all the traffic in your monitoring net.

You can cobble together some technologies that might help you track down the culprit.

As a quick first pass you could try monitoring the phone when it's on a WiFi network using mitmproxy. From this excellent mclov.in blog post, you can setup a proxy for your phone on your Mac and filter all http/s traffic through it:

Download the mitmproxy tool and set it up by going to the folder of mitmproxy and running sudo python setup.py install. If all goes well, mitmproxy must be available in your $PATH.
Start mitmproxy by running mitmproxy.
Obtain the IP address of your computer by running ifconfig en1 (or whatever is the interface that you are using).
Set the proxy on your iPhone by going to your wireless settings, setting the proxy to be “Manual”, and set the IP to be your computer’s IP and the port as 8080.

If you set mitmproxy to record http/s calls to a file you can analyze it after some period of time and look for trends. You'll also be able to inspect the payloads on the http/s calls so you might able to spot unusually large requests this way.

Of course: this approach assumes the culprit is using http/s for communication. If it's not, you won't see the problem via mitmproxy and you have to resort to a lower-level solution.

You need to monitor all the traffic on a WiFi network you control to help you hunt down at least the end points for the data transfers. Bandwidth monitoring isn't hard to set up, but keeping a per-IP, per-endpoint log is really tough to do with consumer-grade hardware because it can be A MASSIVE amount of data. Every packet has to be checked for origin, destination, logged for time and size -- it adds up really quick.

But you can get some decent numbers and narrow down the search space so it's something potentially human-parseable.

First: you need to setup a network with bandwidth monitoring on a per-IP level. For that I recommend a Linksys WRT54GL consumer-grade WiFi router running Tomato and the TeamanIPTraffic add-on for IP-level bandwidth tracking.

Second: set your DNS on the router to use OpenDNS. In your OpenDNS account to track DNS lookups:

Log in to https://dashboard.opendns.com/
Click the 'Settings' tab
Click the IP address for the network associated with your router
Click 'Stats and Logs' on the left side
Make sure 'Enable stats and logs' is checked and click the 'Apply' button

Now any DNS lookups performed on your network will be logged.

Assign your phone a static IP on this network so it's easier to track.

And...wait and watch.

You're going to monitor the activity for the IP address assigned to your phone in your router's per-IP activity tables. When the data activity for this IP address spikes you'll head over to your OpenDNS console and take a look at the stats and logs for your DNS lookups for the period of time when data movement was high for your phone.

That should give a short list [sic] of hostnames that were being resolved at the time. And armed with that list you might able to narrow it down to an application.


Automator get first 3 letters of parent folder

As an Example on how to get the  3 chars.:

You can get the details from some unix code that gets the folder name from parents path and gets the first 3 letters and transforms it into upper case.

Passes it on to the storage var. to use in the Make folder or what ever you use.

for f in "$@"
do
    sufx=`basename "$f" |cut -c-3 | tr "[a-z]" "[A-Z]"`

echo _"$sufx"
done


How do I take a screenshot of an active phone call without hanging up?

Use Assistive Touch, available from Settings → Accessibility → Assistive Touch.

Enable the feature using the switch, then take a screenshot by pressing the Assistive Touch button, then Device → More → Screenshot.


You’re gonna need some toolset: https://doc.owncloud.org/server/10.0/admin_manual/enterprise/file_management/files_tagging.html
Hope that helps


How do I change the name others see for me in iOS Game Center?

Have you tried contacting your credit card provider?

Seriously, Apple's intention is that iOS Game Center friends are meant for "real" friends—rather than "Facebook friends"—so exposing your real name is not a threat. If you look at the issue this way, it feels more of a security enhancement than a threat. You can be sure the friend you are friending is actually the person you believe them to be.

Moreover, if you are underaged and can't attach your own credit card with your Apple ID, it is, in contrast, more secure to have the user's (kiddie's) name obfuscated.

Finally some legalese from the Game Center TOS:

  The full name associated with your Apple ID will also be shared with those users to whom you send, or from whom you accept, a friend request, such as in the Friends list, the Friends leaderboards, and the pending friends requests lists; and we may recommend games that you have played to your friends. If you prefer not to share your full name or profile with friends, you should remove that friend by tapping the “Unfriend” button at the bottom of that friend’s screen in Game Center.

For each friend's account you need to force an update, you should unfriend them and then establish the friend relationship again.


How to find Apple ID used to set up my iPad

Go into Settings, click on iCloud, and it should tell you the ID.


Yes, the Watch uses basically the same mechanics as the iPhone, since it more or less piggybacks it's backup with the iPhone's backup.

In your given example you would likely want to first unpair the Watch in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.  You might notice that the unpair process takes a while (a minute or two) compared to unpairing of other bluetooth devices, this is because the Watch automatically backs up to the iPhone when unpairing is initiated.  When you pair the Watch back to the iPhone you will be prompted to set it up as new or restore from a backup, similar to how an iPhone asks when you first set it up.

Source - Just had this conversation with an Apple Genius yesterday when dropping my Watch off for service.

This Apple KB article explains this as well - HT204518 Back up your Apple Watch


So I managed to get an answer from the Apple Community boards.

I reformatted the External SSD as HFS+, Journaled, encrypted rather than APFS, encrypted and the copy went through with no problems.

I will now be treating the SSD as the Primary and the Drobo as the Backup.


Since this question was asked, Google released their Google Hangouts app which does exactly that.


How do I get old apps like Photoshop CS5 to work on macOS Mojave

The first thing I would try is changing the security and privacy settings in System Preferences. You can do this as follows:

Go to Apple > System Preferences…
Click on Security & Privacy
Select the Privacy tab at top right
In the lefthand pane select the Accessibility option
At bottom left of the window make sure the padlock is unlocked (if not, select it and enter your password)
In the list of apps on the right-hand side, make sure Photoshop and any of the other apps you’re having problems with are ticked
OPTIONAL: If any apps you’re having problems with are not listed, click on the + button under the list and navigate to the apps to select and add them to your list. Once done, then repeat Step 6
Make sure you lock the padlock again that you unlocked at Step 5
Quit and restart any apps you’ve just allowed to control your Mac (i.e. if they were already open)

Now try running Photoshop etc again to see if they work.


How to decrease the delay to drag and drop files into windows via Dock?

In the Finder's preferences, there is an option at the bottom of the General pane for “Spring-loaded folders and windows” that seems to control this. You can adjust the delay using the slider there, and also (as it notes) press the spacebar when dragging an item to invoke Exposé immediately.

It's not a hidden preference (in the sense that you need defaults to get at it) so much as a preference in a somewhat unexpected place. ;)


"Import Files into iTunes" automator action not working

Did you know about the "~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Automatically Add to iTunes" folder?  Anything you copy to this folder will automatically be added to iTunes.  Have you tried adding content this way?


How can I prevent Messages from opening up a new chat window?

Unfortunately this is something that isn't possible. As you are aware, the only control we have over any double-clicking in the "Double-Click Speed" in Mouse preferences. Any changes here would be undesirable as it would affect the entire system and your goal is just the Messages app.

There is a convenient keyboard shortcut, Command + W, to close the new window that comes up, so at least you don't have to go over and manually close the window.

I suppose this is a feature request that doesn't come up very often but you could at least do what you can and fill out a feature request.


What's the maximum power delivery in Macbook Pro 2016, 2017 Thunderbolt 3 ports?

USB-C alone allows 4.5 Watts ( 900 mA @ 5 V ) and thunderbolt 3 improves on that greatly.

According to Apple:

  MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016) and MacBook (13-inch, Late 2016, Four
  Thunderbolt 3 Ports) can power two devices that use up to 15 watts,
  and two more devices that use up to 7.5 watts. It doesn't matter which
  side of your MacBook Pro that they're connected to—power is delivered
  on a first-come, first-served basis.

  MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) can power one
  device that uses up to 15 watts and one device that uses up to 7.5
  watts.

Thunderbolt Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256

USB Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201163

NOTE: The above pages no longer contain the information I’m quoting, but you can view archived versions of them at: http://web.archive.org

The above specs are the same for the 2017 MacBook Pro models. The MacBook models only have USB levels of power and data available.


Mail application which allow to choose smtp server

I had a somewhat similar question about iOS a few months ago and got an excellent recommendation for postfix -- for osx. Unfortunately that answer did not apply to iOS but it may be a useful answer for your purpose!

https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/102708/52358

You want to take a look at the answer by buscar


What are the various auto launch paths mean in OSX?

The items in the /LaunchAgents and /LaunchDaemon folders are launchd property list files that configure those background tasks.  Files in the local and user Library folders would be for items that have been installed for all users or a particular user, respectively, while those in the System folder are, well, part of the system, and really shouldn’t be messed with.  Usually you would use launchctl to load or unload daemons and agents.


iPhone frequently asks "Trust this computer?" upon connection to Mac

Most likely lint.

The lightning connector is prone to collecting dust and dirt, which can keep the phone from getting a clean signal from the cable (a faulty or not-to-spec cable can have the same effect). Take a toothpick or anything else that's thin and non-conducting and get that dust bunny out.

Never believe anyone telling you to reboot all devices and reinstall all operating systems in your house.


How to open terminal in Mac using keyboard shortcut?

Press CmdSpace to open spotlight search, and type terminal and hit return.

Or if you are in the terminal press CmdT to open a new tab OR CmdN to open a new Terminal window.


Hiding home shares on file sharing computer

If you set up their accounts in the Accounts pref pane on the server as "sharing only" then they will only get access to shared folders set up in the Sharing pane of System Preferences.

