What are the command line options for afconvert?

Audio File Convert exports to 20 audio file formats and a multitude of codecs, all of which are shown with the -hf option.

Uncompressed Audio

File formats: AIFC AIFF NeXT Sd2f WAVE RF64

The original formats for storing audio files were all uncompressed because these are easy to work with, and can be played by even very early CPUs. However, uncompressed audio files are very large, easily going up to 10 MB/minute. These formats all share similar codec options like I8 BEI16 BEI24 BEI32 BEF32 BEF64. Smaller numbers give smaller files, but larger numbers give higher quality. If you're not sure what to choose, go with BEI32 or LEI32.

Compressed Audio

File formats: 3gpp 3gp2 adts ac-3 amrf m4af m4bf caff ec-3 flac mp4f

Not every codec is supported by every file format, but you can use this as a guide to get started choosing your codec. Once you've chosen a codec, you can look at the output of afconvert -hf to pick a suitable container file format.

aac MPEG-4 Low Complexity AAC
aace MPEG-4 AAC Enhanced Low Delay (without SBR)
aacf MPEG-4 AAC Enhanced Low Delay (with SBR)
aacg
aach MPEG-4 High Efficiency AAC
aacl MPEG-4 AAC Low Delay
aacp MPEG-4 High Efficiency AAC Version 2
ac-3 AC-3
alac Apple Lossless
alaw aLaw 2:1
drms Apple DRM
ec-3
flac Free Lossless Audio Codec
paac
pac3
pec3
samr
sawb
QDM2 QDesign2 Music
QDMC QDesign Music
Qclp QUALCOMM PureVoice
Qclq Qualcomm QCELP

(Note: I have excluded the MPG formats such as MPG3/MP3 from this list because they just do not work.)

Syntax

Once you've chosen a file format and codec, you run afconvert like this:

afconvert -f FORMAT -d CODEC SOURCEFILE [-o DESTINATIONFILE]

It is necessary to specify both the file format and the codec, otherwise an error is shown. If you omit the -o option, afconvert will pick a name and extension based on the other inputs.

Examples

If you have an audio file called MyAudio.m4a you could try these commands.

# AIFF
afconvert -f AIFF -d BEI32 MyAudio.m4a -o MyAudio.aiff

# WAVE
afconvert -f WAVE -d LEI32 MyAudio.m4a -o MyAudio.wav

# Apple Lossless
afconvert -f m4af -d alac MyAudio.m4a -o MyAudio.m4a

# FLAC
afconvert -f flac -d flac MyAudio.m4a -o MyAudio.flac

# AAC
afconvert -f mp4f -d aac MyAudio.m4a -o MyAudio.mp4


Any tips for blocking an address range for outgoing packets?

I highly recommend Little Snitch. Although it doesn't do anything you couldn't do with free tools, it makes monitoring, configuring, and blocking your system's outgoing traffic on a per-application basis ridiculously easy.

I'm a programmer, and one of those guys who always has a Terminal window open, and yet I still prefer using Little Snitch for this task.

It's not free, but it is cheap.  And the free trial is fully functional - the only caveat is you have to manually restart it every 3 hours.

That would probably be all you need to open all your Apple-branded apps and verify whether or not they're phoning the mothership.

And if they are phoning any address outside the 17.x.x.x range, you'd learn that really quick.


You can add ampersand (&) at the end of the line. Quote from bashitout:

  A single ampersand & can often be found at the end of a command.

 ./myscript.py &

  This trailing ampersand directs the shell to run the command in the background, that is, it is forked and run in a separate sub-shell, as a job, asynchronously. The shell will immediately return the return status of 0 for true and continue as normal, either processing further commands in a script or returning the cursor focus back to the user in a Linux terminal.


Replacement for obselete OpenDNS Umbrella App on iPhone

I’m using DNS Override and it is working well.

With it, you can choose one DNS provider for all WiFi networks your phone connects to as well as for cellular data. It is supposed to be compatible with services that allow you to block web content by category.


How to browse the iBook store without owning an iPad?

Although there is no way to browse the store directly, there is this website which searches the iBookstore for a particular title or author. It also searches the Kindle and Nook stores.

http://www.leatherbound.me/


Archive to Gmail Fails, but only when using the Archive Button on the Toolbar

Go to Mail.app / Preferences / Accounts / MailBoxes and under Trash, uncheck Store deleted messages on the server.

Usually this does the trick.


Why is my jailbroken iPhone not booting?

I've had this happen once before. Is your phone in an "endless loop" of reboots? If so, my solution was to put the phone in DFU mode and restore it and just try the jailbreak over again. Sometimes things get loopy and it just doesn't work correctly. Give it another shot.

How to Put an iPhone Into DFU Mode


Does a third party fixing my Mac have access to my files?

In order to repair a Mac you will (generally) need an administrative password as doing things like reinstalling software and the like requires an admin password.

Even if you create a separate admin account for this person to use in effecting repairs an unscrupulous person would have no trouble getting into your stuff.

Unless you have put your personal information inside an encrypted .DMG file. Then even if you do create an admin account just for the repair guy the chances of him getting to any of your personal stuff is practically nil.

So no they don't have to access your personal files to effect a fix and an honest tech would never do that. Hey if I have to give my Mac over to Apple for repairs I back up my profile and then delete it and create a temporary profile for them to use, just in case.

But if you can't back it up then your next best thing is to put your stuff in an encrypted DMG for the duration and pray there is no data loss. Also pray that your tech is a scrupulous, ethical, person. Regardless, at that point, there is little or nothing to see anyway.

I learned a long time ago in the IT biz, the stuff on most people's computers is uninteresting to everyone but the owner. And that combined with ethics keeps me out of other people's stuff. be sure you trust whoever looks at your Mac.


Is it possible to make Preview prompt a dialog before quitting?

There's a global setting, which all Apple apps respect [in fact there are two, either of which may help]

System Preferences > General >
Ask to keep changes when closing documents &
Close windows when quitting an app

Checking the first will then ask about unsaved changes, though not about any document that is unedited.
Unchecking the second will make it so that simply re-launching Preview will restore all documents that were open at last Quit.


Can I connect a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-230 to a MBAir using USB cable?

You'll need to install the Yamaha USB-MIDI driver first:

https://dk.yamaha.com/da/support/updates/usb_midi_driver_for_mac.html

This driver works across all the Yamaha Clavina models with USB port for MIDI.

When you have installed the driver, reboot the Mac and insert the USB-cable from Mac to piano. Then turn on the Piano. Finally start GarageBand, and the new MIDI device should be available for use.


What is a Software Update and why is it needed?

A software update is released by Apple whenever they have improvements to the core software running on your iPhone. This core software, the operating system, is named iOS and is responsible for general functioning of your iPhone.

A software update can add new software features to your iPhone, fix issues with general functioning of the operating system software and add enhancements that improve the security of the device.

  Is it okay to install it?

It is perfectly normal, even recommend to install a Software Update on your iPhone. Installing a software update most often would require a restart of your iPhone. The restart would be performed automatically as a part of installing the Software Update.

Once started, installing a Software Update can take from a few minutes to around half an hour of time. So make sure not to install it when you would be needing your iPhone for normal usage such as making/receiving phone calls and messages.

  I have never used an iPhone before, and I want to make sure I am doing it right.

A software update should work fine most of the times. You need not worry too much about it. However, it may be a good idea to take a backup of your iPhone.

To learn more about iOS, the operating system software running on your iPhone, check this link:

https://www.apple.com/ios/

To learn more about installing software update on an iPhone, you can read this Apple Support article:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204204

To learn more about the ways to take a backup of your iPhone, you can read this Apple Support article:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT203977


Recycling a damaged Late 2015 into a late 2013 MBP Retina

Generally speaking no.
Most Mac laptops before the last couple of generations could only upgrade the RAM. Some you could upgrade the storage with a different drive or SSD module.
I know, heresy, to most Windows PC technicians but the fact is all current generation Mac laptops have zero upgradable parts. No RAM, No HD/SSD, no Processor, GPU or anything else. It's all integrated to the system board. And replacement means you have a talent for replacing surface mounted parts.
You can get info on what is what on the Macs in front of you at the excellent
https://everymac.com
They have all the specs for all the Macs down to whether or not you can replace, RAM, HD/SSD, GPU, etc.
And for a good place to find out how to replace/repair those bits that are repairable/replaceable, there is the wonderful
https://www.ifixit.com
With lots of pictures and HowTos on replacing and repairing a whole raft of Macs and other Apple Devices, not to mention lots of other computer equipment and electronic devices.
Some of what you want to do may be possible. Keyboards may be the same or similar and RAM and Storage/SSD/HD might be compatible or close enough to do some of what you want. Those two resources should start you on the way of discovering what, exactly, you can and can't mix and match with those two Macs.


Reset iPhone's Frequently Used Emoji's in Emoji keyboard

The Frequently Used Emoji section in the iPhone's built-in Emoji keyboard can be reset to the default set by going to Settings app → General → Reset and tapping Reset Keyboard Dictionary.

This is the only approach to reset the frequently used Emoji list (other than manually entering the Emoji's from the default frequently used list as shown below to manually reset the list).

Note: The command is not specifically meant to reset the Frequently Used Emoji list (rather it's the side effect), you'll end up resetting your custom dictionary. Also, all the downloaded dictionaries will be deleted. (Hence, you will no longer be able to quickly see the definition of a word by selecting it and tapping Look Up). Dictionaries can be easily re-downloaded by going to Settings app → General → Dictionary and tapping on desired dictionaries.


Time Machine error message "Disk is nearly full", but it's not

There is a discrepancy of what is informed as available space and what actually is available for recording. This is discovered by Time Machine when it tries to save data, so the short answer is corrupted data (in this case, data about how data is stored). Time Machine does a complex kind of backup that is not just a copy, so my suggestion is...

Make a copy (better a clone) of the backup and erase the Time Capsule disk - format the volume.
Restore the data. Make sure the copy got the "real" size, or the backup might be corrupted as well.
To monitor the process once started, it has to end within one hour, or the problem might come back.

