Is it possible to download data from a lost iPod?

No you can't initiate a backup remotely, but you could log into iCloud on another device or a computer and look to see when the last iCloud backup of that device was completed to know what might be lost if you erase it.

Also look in iTunes under the preferences for devices to see if you have a local backup of the device as well.

On the iCloud preference pane for Mac, you can press the manage button next to the storage graph at the bottom of the window and inspect the date/time of the last backup for each device you have established.


Little Snitch automatically turning filter off?

That's its demo behaviour, it will run for 3 hours then switch off.

Check it thinks it's authorised.
'Open Little Snitch Preferences...'
Registration tab

Also, as you are running it on 2 computers, ensure you have a separate Registration for each [or a Family License] otherwise if it sees 'itself' on the network it will switch off.

You are correct in your assumption that it is not applying the Rules when the Network Filter is off.


Bigger keyboard keys on iPhone 6 with iOS 8

Set your view to zoomed, and change your text size to whatever size you want.  This will allow your keyboard to be bigger and the font to stay the same size.  It does change the size of your icons.


Date and WiFi password resets after battery dies

Yes, IMHO, that's the symptoms of a dead PRAM battery. You should simply change it, I don't think it cost a lot. But, you are right, that's indeed a rapid death...


Is iTunes Match supposed to slow my phone down so much?

The size of your iTunes Match is a possible cause for your slowdown in the Music.

Since you cannot have your entire library cached to your device, your device is probably trying to download all of the meta-data, and cover art thumbnails.  I only have around 12GB of music in my iTunes Match library, and I notice some sluggishness whenever things are added or I setup a new device.

Another cause of slowdown is actually the amount of images in the view.  Unfortunately, it is common for the device to become less responsive when there are a large number of images in a single, scrollable view.


AppleScript at Startup and specific time

You can run a command at start-up with a launchd plist looking something like this, in /Library/LaunchDaemons

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

To run at a defined time, use something like this (this runs Monday, 1am):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN"
"http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
    <dict>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>JobName</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
            <string>CommandToRun</string>
        </array>
        <key>StartCalendarInterval</key>
        <dict>
            <key>Hour</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
            <key>Minute</key>
            <integer>0</integer>
            <key>Weekday</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
        </dict>
        <key>StandardOutPath</key>
            <string>LogFilePath</string>
        <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
            <string>LogFilePath</string>
    </dict>
</plist>

LaunchD has a lot of options regarding how the jobs can run - it can watch and keep processes running, run when networks or files are present, etc.

It looks like you need to define your requirements, then work out how to implement the jobs.

Not below, the command string is a single string. If you want to pass arguments, you can, with multiple string tags.

<array>
    <string>Command</string>
    <string>Arg1</string>
    <string>Arg2</string>
    <string>Arg3</string>
    <string>Arg4</string>
</array>


USB Keyboard and Mouse not working in Bootcamp Windows 7 installation

How did you install it? Do what you did before but look for a repair option, or if you really want to, choose reinstall or install. I highly suggest to back up your data on your iMac before doing this just in case something does go wrong.


iMessage sent to one phone is going to another phone instead

Do they, somehow, use the same Apple ID? If so, the phone number has paired to the Apple ID, and every iMessage will notify the most active device (that is, the daughter in this case) before pinging the others.

As some would say, it's not a bug. It's a feature. I have a few solutions for your brother in law:

If the Apple ID belongs to the daughter

You said:

  she updated his phone and used her info

If the father has the daughter's Apple ID logged in on his iPhone, just go to Settings :: Messages :: Receive at on the father's iPhone and log in with the right Apple ID.

If the Apple ID is the father's one

If both the daughter and the father are logged in to the father's Apple ID, you have the following options:

Get the daughter a personal iCloud account

As the daughter already has an iPhone, I suggest your brother in law creates an account for her. If they use a version older than iOS 8, they can go to Settings :: Messages and create an Apple ID from there that will just be used for iMessage and FaceTime. She will still be able to download apps from your brother in law account. Otherwise, if they use iOS 8, they can create a new child account that will be used for all services, including the App Store, but use the same credit card (the daughter will have to send requests to buy)

Disable the feature

If they have to keep the same iTunes account, you can go to Settings :: Messages :: Receive at on the daughter's iPhone, and uncheck your brother-in-law phone number. This way, she won't receive his iMessages anymore.


There is some "corruption" on some of your files.  Since you already ran the Disk Utility and it came back clean it is telling you that there are no physical errors with your drive.  That's the good part.

You have a couple of options:

Run fsck
Do a clean install

Running fsck.  You will need to do so in single user mode (hold down Command-S during boot)

You will know that this worked because you will see a black background with a ton of white text scroll down your screen.

When you are done booting, you will see a command line prompt.  Enter the following command:

#fsck -fy

(Don't enter the hash tag)

It will complete and tell you that the file system was modified.  Keep running the above command until it tells you that the volume is "Ok."

When you are done reboot the computer by issuing the command

#reboot

Your MBP Air will reboot normally the error should go away.

If it dosen't it is time to do a fresh clean install.

There are third party utilities that "may" work here, but I have found they cause more problems than they are worth.

Oh...most important part:

Make sure you have a backup of all your data!!!!


Can I block Chrome's notification with Mac's Do Not Disturb?

Yes, I finally found a solution for this.

Change the following propery

chrome://flags/#enable-native-notifications

as ON. After that you can see all Chrome notification's from Mac's default notification center so it will work if you enable do not disturb mode from Mac's settings.