See the Apple docs on creating a sharing only account.

Since you say the email backup software requires that the user has real folders, then you can't remove them as "shares", they have full access to these folders and the server will advertise that.

Without knowing why the email software requires the user to have folders then a workaround is difficult to find.


Use the Airdrop network to access a computer?

Yes, the VNIC created when an AirDrop window is open can be used by any application. AirDrop simply runs Bonjour (mDNS/DNS-SD) on that interface to discover peer and the TLS to transfer files. Any network application that can be configured to use a specific interface and supports IPv6 should work.

For example, pinging (replace X with whatever the interface number is in use, see ifconfig for example): ping6 -I p2pX ff02::1


This seems to be a bug. I ran into this same problem over the weekend when I was trying to add a new contact I had received over SMS. It seems that depending on how you get to the contact screen, the "Done" button may not be there. If you open the Contacts app (instead of getting to your contacts from the Phone app), you should get a contact screen that has the save button. Hope this helps.


Lion Server not able to set Open Directory user account to store home directory on server

I was able to figure this out a while ago, but I realized I only posted the answer to my question on Serverfault. Here's the solution for this:

I ended up setting up Lion Server at my house, creating an Open Directory user with a remote home directory, and looking in the Directory Utility to see what the actual keys were set as. I was then able to use Directory Utility on the client's computer to set the keys manually and it worked perfectly.

Here are the keys you need to set assuming the server's hostname is server, and the directory is /Users/test on the server:

key: HomeDirectory

val: <home_dir><url>afp://server/Users</url><path>test</path></home_dir>

key: NFSHomeDirectory

val: /Network/Servers/server/Users/test


Music application missing from home screen on iOS

You have probably deleted it...
You can just reinstall it from the AppStore: https://appsto.re/us/-Jzdcb.i


Method to switch between group of groups of Mission Control Spaces?

As far as I understand, no such capability exist natively in macOS. Neither am I aware of any such general purpose, third-party tool which works on top of Mission Control.

While the following solution doesn't completely fulfil all your requirements, it may help to a certain extent in achieving the desired.

In such a scenario, I'd separate groups of such task-focused Spaces (1 or more desktops) by a blank Space/Desktop as shown (by blank I mean a desktop with a blank image set as the background wallpaper):

Since each desktop can be assigned a different wallpaper, you can create a custom wallpaper with largish text for the blank Desktop, indicating the group of Spaces with the custom task.

This could help you in quickly locating the desired ground after invoking Mission Control.


No.  You are not hacked.
Hackers do not operate in this manner.  There's this common misconception about hackers being in the dark recesses of their parents basement consuming copious amounts of Red Bull and Hot Pockets in an effort to brute force their way into your computer to change the background picture.
Hacking is 90% social engineering - it's exploiting vulnerabilities to get you to "give up the goods" like passwords, security questions, or any other sort of credential to gain access to a system.
So, what do they do when they gain access?
Try to find more credentials to gain access to other systems. Maybe they get a treasure trove of identity "stuff" (drivers license info, credit card or banking info, etc.) that they can sell online, but what they're looking for is more keys to get into other systems.  It's about a lateral move to the next system(s), not breaking the one they're currently on.
Changing your desktop picture and drawing attention to their activities would be a colossal waste of time because if you know they're there, you're going to cut them off (i.e. wipe the drive and reinstall the OS and/or change passwords, etc.).  If they were going to do something that called your attention to them, it would be to hold your computer/information for ransom; in other words install ransomware.
Is it a Virus?
Unlikely. Again, this would be a waste of time for a virus writer to infect your computer to change your background.  And technically, it would be called malware because a virus is a type of malware that self-propagates much like the flu.  Those are few and far between now and most malware is self inflicted (by downloading/installing software of questionable origin).
What do you do?
If you're concerned someone has access to your computer - change your passwords. Change the passwords on all of the accounts on your Mac.  If you've got three, change all three.  Change your iCloud password.  Change whatever account password you feel may have been compromised.
Now, if you Netflix account uses the same password as your Apple login, well, shame!  Get a password manager and start using it put different passwords on every online account.

Keeper Security (Free for single device, $30/yr for unlimited device and passwords)
Dashlane - (Free for 1 device and 50 accounts, $60/yr for unlimited devices and passwords)
1Password - (Free trial, $36/yr for unlimited passwords, items and 1GB secure document storage)
KeePass (Cross platform and free but requires a bit of tech savvy to sync across all devices)
McAfee TrueKey (Free for 15 passwords/unlimited devices; $20/yr unlimited passwords/devices

Still not certain you have malware installed?
Install security software like Malwarebytes, Webroot, or McAfee Security
However, if you do have an infected computer, I've always subscribed to the "nuke it" and reinstall philosophy.  This is where having a backup really comes in handy.
What about my changing background and open pictures?
Check your desktop settings - see if set to rotate (change every so often).  Change it to something else or turn it off altogether.  Then come back and reset it to what you want.  As for your open pictures, you may have inadvertently opened two pictures at once.  It's happened to me while using the trackpad; it’s happened to all of us at one time or another.
Keep your software updated

Every once in a while I see a message on the upper LHS telling me that
I should update something related to the system but I always click on
later and then the message vanishes.

If it's the left of the screen, it's not coming from the Notification Center.  Track down what it is and either uninstall the software (if not using) or update it.   Know the software you've got installed.
If it’s showing up on the right side of your screen, per your edit, check your notifications!  This is like taking your temperature, ignoring the reading and then jumping to the conclusion that you’ve got Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (it presents with a fever).  The point is, read and respond to the notification, that’s why Apple implemented it.
Probably the most controversial thing I'm going to advise here is that you should stop (if you're doing it of course) looking for and putting a priority on free software over known titles/developers.  Nothing's free.  It's much better to install an app that costs 5 dollars/euros/pounds/seashells from a developer that registers with Apple than finding a free app that requires you to bypass Gatekeeper to install.
IT is my profession for over 30 years now and even though I posses the skills to overcome malware, I will opt for the paid version over the free one 99% of the time.
Bottom Line...
If you skipped over everything above and take only one thing away from this it should be to have a backup.  Catastrophic things are going to happen - I guarantee it.
Even if you actually get hacked and your data is being held for ransom you can recover everything simply by wiping your computer, reinstalling, and restoring your data.
A Time Machine backup is the cheapest insurance policy you can buy.


How can I convert a .mov into a .gif (or a .apng)?

For Terminal lover

ffmpeg -i in.mov -s 600x400 -pix_fmt rgb24 -r 10 -f gif - | gifsicle --optimize=3 --delay=3 > out.gif

-r 10 tells ffmpeg to reduce the frame rate from 25 fps to 10
-s 600x400 tells ffmpeg the max-width and max-height
--delay=3 tells gifsicle to delay 30ms between each gif
--optimize=3 requests that gifsicle use the slowest/most file-size optimization

You need to install

ffmpeg to process the video file
gifsicle to create and optimize the an animated gif

brew install ffmpeg

#if cask is not installed
brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask

#dependency for gifsicle, only required for mountain-lion and above
brew cask install xquartz

brew install gifsicle

Above instructions taken from gist: dergachev/GIF-Screencast-OSX.md

The following error occurred while installing the ffmpeg

  Error: The brew link step did not complete successfully
  The formula built, but is not symlinked into /usr/local
  Could not symlink include/libyasm
  /usr/local/include is not writable.

For this follow this answer

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local/include
sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local

Transparency

The code above don't keep transparent layers. In order to do that, use:

ffmpeg -i in.mov -f gif -lavfi split[v],palettegen,[v]paletteuse out.gif


iPhone 11 What are the authorized manufacturer/s for iPhone 11's Screen

Apple does not approve any brands for direct to consumer sale of Phone parts. They recommend complete service in an Apple Store or an AASP (Apple Authorized Service Provider Program). Parts alone don’t make the repair successful.

https://locate.apple.com

However, it can be cheaper to replace the screen at home. Keep in mind that you won't get any Apple "free" warranty replacement after your repair. Also, True Tone will be disabled on the phone - even if you use Apple "original" or “equivalent” screens.
I recommend iFixit parts, they come with great tools and the screen is of good quality - I ordered iPhone 11, 8 and XR screen parts without any problems.


I lost a phone in the pool once my "waterproof" Lifeproof case decided to open up underwater. Let it dry in rice for about 24 hours. DO MOT TRY TO TURN IT ON OR YOU WILL CORRUPT YOUR BOOT FILE!! Patience is key.

After it has dried out, plug it in to iTunes. Back it up. If you can't, take t to a repair shop (or Apple Store) and see if they can fix it.

I had my springboard booted up, but I opened the camera app and it crashed. Don't open anything that isn't necessary.


Make an account managed by parental controls, and blacklist the app. Whenever you do need to open it, it's easy enough to enter your admin password and whitelist the app.

Alternatively, if you don't want to go to the hassle of moving all your stuff to another account, you can make another admin account that exists solely for the purpose of enforcing parental controls on your main account.


In iTunes go to "File" -> "Import Folders" then simply select all the folders from your "iTunes Music". They will be sent to your library!


What is the difference between add to library and add to playlist?

Your library is all the media you own or have access to.  A playlist is just a group of media that you put together in a custom order; a subset of all that media.  The songs in a playlist don't necessarily have to be in your library (i.e. songs you access on Apple Music)

When you play songs on shuffle, the iPod will skip any songs that are in a playlist but not included in your library.