In my experience, it was taking longer than one hour, so Time Machine started the second backup before ending the first one, leading to a mess! There is third-part solutions to change the Time Machine frequency (two hours or more).


OS X's FileVault password screen extremely unresponsive

This is normal on FileVault enabled MacBook. There is about 10 seconds latency on my late 2013 rMBP. I suggest to wait a bit more time as the problem improved dramatically two weeks later after I turned it on.


The same exact thing is happening to me. I opened my imessage app and it's just blank white. I tried deleting from task bar, resetting, shutting off, logging out from imessage on settings, resetting wifi, but nothing seems to work. It's even updated to 6.1 and it's just frozen there.

The only option is to restore your device to reinstall the OS.


Escape button for iPad Pro with Microsoft Universal Foldable keyboard?

Try Command  .  seems like this command used to be a way for halting/canceling operations in both MacOS or Windows.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/9vsxmo/til_cmd_in_ios_invokes_the_esc_key/


If you want to get the size of a mounted block device (which is what blockdev -getsize64 does), you can use the following:

diskutil information <device> | grep "Total Size" | sed -e 's/[^(]*(([^Bytes)]*\).*/\1/'

If you want to do the same for a file, you can use the following (amongst many others):

stat -f '%z' <filename>


iPhone 4S/iOS 6: Every message received turns into Group MMS with me as a recipient

I had the same problem and I, too, was frustrated as there seems to be no available information on this topic. Not to mention its annoying as hell.

Anyway, this worked for me and it might work for you too.

Open Settings
Tap "Messages" settings
Scroll down to the MMS Email Address.
Make sure to enter the MMS Email Address EXACTLY as it is specified with SoftBank. You can find that information if you login to MySoftbank. https://my.softbank.jp/msb/d/top

I actually had this problem when I bought a new iPhone 5. The girl at the shop who set up my phone unbeknownst to me added a space at the end of the MMS email address. Ah well.

Hope this works!


When I play music from a playlist, how do I get back to the playlist?

I have discovered you can click the “artist name - album name” on the now playing screen. Then click the playlist.


Many apps that rely on VLC require it to be location in the Applications folder.

If you've moved VLC or renamed it, try putting it back.


SSH problem after security update 2016-001 with an Ethernet to USB adapter

It turned out to be an issue with the Ethernet adapter or its driver (TP-Link Gbit USB3 adapter.) After that update it just started dropping packets sporadically, whereas another adapter was working just fine. Unfortunately, the latest version of the driver was published in October 2015, so no fix for this one.


In your Music directory, go to iTunes/iTunes Media/Movies - copy the Movies folder to an external drive.  Then replace the Movies directory in iTunes/iTunes Media/ with an alias that points to the Movies directory on the external drive.

What you'll end up with is iTunes thinking the same directory structure exists, but the Movies alias will point to the external drive.  You may not even need to re-add anything to your library - the file paths should remain the same.

I have had my iTunes library set up like this for years for the same reasons you list.

Instructions on creating an alias can be found here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TA26514?viewlocale=en_US


Password problems changing users in Terminal

To switch to user postgres, type in Terminal:

sudo su - postgres

If you are asked for a password, type yours.

(The - in sudo su - changes the environment to that of the new user, and it's probably what you want. See man su for details.)
Now, to switch back to your user, simply type:

exit

to exit the current bash session and go back to your original bash session.

Note that if you type sudo su <user> as user postgres you need to identify yourself to sudo and type postgres's password, but as you say, it hasn't any, so it won't work. It may even be the case that user postgres is not allowed to use sudo at all.


How to prevent burst photos in camera timer?

The only way to stop burst mode during timer photos is to turn the flash On.  When the flash is On the camera will only take 1 picture.

My recommendation is to provide feedback to Apple here and let them know how you feel about this limitation.


Send background email alert if Time Machine backup fails

This is a great use case for a simple shell or python or ruby script and launchd.

I'll assume you can find on this site how to configure the launchd item or want to buy Lingon which is a great timesaver. (Be aware Lingon 3 is for Lion and there is another also paid version for Snow Leopard just named Lingon on the App store)

You also will need to set up an internal mail server that accepts command line mail from all your clients, so there is that large chunk of setup.

With all that "hand waving" to explain broad concepts - you now could use these core commands to get the job done:

tmutil latestbackup
date "+%Y-%m-%d"
mail -s "TimeMachine Failure Report from $HOSTNAME" "This mac needs attention"

Depending on how much fun this sounds, you can pick apart each task and work on them or look into software that is designed to do this for you like Apple Remote Desktop or Robot Cloud.


You don't say what account, however the Mac Keychain.app is designed as a place to safely and securely store usernames and passwords.

It is important to note that the master password for your keychain is the password you use to log into your Mac. So pick a good one and set reasonable timeouts on the screen saver that then automatically locks your Mac. Because if someone has physical access to your Mac and it is unlocked they will have access to everything stored in the keychain.


Apple Mail with Gmail Account (IMAP): Moving Mails from inbox to folders fails

The following solved the issue for me:

Gmail Settings:

Inbox → Categories:
Select only Primary
Inbox → Importance markers:
No marker
Inbox → Filtered mail:
Override filters
Forwarding and POP/IMAP → IMAP Access:
When I mark a message in IMAP as deleted: Auto-Expunge off
When a message is marked as deleted and expunged from the last visible IMAP folder: Move the message to the Trash


Hey after some exploration, I figured out the code.

And I'd like to share it with you just in case someone else might have the same need.

This code basically toggles a pre-set webpage in safari. The detailed logic can be found in the pseudo code in the question description. And I believe it can be really useful if your are involving with web-wrapped applications a lot.

set appName to "Safari"
set pageName to "<+Your Page Name+>"
set pageUrl to "<+Your page URL+>"

tell application "System Events"
    if not (exists process appName) then
        tell application appName to activate
    else if frontmost of process appName then
        # only hide application if the current tab is what we want
        # my search_tabs(pageName, pageUrl)
        set visible of process appName to (my search_tabs(pageName, pageUrl))
    else
        # still unable to give focus to desired window
        set frontmost of process appName to true
        my search_tabs(pageName, pageUrl)
    end if
end tell

on search_tabs(pageName, pageUrl)
    set tab_found to false
    set be_visible to false
    tell application "Safari"
        tell window 1
            if name of current tab starts with pageName then
                # if the current tab is already what we want then
                # return false
                return false
            end if
        end tell
        repeat with w in windows
            if name of w is not "" then --in case of zombie windows
                repeat with t in tabs of w
                    if name of t starts with pageName then
                        set tab_found to true
                        tell w to set current tab to t
                        if index of w is not 1 then
                            tell w to set index to 1
                        end if
                    end if
                end repeat
            end if
        end repeat
        # if the webpage doesn't exist
        if tab_found is false then
            tell window 1
                set current tab to (make new tab with properties {URL:pageUrl})
            end tell
        end if
        return true
    end tell
end search_tabs


How can I replace Apple Emoji font on El Capitan from Sierra?

Even if you replace the system emoji font, this won't help with all emojis. This is because some emojis are combinations of characters and this may not be interpreted correctly if the codepoints are new.

If you still want to replace the emoji font, you need to disable System Integrity Protection to replace system files.

  To disable System Integrity Protection, you can do the following:

  Boot into the Recovery HD by restarting whilst holding ⌘R.
  Open Terminal (from the Utilities menu).
  Run the following command in Terminal:

csrutil disable

  Restart.

Source: Disable OS X El Capitan Rootless and permit write actions to System Integrity Protection locations


Where does Lion's autosave feature save past versions?

There are a couple SQLite databases located in a hidden folder on the root of your hard drive that are tasked with tracking the files and the differences between the versions.

The directory is:

/.DocumentRevisions-V100

The two databases are:

/.DocumentRevisions-V100/db-V1/db.sqlite
/.DocumentRevisions-V100/.cs/ChunkStoreDatabase

Source: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/07/mac-os-x-10-7.ars/14#versioning-internals


Quit Filezilla, go to ~/.filezilla/ and open filezilla.xml with a text editor. Search for name="Window position and size", enter appropriate values and save the file.
On my 1200p x 1920p monitor it looks like this: <Setting name="Window position and size" type="string">0 10 33 1463 920 </Setting>

(I don't know what the leading 0 means but 10 is the distance to the left, 33 is the distance to the top, 1463 is the x-size and 920 probably should be the y-size of the window; my real y-size was about 1045)


Is it possible to play a Blu-ray Disc on iMac?

You might to check out this MacWorld url.

There are several Blu-ray external USB drives available, but the url above will point you in the right direction.


I’m confused about how Whatsapp backs up data in iPhone

The first shows you how much data, that has accumulated by using WhatsApp, is currently stored on your phone. That is chats, photos, videos and audio messages that have been send and received.

The second one is the Backup that can be created through WhatsApp->Settings->Chats->Chat Backup. The reason the Backup is larger than your „normal“ app data might be that WhatsApp stored multiple Backups (either from multiple devices or older ones from the same device). Another reason might be that you backed up WhatsApp on an old device or reset your current one after backing up WhatsApp, so your backup contains more data than you accumulated by using WhatsApp after switching/resetting your device.

Again, the first is the data that is currently used by WhatsApp, the second one is the backup and its data is not accessible/used by WhatsApp unless you restore the backup.


Try this.

Uncheck "Speak an announcement".


Make accidentally opening an app on the Dock more difficult

You can hide the Dock, which then requires hovering the mouse at the bottom of the display for the Dock to be shown first, then clicking on an app. To hide the Dock, right-click on the Dock separator and choose Turn Hiding On.


Yes, you can create a shared photostream and invite her.
To create a shared iCloud photostream, you have to check that you have enabled iCloud Photo Sharing (Settings -> iCloud -> Photos -> Photo Sharing). Then you can create a shared photostream by going to the Photos app and tapping the + button in the Shared tab.

The only disadvantage of this solution is that you have to add new photos to the shared stream by yourself. (The automatic photostream works only across tow devices when you are using the same Apple ID)

If you want her to get your photos automatically, you can use Dropbox, as heir app has a auto-upload feature and share the dropbox-folder with her. The question is if you want to save your photos in a dropbox account.