Managing and removing startup processes on OSX Lion

Take a look at the following folders:

/Library/StartupItems
~/Library/StartupItems (if you have one)
/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Library/LaunchAgents
~/Library/LaunchAgents (if you have one)

You should be able to figure out what the StartupItems do by name, but Google them if you're curious.

You can figure out exactly what the Launch Daemons and Launch Agents do by peeking inside their plist files. They'll usually contain a path to something, like a software updater.

As for removing the ones you don't want:
If you see something for a program you've deleted or uninstalled, by all means get rid of it.

If you see something for a program you do still have installed, be careful. These startup items can be as unimportant as an autoupdater or compatibility check, but it's entirely possible that the parent app needs the Item, Daemon, or Agent to run.

So, here's my advice: If you see something from an app(s) (or drivers, etc.) you do have installed, check that app's preferences to see if it lets you disable the function that requires the startup item. If it does, go ahead. If it doesn't, it's there for a reason; don't delete it.

If you really want to play with removing apps' startup stuff, do so carefully and at your own risk. Move the folder or plist to your desktop, restart, and test the app thoroughly. Even if you find it works without its startup item/agent/daemon, keep a copy so you can restore it if something goes wrong.


Should I turn off external monitor when MacBook sleeps?

With modern monitors that have a "soft touch" power button they don't completely remove power from the monitor and draw zero current like say a traditional light switch. Part of the power supply keeps running to run some digital circuitry (normally a small microcontroller) that determines when the monitor should be taken out of sleep / off mode because either the button was pressed or a video signal is detected.

That would be why the specifications list 0.5 W for both modes. In reality there might be a very small difference to keep a LED blinking but that would be something in the order of 0.01 W. To put it in perspective 0.5 W x 365 days x 24 hours = 4380 watt hours  or 4.4 kWh so in either mode you're looking at under $1 a year and it won't affect the lifespan either way because the modes are so similar.

As for turning on the monitor first I'm not sure but would guess that's just to give time for the monitor to start up so that the attached computer can detect it's present. It could just be leftover in the instructions from an older PC and/or operating system combination that required it.


Copy not possible from ssd to another ssd

Remote Synchronisation: rsync

Consider using OS X's Terminal.app and included rsync command line tool to safely copy the data:

sudo rsync -vaE --progress /Volumes/SourceName /Volumes/DestinationName

See Fastest and safest way to copy massive data from one external drive to another for how this command works and what each section means.


Ooops. How can I re-install the Mac App Store?

Many options are available to you:

Restore it from your backup
Copy it from another Mac running 10.7.2
Download and apply the current combo updater (often they contain entire programs, but it's not a guaranteed thing)
Reinstall Lion and upgrade to 10.7.2 - if your Lion install is lower than 10.7.2 try not to run programs until they are all patched up to the same version as your existing software.


Try following troubleshooting steps:

1 - Start in Safe mode (reboot, hold shift right after the startup chime)

if cursor shows then it is a 3party software

2 - Log in as other user (Guest)

if cursor shows it is your (daughters) user profile that needs fixing

If none of above worked, it is your Trackpad app that needs fixing.


Is the MacBook Pro's internal microphone really stereo?

Looking at the technical specifications of some random MacBook Pro computers, none say that there’s a “stereo microphone”. Instead, they reference “dual microphones” “or a “3 mic array”.  Personally, what I have found is that these microphones are not up to the task of anything beyond a quick voice recording, dictation, or the occasional FaceTime/Skype video chat session.  Even then, I’ve found it necessary to use a proper external microphone.  My feeling is that it’s not really a stereo mic, but mono microphones that are digitally made stereo.
Many years back I was tasked with coming up with a way to record a live presentation as it was streamed from a camera attached to a MacBook.  They were using the internal mic to pick up the sounds.  The loud speakers were in non-eqiadistant locations to the Mac so I was concerned with the how the sound would come out since one speaker was obviously closer to the Mac than the other.  Well, the sound was bad but it wasn’t stereo - both channels were identically bad.  What I found that in order to get a proper, quality stereo recording, I needed to utilize a mixer and obtain the audio directly from audio gear as opposed to letting the internal microphone do the work.
Bottom line, I would avoid using the internal mic if you can - it’s more for convenience than quality.  Use a USB mic or if using more professional gear, a USB mixer so you can manage and manipulate the sound levels properly.


What does iTunes Match think a specific track is?

It uses "digital fingerprinting" to match the track. The exact method is secret.  I've got lots of albums where a few tracks didn't get matched.


AppleScript & Javascript change text colour on safari

You can use the window.find('someString', false or true) command to search some string in the text of the document.

The second parameter of the command, if true, specifies a case-sensitive search.

Use the document.execCommand('HiliteColor', false, someColor) command to change the background color of the founded text.

Here's the sample script, tested on Sierra.

set myList to {"text1", "2018", "demo@apple.com"}

tell application "Safari"
    -- to change the color,  set the 'document.designMode' to on
    -- get the scroll position of the document, because the 'window.find()' command change the scroll position when it select the founded string
    set scrollPos to do JavaScript "document.designMode = 'on'; [window.pageXOffset.toString(),window.pageYOffset.toString()]" in document 1

    repeat with thisText in myList
        do JavaScript "var sel = window.getSelection();
                sel.collapse(document.body, 0);//------    To start at the beginning of the document, not after the selectioned text
                while (window.find('" & thisText & "', true)) {document.execCommand('HiliteColor', false, '#ff0000');}
                sel.collapseToEnd()" in document 1
    end repeat

    -- restore the scroll position
    do JavaScript "document.designMode = 'off';  window.scrollTo(" & (item 1 of scrollPos) & ", " & (item 2 of scrollPos) & ")" in document 1
end tell


OK to power off Apple TV (4th gen) at the mains when not in use?