Apple explains it like this:

  With Apple Music, when you add a song to a playlist from the Apple Music catalog, you can turn off the option for it to automatically add to your Library. For example, if you create a playlist for holiday music, you can add songs to that playlist without the chance that they'll play when you listen to your Library on shuffle in July.

  After you update to the latest software on all of your devices (iOS 9.3 or later, iTunes 12.3.3 or later, tvOS 9.2 or later, and Apple Music 0.9.7 or later on Android), when you try to add a song from the Apple Music catalog to your Library, you'll see a message that asks if you want to add the song to your Library or only to a playlist.

  You can change the setting to add songs to your Library at any time. When you change this setting on one device, the change applies to all other devices on which you're signed in with the same Apple ID.

  Go to Settings > Music.
  Turn off Add Playlist Songs.


Keeping Firefox's places.sqlite file from consuming too much space in Time Machine bakckups

Yes.

Set Firefox to auto-export your bookmarks on close to bookmarks.html in your profile and then exclude places.sqlite from being backed up.

See this support article: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML


How to connect a 3.5mm microphone (not amplified) to an iMac for recording?

What you need is a audio mixer (I personally use and like the Behringer line)

The inputs/outputs built in to computers (both Macs and PCs) are basically rubbish - they are looking to give you functionality to mark a check box for marketing purposes, not give you the ability to make good to professional quality recordings..

This mixer will give you a USB interface to your Mac while allowing you to bring two sources in while having granular control over input sound levels.

Granted, it's not a "free" solution, but at $30 USD, it's a very economical solution that gives you better quality and more flexibility than what you have at present.


CLI Solution - Stripping File Attributes - LSOpenURLsWithRole()

I believe it's xattr -rc app-name, but I could be completely wrong.


Submitting apps containing ports of chromium browser or webkit engine in the app store

WebKit is in fact the only rendering engine allowed into the App Store, but you have to use Apple's preinstalled version, not your own. Relevant bit:

App Store Review Guidelines §2.17
Apps that browse the web must use the iOS WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript

So it's possible that, if it doesn't qualify as “browsing the web”, you have a chance at getting past that. Some of the most important parts of WebKit on iPhone are also closed source.
WebCore, as part of Apple's WebKit, is accepted, but it does not appear possible with these guidelines to modify it, and I think you still have to go through the WebKit framework. Plenty of people use JavaScript with JSCore in the default WebKit.
The choice to disallow all other web frameworks is honestly a bit odd, but it looks like you might have to do something besides that; it really depends on what you want to change or add from Chromium/WebKit.


First off, this assumes you're talking about panels (e.g. Preview's Info window), the kind that sometimes hide when you switch to a different app.

Also, do you want to tile all your windows, or only some of them?

If you want to tile all of them, Amethyst is a good solution. It's open source; I don't know if it supports those panels, but it should be possible to add support if it doesn't.

If you only want to mess with a few of your windows, Spectacle is better. It's also open source, and does seem to support panels.


How to replace a Mac hard drive with a Windows hard drive and run Windows Vista

You could install a retail version of Windows on the Mac and migrate your data (which you would previously have backed up) onto it.  Just mounting a Windows install that had been made on other hardware is pretty much doomed to failure.  The correct hardware drivers won't be present and the existing ones wouldn't be correct for the hardware, for starters.


How can I display the current DNS servers from the command line under OS X?

There are several ways - here are two:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

-or-

scutil --dns


Hmm - not sure if this answers the spirit of the question. I'll leave it for now, trash it if it becomes clear it isn't relevant.

You can do it using the regular 'Application/Menu Title' shortcut structure - it doesn't have to be in a top menu for the system to be able to find it correctly.

System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts.
Click the + button.
Select iTunes in the drop-menu
Type the exact menu name - "Show Album in Library"
Add a hot-key.
Click Add.

 It's already showing in the window because I'd already added it to test, before deciding to do the snapshot


How to simply add album covers to an iTunes playlist?

Create your playlist, then select View As > Albums.


What does "link: false" mean in my Brewfile?

The link:false in the Brewfile appears to skip linking the installed binary in /usr/local/Cellar/... into /usr/local/bin (and thus my user $PATH) during bulk installation with brew bundle install.
I am guessing since python@3.8 was installed both as a dependency for something else (and thus not linked?) and it was also installed manually, it somehow erroneously was being output in the Brewfile as link: false though it should not have been.
Getting brew bundle dump to stop outputting the link: false was accomplished by forcibly uninstalling and reinstalling:
$ brew uninstall --ignore-dependencies python@3.8
$ brew install python@3.8
$ brew bundle dump


How should I encode my music for preserving the sound quality and be able to play it on iTunes and iOS?

You can use X Lossless Decoder(XLD) too:

  X Lossless Decoder(XLD) is a tool for
  Mac OS X that is able to
  decode/convert/play various 'lossless'
  audio files. The supported audio files
  can be split into some tracks with cue
  sheet when decoding. It works on Mac
  OS X 10.4 and later.

because it's lossless it keeps the best sound quality.

Apple recommends using the following formats for your iTunes:

Audio files (AAC, MP3) with appropriate file extensions (.m4a, .mp3). For best results during playback, Apple recommends converting MP3 files greater than 32 megabytes (MB) to AAC format. For AAC audio files, Apple recommends the following specifications:
Audio Format: Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC (Music)
Data Rate: Up to 160 Kbps
Channels: Stereo in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov formats
Output Sample Rate: 48 kHz
Encoding Quality: Better


How does Disk Utility repair corruption?

I have often asked myself, if a disk or volume is corrupt. And, if so, would I be better off backing up files before or after running repair software. In other words, could the repair destroy a file that otherwise could have be copied. Therefore, I would like to separate the detection for corruption from the possible repair of corruption. Depending on the version of OS X/macOS, the Disk Utility may or may not offer this option.

The Disk Utility basically runs the command diskutil repairdisk device, where the device is usually disk followed by an positive integer. If you right click on a drive shown in the Disk Utility and select "Get Info", the device is the "BSD device node" shown in the popup.

Older versions of OS X/macOS allowed you to select a disk verification. This option was eliminated from the Disk Utility in the latest versions of macOS. However, you can still run disk verification by entering the command diskutil verifydisk device in a Terminal application window. Again, you will need to replace device with the appropriate "BSD device node".

You can also apply the same to just a volume. You will need to replace repairdisk and verifydisk with repairvolume and verifyvolume. Also the device will usually be disk, an positive integer, the letter s and finally another postive integer. For example, disk0s2.


Can I increase CPU power of my rMBP 13 by plugging to another computer (target disk mode or other)?

To answer your questions quickly:

Yes
No
Very likely
Probably
Not really
Maybe

Explanation:
Note that this is assuming you are booting the laptops SSD drive from the iMac. Basically this operation allows you to use the internal SSD as an external hard drive. If you boot into this drive from another computer, you are now using the resources that the computer you are working on offers. (If you go to about this Mac, you'll see the specs of the iMac you are now using.) This is definitely possible to do, and because thunderbolt speeds are at least 10Gbps (faster than the read/write speeds of the PCIe SSD), the thunderbolt cable will not be a bottleneck. It is very likely safe to do, although you should ALWAYS have a current backup in case something goes sideways. Most software should be ok with the switch, as the SSD's ID is still the same, but it is something you should test out by trying. Again, have a backup in case something goes wrong. Your only other option would be to get a new computer. The performance gain by getting the higher end 15" MBP might work, but iMacs will likely have more power than any laptop because there is more cooling space and less power worries, so Apple can put faster processors in.

TL;DR: if you have an iMac available, that is a great idea! If you'd have to buy an iMac to make this happen, you might want to explore other options.

Please let me know if something was unclear or you have any questions/comments/clarifications about my answer.


There is a free utility called Open-With Manager that helps you clean out the unnecessary apps associated with certain file types:

  Open-With Manager lets you edit the list of file types a given application thinks it can open. This is most useful with regard to the Finder's "Open with" context menu; and it also affects the way applications behave when you drag files to their Dock symbols.

  Behind the scenes, Open-With Manager works in a way that's quite similar to Service Scrubber. And to be perfectly honest, Open-With Manager is in fact Service Scrubber's well-hidden, slightly older twin brother. That's why the restrictions detailed for Service Scrubber in this blog entry apply to Open-With Manager as well. When running on Mac OS X 10.5 or later, Open-With Manager will not edit signed applications.

I use this on Snow Leopard, but I haven’t tested it on Lion. Also, it may take a while for the Open-With menus to reflect the changes made in Open-With Manager, so try waiting or just reboot.


How can I simply and quickly upload just 1 photo from my iPhone to a PC or Mac?

You can email it as an attachment to another email address. For emailing single photos, I got around this problem by setting up a secondary email account and emailing it to myself there. Then I checked the email account from my laptop. For multiple pictures, I had to use a windows machine (Windows 7). I just plugged the iphone into the PC's USB and it worked, reading it as a data drive.

It may also work to save it as an attachment in a draft message. Then synch accounts and look in the drafts folder of your computer.


Is it possible to mount a DVD iso to look like it's a DVD drive?

Try with DAEMON Tools Lite for Mac, you can download here:

http://www.daemon-tools.cc/products/dtMacLite

This software has figured out how to trick the computer to thinking a DVD is mounted and I don't know if you can re-implement it via the command line tool vndevice you mentioned.


I can't access apple.com from my Macbook

I would run /System/Library/CoreServices/Network Diagnostics.app and isolate what isn't working on the Mac.

It's hard to guess based on the information you have edited into the question.