I hope my answer solves your problem.


Is a Mac Mini G4 capable of 1080p MP4/H.264 playback?

As CanuckSkier said, it won't be reliable, even if it does Full HD. I have a Early 2009 lowest spec Mac Mini and it skipped enough frames to make a Full HD video unplayable when the bit rate was high enough, so i'm guessing a G4 Mac Mini would be far worse.


Confirming rendering behavior of this jsFiddle tabs example on an iPad 2

I'm not sure which -H- you mean, but the tab seems to be rendering OK in landscape mode at least.


Brand new Apple Mac-Mini cannot connect to ANY WiFi Network -- "Connection Timeout"

It's a combination of the Mac mini and the xfinity router. I've had this problem with multiple Apple devices over the years, but only when using the xfinity router. Do yourself a favor, buy a really good router and just use a cable modem. I guarantee this will fix the problem.


How can I keep ~/Library visible in (Mountain) Lion

You can use Automator to create a simple app using the Run Shell Script action (with the chflags command within) and put it in your Login Items (in the Users & Groups preferences). It will run every time you log in, so while OS updates will still re-hide the Library, you'll never notice.

Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software has a pre-made app for this if you don't want to bother making your own. You can find it on his blog. Just download it and drag it to your Login Items.


Like @Redarm mentions in the comments use the Force Click and haptic feedback setting and then the Force Click with one finger setting becomes available as shown in the following screenshot:


The iOS simulator does have a Safari browser. Though the Safari browser found on the iOS and OS X are both based on WebKit, they are not exactly identical. So the Safari browser on the iOS is an approximation, not an accurate.

In addition, the WebKit on OS X is optimized to take advantage of the hardware in current Mac which at present performs faster than the slower hardware in current iOS devices.

I'd suggest that while it's possible to develop using the iOS simulator, it's best to test (for performance and reliability/crash) on the actual iOS device.


I may have used Disk Utility to erase my drive - is there hope?

Try plugging your drive into different computers (Mac and PC). If you don't see anything, you will probably have to send it to a data recovery service if you don't have a backup.
You can also try software to recover data, like DiskWarrior.

As for why DU erased this when you clicked Repair, I have no idea. Are you sure you didn't click Erase, Reformat, or Repartition?


Power button not working on Macbook PRO 13" 2013 - ideas on how to reset SMC

If you disconnect the battery, it will reset the SMC.

Remove the back cover
Using a plastic spudger, disconnect the cable from the battery to the logic board
After 30 seconds, replace the connector to the logic board
Replace the back cover.

In another related post, I detail how the SMC is reset.

Replace the Keyboard

The symptoms you are describing point to an electrical short in the keyboard.  See this related post for more details.

Bottom Line

If you are hoping that the SMC reset will fix these problems, it will be a fruitless endeavor.  The SMC regulates power distribution and cooling,  not functionality (resetting the NVRAM wouldn't help either).  The only way to repair this is to replace the faulty components.


Can I recover iphoto after having lost it/accidentally deleted it?

It's weird that an app just disappears like that! Are you sure it's gone? Before anything I would recommend you do the following:

Search using Spotlight (I'm guessing you already did this?) for "iPhoto".
Look inside your Trash. Maybe it was dropped there by mistake. You can always drag it  back out though if it's there.

If you do this but still find no traces of iPhoto, you can go ahead and re-install it. This can be done in two ways:

If you bought your Mac before 2011, it should have come with two CDs in the box. One of them should be called "Applications Install DVD" (Disk 2). Slide that into the SuperDrive of your Mac, open it, and you should have the option to re-install iPhoto.
If you bought your Mac after 2011, it probably came preloaded with OSX Lion, and without any bundled software CDs in the box. If that is the case, you should be able to head over to the App Store and install iPhoto from there for free. This should also be the case if you ever bought iPhoto from the App Store. All the apps you buy from the App Store can be re-installed at any time for free.

Hope it helps! If you have any questions please add a comment below.


Is Thunderbolt backwards-compatible with mini-DP for both input and output?

Your existing Mini DisplayPort cable (VGA adaptor, etc.) should allow your Thunderbolt equipped MacBook Air to connect to a projector (assuming it worked previously with a Mini DisplayPort output) but, as with all things presentation, you'll want to test the setup in advance if possible.

According to Apple's specs, the  Thunderbolt Display requires a:

  Thunderbolt-enabled Mac computer, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac

Your existing Mac Pro can't use the monitor.


Conditional shortcuts per application in Keyboard Maestro

I'd suggest posting this on the Keyboard Maestro Forum in the future – they're very responsive there:

There are a few ways I can think of. First, you could set a variable based on the front application and then use that in the switch/case. This involves "set variable to text" %Application%1%(front application name) and then using switch case based on the variable (see below).

Basically, you're getting the front application name and then using switch case based on whatever the front application is named.

Set variable to text:

Switch case:

Second, you could just nest the 'if' statements (below). Thus, you ask the first 'if' statement and then if that isn't true, you go to the 'else' statement, which contains the second 'if' condition.


Can I replace the home button on the  iPhone 3G without removing the glass digitizer?

No - if you can't effect a repair using a clear film or some sort of adhesive with the phone intact, you'll have to totally disassemble the 3G/3GS display unit to get better access to the home button.

The teardown guides from iFixit are accurate - as is your reading of the difficulty of successfully doing the repair and having things work when put back together.

Do check with Apple on the replacement price of that part before you dive in. Last I checked, it was $99 for parts and labor for an entire new display assembly.


How to set "Input Sources" for all users at the same time

The default input source is set in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox.*.plist (where * is system_profiler | grep 'Hardware UUID').

You could either copy the file to other acccounts: sudo cp ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox.*.plist ~/Users/username/Library/Preferences/ByHost/.

Or add it to the User Template directory so that it will be included by default on new accounts: d=/System/Library/User\ Template/English.lproj/Library/Preferences/ByHost; sudo mkdir -p "$d"; sudo cp ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox.*.plist "$d".

Note that the UUID will have to be changed if the file is copied to another computer.

You can view or edit the property list in a text editor by converting it from binary to XML: f=~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.HIToolbox.*.plist; plutil -convert xml1 $f; open $f -a TextEdit.


Troubleshooting installing Xcode updates, stuck

For command line you could try using:

sudo softwareupdate -l (to list all available updates)

sudo softwareupdate -ai (to install updates)

sudo softwareupdate --help (for other help options)


The 2GB RAM is the biggest bottleneck here, no matter what you use the Mac Mini for. No recent Mac has been shipped with less than 4GB installed. Although memory management has gotten much better from Mountain Lion > Mavericks > Yosemite, you need to increase the RAM to at least 4GB.

Secondarily, you may be able retrofit a SSD to replace the slow internal HD.

I and my staff upgraded >200 Mac Minis of this vintage from 2GB to 4GB a number of years ago, in anticipation of upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion & then eventually Mountain Lion. It enabled us to push the use of these computers another 2 years or so.

We've purchased all our RAM from DMS for more than a decade. RAM and HD/SSD retrofits can be found at a number of places, most notably Other World Computing.

(Disclaimer: We are institutionally satisfied, (and I am personally satisfied,) with both of these company's products, and have no vested or financial interest in either company.)


How to disable "Sync Apps" and "Open iTunes when this iDevice is connected" without forcing a sync?

If you go in to iTunes and go to Preferences -> Devices, and check the box that says Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically.


There is nothing wrong here.

Cyberduck & LibreOffice downloads are displaying their average speed since the beginning of the real download operation.

Activity Monitor is displaying an instantaneous speed which will take into account these 2 downloads, but also all the background network traffic your Mac is always doing (ex.: netbios, Bonjour, ntp). This instantaneous speed is highly variable and depend mostly of this background network traffic.


Its available to me off the menu in the header.  click the menu icon, then click the clock icon in the pop-up.


Macbook Pro finder error -50 appearing randomly

Since it's out of warranty your options are a bit limited. I would start by bringing to the Apple store for diagnostic, or read here for how to get your own hardware diags.  You have already reinstalled a fresh OS on a new drive, so it's possible the SATA cable is bad (believe it or not I've seen this happen), or even the logic board.

What errors are reported in Console log when the problem occurs?


Is Apple Watch accurate in measuring activity?

In terms of logging specific activity with the Activity app or third-party apps, I found it very accurate while using Apple Watch to train for triathlons.

For a passive activity like those you are describing, my understanding is AW is using the accelerometer together with HR measurements to determine activity and is not always accurate.  You can for example just wave your hand about to get a "stand hour" and I've noticed move data increasing while in the car.

This is not a problem specific to Apple Watch though, all other fitness trackers I have had given similar issues. I think generally it will get better over subsequent OS releases as the AI is further trained and improved. You can dig into the detail of what it thinks has happened by looking into the Health app on iPhone, selecting the category and drilling into "show all data"


Connect to external TV without main screen

sounds like you need to reset the PRAM/NVRAM which contains the resolution information.

Here is the apple page (instructions) on doing it.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379


How can I export a list of files within a volume or folder?

Open Terminal.app from the utilities folder
Inside the terminal window, type cd then a space
Open the parent window of the directory you want a listing of in finder (One folder / directory up from the one you want a listing of. It should contain the directory you want a listing of)
Drag the directory you want a listing of into the terminal window, then hit the enter key inside the terminal window
Inside the terminal window type ls >> ~/Desktop/listing.txt (making sure that listing.txt isn't the name of a file that already exists on your desktop) then hit enter
listing.txt will get created on your Desktop
Optional: Open listing.txt on your Desktop and confirm the contents match the directory

This is going to produce the contents only for that folder, not it's subfolders. if you want to recursively list the entire contents use ls -R >> ~/Desktop/listing.txt instead in step 5
For a recursive listing in a different format, replace ls with find in step 5 (don't add -R to the end)


This isn't through the iPod app, but it (should) delete all the music from your device.

Settings > General > Usage > Music > Edit (button, upper right hand corner) > "-" button > Delete.