Yes - you should be fine. The Apple TV runs iOS which has several technologies to help maintain system reliability when it shuts off abruptly.

Apps are sandboxed and easily deleted and re-installed from the App Store if they should get corrupted data or settings.
The OS is easily wiped and restored from the network.
Changes and writes to storage are low compared to computers. The filesystem is journaled and most of the time it reads data and pushes pikes to the sound and video attached as opposed to doing large calculations or maintaining data files where corruption is a problem.

You will save yourself the time to reinstall things if you put it in sleep first (that flushes all writes to storage) but I say you could treat it however you wish and only change to sleep / shut down if you find you are having to maintain it / reinstall apps. Probably, you won't need to take any care of it.

The TV is designed to be extremely low power usage in sleep mode, and you give up several functions like rapid wake from sleep, bonjour sleep proxy for other Apple devices like wake for back to my Mac and HomeKit automation since the TV works as a "hub" for those activities even when it sleeps. If you don't notice problems and re-cabling the TV to always have mains power is inconvenient - just keep doing what you habitually do with your entertainment power.


Moving back to the front or end of a long URL entery with out having to use delete?

Yes, just checked it on my iPhone, and have been using it on my iPad for awhile.

On an iPhone you have to do a long press(or 3D press) on the keyboard (Trackpad mode, thanks @fsb for its official name), this turns the whole keyboard into a trackpad bound to the text cursor.
The keyboard will turn grey and the letters will disapear. You can now move your finger and it will move the text cursor.

Demonstration on Youtube.

On the iPad it works with 2 fingers together as well.

The other method is holding your finger down when trying to select a spot in text till a magnifier pops up, but that is not as easy with URLs.


The exact location shown by the Find My Friends (or the Find My iPhone) service can be off somewhat, and the distances can be a lot more than what you've described.

For example, in our household we have about 20 devices. We also live on acreage and back onto an environment reserve. Sometimes, when using the Find My iPhone service, I can see one or more devices appear as if they're in our next door neighbour's yard, somewhere within the bush surrounds of the reserve, in the creek, and so on.

So, while it's impossible for anyone here to give you any certainty on where your boyfriend's device was at the time, we can say that the location being reported could easily be off by a distance of more than just appearing to be across the street. It's also common for it to appear to hop or jump around a little while obtaining the location.


With the machine off, hold alt-cmd-R as you turn the computer on to launch Internet Recovery. This will download and install a new copy of macOS.


How to keep application data when synchronizing iPhone with new iTunes?

The last time I did this, I still had all my apps but the in-app purchases got lost as well as any saved progress in my games.

To avoid this occasion, you have to save the app data manually. You can do it with any iOS file manager on PC (with i-FunBox for example).

There's one more way to backup the application data: the DataDeposit app from Cydia store uploads all the data of an application to Dropbox and is able to restore it automatically (jailbreak is required).


Enable mouse back button action inside citrix workspace window

Made this working using steps from parallel's website (https://kb.parallels.com/114322)
Basically you assign the correct Hotkey combination as a "Keystroke Assignment" within the Logi Options app.
I would improve the KB though - they assign the key for "All Applications" - effectively breaking backward/forward button for native/other apps. So to avoid that I set these keystrokes for the "Citrix Viewer" App specifically


Can MacBook Air 2014 use passive mini-displayport converter

The asker's own answer clarifies that a BenQ BL2420PT monitor was what wouldn't work with the passive adapters. That monitor has a native resolution of 2560x1440, which requires either DisplayPort, dual-link DVI, or HDMI 1.3+ (the monitor might still work with single-link DVI or HDMI 1.2− if the MacBook is set to output a resolution of 1920x1200 or lower):

The MacBook Air (Early 2014, both the 11-inch and 13-inch models) supports up to 2560x1600 over DisplayPort. So if the DisplayPort input on the monitor isn't already occupied, the cheapest and/or least confusing solution might be to use a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable.
Passive DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters do not exist due to DisplayPort's limited number of pins. There are active DisplayPort to dual-link DVI adapters available, and these require the use of a dual-link cable:

For HDMI, there are both active and passive adapters available which support HDMI 1.3+, however one vendor adapter (Plugable) claims:

  When outputting a TMDS (DVI/HDMI) signal through Dual-Mode, most DisplayPort sources as well as the inexpensive passive adapters on the market are limited to a 165MHz clock rate. This limited clock rate generally limits the maximum resolution to 1920×1200 and reduces the maximum available color-depth to preserve the limited bandwidth.

  Some mid-range DP -> HDMI adapters such as the Plugable MDPM-HDMIF are capable of operating at up to 300MHz, but ultimately they are still reliant upon the Dual-Mode functionality of the host to transmit the TMDS signal required for HDMI/DVI displays.

So your passive HDMI adapter might be one that is limited to 1920x1200. Nor is it clear from the many existing questions† on this topic whether the MacBook Air can output more than 1920x1200 over dual-mode DisplayPort.