How do I fix a MacBook earphone port, stuck in optical mode

I just used a toothpick, flat headed, did a few swirls around inside the port with very light pressure & it just works, now Internal Speakers is available & the default choice in Sound prefs, volume icon is no longer grayed out in menu bar.


It is possible your Power Management got messed up

Reset the SMC following this instructions:.

That should fix the problem, unless your battery is fried.


Apple Samsung 512 GB SSUBX SSD: Half as fast in MacBook Pro 15" 2015 than in MBPR 13" 2014?

I should mention that I had no access to that 15" MBPR, but that that performance data was reported to me by the customer who bought this SSD from me. Looks however as if that MacBook had some serious repair damages, as the customer has now confessed. That said, I guess we can ignore my question.


Canon imageclass MF4420w printer cant work with mac osx 10.8

That happens with Canon but also with HP printers as far i know

Your printer is not from this world! :)

What I mean by that it is not supported on USA sites.

But the good news is it is supported on Asian sites.

So go here and get your driver.

http://support-asia.canon-asia.com/P/search?model=imageCLASS+MF4420w&menu=download&filter=0&tagname=g_os


Crontab task "LSOpenURLsWithRole() failed ... with error -600 for the file ..."

As noted in the other answer the error is because you are trying to run a GUI app when not logged in.

However in your case why are you using a GUI app (Terminal ) here.

Just call your scripts directly from the cron script.

e.g. daily.sh should be

#!/bin/bash
~/backupThing1.sh
~/dailyThing2.sh

Note that you might need to have absolute paths not ~ here as cron jobs do not have the same environment as when run in the terminal.


How to stream my video files from the cloud?

You could try Jungle Disk. It's a pay service, but it gets you what you want - a locally mountable cloud drive. It can store data locally as well, like Dropbox, but you can configure it as an archive, with no local storage used. It uses Amazon S3 or Rackspace as the backend storage, so you pay a $3/month fee, plus an amount per GB per month.

I believe there are similar services out there, and you can just use S3 directly and get something like Panic's Transmit to mount the S3 storage as a local volume.


How do I pair apple wireless keyboard with windows 10

After trying 15 times in vain, here is the method that worked for me (source)

Go to "Add Bluetooth or other device"
Find the wireless keyboard and double click on it.
When prompted for a pin, enter anything on the screen, I used "123123". I dont know what else will work.
NOW IS THE IMPORTANT PART.
HIT 'Connect' on your screen and IMMEDIATELY enter '123123' + ENTER/RETURN on the wireless apple keyboard, and you should be paired.
If you have issues, turn off Bluetooth and restart the wireless
keyboard and repeat the process.


When you are booted to OS X, Open the security & privacy preferences pane and choose the File Vault tab. Then turn on File Vault 2. This will encrypt your entire OS X partition, making the data unreadable when not logged into a OS X user account.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4790


Generally, monitors have a higher pixel density because they are intended to be viewed for closer up. I'd recommend an HDMI, DVI or Display Port monitor because of the generally higher sharpness and contrast and more accurate colours over TVs.


Can I set the primary Language of OS X by using shell script or AppleScript?

You don't have to change System language to launch an app in different one. You can do for example this:

/Applications/Maps.app/Contents/MacOS/Maps -AppleLanguages '(de)'

This will launch Maps.app with german language set.

Here are the other options: Is it possible to launch a program in a specific language?


Unable to start screen sharing remotely on macOS Catalina after update

The problem was that, as of Mojave, you cannot stop/start the screen sharing daemon with kickstart unless "Screen sharing" is checked in System Preferences/Sharing. Probably the update just unchecked this preference for some reason, which made it impossible to restart the daemon remotely. Once I had physical access to the computer again and checked this preference everything worked as before the update.


Connecting my devices with Mac as the "server"

If you share files from your Mac by checking the box next to 'File Sharing' in the 'Sharing' pane of 'System Preferences' then you need to connect to that share using a client app on your device (like the 'File Connect' app for iOS.) Apple File Protocol (AFP) and Microsoft compatible SMB are the two choices for sharing.

Bittorent is a peer-to-peer method of sharing files. AFP, SMB, and FTP are client/server methods of sharing files and work completely different from peer-to-peer. With a client/server method, you would access your files directly from your Mac.

For what it’s worth, if DropBox is not working out for you, the problem is likely on your end.


You would likely have to have an email app capable of displaying the raw headers of the email to trace this information. I do not believe the iOS 8 Mail app has this capability; it simply displays the most user-friendly information (your catch-all To: address). However, if you can access the same account through the Mac OS X Mail application (or Outlook, etc.), you can view the raw headers there.


How do I plot two data streams in Numbers as a graph?

Add a chart, I used this one:

Then click [Add Chart Data] and select the columns for the data streams


Will Docking Station make Early 2013 MacBook Pro faster

Would using a docking station keep it cooler and make it appreciably
  faster?

No, a docking station has no "compute" power built into it so it can't offload any processing of any kind from the CPU or GPU.  This means it won't be cooler nor faster since the CPU and GPU are still handling the workload.

The reason you are seeing a "slowdown" when your 4K monitor is connected is because you are driving an external high resolution display with a integrated graphics chipset - the Intel HD Graphics 4000.  Being that it's integrated, it allocates up to 1.5GB of system RAM and uses CPU cycles for GPU processing.

Your MacBook Pro is slower because you are pushing it to (and past) it's limits in terms of capabilities.


Annoying blank window in MacVim - how to get rid of it?

Seeing how you have tried to delete all the normal preference files relating to vim settings, ~/.vimrc, ~/.vim there is one more thing to try and that is the Mac Os App specific preference files for MacVim. One good candidate is the MacVim plist file named org.vim.MacVim.plist. A corrupted version of that file may be causing the random window to appear.

First thing quit MacVim.

Then delete the MacVim related plist files.

You can use the terminal and the following command to help find the MacVim preferences related files. find / -name ".vim."

The org.vim.MacVim.plist file should be located at:

/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/

You might also want to delete:
org.vim.MacVim.LSSharedFileList.plist

If the extra 'dead' window problem still exists when you reopen MacVim, then try deleting additionally some more files, this time some Cache and Lion Saved State Related files, along with other related files. Again Quit MacVim before deletion of any of the files, to prevent re-saving of the corrupted state of the program.

I observed the following other MacVim related files in the find search results, that you can try deletlting to attempt to resolve the issue:

/private/var/db/BootCaches/<XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX>/app.org.vim.MacVim.playlist

/Users/<username>/Library/Caches/org.vim.MacVim

/Users/<username>/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/org.vim.MacVim.savedState


Active Directory account locks for no apparent reason

Bear in mind that interactive user logons are not the only thing that count as failed logons when it comes to Active Directory account locks. Services that are set to run as a network user and network resources with saved logins can rack up the failed logon count and lock the account.

Hobs' comment to your question is the direction you should head. Check the Security log on the domain controller that the computer authenticates against and you should get the information that you need as far as the source of the failed logons. The fact that it works on other computers only reinforces this. Something is definitely failing, it's just a matter of finding what.


The license for Xcode is pretty easy to find from:

http://www.apple.com/legal/

Specifically, http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/xcode.pdf

Like the rest of Apple's licensed software, it states in part that licensees may not rent, lease, lend, sell, sublicense or otherwise redistribute the software. The only exceptions I've seen is derivative work that includes licensed components as part of the build process and not by simply repackaging parts or all of Apple's software.

The legal implications vary by your jurisdiction and whether you have signed any other agreements with Apple that would amend or override the standard license terms. Common sense says you would want to either ask Apple directly or get a lawyer to assist you before redistributing licensed and copyrighted goods.

Also, you might check at http://opensource.apple.com to see if portions of the code are open-sourced or have other licenses. Worst case, you'll need to arrange a license agreement with Apple on the use in your case if it's not per the standard license.


iPhone SMS: Same Contact, Different Phone Numbers

Select the contact in the Messages app, then scroll to top and tap Contact Info.

The number to which this thread is sent to is highlighted.

But there is no way to know that from the "homepage", at least without jailbreaking.


Windows Bootcamp stuck in infinite boot loop

Had the exact same problem.

Created a Windows 10 bootable USB using the Media Creation Tool.
Once done, insert, switch the mini on, and when you hear the startup tone, immediately press and hold the alt key on your keyboard.
Select EFI Boot. At the prompt, choose No.
Select Language to install etc etc, then click Next.
Don't click Install Now. At the bottom left, select Repair Your Computer.
You might be asked to choose your keyboard layout. Choose UK or US, whichever is quicker.
Now select Use Another Operating System.

You should see several options, select one. If it doesn't work, repeat above steps, and try the next and then the next.

Should you eventually end up successfully booting into Windows, RUN > CMD. Type msconfig and hit enter. Find the problematic boot records and remove them. Be very careful not to remove the one that actually boots you in.

If you're successful, pause for a moment, and then take your time at thanking Microsoft for nothing.


Cleaning iTunes Artwork Cache, Please Wait

It is a shortcut from Alfred 3 I was using by accident. It is used for playing music from iTunes.

I also couldn't use Alfred anymore, so I just killed the Alfred process and started it again.


GTP isn't the issue, it's the HFS+ (aka Mac OS Extended) volume inside it; in order to read that, you need HFS+ drivers for Windows (or Linux or whatever). Paragon sells a driver for this, or you could use the drivers from Apple's Boot Camp software. I can't vouch for their authenticity, but I found downloads claiming to be just the HFS+ parts of Boot Camp at MacRumors.com and MacBreaker.com.


Why do emoji like  appear when I use Safari, but not Chrome?

The difference is the rendering engines for the browser windows.