Move library existing Itunes library to Apple Music

After a lot of trial and error and messing about with Apple script the solution turned out to be deceptively simple: Select all songs in your library and in the context menu and choose the option remove download.


How to remove the default application for opening a file?

Use RCDefaultApp. With it, you can set the file association to <disabled>
Another option is to use the command line and lsregister. lsregister is located in /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/ To see all the available commands, run /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister. See this article for more information.


Create a symbolic link to desktop and documents folder in iCloud Drive

Apple has a built-in setting to do basically exactly what you want. It's not technically a symlink, but it accomplishes the same functionality. It also gracefully handles different desktops on different machines. And it all works as expected in the Files app on iOS:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206985


Install Karabiner.
Place this in your private.xml (~/Library/Application Support/Karabiner)

<item>
        <name>Use Space as Command modifier</name>
        <identifier>private.space_command_key</identifier>
        <autogen>__KeyOverlaidModifier__ KeyCode::SPACE, KeyCode::COMMAND_L, KeyCode::SPACE</autogen>
</item>

It goes in between the <root> and </root> tags.

If you want to remap it to Control instead, you can change the KeyCode::COMMAND_L to KeyCode::CONTROL_L.
Launch Karabiner, press ⟳ ReloadXML, and check the box


I run many a wordpress site and have turned filevault on and off without issue. I can't think of how the two would get in eachother's way, but perhaps try changing the keys in wp-config.php to force expiry of any stale sessions/cookies? This page generates new ones for you.


Abort OS X download initiated through App Store?

You could just go to the Applications folder on your Mac, and find the App that is downloading, and delete it from there.  Once you do this, it should pop up a box asking you if you want to cancel the download.  Just select yes and cancel it.

I've done this before and it worked fine.  Usually, I just let it fully download, then uninstall/remove the App with an App called Clean My Mac, or App Zapper.  Both are great apps for uninstalling/removing Apps and other stuff from you Mac completely/fully.

Hope this helps :)

-James


Apple has a quit informative support-article that addresses the differences between Apple Music and iTunes Match. Both include the iCloud Music Library witch can store your songs, the main difference between both services is what will be stored within this library:

iTunes Match

When joining iTunes Match, it matches all your local music using the sound profile of each song.
If the song is available within the catalogue of iTunes, it is added to your iCloud Music Library and made available to download or stream on all devices as 256 Kbps DRM-free AAC.
Songs that are not available in the catalogue are uploaded to your iCloud Music Library without any changes. Likewise they are available on all your devises.
If you cancel your iTunes Match subscription, all songs already matched can be played or downloaded open end as there is no DRM in place. Only new songs are not added.

Apple Music:

When joining Apple Music, you local music is matched against Apple Music's catalogue using the meta-data of each song.
If a song is available within the catalogue, it is made available on all devices via Apple Music (similar to how you can click on "Add to library" upon every song in Apple Music). Songs can be streamed or downloaded on all devices, but will always be DRM protected 256 Kbps AAC.
If you cancel your Apple music subscription, these songs will no longer be playable, downloadable etc.
However the songs in your local library you initially matched against remain unchanged (no encoding, no DRM) and can be used as before.
Songs that are not available in the catalogue of Apple Music are uploaded to your iCloud Music Library and available on all your devises. I could not find any information regarding DRM or encoding changes for these "unmatched" songs.

Apple Music and iTunesMatch:

When both are used, songs are matched and made available as described for iTunes Match (no added DRM etc.) and Apple Music just acts as a streaming service without interfering with your local files.

So to answer your question directly, your own projects would continue to be available on all devices if you would just use Apple Music.


How do I delete unlinked folders from iCloud.com

On new iOS, you can use the files app to navigate and delete these files.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206481

Before that app shipped, there wasn't a file browser on iOS and Apple didn't expose that functionality to users.

There is a file browser on OS X, but the "truth" for App Folders is currently stored in iCloud, so you can't delete a folder on OS X and have it stay deleted. The bird daemon will re-download the folder from the cloud if you try. The developer that created those folders will have to implement a clean up routine (similar to how 1Password allows you to instruct the app to delete iCloud data and the program itself removes the data).

If you created the folder or document from OS X, then you can drag that folder to your desktop (or elsewhere) and you'll be notified of the pending
deletion from iCloud.

Pay attention to the kind column to determine if you need the App to delete things or if you are trying to delete a normal file or folder. For more information you can use the command brctl log --wait to see status, minor errors and warnings of the iCloud folder and file syncing from OS X using terminal.app.


Figuring out what IP's and Ports a program is accessing

There is

lsof -i

and

netstat -n

just to name few of Terminal commands to look who is using the Internet.

Those are information only, and will not block anything.


Can command or option and shift (just those two keys) be assigned as an OS X shortcut?

You can use KeyRemap4MacBook. This inserts Q when releasing shift:

<autogen>__KeyOverlaidModifier__ KeyCode::SHIFT_L, ModifierFlag::OPTION_L | ModifierFlag::SHIFT_L | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::SHIFT_L, ModifierFlag::OPTION_L, KeyCode::Q</autogen>
<autogen>__KeyOverlaidModifier__ KeyCode::SHIFT_R, ModifierFlag::OPTION_R | ModifierFlag::SHIFT_R | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::SHIFT_R, ModifierFlag::OPTION_R, KeyCode::Q</autogen>

This inserts Q when pressing shift, but it requires pressing shift before option for shortcuts like ⌥⇧[:

<autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::SHIFT_L | ModifierFlag::SHIFT_L | ModifierFlag::OPTION_L | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::Q</autogen>
<autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::SHIFT_R | ModifierFlag::SHIFT_R | ModifierFlag::OPTION_R | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::Q</autogen>

This remaps pressing option and shift simultaneously:

<autogen>__SimultaneousKeyPresses__ KeyCode::OPTION_L, KeyCode::SHIFT_L, KeyCode::Q</autogen>
<autogen>__SimultaneousKeyPresses__ KeyCode::OPTION_R, KeyCode::SHIFT_R, KeyCode::Q</autogen>

See the source for the key code values and predefined settings.


Can I use a new USB C dock with an old USB A socket? Can then the PD socket be used to supply more power to the dock?

The new dock will not damage your old USB A port. USB is backwards compatible, so connecting an USB 3 dock to a USB 2 (or older) system is not going to damage anything.

The old USB A plug does not support what is known as "Alternate Mode" in USB Type-C. Therefore you'll not be able to get the HDMI port on the dock working.

In theory, the USB related functionality such as the built-in 2 port USB hub, and the SD/TF-card reader will be able to function with your converter plug. However, if you connect it to a USB 2.0 computer, you will ofcourse not get USB 3.0 ports or speed on the dock.

The type-C PD connector on the dock will not enable you to power the old MacBook Pro via the USB A plug, as it does not support the same type of power delivery as USB type-C.

Whether or not the hub in the dock gets powered by the way of the type-C PD plugin depends on how exactly that Novoo hub is designed. I don't think it is likely to work, as a 61W USB-C power adapter is working at 20V (~3A) - while the USB hub inside the dock is usually powered at 5V.


Update to 10.15 Catalina even though Big Sur is released

Turns out it is still in the App Store, even though a search did not find it.
Direct link: https://apps.apple.com/app/macos-catalina/id1466841314
Instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683


Download the update from the App Store. Once the file has finished downloading, check your Applications folder for the "Install OS X Mavericks" icon. Copy this installer to your other computers before going through the install process. The installer will delete itself after the install is finished.


Problem with iCloud Drive "Desktop and Documents folder" check box not sticking

Later today I actually solved it. Mostly by chance. What I did was that I changed the computer name via Preferences -> Sharing -> Computer name:
I did anyway want to change it and after I changed it and checked the terminal I noticed some folder name change in my home directory.
So after this I again tried to check the Preferences -> Apple ID -> iCloud Drive , Options ... -> "Desktop and Documents Folders" box, and this time it took longer for the spinning wheel and it worked. After allowing it to sync for 10 min and then a quick reboot I not have the desktop and documents folders under the iCloud Drive section in Finder and it is synced with all my precious documents and devices.


Having archived applications on MacOS. How to tell OS to ignore them?

The easiest way is to zip each one. Right-click and select "Compress Name.app" (where Name is the name of the app).

Then delete the app. If you want to restore it, just double click on the zip file, and the app will get re-created.

Other possibilities include putting them inside a disk image, and then unmounting it.

Any method in which the app is no longer available to the OS will work. Otherwise, if the OS can 'see' the app, then it will be considered as viable and integral.


Photo indexing software for Mac OS X 10.5.8 with the ability to upload to a photo printer / sharing service?

That's precisely what iPhoto is for.  Google has discontinued the Picasa exporter for iPhoto, but there are numerous other exporters including:

Flickr exporter, and an exporter for Shutterfly.


Add a rule like this to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Safari.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Reader.html:

.page, h1.title {
  font-family: 'Avenir Next' !important;
}

The !important is required because a .page div has an inline style attribute that overrides the fonts in Reader.html.


iOS Download .doc file from URL (in Safari)

If you go to a URL that ends in .doc, it should display the document. If you then tap the screen, an option to "Open In..." should appear in the upper left. Select "Copy to Word" from the available apps.


How can I mirror the display from an iOS device to an Apple TV?

If you have an iPad 2 and a iOS developer's account (or patience until this fall) you can try the hot new iOS 5 feature:

AirPlay Mirroring for iPad 2


Is my Mac infected with the Flashback trojan?

You can follow these instructions from F-Secure to uninstall/remove the malware:

Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment

Take note of the value, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES
Proceed to step 8 if you got the following error message:

"The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist"

Otherwise, run the following command in Terminal:

grep -a -o '__ldpath__[ -~]*' %path_obtained_in_step2%

Take note of the value after "__ldpath__"
Run the following commands in Terminal (first make sure there is only one entry, from step 2):

sudo defaults delete /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment`

sudo chmod 644 /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info.plist`

Delete the files obtained in steps 2 and 5
Run the following command in Terminal:

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

Take note of the result. Your system is already clean of this variant if you got an error message similar to the following:

"The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist"

Otherwise, run the following command in Terminal:

grep -a -o '__ldpath__[ -~]*' %path_obtained_in_step9%

Take note of the value after "__ldpath__"
Run the following commands in Terminal:

defaults delete ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

launchctl unsetenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES

Finally, delete the files obtained in steps 9 and 11.