† to name a few: Can a MacBook Air support 2560x1600 output via HDMI using a Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt to HMDI adaptor?, MacBookAir 2014 MiniDP to DP 2560x1440,
2013 Macbook Air not showing 1440p Option on External Display,
What's the max resolution for mini DisplayPort connected to a 2013 MacBook Air?, HDMI with resolution 2560 x 1440 possible?. Found using combinations of "macbook air", "displayport to hdmi", "passive", "dual mode" "2560x1400", "1440p", etc. Unfortunately many of these contain anecdotes, conflicting answers, or misleading advice (like forcing certain graphics or adapter hardware beyond specified limits, preferring HDMI over DisplayPort, etc.).


One solution is to print the document after assembling the sub-documents, and to then choose "Open PDF in Preview". The subdivisions between sub-documents will disappear.

At this point it's possible to delete individual pages using ⌘⌫.


What does AirPlay need from wifi and router?

AirPlay uses the following ports:

TCP 80 - http
TCP 443 - https
TCP/UDP 554 - rstp
TCP 3689 - daap
UDB 5353 - mDNS

Data from https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202944 - TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products and TCP and UDP ports and protocols used by Apple TV

Here's how to test ports and also an AirPort centric setup guide


Accept Incoming Call from iPhone on Mac through AirPods (while Mac connected to iPhone Hotspot)?

This isn't currently possible as AirPods connect to one device at a time and your Mac isn't able to accept calls unless it is on the same Wi-Fi network as your phone (Hotspot doesn't count).

Until one of those changes you'll have to ask the caller to "give me a minute to put on my headphones" (common practice) while you open Bluetooth settings on your iPhone (fastest: swipe up control center and choose AirPods in AirPlay) and connect to your AirPods. The call will automatically route to your AirPods once connected!

--

Alternatively you could get a bluetooth device such as the Bose QuietComfort 35 which allows you to connect up to two devices so you could be connected to both your iPhone and Mac and switch easily between them!


I have the same number on 2 different phones with 2 different carriers

When porting a number from one provider to another, it may take a few hours for the old network/provider to complete the process. If the situation still exists after a full business day, give the old provider a call to sort it out.


How do you install an older version of Postgres (9.6) using homebrew?

You can find available versions to install using brew search:

$ brew search postgresql
==> Searching local taps...
postgresql        postgresql@9.4        postgresql@9.5        postgresql@9.6

To install one of these older versions, pass the full name into brew install:

$ brew install postgresql@9.6

It will give you instructions on how to add that PATH of that particular version to your bash environment, so you can use its psql etc.

If you still have psql booting up a newer version of postgresql, try this:

brew install postgres@9.6
cp -rf /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql@9.6/9.6.9 /usr/local/Cellar/postgresql/.
brew switch postgres 9.6.9


I used to work with a 2009 MBP 13" with C2D 2.53Ghz, 8GB ram and 256GB SSD, it worked like a charm with development (Qt, XCode), VM (VirtualBox), image edition (lightroom).

I changed it because the screen was too small but that shouldn't be an issue for you since you're running on a 17". So if you change both, you can hope at least 2 more years.

I would go for the SSD which is awesome : your HDD should reach around 100MB/s in RW whereas the SSD can go up to 375MB/s in SATA2 which is very nice. You'll get more speed in loading softwares, and swapping will be faster in order to compensate the eventual lack of RAM.


How does TRIM work in macOS High Sierra?

MacOS issues the TRIM command to the disk drive controller. From that point on the operating system have no control over the process. What happens is entirely drive dependent.

The most common is that the blocks are marked as unused in a bitmap in the drive, but the contents are otherwise left alone. In order to prevent the possibility of forensics, you’ll need to send a secure erase command instead.

Depending on the drive, that will typically either erase the blocks or throw away an encryption key - or possibly both (typically on Intel drives). The end result is making it impossible to retrieve the data that was previously stored in those blocks.


Setting up a web server with a domain name on an iPhone

Yes, it is indeed possible. You can use any web server software on the iPhone - and from there the configuration is exactly like having a web server with a domain name on any other computer/server:

You need to buy the domain name
You need to set up DNS service for the domain name
You need to set up an A-record in DNS for the static IP of the iphone, or alternatively setup DynDNS if your iPhone has a dynamic IP

However, in practice it is not worth while having a web server on an iPhone. You'll run into problems with the web server app being put in the background, the iPhone sleeping/turned off, the battery being worn out too quickly, possible connectivity problems with WiFi, too low throughput, etc. Some of these can be mitigated by using for example a cabled ethernet connection and having a charger permanently connected, but it is not going to be practical.

In addition to those problems, you'll find that the webserving software is limited in what kind of extensions/plugins you can install (usually none), and you'll usually only be able to host static content (i.e. no ASP/PHP scripts, etc.).

Take a look at for example DraftCode, if you want to run PHP scripts on the phone:

https://solesignal.com/draftcode/

If you just want to run a simple web server without dynamic content, you could take a look at for example "Easy File Sharing Web Server App":

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/easy-file-sharing-web-server-app/id554620332?mt=8

If you are a developer, you can make your own web server app using frameworks/libraries such as Criollo or GCDWebServer:

https://criollo.io

https://github.com/swisspol/GCDWebServer


Profiles -> General -> Command

Everytime you open a new tab your bash profile will be sourced.


Was F5 function key assigned to widgets view in old OS X?

Was always F4, as far as I can recall.