We know Safari renders the character set differently than Chrome. But the Window UI elements (the tabs in Chrome) are okay. That's our biggest clue.

The window UI elements are likely (emphasis on likely, I may not be correct here) all being rendered by the OS. So they get the full OS-level emoji-expansion treatment.

But what happens inside a web browser window is all very browser dependent. The rendering engines are a big part of each browser's secret sauce.

Both Safari and Chrome use WebKit, but the similarities between the WebKit instances they use stop somewhere around the name of the engine. They're both forks from the main version and they're both heavily customized to improve the performance in ways that each browser development team thinks is meaningful for their end users.

@JasonSalaz found a great bug in the Chrome bug database that gives us the final clue that it's down to WebKit forks: http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=90177 -- that bug is talking about the differences between the fork in Chrome and the mainline of WebKit from the open source project. There are rendering differences in the mainline that have yet to make it in to the version Chrome is using. And it looks like they intend to merge the changes in at some point.

Update: Paul Irish has a great blog post on how WebKit differs for all these browsers that currently use it. If you really want to understand just how diverse the WebKit environment is, this is a great read.


How does one downgrade TextMate Bundles?

I'm also running Textmate 2.0 alpha.9547 so am quite interested in hearing which of the bundle updates caused the problem!

But to your problem, one simple way would be to restore the offending bundle from your backups.

On my system I find the bundles in:

/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/TextMate/Managed/Bundles

The harder method would be to locate the download site for the bundle and grab an older copy.  The textmate bundle repository is at: https://github.com/textmate/

To find a particular bundle, just append the bundle name, including the file extension to this path.  For example, the TODO bundle source is at https://github.com/textmate/TODO.tmbundle

From there you would need to clone the git repository and then use git commands to checkout the older version of the source.

I do see that there appears to be a global change to add a "ruby1.8 shim" 6 days ago and bundles have been modified as you noted. I did some quick checking and I appear to be running with the same modifications and as far as I can tell so far, the bundles are working OK.

(would have done this as a comment to the question but I don't have quite enough reputation yet.  ;)


HOW can i enable my "ipad" airplane mode BEFORE i unlock it?

You can’t for a couple reasons.

Networking works while the device is locked
You can’t operate the device until it’s unlocked

Your best bet is to power off the device immediately and take it to where there is no WiFi to which you are pre-connected (power off that WiFi that are set up or move away from them all). Also, consider if you have cellular service, disable that or remove the SIM or go away from coverage (in a faraday cage if you can) before you unlock the device to make changes.


As stated by Tom. you may be looking in the wrong Applications folder.  There are 2 - the main one is in the root directory so all users can access them: There are various ways to see root - I use shift-command-c  from a finder window - you should see all your drives/network/servers etc.  Click on main OS drive, probably called Macintosh HD and the main App folder will be there. You will also see the Users folder.  If you delve into there, you may well see another, possibly empty Application folder.  This is for Apps to be used by that user only.


What is the character limit for an encrypted USB drive password in Disk Utility?

FileVault 2, uses the User's login password as the encryption passphrase.1  macOS/OS X doesn't have a limit as to the length of a password2.

You can have a password without a limit, but practically speaking, it's not feasible to do so.

1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileVault#Security

2 https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/22721/password-length-limits-in-history-of-operating-systems-and-popular-web-sites


Try closing terminal window and opening it again. Rsync changes only take place after closing terminal session. Helped in my case.


Software to record videos on iphone that doesn't result on video sizes of tremendous sizes

This is what I do.

I use the VLC player almost exclusively since it can play anything.

Since you want to save space and eventually download to youtube I would recommend a 2 step process.

First record it in high quality.

Then use a small app called Flv Crunch to convert "any" file format to flv type that is enormous size reduction and compatible with youtube.

It is very easy to use and control the settings.

Convert files between flv, mpeg 1/2/4, 3gp, mp3, m4a, wmv, wma, avi, mkv, aiff, and others.

Then delete the original (ok that was 3 steps :)

why do it this way?

I learned the hard way that once the event is over you are stuck with what ever quality you used to record. Thus I recommend you always record in high quality, since it is easy to reduce the file size to quality you want as end product.

For example you recorded something that needs to be magnified or altered for clarity, that would not be possible any more if recording in low quality.

About Flash Video Format:

  FLV files are videos that are encoded by Adobe Flash software. They
  can be played via the Adobe Flash Player, web browser plugins or one
  of several third party programs. Since virtually everyone has the
  player installed on their browsers, it has become the most common
  online video viewing platform used on the Web today. As almost all
  video sharing sites such as Youtube stream videos in Flash,
  practically all browsers support and are compatible with the Flash
  Video format and can play the video with ease. In addition to being an
  online video viewing format, the Flash Video format is also what many
  video-sharing sites convert videos to, from formats that were uploaded
  by their users in something other than Flash.

  This is because videos in the FLV format remain in high quality even
  after compression to a smaller file size, which means that the videos
  on the Web load quickly and won’t spend a lot of time using up
  bandwidth.

  Some notable users of the Flash Video are Youtube, Yahoo! Video, VEVO,
  Hulu and Myspace among many others.


I have opened a program from a website, has my MBP been infected with a virus?

About the website you visited should give you some idea what you downloaded.

Here is Feb. 2015 Whois Record showing the site was banned (closed) by the Authorities.

So what ever you downloaded, get rid of it, it can not be trusted.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/02/09/kickasstorrents-goes-down-after-its-domain-is-seized-but-makes-a-quick-return/

http://kickasstorrents.eu/news/kickasstorrents-is-not-shut-down-kat-ph-domain-seized/

As long you only downloaded the dmg and not installed it your should be fine by just deleting that dmg package.


How to make macOS APFS Container show up in the boot menu again?

You could try using gdisk to change the second partition to type AF0A. Note: klanomath's answer lacks the gpt remove ... command due to the nature of the question you have referenced. The type AF0A exists in versions 1.0.4 and 1.0.5 of gdisk. If you have an older version, then you have to enter the type given below.

7C3457EF-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC


Panic does not use its own keychain, but rather just the standard Login keychain, which will be located in the folder you were looking at. You're not looking for anything Panic/Transmit in that folder but rather just the Login keychain. You can open the keychain with Keychain Access to view the passwords within.


You need to first use the log command at the command line to collect the logged messages into a .logarchive bundle, then use Console to view the contents of this bundle.  For example:

sudo log collect --last 1d

…will collect all logged messages generated during the past day into a system_logs.logarchive bundle in the current directory.  Open this bundle in Console, and you can use the full power of the app to view, search and filter the log data.

Note that log has many other useful applications;  I suggest reading the log(1) man page.


Change quality of built-in recording script

I downloaded a trial version of ScreenFlow, and it looks like there are a few ways to improve the video quality.

YouTube Export

If you're using the YouTube publishing option, be sure to check the Publish in 720p/1080p option:

If you don't have that selected, the video will be downscaled by YouTube to 360p. You may also want to check the Letterbox option to maintain the aspect ratio on YouTube.

Custom Export

You can gain more control over the export options by using the Export option, in the File menu (or ⌘E). There are various presets, I would suggest trying the Web - High option first, and see if that's to your taste. You'll also want to be sure to change the Dimensions settings, which by default are set to scale to 50%.

If you're wanting to put stuff on YouTube, I suggest exporting at your default resolution (i.e. 100% scaling) — YouTube will re-encode it anyway, but uploading the best source material is the best way to maintain quality. If you find the quality of the Web - High isn't sufficient, you can click the Customize… button, and increase the Datarate setting.

Lossless Export w/ 3rd Party Tools

Finally, if you're still not satisfied, you could ScreenFlow's lossless recording, and use an external tool to compress it. To enable lossless recording, open Preferences, click Advanced and change the Screen Recording Compression from Adaptive to Lossless. Then when you export, use the Lossless preset (or Lossless - ProRes, although this format is not supported by as many tools). Then use another tool, such as Handbrake to tweak the settings as you desire.

Hopefully you can find something amongst these options that will get you the output you desire.


What is a good Apple podcast to listen to on a daily basis?

MacBreak Weekly seems to fit the bill except it's, er, weekly. I don't know of any daily podcasts.


Fake GPS location for specific app on iPhone

I have not tested any of these methods, but a quick search reveals the follwing apps / hacks that claim to do this:

iSpoofer - Claims to "Easily simulate any GPS location on your iPhone/iPad/iPod".
iTools - Claims to "Perfectly fake GPS location on an iPhone / iPad".

Source: How to fake a GPS location on your phone

A more complicated way of doing this manually, without installing any app is also described here: How to Fake Location on iPhone Without Jailbreak.


When do Apple Authorized retailers get refreshed?

Authorized retailers can order the new units from Apple more or less at the same time the Apple Stores get the new stuff. But while Apple Stores get the new stuff out on the sales floor at launch, the other retailers, for whom Apple gear is a small part of their business, may take longer to get the new stuff shipped from Apple, into their inventory systems, go through their internal distribution, and get it on their floors.


Accidentally restored iPhone, how can I recover my data?

Unless you have a backup of your data, either in iTunes, on iCloud, or otherwise, you can't restore your data. If you do have a backup, you should restore it per the method for the specific backup medium.


Git hangs with a ssh remote URI after 10.15.4 update

Debugging steps:

Attempted to connect with netcat:

$ nc -v gitlab.example.com 30814
Connection to gitlab.example.com port 30814 [tcp/*] succeeded!
SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_7.2
^C

Suspecting a broken ssh client, I installed openssh using brew:

$ brew install openssh
...
$ /usr/local/bin/ssh  -V
OpenSSH_8.2p1, OpenSSL 1.1.1d  10 Sep 2019

$ /usr/local/bin/ssh -p 30814 git@gitlab.example.com
Welcome to GitLab, @username!
Connection to gitlab.example.com closed.