Update:

Apple has released an official tool for uninstalling the malware. Read about it and download it on this Apple KB page.

F-Secure has also released a removal tool, which you can download here.


Use the Grab Application.  It allows you to superimpose the cursor on screen captures.  Just go into Grab preferences and select the cursor.  When you click on the screen to take the screenshot, Grab will "place" the cursor where you click. This works for Window capture. Choosing a pointer from the preference window enables this to work when capturing a window shot.


How do I log a defect against Google's gmail app?

I don't believe Google has a public bug tracker. However, there is an unofficial one available at code.google.com/p/googlebugs. I did some extra looking, and there doesn't seem to be anything like Apple's own bug reporter or the community-driven one.

Thankfully, Gmail.app has a built-in mechanism to send feedback with. Starting with your inbox view, open the menu by tapping on the menu icon in the top left. Then:

Tap the gear icon > "Help and Feedback..." (see picture) > "Send Feedback"

This will provide you with a form to send feedback to Google.


I accidental went swimming with my iPod Touch 5th Generation

This is the generally first aid when a device gets wet.

TURN IT OFF as fast as possible. Don't even think about turning it on again till you are very sure it is dry. Don't try charging or plugging it in. Water and power do not mix well.
While leaving it off and unplugged, stick it in a bag container with dry rice. Rice ascorbs moisture, and if there is any chance your device is not already broken beyond repair then it needs to be completely dry before any attempt is made to turn it on again.
leave it in the rice for a week or so.
Remove it from the rice, turn it back on and hope for the best. If you are lucky it might still work. If it doesnt Apple can sometimes fix things but as it is water damage it will have voided any warranty and it will be somewhat expensive.

In your case since you already tried to turn it while possibly still wet, there is a good chance the circuits have unfortunately already been fried, leaving going to Apple or another fixit company as one solution or buying a new device as the other.


How do I refresh a "Lion" iMac to run "Mountain Lion" (factory install, wipe drive)

I always do option 3. You should be able to pretty much follow these directions, even though they reference Lion: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1189888

Long story short: When you buy an app from the app store it is stored on your drive in a format that can be burnt.

Of course, the USB drive option is also doable and it sounds like that would be easier for you.


If I buy Pages from the Mac OS app store, do I then have to buy it again in the iOS store?

Yes, you do. They are two entirely separate apps for two radically different devices.


The login keychain is a local keychain on your Mac and doesn’t sync to iOS. To use iCloud Keychain, you need to store passwords in the iCloud keychain which should be shown next to the login one in Keychain Access if you have the iCloud service enabled in System Preferences.


How can I gain screen share/ssh access to a G5 connected by ethernet to a Mac Mini on my wireless Airport Extreme Network from my MacBook Pro?

This is happening because the two machines are not on the same subnet.

The G5 is on the Mac Mini's subnet, while the Mac Mini is on your Wi-Fi's subnet. The IP address of the G5 has been handed out by the Internet Sharing DHCP service on your Mac Mini, while the Mac Mini's IP address has been handed out by the DHCP service on your router.

Your best bet would be to connect your G5 via Ethernet to your router.

If that is not possible because of location constraints, there is a piece of software for Mac called IPNetRouterX that may do the job. It allows Ethernet bridging, which is what you want. The only problem with this software is that it costs money. It seems like there might be a free trial of it, however.


This might be more relevant on superuser.com but here's the steps

Go to the Control Panel and click on Add or Remove Programs.
Select Bonjour from the list.
Click Change/Remove.
Choose Remove, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Reinstall Bonjour for Windows from the Apple website, or the media on which it was supplied to you.


El Capitan 10.11.3 Preview app missing move glove tool

Hold ⌥ + Space and you able to drag image.
Or

Draw small rectangular and drag it over image.


Need to re mount usb drive to complete time machine backup

I would disable Time Machine and turn it back on, reselecting the backup drive. If possible, it may be helpful to reformat the backup drive before reselecting it as well (though I hesitate to tell you to delete your only backup, even for a few hours. If you have a second external, you may copy the Time Machine backup data there temporarily for safekeeping).


Automatically restore my window locations when I reconnect my external monitor?


Yosemite fail - how do I revert back to snow leopard?

Power off the Mac and then power it on holding option
Insert the Snow Leopard DVD once the grey screen is presented and choose to boot from Snow Leopard media
Wipe the Mac with Disk Utility (erase/repartition the internal drive)
Install Snow Leopard

Your Mac should have come with CD/DVD discs that allow you to reinstall the OS. Boot the system from that media (insert disc hold C while booting) and reinstall the OS. You can order a replacement from Apple or get one on the used market if you don't have yours.


Pair bluetooth keyboard when not logged in

Here is a solution as noted here: How to unpair keyboard without original computer

Their solution was to:

Disconnected everything USB, etc. from the computer.
Restart the iMac while putting the new/different keyboard into discovery mode, and wait for the iMac to detect it.

  The deal is you have to unplug ALL USB devices, have your wireless keyboard and mouse turned on, and restart. The system sees that there are no input devices and searches for them. Then asks you to type a passcode and hit return.


can you load an app developed on a mac "in the cloud" onto your ios device?

Yes, if you have a paid developer account you can create signed IPAs which can be installed on the device remotely, or you can use TestFlight. If you don't have a paid developer account but your device is jailbroken you can install unsigned IPAs. Note that this doesn't include debugging which can't be done remotely.


Setting dock position to immutable not working

I have tried the setting and this works fine with macOS 10.12 Sierra:

defaults write com.apple.Dock contents-immutable -bool yes; killall Dock

edit: sorry, I misread the command. The command to lock the position works too:

defaults write com.apple.Dock position-immutable -bool yes; killall Dock


Big Sur - unable to focus any app or make mouse/keyboard inputs after waking from sleep?

I have not experienced this issue after disabling Touch ID unlock, by unchecking the option to Use Touch ID for: ... Unlocking your Mac in System Preferences > Touch ID.
This requires me to enter my password instead of using my fingerprint to unlock after waking from sleep. Somehow that appears to avoid this issue.


Does Apple allow buying a new phone through its website the day it's released?

The only thing you're missing is the need to be part of the party.
People like queuing up to be first.

If you pre-order it online* you can answer the door in your pyjamas & get your phone the same day, without the queue. I've known them arrive at 8am on release day.

*Note: If you wait too long to pre-order, you won't get it on the first day, but some time later, depending on how popular the release is.

Announcements are usually made in the first week or so of September, with the release being about a week later. The online stores will go live for pre-orders at about the time the announcement/conference ends. They will be closed for the day up to that point.
No date has yet been set for even the announcement, so at present everything is still speculation.


Force enabling TRIM before setup assistant is run

You can boot into OS X Recovery mode by pressing CMD+R at startup, after it boots and OS X Utility comes up, go to Application menu and them Terminal. Then you can execute sudo trimforce enable. You can also boot into single user mode and execute the command (If it doesn't work in single user mode them try taking out the sudo).


What values Apple TV brings to Netflix experience?

Really, the only difference is that the UI (User Interface) will be different between the Apple TV and the PS4. UI is the arrangement of any virtual objects that the user interacts with, so virtual buttons, menus, etc. will vary from platform to platform. Honestly, if you want to use it JUST for Netflix, what you have is probably fine, at least not worth spending an extra $69 over.

However, Apple is rumoured to unveil a new Apple TV very soon, which could have new features like a touchscreen remote, 4K support, a dedicated App Store, and more. So at least wait until Wednesday to make your final decision.

You can read all all the rumours about a new Apple TV here.

And watch the Keynote on Wednesday, September 9 at 12 PM CDT here.


Block site from being on Safari Top Sites

From Apple's support page: On the Top Sites page, click the Edit button. Then do any of the following:

To specify that a page be kept in Top Sites and not replaced by other pages visited more often, click the pin icon in the page’s upper-left corner.
To reverse this action, click the pin icon again.
To specify that a page never be included in Top Sites, click the X in the page’s upper-left corner.
To display 24, 12, or 6 webpage previews, click Small, Medium, or Large.
To rearrange the pages, drag them.

When you finish making changes, click Done.


The command you want is called uptime:

|ruby-2.1.2| cortana in ~
○ → uptime
14:49  up 3 days, 21:51, 4 users, load averages: 1.41 1.32 1.30

From the man page:

  The uptime utility displays the current time, the length of time the system has been up, the number of users, and the load average of the system over the last 1, 5, and 15 minutes.


I have found the answer on my own.

Catalog URL: http://swscan.apple.com/content/catalogs/others/index-10.10seed-10.10-10.9-mountainlion-lion-snowleopard-leopard.merged-1.sucatalog


You're absolutely right, stupid you.

Jokes aside, if you have the MBP with removable battery, remove it. Turn your computer off, and get a long needle, match, miniature tweezer, unbent paperclip, straw, or pretty much any long, thin pretty strong appliance with a tip able to "hook" on to the aluminium foil. Try to get it out.

There really isn't much more to do. If you can't get it out, you'll either need to send it in for service, or open the Mac and replace the headphone jack yourself (warranty break deluxe).

Keep trying, maybe use a weak suction device or compressed air, be patient, and you'll hopefully get it out. Good luck!


Where will the incident with the sudo command be reported to?

The event will be logged in /var/log/secure.log and a mail will be sent to root (which by default goes to /dev/null which is Unix speak for it is discarded).


Cannot login to WordPress related MySQL database from iTerm

I figured it out reading the MAMP documentation. For anyone who may run into this in the future.

Just go to your iTerm and type:

/Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysql --host=localhost -uroot -proot

You should be able to successfully log in. The MAMP docs helped after I realized MAMP database server is independent of what gets installed with Homebrew.