My 08 keyboard has it printed on the key itself - same layout as this picture

Prior to the introduction of the aluminium keyboard in 2007, there were no icons printed on the keys, so it would be hard to say for certain - but as Snow Leopard was 2009, it would be unlikely it would be anywhere other than where the printed key indicates on anything later than Leopard, 10.5, which would have been roughly coincidental to the introduction of that keyboard design.

The Evolution Of Apple Design Between 1977-2008 would appear to support that.


How do I transfer audiobooks from iPod Touch to iTunes?

If I remember correctly, iTunes doesn't let you copy media from your iOS device to iTunes; likely to prevent piracy. If you have purchased the audiobooks from iTunes, you should be able to download them back. If not, which it appears you can't, you may have to contact Apple Support.

Edit:

  Apple told me that if the author has made any edits to the book, they change the serial number and they won't allow you to re-download-even though I purchased the book!

The only thing I could come up with that made any sense is that you can't update content in iTunes. Music, Books, TV Shows, etc. are usually never changed when they are published. If the author of these audiobooks made some changes to it, they would probably have to submit a new book. This happened to me once when a music artist added a few songs to their album. He created a new album and took the other one off the store.


Mac App Store opens to blank screen; cannot switch between menu options

I killed all store* processes in Activity Monitor. Then relaunched App Store and it started working.


How to add person to a photo in Photos app

Unfortunately it's not possible yet. You can only add people when their faces appear on the photo.
If it hasn't detected all the faces in your pictures yet you have to leave your phone charging and locked.


What does "reveal" do from, e.g., the services menu?

This is a Pathfinder feature that's designed to bring up the contents of your current Finder window in Pathfinder.  There's no documentation for Pathfinder, so you'd have to check with their support team to see if it could do something different.


How to enable the sound while screen recording a Zoom meeting on iPhone?

According to Zoom, local recording on iOS isn't supported.
Recording is only available to paid users of Zoom and only for cloud recording by the meeting organizer.


MacBook Stolen and locked remotely through Find My Phone but unable to locate it

Macbooks don't have GPS chips, so they have to rely on less accurate information - namely, triangulating a position from nearby Wi-Fi's.

While that works great in many cases, there's no guarantee it will. If no Wi-Fi networks are in range, a Macbook may not be able to gauge a position at all.

If the E-Mail pointed out the IP address it was sent from (I've never used this service so I don't know how it works) law enforcement may be able to do something with that - but chances are probably slim, as an IP address can be used by many people at the same time.


This site has a number of extra dictionaries:

http://clasquin-johnson.co.za/michel/mac-os-x-dictionaries/index.html

and this article provides links for Hebrew/English and English/Hebrew

http://blog.jle.vi/post/72464439746/get-the-look-up-dictionary-feature-in-os-x-to-work


Why does `whoami` give a different answer than Current User in Users & Groups?

It is the same account. The name displayed in Users & Groups is your full name, the one shown by whomami is the name of the account as known to the underlying Unix system (and also used as the folder name for your home folder). To check yourself, open Users & Groups, unlock if necessary and then right-click on your user name in the left column. This will show you the technical details behind your account.


Excel on Mac - View Multiple Files at Once

I recently had this problem, or I thought I did, in Keynote. Keynote would open new files in tabs, not a new window. It looked like my original file was gone but it was still there is a different tab. Look under the toolbar in excel and see if there is another tab open.


File System seems slow/unresponsive: how to measure/test?

The upgrade might have corrupted your Spotlight index - which would result in the computer constantly reindexing itself (or at least, seeming to). I've heard this is a common occurrence when upgrading through OS X - it happened to me when I upgraded to Lion.
You can destroy the Spotlight index by doing the following:

Go to System Preferences → Spotlight → Privacy and exclude your HD, reboot and then include it again. This should prompt Spotlight to reindex (having destroyed the old index). Source

If that doesn't work, try deleting the Spotlight index manually. This will force it to reindex.

In terminal run man mdutil - this will allow you to verify by using the manual function that this is a command related to spotlight.

Once satisfied run mdutil -i off, switching off the Spotlight index.

Run sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100 This will delete the entire Spotlight cache.
You may prefer to rename it using sudo mv /.Spotlight-V100 /disabledspotlight - it will have the same effect, and gives you a backup.

Run mdutil -i on to restart indexing.

Leave for a few hours while it does its thing.

Some references as to the safety of doing this:

MacRumors Forum Thread: "Is .Spotlight-V100 safe to remove?:
Apple Support Communities Thread: "Removing/deleting Spotlight-V100?"
the Apple Genius that helped me when I was having Spotlight issues.

This could be totally off, and not your problem at all - but on the other hand, it might help.


/StartupItem/ Error, How to resolved the issue?

Looks like you need to reinstall VirtualBox.


Problems with network connection after switching USB LAN hub (despite using wifi connection)

Unfortunately this is a known issues with some USB-C hubs and can mostly be blamed on shielding, some devices are worse, some better. There‘s less of an issue with 5GHz WiFi networks if that‘s an issue. Some people have also reported that wrapping metal foil around the USB-C cable works. But your best bet is probably switching your USB-C hub.

More information can be found in this thread: USB-C Dongles killing Wifi on 2016/2017 MacBooks – Who’s to blame?


For what it's worth, many of the applications running on GNU/Linux are also available for the Mac. I use Eclipse and Git routinely on a Mac. Since I'm still on OS X 10.5, the first thing I did was to set my default JRE version to 1.6 (Mac bundles 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6), since the default setting is 1.5 (not sure if that's still the case with Snow Leopard).