After refreshing my shell environment to ensure that the new ssh is found in my $PATH, git operations began functioning as expected with ssh:// URIs.

Searching turned up this user submitted bug: ssh fails when using -p flag

The workaround detailed in the bug is to use the remote host's IP address instead of the DNS name. I can confirm that this worked for me:

$ /usr/bin/ssh -V
OpenSSH_8.1p1, LibreSSL 2.7.3

$ /usr/bin/ssh -p 30814 git@192.168.1.1
Welcome to GitLab, @username!
Connection to gitlab.example.com closed.

The apparent trigger for this bug is using ports greater than 8192 in conjunction with a host's DNS name.


MBP Dual core (2006) fans usage since Mac OS X update 10.6.7

Airflow are certainly dirty. You can check it by opening your MBP. Find your model at iFixit and follow guides to access right and left fans.


MBP 2013 keyboard & trackpad freeze after USB disconnect while sleeping

Workaround

When you find yourself in this situation, you should be able to just briefly press the power button. Just a quick half-second press. In doing so you'll be prompted to restart, shutdown, etc.

Potential fix

It may be worth you resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) to see whether this resolves the issue in the longer term.

To do this on your model of MBP, follow these steps:

Shut down your MBP
Keep the MagSafe adapter (power cable) plugged in.
Press at the same time shiftoptioncontrol (on the left side of the built-in keyboard) and the power button
Let go
Turn your computer back on with the power button.

Some tests

Have you tested to see whether this behaviour is replicated on all USB ports?

Another test would be to boot into Safe Mode and see if it is replicated, either during Safe Mode or again afterwards. I understand it's an intermittent issue, so these sorts of tests will require determination/patience.

To boot into Safe Mode:

Fully shut down your Mac
Restart your Mac
Immediately press the Shift key and keep it down
Let go of the Shift key when you see the login window (NOTE: If you have FileVault enabled you may need to log in twice).
Try testing for the same behaviour
Exit Safe Mode by restarting your Mac as normal


Cannot select "Tile" in Desktop system preference

If your image is larger than the screen's resolution (either by height or width) the ability to tile doesn't work natively.
tldr;

You can trick the option to show by adding an image smaller than your display to the
folder where you're selecting your wallpaper, and then selecting the tile
option.
I'd recommend having a separate folder full of optimised images fit for tiling (they could be copies)

As per above, if the image is larger than the resolution, then My macOS running 10.5.4 is has a display resolution of 2560 x 1600, however is scaled at 1440x900 (image below is a neofetch showing system info)

For an image to be tiled, it needs to be smaller than the width of the display. e.g. let's look at these images. Because the image width is more than my screen, the tile option isn't shown.

However, as is the same with this small image with a width of 900px.

When we reduce the width of the image, we're able to find the average percentage less than the width that would allow for an image to be tiled

At 886 width, we're able to finally select the tile function.
This means that the image width needs to be less than 98.5% of your monitor's width.

You can then select other images with the tiling option, however tiling would look rather odd as by the logic above, the tiling feature attempts to tile an image that's more than the width.

If you've made it this far, I'd suggest having a folder full of optimised images for what you're looking to do. You can resize them in preview as per image below

Hope this helps and explains things a bit!


What causes a full restart vs a resume when battery dies?

This is likely the cause of your system going down while in the process of performing a reboot. The most common cause of this is system updates loading in the background. Lots of times these updates will require a restart after installing. In addition, do you happen to have the computer scheduled for reboot?
This can be confirmed in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule. Resume only occurs if the last known state was you logged into your home account.


If the brightness of the built-in display is turned black, can it be considered off?

The display is still using resources. You can prove this by opening the Digital Colour Meter. Just hover your mouse to the built-in display which is currently dark. You will still see the content in the Digital Colour Meter on your second screen.


how to upgrade iphone 3gs ios 4 to ios 6 directly?

I believe that you have to go in the order of the updates available. Sometimes this makes more sense for Apple to do instead of merging all of the updates into one, at least for smaller updates. After you update to 4.2, if your device is compatible with any higher versions, it should recommend the latest version of it.


How do I check to see if my computer is infected with the OSX/Crisis Trojan?

Apparently, Intego has been investigating this trojan and has found that the trojan will only be on your machine if the following folder exists:

/Library/ScriptingAdditions/appleHID/

If it was installed with admin privileges, this files/folders will exist:

/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/XPCServices/
/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/XPCServices/com.apple.mdworker_server.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.mdworker_server
/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/XPCServices/com.apple.mdworker_server.xpc/Contents/Resources/
/Library/ScriptingAdditions/appleHID/Contents/Resources/appleOsax.r

These files ping the IP address 176.58.100.37 every 5 minutes. It currently doesn't do anything, but at any point the trojan could activate and potentially cause problems. Intego also reports that Mountain Lion is not affected by the trojan. Intego's VirusBarrier will remove the trojan.


How to restore access to a disabled iCloud data?

If you go to https://appleid.apple.com and log in - pay attention to see if you get a message like "This Apple ID has been disabled for security reasons". If not, you can ignore all the emails and just make sure you know your security questions (perhaps choosing new ones if someone is trying to guess your account). If so, your account is locked. There are steps to fix it are here:

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204161

If you truly can't make sense of the instructions, you can contact Apple ID support and a human can help explain your situation if needed:

http://www.apple.com/support/appleid/contact/


Check if a process is running, if not execute it again in Terminal

In OSX use launchd to to this. launchd will start a command at login or boot and if the process dies it will restart it.

The process is controlled by a .plist file formatted as defined in Apple docs the example in that manual page is for the case you ask for.

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC -//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN
   http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd >
   <plist version="1.0">
   <dict>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>com.example.exampled</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
             <string>exampled</string>
        </array>
        <key>KeepAlive</key>
        <true/>
   </dict>
   </plist>

If you want to to start when a user logs in the this file goes in ~/Library/LaunchAgents. If when the machine boots then /Library/LaunchDaemons (which can't have access to the GUI)  but this will run as root unless you add a UserName key. (Thanks to @Gordon Davisson for the correction and a reread of Apple definitions)

For ease of setting the .plist up you can use Lingon.app available from the Mac AppStore


How can I remove a VPN service when the remove button is disabled?

To remove the VPN Profile from your Mac:

System Preference > Profile > Vpn One Click > Remove.


Can I deactivate the text marker function in iBooks?

Unfortunately there is no option to disable the text marker function.


MBP built in keyboard unresponsive until complete shutdown

This is a hardware issue and more than likely you need to have the keyboard (top case) replaced.
The keyboard is on the USB bus; if you look for it in the device tree of the system report, you’ll find it there.  The fact that it stops working after a while says yo have a failing component - what exactly is impossible to know without putting hands on with proper diagnostic gear.
We know that it’s not your USB bus because you can plug in a different keyboard and it works - so the USB bus on your logic board is fully functional.
Hidden shortcut?  No.  With all of its complexity even modern computers are still pretty binary - it either works or it doesn’t.  There’s no setting to tell your keyboard to only work for a little while then stop, then start again after a reboot. Hardware functionality becomes intermittent when it’s in the process of failing (or failed).
You mentioned that the issue happens when your Caps Lock key is engaged.  If so, you may have narrowed down the issue however, the resolution is still, unfortunately the same - replace the keyboard.
Keyboard key stuck or not being recognized; how to fix


You can use your mousewheel to pan up and down. Use Shift + mouse-wheel to pan left and right.

I just found that it may be easier to use Quick Look for the feature you're after. In finder, select your file and press the Spacebar to open it in Quick Look. Then if you use command+ you can zoom in.  Then you can click and drag to pan.

Use command- to zoom out, and Spacebar or esc to exit.


Count number of text occurrences in column using Numbers

COUNTIF(range,"=*string*")

Replace ‘range’ with the range of cells to count.
Replace ‘string’ with the string to match in the range.

For example, to count the number of occurrences of ‘I like cats’ in the A column, use COUNTIF(A,"=*I like cats*").


Converting Audio to AC-3 using afconvert?

Can't you use ffmpeg? This seemed to work for the DTS WAV files here:

ffmpeg -i test.wav -ab 640k test.ac3


Would it work using Time Capsule both as Time Machine AND media container?

You can setup your AirPort Time Capsule to be a file server.  Just create several folders or as you require.  Use port forwarding in the Airport side to forward your WAN or internet connection to the Time Capsule side.  Use DynDNS to setup an account and then connect from anywhere in the world where the internet is not censored.  You will want excellent security configured for the AP Time Capsule if you go this route.

Or you can just use the Back to Mac function that is available through iCloud and is native to OS X.


Apple seems to have resolved this issue.


Apparently this was fixed with one of the recent iOS updates.

Currently I have iOS 13.3 and this problem is gone.

Edit: "fixed" is an overstatement. I can now send a message that arrives by manually selecting the correct phone number. If I write another message in the same thread, it is again sent to the wrong number. The RECENT label, if inspected, is again on the same wrong number, as before the "fix".


Force simple UNIX path names for optimal us of command line apps?

Unfortunately, you just have to remember to do it each time you make a file or directory. There's no way you can do this via software tools or by formatting to a particular file system. After the fact you can use software to convert spaces to '.' or '-' however.