What causes AppleScript error 1721 when trying to execute Python3 file?

Thank you  user3439894 on the basis of your answers I was able to figure out the problem.

That's the correct script for AppleScript:

tell application "Terminal"
    do shell script "/usr/local/bin/python3 /Users/UserName/Desktop/PyHello.py $@"
end tell

This script is for Automator to run AppleScript:

on run {input, parameters}
    tell application "Terminal"
        do shell script "/usr/local/bin/python3 /Users/UserName/Desktop/PyHello.py $@"
    end tell
    return input
end run

Also following shebang is needed in initial Python script:

#!/usr/bin/env python3


Where did the MacPro 6,1 "Computer Sleep" setting go?

It is probable that Apple no longer feels the Computer sleep and Display sleep options are required.

The new Mac Pro has no spinning hard disk drives and has a modern power management system that can manage itself.

I suspect you can change settings using low level tools like pmset, but that those settings will be ignored.

Staying Awake

To keep your Mac awake during long running processes, use the Terminal.app command caffeinate:

caffeinate


Bought song on iTunes on iPhone, sync'd to iTunes computer, now won't play on iPhone?

I think you should sign out of the appstore, then sign in again.
Then, don't use syncing, just re-download the songs from the Purchased section.


Seeing these strange fonts in Safari only

OS X builds cache files from the fonts installed on your system. Now and again these cache files can get corrupted.

Try running the following command in a Terminal window (you will be prompted for your password) and rebooting. This will remove these cache files; forcing OS X to re-generate them from scratch.

sudo atsutil databases -remove

From the atsutil man page:

databases
     will remove fontd System or User databases along with any cache
     files. Removing databases may cause the loss of font registration state:
     fonts activated outside the standard font directories, font faces dis-
     abled, and font libraries. New databases will be regenerated from fonts
     installed the standard font directories after the user logs out,
     restarts, or the fontd server is restarted.

databases [-remove | -removeUser]
    -remove remove fontd databases for active user and system (used when no
    one is logged in and some background processes).
    -removeUser remove fontd databases for the active user only.


Do Apple Lossless tracks remain lossless when sent via Airplay to a 4th gen Apple TV?

I'm assuming you're talking about AirPlay Screen Mirroring from a Mac to an Apple TV. In that case, yes, you are loosing signal quality from compression-before-transmission and decompression-after-reception.

In particular, the audio part of the AirPlay Screen Mirroring is compressed using the AAC-ELD codec to ensure low-latency sound encoding. However, there is a signal loss involved.


iPhone 4S fell into water and blacked out, with only CPU and mainboard burning. Is it possible to export the data from two years ago?

Let’s assume you have valuable data to recover - a reasonable price is $300 to perform enough repairs and labor to get the data back. The repairs would be made by removing the corrosion with an ultrasonic cleaner. See a shop like: http://mendonipadrehab.com/price-list for details.

The videos explain how the device is taken apart, cleaned / and repaired with spare parts enough to get the data back. They literally will recreate enough of the system to power up and transfer data.

It is very possible, but not certain, that you won't get a phone that works long term, but it’s like someone on life support in an emergency room - life can be supported with the right tools in situations for limited time frames.

If you don’t want to pay - you could invest money in tools, high grade rubbing alcohol, and a toothbrush to clean the corrosion off yourself. Alternatively, select a less skilled shop - but the chances of success for water damage are far less the longer the time between the water and the repair.


How to validate macOS Catalina password dialog? (Has weird icon)

The icon is for "Paste - Clipboard Manager".

I would open the App Store app separate and check the "Updates" tab and the account tab to see if you have indeed requested the download of that app yourself.


How to find which process has opened the port on macOS?

As @klanomath mentioned in a comment, the output from netstat -vanp tcp contains the process ID of the process that has the port open (it's the next-to-last field), so you can look it up by that:

$ netstat -vanp tcp
Active Internet connections (including servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q  Local Address          Foreign Address        (state)     rhiwat shiwat    pid   epid
...
tcp4       0      0  127.0.0.1.631          *.*                    LISTEN      131072 131072  14636      0
                                                                                ^^^^^
$ ps 14636
  PID   TT  STAT      TIME COMMAND
14636   ??  Ss     3:55.43 /usr/sbin/cupsd -l

So in this example, it's cupsd (the Common UNIX Printing System Daemon) listening on port 631 (for IPP, the Internet Printing Protocol).

You can also use lsof -i, with many options to narrow down the search; see man lsof for details. But note that you need to run it as root (i.e. with sudo) to see processes you don't own:

$ sudo lsof -i :631
Password: [admin password doesn't echo]
COMMAND   PID USER   FD   TYPE             DEVICE SIZE/OFF NODE NAME
cupsd   14636 root    5u  IPv6 0xc9c73d98b1fafae5      0t0  TCP localhost:ipp (LISTEN)
cupsd   14636 root    6u  IPv4 0xc9c73d98b3b2548d      0t0  TCP localhost:ipp (LISTEN)


sudo: /private/etc/sudoers.d is owned by uid 501 should be 0 - unable to run sudo commands on terminal (SOLVED)

Yes, as long as sudo is allowing you to run commands as root, you should be able to fix the ownership of /etc/sudoers.d with:
sudo chown -R root:wheel /private/etc/sudoers.d

I'd also recommend cleaning up the permissions on it and its contents, in case they're also messed up:
sudo chmod -N /private/etc/sudoers.d
sudo chmod 755 /private/etc/sudoers.d

If there are any files in /private/etc/sudoers.d, you should fix their perms as well:
sudo chmod 440 /private/etc/sudoers.d/*

(Note: if there aren't any files in /private/etc/sudoers.d, that last command will give you a "No such file or directory" error, but won't do any harm. So if you're not sure if there are any files there, go ahead and run it just in case.)
Concerning the lost firmware password: on modern Macs, there's no way to reset or bypass this without Apple's help, and it's going to limit what you can do with the Mac until you get it fixed. I'd recommend getting in touch with either Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider about having it reset. I'm not familiar with the current procedures, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to provide proof that you own the Mac in question before they'll reset the firmware PW for you.


Update
This is embarrassing but I now think Big Sur wasn't responsible for the choppiness on my machine at all. I had installed Adobe Creative Cloud shortly after updating to Big Sur. When I uninstalled Adobe Creative Cloud 7 days ago the choppiness completely vanished.
Previous answer
This is not an answer, but may help someone else. For about 3-4 days after updating to Big Sur, the cursor lurched across the screen, keyboard inputs took hundreds of milliseconds to appear on the screen (meaning I'd sometimes hit the key twice because I thought the first didn't register).
Approximately 4-7 days after the update, the behaviour disappeared entirely. I have not been able to explain why it happened (it never happened in Catalina, and it started immediately after updating to Big Sur, so I presume the update had something to do with it). And I also cannot explain why it stopped, except that it ceased 4-7 days after the update to Big Sur, without me doing anything.


Using karabiner to address the issue of double pressing

For your special case I would suggest you use Karabiner Elements. and edit its ~/.config/karabiner/karabiner.json this way (added to/after "rules"):

EDIT / fail-safe version:
 – Copy/paste the code below into TextEdit and "Save as..."
WhateverNameYouLike.json
 – Next manually move a copy to ~/.config/karabiner/assets/complex_modifications/
 – Finally import from KE: tab "Complex Modifications", buttons [+ Add rule] & [+ Enable]

{ "title": "Keep solitary letter/key ''b'' from multiple press!",
  "rules": [
     { "description": "Keep 'b' from being pressed twice",
       "manipulators": [
        { "from": { "key_code": "b" },
          "parameters": {"basic.to_if_held_down_threshold_milliseconds": 10},
          "to_if_held_down":[
                 { "key_code": "b",
                   "repeat": false }],
          "type": "basic"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

As you can see letter "b" is NOT re-mapped but in "to_if_held_down" kept from being repeated by "repeat": false; obviously letter 'b' may be substituted with any other failing letter.
(The threshold is defined to a minimal 1/100 second, so you won't notice any difference ...)

Please report if this code does for you what it's supposed to do.
[EDIT:] This solution works for the user in (ex-) trouble.
(I had to simulate the situation by testing in an app that does repeat keys if held down – but actually yours may be a non-solvable mechanical problem …)

Note:
This method, though, may not be advisable/applicable, if the holding-down of a key (e.g.: "a") in an app opens a small window above it offering (e.g.:) "ä" / "å" / "ậ" or similar choices – IF you need those special characters.
This behaviour would be prevented by "repeat": false.
But then:
You can activate "Show Keyboard & Character Viewers in menu bar" in System Preferences and get them from the menu bar...


Trouble importing videos to iMovie from Canon Vixia HF R600

If you open finder, look in the storage card instead of using imovie. Sometimes the camera makers store files in other directories than the one indicated for current images

If you can find the files, drag them to a desktop folder and try importing them from your folder instead of directly from the card. Once things are all saved, using the camera or the Mac to reformat the media usually clears up the multiple folder confusion.


Is there a way to automatically reduce the rating of a song by X stars when you skip that song?

The iTunes application (iOS or OS X) alone does not have the built-in function or enablable feature for automatically reducing the rating of the songs because you skipped it.

I would say this is because there could be multiple reasons for skipping a song, not all of them being because you didn't like it.

I don't think that an Automator script can handle this task, either.


How do I boot into Internet Recovery on a iMac?

Taken from this support article:

  OS X Recovery includes a built in set of utilities as part of the
  Recovery System. To start your computer from Recovery, restart your
  Mac and hold down the Command key and the R key (Command-R).
  Press and hold these keys until the Apple logo appears.

The recovery feature is limited to OS X Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, and El Capitan.


Mac mini built in speakers do not play all of sound

it a little bit odd, but the Sound preferences in System Preferences only shows the controls for the currently selected device.  If you plug in headphones for example, it only allows you select and alter the sound preferences for the headphones (and doesn't even show the internal speakers)

It maintains different sets of preferences for each output type.

Unplug your headphones, then open the Sound preference pane and see if there is anything amiss in the sound output tab.