I had the exact same problem with a mailbox restored via Time Machine.

What worked for me was quitting Mail.app, deleting the mailbox from ~/Library/Mail/V6/long-string/, opening Mail.app, and deleting the offending mailbox one more time.


Xcode commit view: keyboard shortcut for jumping to the next change?

I'm unsure of the version that this feature became available, but you can jump to the next and last change of the currently viewed file (Navigate -> Jump to Next/Previous Change). The shortcut is ^ \ for next and ^ | for previous.

This can be used on Standard and Assistant editor, but NOT Source Control Editor.

I can confirm that this feature is available in Xcode 10.1 and Xcode 10.2


iOS 10 photos removing individual photo from people folders

Select your father-in-law from the "People" album, tap the "Select" button in the upper right-hand corner, tap on the mislabeled photo, tap the "Share" icon in the bottom left, then from the list at the bottom of the screen select "Not This Person."

If you need to select multiple photos, check all applicable pictures from the scrollable list at the top of the Share sheet prior to pressing "Not This Person."

If you don’t see this control, you are likely browsing photos from a location other than the People album. Use the back buttons in the top left to navigate all the way back to the top-level list of albums, then tap into the album corresponding to the person who has been wrongly identified in photos.


Shift key on mac keyboard only works with some keys

Given the problem appears on two Macs, this suggests a hardware fault. If the keyboard is not too old, take it to an Apple Store. They may be able to replace it for you.

The strange behaviour you are seeing could be because a circuit is damaged and causing ghosting. Microsoft's article on ghosting explains more:

  What causes ghosting?

  Typically, ghosting is the result of one or more of following three limitations: the hardware can't read the given key combination, the software on the computer doesn't support multiple simultaneous keys, or the communication protocol between the hardware and software limits the maximum number of simultaneous keys reported. The next section discusses in more detail the hardware design of typical keyboards that limits the number of keys that can be read at the same time.


How to refuse DHCP Server to change my hostname?

It took a LOT of Googling and digging to get this, but I finally found a solution that works. DHCP overrides the LocalHostName system property, but not the HostName property. By default the HostName is not set in macOS Sierra, so you can set it as well as LocalHostName and ComputerName using scutil:

sudo scutil --set HostName yourcomputername
sudo scutil --set LocalHostName yourcomputername
sudo scutil --set ComputerName "Your Computer name"

The HostName property appears to be permanent. LocalHostName can still be overridden, but it won't override HostName once it's set.


Re-download OS X iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, Keynote)

When you bought your Mac, you were prompted to "accept" the applications in the iWork suite, to be attached to your Apple ID for future download.

If you did not do this, I suggest calling Apple Support or taking a trip to the Genius Bar. If you provide them your Mac's proof of purchase, they should be able to give you a redeem code for the App Store to download the suite. This will also link the apps to your Apple ID signed in on the Mac App Store for future download.


Mavericks Server: Unable to use 3rd party SSL Certificates with Open Directory

I believe Apple fixed that bug in Server 4 but I can't reproduce it on Server 5. Have you checked the serveradmin command line tool to check your settings and status:

sudo serveradmin fullstatus dirserv
sudo serveradmin settings dirserv
sudo serveradmin -x settings certs

The -x argument instructs serveradmin to format the data as XML, which often shows more information (at least in the case of certs).

Sometimes you can set things there that the GUI balks at - but you also want to have the ability to call AppleCare for support or a great backup plan that's tested before mucking with sudo and serveradmin from my experience.


What version of iOS enabled Safari / native camera roll integration?

iOS 6

Safari

Support for photo upload via Camera Roll to web forms with <input type="file"> elements.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_version_history#iOS_6


iOS7: How do I find a location in Maps and assign it as the location on a calendar entry?

Tap the pinhead, click SHARE, click COPY TO CLIPBOARD, paste into location. It works for me, some may think too many steps, but it's okay!


I brought My Macbook Pro last year in november (Latest Model available then) and suddenly today started to show a question mark?

Is it a folder icon with a question mark? That means it can't find the operating system to boot from!

Generally speaking, this would indicating a failing hard drive. There is a possibility you have lost some data. However, it could be just a case that some of the files have been 'misplaced'.

The best way to get on top of this would be to immediately run Internet Recovery and/or use Disk Utility to try and repair your computer.

See:

Mountain Lion - OS X Recovery
HT4718 OS X: About OS X Recovery


How come Quicktime plays .avi files but iTunes doesn't?

As per this MacRumors forum post:

  There are three ways to get .avi files to load into the iTunes library, these are packaging it in a supported format (QT-Pro workaround), adding extra entries to the CFBundleDocumentTypes (may cause problems when updating iTunes) or adding the movie-type meta-data to the file. Adding the movie-type meta-data to the file is the quickest, easiest and safest of all of these options (IMHO).

He then outlines a method to add the movie-type metadata.

in Terminal (requires Dev Tools)

$ SetFile -t "MooV" /path/to/movie.avi

Then run this Applescript:

tell application "Finder"
   set file type of file this_file to "MooV"
end tell

The original post I linked above has a full Applescript droplet or Folder Action that could do this automatically.