Obviously what you describe is an excellent idea and good practice when working in a *nix environment. You'll probably find that the more time you spend in the Terminal, the more inclined you'll be to create short, non-spaced file names. Unfortunately Apple themselves make your task an impossible one in that they often use multi-word file or directory names.

As to the first part of your question: You can be sure that you'll always be able to manipulate files in the Terminal, even if they contain many spaces, etc. It's just a case of 'escaping' the spaces by typing a '\ ' where the space would be, as you point out.

Tab-completion can be a real time saver here, but it's generally better to avoid the problem in the first place.


One possible way to do this without resorting to the command line is to create a resizable encrypted volume through Disk Utility. It acts as a folder that is decrypted during the mounting process. It supports APFS and AES 128/256.

To create a new blank encrypted folder:

Disk util > new image > new blank image > set Format: APFS > choose encryption scheme > set Image Format: read/write > OK.

To encrypt an existing folder:

Disk util > new image > new image from folder > APFS > choose encryption scheme > set Image Format: read/write > OK.

This will create the encrypted folder as a .dmg that is decrypted when you mount it. Once mounted it acts just as a normal folder.


Usually the .pdf files can be only viewed in Safari without opening in iBooks, and this is as such since I remember, and this is default in any browser.
To save them, you have the option to "open in iBooks" and they will copied there, and the different Collection items is the only possibility to categorise them in iBooks.
But in Safari there are another possibility: from sharing symbol, choose "Save to Files" - and there you may create any number of folders, nested or not, as you wish/need.
The good news is you can move those .pdf files from iBooks: go Library -> Collections -> Edit and select the files you intend to move to Files and again, from sharing symbol choose "Save to Files" - then delete them from iBooks.


Quit all Office applications, and move com.microsoft.autoupdate and com.microsoft.office.plist from ~/Library/Preferences ... and any MicrosoftRegistrationDB .plists & the MicrosoftRegistrationDB.plist.lockfile from ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost to the desktop.

You may have to input your password for some of this. Start up an Office app again and see if this helps. The applications rebuild their preferences files. You may have to enter your registration code again.


This special behavior is probably related to the sudoers file.

By modifying this file in /private/etc/ one can restrict the sudoers to particular networks or single IP-addresses:

The common user privileges specs are as following:

# User privilege specification
root    ALL=(ALL) ALL
%admin  ALL=(ALL) ALL
        |    |    |command
        |    |as user
        | hosts

This means: the users of the group admin can sudo any command as any user ("Runas") from all networks.

By specifying a restricted host/network in the host alias specification earlier in the same file this may be changed:

# Host alias specification

Host_Alias      COMPNET = 172.17.0.0/255.255.0.0

Modifying the user privilege specifications to:

root    ALL=(ALL) ALL
%admin  COMPNET=(ALL) ALL

doesn't allow you to execute sudo in your home network if the IP-address is not in the above range (e.g. your home network provides DHCP leases in the 192.168.0.0/24 range and none of the other interfaces have an IP in the above 172.17.0.0/255.255.0.0 network). Back in the company network (e.g. with a DHCP range 172.17.5.0/24) sudoing works again.


Creating boot disk for Windows 7 on MacBook Pro

Try using dd instead of asr.

Use mount to determine the device path of your attached USB disk.  Find the disk itself and ignore the individual partition numbers.  EG: if you get /dev/sda1 just use /dev/sda for the next steps.
Unmount the disk in the Finder.
Construct and run your dd command as such: dd if=/path/to/windows7.iso of=/path/to/usb/device


Can I use bootcamp to install another instance of OSX?

You dont need Bootcamp for that. Just open Disk utility and partition your disk. Then install OSX on the second partition. Then in your Start disk preference choose which OS to start as default or just hold option key on boot to select which os to run.


Might just be completely dead right now, or the software is freaking out. Try plugging it into a computer in recovery mode and see if its goes through.


Is it possible to selectively erase time-machine backups for a given period?

You can open Finder and select your backup disk. Find the backups in the time range and delete them (shown in the image below). This will delete those backups on disk. This will properly delete the backups - if you inspect system logs you will find it handling these as requests to delete a backup, rather than as requests to delete a folder.
I would recommend doing it one at a time to avoid overwhelming the backup disk.
Deleting a backup will not delete files that were added in that backup from other backups. Each backup can be viewed independently, as a snapshot of your disk at that time.


How to Properly Install MySQL Server onto OS X 10.10 Running OS X Server

I found the homebrew version of mysql worked perfectly on OS X 10.10.3 and 10.10. running Server. brew install mysql and all was good - mysql.server start starts it and mysql.server stop does the reverse.


Is it possible to change the font and button size of the format bar in numbers '09

Depending on your hardware, you can change the Display preference to alter the resolution which indirectly controls how large the graphical elements on screen are drawn. This doesn't target just the numbers format bar, but affects all text and elements on the screen.

With a retina Mac, you have more control over this with the text and items being drawn with retina precision, yet the overall scaling of the graphical elements can be made larger or smaller to your liking. This is basically an implementation of resolution independence for those hardware displays.

If you need to target just the format bar, you can only choose to display or not display text and choose the default or the smaller icons using this control in the preferences for the toolbar.


How to make specifics apps password protected even after passcode in iPhone?


The difference may be related to whether you're using the Mac driver. Go to Set Screen Options, and check Use Mac Driver instead of X11. It's the top checkbox under "Other Options".

Otherwise, it's not clear how your installations are different. Because you're using Wineskin, however, you have a great alternative: Just copy the Wineskin app from your working computer to this one. That will carry along all of the settings and tweaks you have in your working copy. It's all self-contained!


How to convert a pdf file into a text file?

ps2ascii is a part of Ghostscript, which can be installed on Mac OS X (and it might already be by default from the factory).


You can tinker with the Keyboard Settings to get something close to your desired behavior. Here's one idea:

Set "Touch Bar shows" to "Expanded Control Strip" and remove all buttons on the Control Strip using "Customize Touch Bar...". Then set "Press Fn key to" to "Show App Controls".

Now your Touch Bar will be empty unless you press fn to show the App Controls.

—

I also outline some ways to use Better Touch Tool to temporarily disable the Touch Bar in my answer on a related question.


Encrypt existing unencrypted Time Capsule backup

The only solution I can offer is to use Disk Utility to create an encrypted sparsebundle, then copy the contents of the existing backup disk into the sparsebundle. This is essentially what Time Machine does.

Then, select a new backup disk in Time Machine and select the sparsebundle. If all works according to plan, Time Machine will ask for your password and begin using the new sparsebundle.


Do cell carries have access to FaceTime information?

FaceTime only needs Internet connection for audio and video calls therefore the only data your carrier receives is what server you connected to, which I don't think is what you are looking for. You are the only one having access to the FaceTime logs.


Make one MacBook Pro use the screen of another MacBook Pro

You can't physically connect the display of another MacBook (or any other laptop for that matter) to use it as an external monitor.

However, there is an app called AirDisplay that will turn any display into an external monitor via WiFi (or wired network if you prefer).

  Wirelessly connect to an iPad or Android device from your laptop to
  create the ultimate road-warrior workstation. Or repurpose any nearby
  Mac or Windows PC to give yourself more screen real estate for your
  main Mac.

It's a pretty good piece of kit, but (IMO) it's better to just purchase an external monitor that meets your needs; it's much more stable, reliable, and better performing.


Why does my Macbook Pro try to shut down when I leave it unattended?

Try going to System Preferences and choosing Security & Privacy.  When that application window opens, choose "General" tab and then look to the lower right corner and click on "Advanced".  Uncheck "Log out after _ _ minutes of inactivity.

Not sure but this might be the cause.

Good luck


Are in-app purchases marked as such on App Store receipts?

Try searching your email for the string: In-App Purchase

Here's an example email receipt I received from the iTunes App Store which included an in-app purchase (in this case, an X-Men comic from the comiXology app):


Even easier than that, on Mac OS X you have what is called a "me" card. Which is a special vcard that is tied to your account name and profile picture.
You can open up address book and edit your name and it will mirror that in iChat and everything else.


Yes, generally speaking, it's possible, however it can depend on the browser and the web page, there is no one method fits all, if you will.

Examples:

Using this particular web page, looking at the question title line, to the far right is a blue button with says: Ask Question

The following line of AppleScript code will click that button in Safari if Allow JavaScript from Apple Events is checked on the Safari > Develop menu, which is hidden by default and can be shown by checking [√] Show Develop menu in menu bar in: Safari > Preferences > Advanced

tell application "Safari" to tell document 1 to do JavaScript ¬
    "document.getElementsByClassName('ws-nowrap s-btn s-btn__primary')[0].click();"

With Google Chrome the following example AppleScript code does the same thing, without having to modify any of the default settings:

tell application "Google Chrome" to tell active tab in front window to execute javascript ¬
    "document.getElementsByClassName('ws-nowrap s-btn s-btn__primary')[0].click();"

Note that the JavaScript code portion, within the double-quotes, of each of these is the same while the basic AppleScript code is different for how each of the two applications work with the code.

I should also point out that while this is AppleScript, albeit running some JavaScript, it's really the JavaScript that's doing the real work of clicking the target button. Basic vanilla AppleScript without executing some JavaScript cannot really click a button on the web page content unless it's done through the very kludgy use of UI Scripting.