(also please let us know if you have any software like Hear or Audio Hijack Pro that might be interfering with your audio output but thats a long shot)


How to automate launchctl / restart a daemon

You could automate this process using AppleScript's do shell script … with administrator privileges command.

do shell script "command" user name "username" password "pass" with administrator privileges

The AppleScript can be saved as an application and launched as needed.

To avoid needing to embed administrator credentials within the AppleScript, omit the user name and password parameters. Without these parameters, you will be prompted to enter your credentials each time.

To avoid needing to authenticate each time, while also avoiding embedded credentials, you can investigate storing the credentials in your local Keychain and adding your AppleScript application to the Access Control list through Keychain Access.app.


Buying an iPhone 6s from a small unauthorised seller. When does the warranty with apple start?

Since it was new in box and sealed, then the warranty starts as soon as you activate it.

The phone's serial number is tied to your Apple ID (which you'll need to activate it), and they'll know that it's a serial number that has never been used before.

The only issue you might run into is the country of origin.  Apple makes different models for different regions.  So if you live in the U.S., for example, and you bought it online, you might have difficulty with a warranty claim if it's a European model.  But other than that, you're good.


How much space do audio recordings made by the stock audio recorder on iOS use per minute?

The amount of space any recording takes will depend on a number of factors. And, even the exact same recording can take up different amounts of space depending on the drive it's stored on and how it was formatted.

In my experience, a one minute audio voice recording using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s with iOS 11 installed will typically take between 650KB and 700KB. That is based on one person speaking into the phone while they're in a quiet room. Note that the amount of background noise, distance from the microphone, etc can all affect the amount of space required.

The Voice Memos app saves audio as a MPEG 4 Audio file (i.e. a file with the .m4a extension).


Lenovo USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter (MacBook PRO)

About the time issue. It was due to dual booting into Windows.

This guide will help you fix it.


You could set the header to display UTF-8. The user might have his location settings set differently.

HTML:

<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">

PHP:

header('Content-type: text/html; charset=utf-8');


Is it not possible to sort albums by artist on the iPad?

On the iPad, you'll have to use the "Artists" tab at the bottom, then tap the desired artist to see their songs grouped by album.

It is silly that they don't let you sort the "Albums" tab by artist.  Hopefully they'll remedy this in the future.


Make the window title less chunky in big sur

good news, the chunky bars problem is being worked on:
here's MEMiniMe.
it needs macForge, and it isn't working on mac m1 yet as far as i know, but hopefully ..soon.. we'll have a solution for these horrible fat bars.


Dragging files onto desktop causes Finder window to unwantedly open

I found a similar question that said it's a problem with Google Chrome.

Using the latest version of Chrome seems to solve the problem.


Problems creating OS X installer with AppleScript

Just a hint how to start but to long to add it as comment:

Start with this:

set the_results to (display dialog "Which version of OS X Installation would you like to create?" with icon caution buttons {"OS X Mavericks", "OS X Yosemite", "OS X El Capitan"})
set button_returned to button returned of the_results
if button_returned is "OS X El Capitan" then tell application "Terminal"
    activate
    set currentTab to do script ("sudo /Applications/Install\\ OS\\ X\\ El\\ Capitan.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\\ OS\\ X\\ El\\ Capitan.app --nointeraction;")
end tell
if button_returned is "OS X Yosemite" then tell application "Terminal"
    activate
    ...

You still have to handle the sudo password.


It's tab. The same character is printed on the keyboard.


iPhone 5s Blue Screen of Death (Water Damage)

After hours of testing many components, I think it's the battery at fault. Every battery has a processor inside of it which lets the iPhone know how much it's charged and handles other system-level battery stuff. The water must have majorly screwed up that processor and the battery itself, because I'll turn the iPhone on once and it'll read around 40% and it will work for 15 minutes straight, before I turn it off and then back on again. But then it'll either say something really low, like 12%, or really high, almost always in the 80%, but it will crash with the Blue Screen Of Death and restart itself. I put the battery from a family member's iPhone 5s in and it works, and no matter how many times I restart it, I get the actual charged percentage and no BSOD. I got this battery from iFixit, who I've had good luck with in the past.


Kingston Predator showing up as "External" Drive in Disk Utility, Blocking Boot Camp Install

I was able to add a second PCIe flash card and install Windows directly without the use of Boot Camp Assistant. I was also able to do the same by using Apple Disk Utility to create a free partition on the macOS drive for Windows and install it that way as well. However I opted for the second PCIe flash card to keep things simple and segregated.

Now, when I boot and hold the Control key, I get "Macintosh HD" and "EFI Boot", the later of which is Windows.


Bluetooth lagging on Macbook Pro 16 inch 2019

Interference in the 2.4 GHz range is very hard to measure and even harder to control.
Look to eliminate every single USB-C connection within 10 feet of either device to ensure you’re not generating the interference right next to the Bluetooth receiver on the Mac.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201163
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201542

If your display connects via Thinderbolt 3 or USB-C this testing is not ideal but necessary. I have had one person add a USB Bluetooth low energy dongle at the end of a 6 foot (2m) type cable and tape / attach it to the wall next to where they sit so they escape interference close to the Mac. Most of the time, we use another radio frequency if the interference is coming from too close to eliminate.
Also, all sorts of electronics and motors can cause the interference, check everything in 30 foot range if you can’t get an actual tool to measure the RFI.


Are there video players that display milliseconds on Mac?

If you have homebrew installed, you can install mpv (recommended) or IINA (based on mpv) which displays milliseconds.
If you do not have homebrew then you can install it by copying pasting the following in your terminal:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"

Solution 1:
Install mpv with the following command:
brew install mpv

mpv player supports url and a wide variety of video formats. That means you can play files locally as well as youtube or any other online video links straight from your terminal.
After installing mpv you can play your video file by going to the terminal and type:
mpv <Drag the file you want to play from finder and hit enter>

At the beginning when mpv will open, it will not show you milliseconds. You would have to click on top of the time for it to display milliseconds.
For details see: https://mpv.io/ and their git repo: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv
Here is a screenshot of a non-copyright video playing from youtube with milliseconds displaying at the bottom:

Solution 2: Install iina with the following command:
brew install --cask iina

It should let you install version 1.1.2 which supports this feature.
You can choose the timestamp in miliseconds as shown in the following screenshot:


What causes a Mac to lose its serial number?

A lack of a visible serial number should not affect your Mac.

Apple does not guarantee a serial number will be set. Technical Note 1103 warns developers not to rely on a serial number being available to uniquely identify a Mac.

The technical note suggests the serial number can vanish if hardware components are changed. Other reasons appear to be possible but Apple does not enumerate every cause:

  Caveats for using the serial number

  It is possible for a system to lose its serial number so that it will no longer appear either in System Profiler or the I/O Registry. Repairing a system by swapping hardware components is one reason this can happen. Apple does not document the specific details of how a machine can lose its serial number. Once the serial number has been lost there is no means to restore it to the machine.

  Apple does not guarantee that all future systems will have a software-readable serial number.

  Both of these cases illustrate why asset tracking software should always provide a way for a serial number to be entered manually.

I am not aware of any further documentation about restoring the serial number. If it is possible, this capability is likely to only be available to Apple engineers or support staff.


How can I add tags or groups in Apple Contacts?

In the macOS Contacts app, you can create a new Group by either going into File → New Group or pressing ⇧ shift ⌘ cmd N.

To add a contact to that group, simply drag them from the main list to the group in the left side-pane. If that pane is hidden, you may make it visible by going into View → Show Groups or pressing ⌘ cmd 1.

As of iOS 10.3, it is not possible to manipulate groups in the iOS Contacts app, only filter by groups.

You can perform these operations using the web apps at iCloud.com, although doing so using Safari for iOS is very difficult.


Is it possible to see list of customers in App Store Connect?

No, it's not possible to see individual customer information in App Store Connect. You cannot see the details of a single purchase event in order to connect that for example to an internal system based on customer email, account number or similar.


iPhone and iPad lock while playing videos over Airplay

I have the hdmi adapter and I think iOS handles that the same way as air play does.
Some apps like Amazon Video or the movies app have a good support for AirPlay. I can lock my iPhone and it will go on. But the last time I checked YouTube it didn't had the good support, it only mirrored the screen.
I think this is a problem of the app you are using.


Difference between 'Home sharing' and 'Network sharing'

While both options offer the possibility of streaming the content of up to five iTunes libraries through a home network, it's only through Home Sharing when you are able to actually import the content into your own iTunes Library.

Even more, when you use a computer on your Home Sharing network to download an item from the iTunes Store, you can have the item download automatically to other computers on your Home Sharing network.

Other big difference is that Home Sharing lets you stream content from your iTunes library into your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation), whilst Network sharing don't.


How do you troubleshoot an iOS app that is not behaving as expected?

The first step is to get in touch with the developer and share your concern. The contact information for the app developer can be found by going to the App Store app, locating the app in question and look for either App Support or Developer Website option. Once on the developer website, you can generally find the contact information.

In your message, it helps to mention the version of iOS running on your device and your device model.

To further troubleshoot and check if the misbehavior may be happening due to other reasons, it helps to update to the latest public version of iOS. It doesn't hurt to restart the device and try again.

You can also try by reinstalling the app, toggling Internet connectivity, logging in/out of Game Center (if it's a game app) etc. to isolate the issue.

If you have a different iPhone handy, you can also try by installing the app on it to determine if the issue is device specific.

It would help to include your findings in the message that you plan to send the developer.

Some apps have built-in mechanism to automatically send crash reports to the developer of the app.

If everything above fails and you have paid for the app, you can report it to Apple and ask for a full refund. The instructions for the same can be found in this Apple Support article:

Request a refund for an App Store or iTunes Store purchase.