Console Message: "kernel: Sandbox: net.conceited.Ru System Policy: deny(1) mach-priv-task-port 391"

This is indeed Rubbernet as @unknowndomain mentions - I was getting a flood of messages that caused 100% CPU for syslogd, visible in Console.
Since Conceited have gone out of business, here is how to uninstall Rubbernet:

open the Rubbernet .plist file that was launching the daemon, which should be /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.conceited.RubbernetDaemon.plist
ensure Launchd doesn't restart the Rubbernet process with launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.conceited.RubbernetDaemon.plist
kill the Rubbernet process via Activity Monitor, or using ps aux and kill
remove /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/net.conceited.RubbernetDaemon (mentioned in the plist)
remove the plist -
rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.conceited.RubbernetDaemon.plist
remove the app - delete Rubbernet.app from /Applications

Writing this up because of the large number of "Uninstall Rubbernet" spam content sites that are promoting easy uninstall tools.  It should not be this hard to remove Rubbernet.
Background: launchctl stack


How to keep Mac alive during internet connection/download

Caffeine is a nice tool that prevents your mac from sleeping / going to stand-by.


RStudio Server Initialization Error on Mac El Capitan

Solved - there was an error in my .plist file


My Mac gives me a black screen after logging into one account, but not another

Removing the user/library/preferences could help, however, if you still have the same issue and booting in safe mode has not solved the problem, means that the user is damaged.

so try removing user/library/caches

if you still have the problem, the fastest solutions are next:

restored a time machine backup to a date where issue does not exist if you have one.
create a new user as administrator, sign into this new user and from finder transfer the content from the old user to the new one.

note: in this step you tested that preferences were not the caused of the problem, so moving the content of this folder from the old to the new one will bring you all the settings into the new account. Also note that apps are open from all users, so you will not have to install any app either. the only thing you would have to do is to set up the mail accounts in mail app from the new user.


'Show Desktop' Mission Control/Expose Not Functioning

Restart Dock, of which Mission Control is a child process.  In terminal, run:

killall Dock


1 and 2 keys to change tabs in Safari (like in Opera)

You wouldn't make the shortcut from keyboard preferences. I believe that you would add this shortcut from Automator however I am not on my computer right now so I think that will work but I haven't tested this specific shortcut. If that dosent work then there is always the option of "⌘+`/⌘+Shift+' " to go to the next or previous tab. Hope this helps!


Does exists some console utility for keyboard layout switching in Mac OS X?

Ok. I wrote it myself.
If you need one see code of utility here (https://github.com/myshov/xkbswitch-macosx) if you want in bin directory there is already compiled version.


Using QuickTime Player:

File /
  Export /
    Audio Only


iOS app for simultaneous reading and listening to a (audio) book

If I got that correctly I think Audible Whispersync (an Amazon product) does that.


MacBook Retina strange system/battery behaviour

macbooks generally hibernate (save your ram's state to your hdd) when the battery is too low.
to do that efficiently (without losing data) there's an internal threshold that keeps some energy for the system to save state.

in general, you don't shut down (as in "windows is shutting down") your mac. you either let it go to sleep after some time or just close the lid (and trigger hibernation). you can even trigger hibernation from the apple menu.


MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012) yellow tint when watching Netflix or YouTube in fullscreen

I noticed that this yellow tint problem just occurs on chrome but not on safari. I updated chrome and tested it out - still happening. I then restarted my MBA and it disappeared. Will observe that problem for the next days but I hope that helps anyone. Also, I hardly restart or shut down my MBA, it's been on or in standby for over 2 months.

Update: still happening but found a new solution. I deactivated my extension 'Magic Actions for Youtube' and the problem disappeared. Again I will check if it still occurs.


Adium is displaying only Facebook contacts who message me first

Did you setup your account using the "Facebook chat" wizard?

If so, you can delete this account, it's not working anymore since Facebook enabled to Jabber access.

You should try to create a Jabber-type account and enter those informations:

Username: your_facebook_username@chat.facebook.com
Password: same as your Facebook profile
Server: chat.facebook.com
Port: 5222
Use SSL

You can find more details on the Facebook Chat about page.


iPod 2G not allowing sync of supported video

I have seen people mention that when they had an issue like this they changed the resolution to 640 by 480 pixels.


You can select a paragraph and right-click on it and drag it to another location. Sometimes a right-click will open a pop-up menu but just let go of right click and try again. I don't know how to turn off popup.


I suspect that, for some reason, your system isn’t able to properly cool itself. I recommend trying to reapply thermal paste or bringing your Mac to an Apple Store so they can do it for you.


These free apps that you downloaded, did you run the app and buy something within the app?

Nowadays, apps can sell you certain features (like more functionality or tokens in case of games). These purchases are called In-App Purchases (IAP) and they are charged towards your card.

If you downloaded apps or games that have In App Purchases and you want to make sure that you don't make these purchases by mistake (kids make this mistake many times), then go to you iPhone's Settings --> General --> Restrictions --> Enable Restrictions and then under Allowed Content, turn off In-App Purchases. This will stop anyone from spending money.

If, however, you are being charged for the app itself, you should contact Apple support and they will look into the matter and explain what is happening, maybe even give you a refund.


Producing a standard tilde while using OS X (U.S. International - PC) keyboard layout

To produce the standard tilde (U+007E) with US International PC you just type tilde and then space.  It will be exactly the same as what you get by typing tilde with the US layout.