UI Scripting example:

On my system, in macOS High Sierra using Safari, version 11.1.1 (13605.2.8), the following example AppleScript code works to click the button that the other examples click.

tell application "System Events" to click UI element ¬
    "Ask Question" of group 5 of UI element 1 of scroll area 1 of group 1 of ¬
    group 1 of tab group 1 of splitter group 1 of window 1 of application process "Safari"

On my system, in  Safari on macOS Catalina you'd have to change of group 5 of UI element 1 to of group 6 of UI element 1, and while that seems minor, nonetheless, it will depend on what you're trying to click and where and some objects on a web page may not be clickable at all with this method, yet will most likely be doable with JavaScript calls.

This wouldn't work in Google Chrome as it does not expose that particular UI element to click in this manner.

One of the issues with UI Scripting is the hierarchical structure to the object is subject to change between versions of the application or the versions of macOS and would need to be modified, where the use of AppleScript with JavaScript will typically continue to work without modification.

By the way, none of this is doable in Firefox.


Latest update of Apple iPhone 6s version 9.3.2 will not let me use most of my apps

Reset your Network Settings:

Settings > General > Reset and click "Reset Network Settings"


How to unblock an application with socketfilterfw?

I've taken a look at this and I think that the reason for the popups are still being produced is that there is another run-tests in test/.libs/run-tests.

Using this script I could get this working locally. Could you give it a try and see if this works for you?


If the fans are running fast it's an overheating issue. Otherwise the windows battery related drivers might have a hard time detecting your battery state.


*macOS 10.13 High Sierra Beta* Cannot Resize APFS Volumes on External Hard Drive

I'm no APFS expert but my understanding is that once the whole HD is formatted as APFS it becomes a "container" that can hold multiple volumes.  You can add volumes (partitions) to the container but they all share the entire space of the container and resize themselves dynamically.  Therefore there is no option to resize a partition or volume in disk utility. The file system takes care of it automatically.


Turns out it was just something on Apple's side and the activation went through today!


Shortcut to open just saved PDF in Preview

Regardless of how you are creating them, you can create a Finder window with a smart search that shows files created within the last day, and then sort that window by creation date. The most recent file you've created will be on the top.


Can't connect two monitors via elgato 3 dock

First of all do you have the Elgato Thunderbolt 3 or the Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock?
I'm going to assume you are using the Thunderbolt 3 Pro Dock, as the Thunderbolt 3 Dock does not have the ports to physically plug in two USB-C cables when connected to the Laptop.
The dock has 2x USB 3.1 type C connectors and two Thunderbolt 3 ports of one is the upstream port and the other one is connected to the Laptop. It also has a Displayport connector.
The problem you are having is that the two USB-C ports support data only. So my guess is that you connect the first display to the thunderbolt Port and the second one to a USB-C port which then is staying black.
The only way to connect two displays is using the Displayport and the thunderbolt 3 connector rather than the two adapters to USB-C. Ditch one adapter for a display port connection.
If any of my assumptions were wrong and this might change the perspective. Just let me know.


Welcome to Ask Different!

You can keep your pictures and videos on iCloud but off your MacBook (MB) by changing the following settings (for macOS Catalina) as described. Before doing any of the below, however, I recommend that you take a backup of your MB including all of the downloaded photos using the Time Machine app.

The particular setting I would suggest would allow you to store and see only the recent pictures from iCloud on your MB. For that, open your Photos app and then go to Photos > Preferences menu and click on the iCloud tab. There tick off iCloud Photos option. Once you do that a My Photo Stream option should appear and I suggest you select that one. You can also select Shared Albums if you want to have any such albums on your MB.

Once the iCloud Photos option is deactivated in the Photos preferences, you can delete all of the photos you can reach through the Library > Photos option in the left sidebar of the Photos app to clean up for space on your MB. This will not delete them from iCloud as long as you have ticked off the iCloud Photos in the preferences of Photos app.

You can check if you have changed the settings correctly and things are working as they should by deleting only one or two photos initially on your MB and see if the photos are still preserved in iCloud after a little while by going to https://www.icloud.com/photos/

If you don't want any pictures downloaded to your MB at all, then do not enable either the My Photo Stream or Shared Albums options after disabling iCloud Photos within the Photos preferences.

Another way to disable downloading of any of your photos to your MB at all is to go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts and click on iCloud. Then on the right, a number of options should appear starting with iCloud Drive and below that Photos. Tick off Photos to prevent pictures to be downloaded to your MB. This should also change the preferences in the Photos app and prevent My Photo Stream from being maintained even if selected within the preferences of Photos.


zsh can't see and doesn't load the ~/.zshrc startup file

The issue turned out to be that .zshrc had a hidden .txt file extension. Somehow it was automatically named .zshrc.txt, probably when I used TextEdit to edit it, and source doesn't infer the text extension. Finder also doesn't display the .txt extension by default unless you inspect the file, so I hadn't noticed the issue.


Can I Open Port 443 on my MacMini without using the Server App?

"443... connected. Unable to establish SSL connection" means that the problem isn't related to port 443 being blocked; your version of wget is probably stale (see this StackOverflow post.)

Try curl instead: curl https://mydomain.com

(Note: the "https://" part is important!)


is there a way to store mail on an external hard drive using apple mail?

The answer by Zo219 is nice for having two copies, but my solution is to link the folders where Mail wants to store the files to the external drive and not have two copies.

Here are the folders you'll need to have located off the main drive:

~/Library/Mail
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/

Since the volumes are separate, you can't hard link and instead need to soft (sum) link the folders or use Finder's alias function once you've moved these folders to your second drive.

That is one way that works, but I think he wants something more seamless like a remapping of the Mail directory (~/Library/Mail) to a live clone on the external drive.  I've a relative small SSD on my air (128GB) so had used a simple alias to relocate my Mail library to an external HDD at my desk.  I used an alternate user "mobile" so I could check email Mail with ease when I was away from the home office.  This recently broke under my current version of Mountain Lion (10.8.2) and I am currently looking at a workaround.  To my knowledge, hard-linking under recent versions OS X is not for the faint of heart, as it may create difficulties with Time Machine et al.  Let me know in the comments if my solution is confusing.  As far as your concern about behaviour when the external drive is not connected and you launch Mail, it just quietly fails with a polite error message about no access to an unmounted target.


You can change /Library/Managed\ Preferences/Username/com.apple.familycontrols.timelimits.v2.plist under the key time-limits there are 2 dictionaries you may need to consider :

weekday-allowance
weekend-allowance

Both have a key "secondsPerDay" you may change.

You may edit the .plist by converting it to XML using sudo plutil -convert xml1 theFile and then edit it with your favourite command line editor.


Updating Server.app is not really necessary. OS X Mavericks clients are backward compatible with OS X Lion Server, in the same way Mavericks Server is backward compatible with Lion clients. It is only required to update Server.app if you want the new features available in the updated OS X Server, or if you wish to upgrade the host OS on the server (i.e. Lion Server.app is not compatible with OS X Mavericks).


There's a JailBreak Tweak called Mail Enhancer that does exactly what you want. It's $4.99 in the BigBoss repository, and there's another one called SIGnify for $1.50 in the ModMyi repo. They both allow you to have signatures with HTML formatting, but the more expensive one has many more features that make the Mail.app much more usable.


'Operation not permitted' accessing SMB Share as root under Catalina

I had the same problem and it was fixed by granting »Full disk access« to Terminal in System preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy and restarting Terminal.
Click the lock at the bottom left of the window in case the options are greyed out.


How do I publish a link to my iChat account

I believe that these work:

AIM
YIM
gTalk
Skype

Or would, if I had the user account dori on any of those services.


How to "resize" side-by-side windows SIMULTANEOUSLY on Mac?

Option 1: Native Split View in Big Sur

Make sure you have at least two windows on your desktop

Start by hovering your mouse over the green maximise button of one of these windows

Click on "Tile Window to Left of Screen"

Then, choose the other window, which should become the right part of your tiled window arrangement, by clicking on that window.

When you adjust the width of the left window, the right window will resize accordingly.

To learn more about Split View in macOS, have a look at this support document: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204948.
Option 2: Tiling window manager
If you would like more configurations options, or you would like to extend this mechanism to more than two windows on one desktop, using a tiling window manager like yabai would be an option.
For example, if a couple of windows are on one desktop using yabai, resizing one of the windows makes the other windows adjust their sizes accordingly.

yabai is a window management utility that is designed to work as an extension to the built-in window manager of macOS. yabai allows you to control your windows, spaces and displays freely using an intuitive command line interface and optionally set user-defined keyboard shortcuts using skhd and other third-party software.

Install the homebrew package manager
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Install yabai
brew install yabai

Adjust the configuration in ~/.yabairc if needed to customise the tiling behaviour.
# ~/.yabairc
yabai -m config window_placement             second_child
yabai -m config window_topmost               off
yabai -m config window_shadow                on
yabai -m config window_opacity               on
yabai -m config window_opacity_duration      0.0
yabai -m config active_window_opacity        1.0
yabai -m config normal_window_opacity        0.90
yabai -m config window_border                on
yabai -m config window_border_width          6
yabai -m config active_window_border_color   0xff775759
yabai -m config normal_window_border_color   0xff555555
yabai -m config insert_feedback_color        0xffd75f5f
yabai -m config split_ratio                  0.38
yabai -m config auto_balance                 on
yabai -m config mouse_modifier               fn
yabai -m config mouse_action1                move
yabai -m config mouse_action2                resize
yabai -m config mouse_drop_action            swap

yabai -m config layout                       bsp
yabai -m config top_padding                  12
yabai -m config bottom_padding               12
yabai -m config left_padding                 12
yabai -m config right_padding                12
yabai -m config window_gap                   16

Have a look at this wiki to learn more about the tiling-configuration options.