You could use this to turn it off:

sudo ifconfig en1 down

And if you want to get it back up, just type up, instead of down

Just make sure that en1 is the right interface or you can easily kill off your ssh access :)

P.S. As Lri noted in the comments below, you can quickly disable the correct network interface with just 1 line:

sudo ifconfig `networksetup -listallhardwareports | grep -E '(Wi-Fi|AirPort)' -A 1 | grep -o "en."` down

This will detect the correct Airport/wireless device and will turn it off


Copying Time Machine sparse bundle on NAS

After 2 days of fiddling around, including adjusting the .profile files for easier access to Nano, Midnight Commander, and other programs that are installed with the Drobo but to run you have to navigate to their bin drives, I am now copying the sparsebundle in full.

Even though I am SSHed in as Admin, you cannot see inside the bundle unless you are also Root.  Once Root, you can see inside the bundle, and the copy will include everything.  I am using MC for the copy and moving at 3.35 MB/s.  During this time Time Machine is turned off to prevent changes in the middle of the copy.

I would suggest doing the copy inside of Screen, which virtualizes terminal inside of itself, allowing you to run commands as normal, but then if you lose your SSH connection, on reconnecting you can resume your screen without loss of progress or data.


What are some of the functionalities I can turn off to speed up an old Apple Watch?

The older watches are constrained with RAM and CPU.

To help with RAM - be brutal and remove every app you can. Only install things you need. I still have my original Apple Watch and it is a bit painful when I swap it in instead of my Series 4 - but it’s still sentimental in a way my original iPhone is.

You can’t really change the CPU time it takes for apps and complications to run, but by removing things and not running them, the RAM can get used for the things you need.


2014 MacBook Pro Retina Failed Boot Camp Install, Loading Screens During Boot

Based on the information you gave I can't really guess why, but your Windows install failed.
I would suggest you try again, making sure you carefully follow the instructions in Apple's Boot Camp manual step by step.

Be sure to back up your data before doing so.


Google Drive doesn't appear on my Finder

It's most definitely in your home folder(username), that's where Google Drive folder is found just like Dropbox.


I spent about a year working with Apple technical support on something that sounds just the same. The good news is that, assuming your problem is the same as mine, there is an easy fix.  The challenge in diagnosis is that some interaction between iCloud and the Finder appears to be involved. iCloud's involvement is why problem persists across reinstalling the system, etc.

They fix was to delete either the dyld shared cache or the XPC cache. Unfortunately, I can't remember which it was and can't find my notes from then. But, since they are both just caches, there is no harm in deleting either or both.

The best way I found to do it is to download the Onyx app (free from https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/index.html). Under the "Maintenance" tab withing Onyx, you'll see the option to delete either or both of those caches. Do so, reboot and see if your problem is fixed. Once I did this, it fixed the problem entirely and it hasn't reappeared in over 2 years. There is probably a way to do this from the Terminal (indeed, Onyx is mostly just a wrapper over command line functionality), but Onyx worked great for me.  I hope this helps you.


One way is to create a custom layout with Ukelele


There are two possibilities here as far as I'm aware:

Take the Mac to an Apple store where they may be willing to install Mavericks for you.
Find someone who is running Mavericks, or who has upgraded from Mavericks to Yosemite, and who is willing to help you. They will be able to download the Mavericks installer from their previous purchases in the App Store, and then they can pass the installer on to you via network or USB stick.


Disable "...application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?" on certain file types?

If you download files from the internet into the ~/Downloads folder, you could assign a folder action to ~/Downloads via Automator:

Open Automator
Create a new Folder Action

As the action, drag over "Run Shell Script"

Assign the following shell script:

    for f in "$@"
    do
        test "$f" == *\.php && xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine $f
    done


A thread is what the OS sees and what it schedules on a core to run.

Programs can be single-threaded or multi-threaded. Programs can also spawn other programs and communicate with them via process-level I/O techniques like pipes or file handles, etc. But from the OS' perspective these sub-programs are still just collections of threads. It doesn't really matter if the program is spawning multiple threads or if it's spawning sub-processes -- both approaches represent OS-level threads that the OS  will attempt to schedule and execute as efficiently as possible and possibly in parallel.

If you have multiple cores and a program's threads aren't being explicitly locked to a core, then the OS can try run them at the same time, in parallel, across all the cores it has available to it in the current machine. If you have multiple programs running, the OS will schedule all those underlying threads across all the cores it has available to it in the current machine.

Practically speaking there's some amount of I/O, inter-process or inter-thread communication and synchronization that needs to occur and this can cause OS-level threads to block and keep things from running truly parallel all the time. For example: two threads in a multi-threaded program might be pulling values off a shared stack to do some work, so access to the stack has to be co-ordinated to ensure everything is thread safe and that means only one thread can pop from the stack data structure at time. There's a bottleneck in the program's design that's limiting thread parallelism to one here and the OS can't help with that.

The same is true for programs that spawn sub-processes. There may be I/O or inter-process synchronization issues that prevent all spawned sub-processes from truly running in parallel all the time.


Right-click on a MacBook Pro running Windows 7?

In Windows 7 running in bootcamp:

To right-click using a trackpad:
Place three fingers on the trackpad and click the trackpad button.

Just make sure you install the Bootcamp drivers that are on the OS X Installation DVD


Keyboard shortcut for monospaced formatting in Notes app

Yes. You can define you own keyboard shortcut.

You do this in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts > (plus button).


Is it possible to hide the address bar and status bar in iOS 7 Safari?

There is a method: <meta name="viewport" content="minimal-ui”>
(but it only works on iOS 7.1 - not on 7.0 nor 8.0)

source: StackOverflow

More details, from iOS 7.1 beta 2 change log and release notes:

  Safari Notes

  A property, minimal-ui, has been added for the viewport meta tag key
  that allows minimizing the top and bottom bars on the iPhone as the
  page loads. While on a page using minimal-ui, tapping the top bar
  brings the bars back. Tapping back in the content dismisses them
  again.

  For example, use <meta name=”viewport” content=”width=1024,
  minimal-ui”>.

update: I confirmed this method works in iOS 7.1 (official final release).
You can confirm for yourself with my web app, which uses the meta tag solution described above.


Why does spaces keep capturing keyboard input some times after switching spaces?

I find that killing the Dock only sometimes makes the problem go away. Usually keyboard input returns, but if I switch spaces using the keyboard shortcuts, the visualisation sticks around & keyboard input is stolen again.

What I have found to work is putting the display to sleep. I've had the bottom right corner of the screen set to do that for ages, so it's quite convenient for me. I've never had this method fail; once the screen is awoken, the problem is gone & doesn't return when I switch spaces again.

To me this suggests that the problem isn't actually in Dock, it's in the system's EventTap subsystem, the bit that lets stuff like Spaces, Screen Sharing, LaunchBar, & Spotlight take keystrokes before the focussed application gets them. I've actually experienced a similar problem with Screen Sharing, where the system whose screen is being shared gets its keyboard input mangled if a modifier key is pressed on the viewing computer & not released until Screen Sharing has lost focus. It's sort of the reverse problem, but it indicates that perhaps the Spaces problem is the EventTap framework getting stuck in a similar way, never sending the message that Control isn't being held down any more.


You can set system-wide keybindings via the ~/Library/Keybindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict file (more info) however it doesn't appear to be possible to distinguish between the left and right shift keys, so I think what you want to achieve is not possible.


Download Diskkeeper and analyze your hard drive.

  OmniDiskSweeper will show you the files on your drive, in descending
  order by size, and letting you decide what to do with them. Delete
  away, but exercise caution.

Omnidiskkeeper will show detail of space usage:

Select System and start cleaning.


iPhone 6 - Exchange calendar not showing up in list of calendars

I had the exact same problem on my iPhone 6s. I tried to delete the Exchange account and add it back again, yet the Exchange calendar would not show up in the calendars list.

What finally helped in my case was quitting the Calendar app (not sure if that mattered), then going to Settings > Mail > Exchange and turning the "Calendars" sync setting off and then on again.

When turning off, you get a question whether to delete all Exchange calendar data. I accepted, and then turned the sync back on. When I started the Calendar app, the Exchange calendar finally showed up.

Make sure you backup your data before fiddling with the settings and removing calendars.


Actually it is better to look at the CPU load, that will result in heating up.

Intel designs microprocessors to operate up to 110 Celsius, before the build in thermal switch kicks in to prevent self destruction.

70 Celsius is almost the standby temperature (room + CPU)

Intel has made a easy to use app to check your CPU health. See if it works on your model.


Are every version of Bluestacks fully compatible with macOS Big Sur 11.0.1?

Looks like this now has been fixed! Try reinstalling Bluestacks newest version
https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/360053434311-How-to-use-BlueStacks-on-MacOS-11-Big-Sur


How can I get my videos from a digital camera to OSX and iPhone?

This is the solution I am using for fast small improvisation

I create a new Aperture production library for each new project. I don't want to mess up the originals. I import all necessary videos and pictures to the new production Aperture library and then syncronise that production library through iTunes: clean and simple! Sometimes the syncronisation has some problems but then you just need to close your Aperture and close your iTunes. The syncronisation does not look to work most reliably that is a bit painful. To circumvent the syncronisation problem: the Time Capsule  may be a solution -- as suggested here.

Analysis

Community wiki answer where I am documenting solutions. Bruno here provided the solution fastest for finding the files in Quora but I am not able to get them into iTunes. I don't know yet how to syncronize things over OSX and iPhone now easiest, testing.

0. Create iMovie projects in OS X and iOS that you synchronise -question

I. Finding video files (found in MTS format)

  Go to the AVCHD file (that is actually a folder)

  click "Show Package Content"

  click "Show Package Content" again with something called B
  now the videos are *MTS files. Enjoy!

II. How to get MTS files to iPhone?

  MTS files do not work directly in iPhone. So you cannot transfer them just like that from the STREAM/*.MTS to DropBox and open in iPhone.

III. How can I get the videos from the camera to iTunes and sync to iPhone? Drag and dropping does not work from the video view to iTunes.

IV. How to get the videos easiest to iPhone from the Sony camera?

  I don't know the answer yet.

V. How to get the videos easiest to OSX from the Sony camera and iPhone?

  I don't know the answer yet.


I deleted every mail on my iPhone - but why does Mail still eat up my memory?

According to OS X Daily, you can try removing the account from the mail app and adding it again. Source