Try the following:

Open the "Keyboard" preferences pane
In the "Keyboard" tab, turn on the "Show Keyboard and Character Viewers in menu bar" checkbox
Go to the new menu (it looks like a box with a command key clover-leaf in it) and choose "Show Keyboard Viewer"

You'll now see a window shaped like your keyboard, with every key shown, and each pressed key highlighted. Try out all the keys, especially the "t" and modifiers. Note that holding down "shift" will change the key display to capitals, and holding down "option" will change the key display to alternate characters. This should let you track down the problem, if it's in hardware.


removing results from Google searches on Safari

I will go ahead and make a global answer:

Extension for Safari
Extension for Google Chrome
Extension for Mozilla Firefox


Unable to view my apps installed in iPad Air on iTunes

You need to scroll down the window a little. Then you can see File sharing. There you can see all the installed apps.


iTunes Connect: What happens on devices when I delete an app?

No matter if you delete it on your developer account, the users will continue with that app until they will update or delete it. No more options here.


Unknown port - Looking for a VGA converter

That looks like a white MacBook Core Duo 13-inch, and while I have not seen one of those for a while (congrats on keeping it running!) I believe that is what is called a mini-DVI port.

So a search for mini-DVI to VGA should find you the adapter you are looking for. I doulbt Apple still carries it and you might have to buy a used adapter (ebay and the like) but that is the spec.

BTW, in the future when asking for help on something it is best to give the model number, part number or official designation of the hardware (if applicable) and/or the version of macOS on the Mac, also if applicable. You are more likely to get an accurate response, and a faster one.


How to download macOS Sierra again from the App Store?

You will need to delete the current installer. OS X applications are usually very good about keeping track of files, even when they get moved (see How does Mac OS keep track of moved files?). In this case, the AppStore is likely keeping track of the application bundle (which you would normally want it to do) when you move it.


Enable file share and make note of the address displayed.

To connect in file sharing follow this instructions.

If your "connect" applies to control the other computer then enable the Remote Management.

Set the allowed user (or all)

Make a note of the "address" provided.

Start the Remote Desktop Connection app.

Enter the other computers information previously noted (on that computers remote settings).

It is something like the "Other users can manage your computer using the address 10.5.50.86"


Can I get word suggestions on Mac like I do on iPhone?

Yes, you certainly can! Just start typing your word and press F5 to reveal up to 20 possible words. To use your example, below is a screenshot showing how this works when I type envir and press the F5 key:

You can then use the arrow keys (or mouse) to select the word you want (or just hit enter to accept the first word).

And, because this only appears when you press F5, it's not getting in your way (i.e. it only appears when you want it to appear).

NOTES:

The F5 key should work in all Apple apps (e.g. TextEdit, Notes, Mail, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc) although there are some instances where it won't. For example, within Safari it works in the Address/Search bar, but probably won't work within forms/fields on web pages.
Support by 3rd party apps depends on the developer and/or whether the F5 key is already allocated to something else. For example, many Microsoft apps already use F5 to bring up the Find and Replace window, so F5 won't work to bring up suggestions. However, other 3rd party apps do support it (e.g. Mactracker, PDF Expert, 1Password, Evernote, etc).
Depending on your System Preferences and/or Mac model (or type of keyboard) you may need to press fnF5 to bring up suggestions.


I have a few movies I purchased using iTunes. Is there a way to extract the m4v files out to my hard drive?

You would need an application which is capable of breaking Apple's DRM on the file, which may be illegal in some areas.

NoteBurner M4V Converter Plus for Mac is one such option; however, it does not work on macOS 13 and later, nor on versions of iTunes after 12.8.

There are other such programs which claim to remove DRM from iTunes movies, but I have not used any of them and cannot say if or how well they work.

Also of note: iTunes does not allow downloading of 4K content, only streaming. As with the transition from DVD to Blu-Ray, the studios have taken the opportunity for higher quality to also be "protected" by much more restrictive DRM.

While Keeping the DRM Intact

jmh added:

  I'm not interested in breaking Apples DRM. Can't I copy a movie and play it on my iMac without using iTunes?

Ah, well that's something else. Sorry I misunderstood.

You can copy the movie out of iTunes, but then you'll have two copies of the file, which could take up 4GB, or maybe even more. However, once you have it outside of iTunes, you can play the file, but only in QuickTime (due to the DRM).

A better alternative might be to create an alias or link to the original file in the iTunes folder.

Assuming that it's located in the usual place (~/Music/) then you could do something like this:

find ~/Music/ -ipath '*/iTunes Media/Movies/*' -type f -iname \*.m4v -print \
| while read line
do

    ln -s "$line" "$HOME/Desktop"

done

That will create a link from each movie file inside the "Movies" folder inside the "iTunes Media" folder to the ~/Desktop/ and won't take up any more actual diskspace.

Once they are linked to the Desktop, you can move the links somewhere else, rename them, etc.

If you don't care about the disk space, you can copy them instead of linking them:

find ~/Music/ -ipath '*/iTunes Media/Movies/*' -type f -iname \*.m4v -print \
| while read line
do

    cp -vn "$line" "$HOME/Desktop"

done


Michal, Thanks for answering your own question; that really helped me.

Spotlight searches on my two Macs were littered with phantom duplicate contacts. I was hesitant to go this approach until I read of your success.

For future visitors, my steps were:

You may want to backup Contacts (File - Export - Contacts Archive)
Quit Contacts.app
Turn off all contact sync services (System Prefs: Internet Accts: iCloud/Google: Contacts)
Move contents of ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/sources to Trash.
Re-enable iCloud, Google, etc Contact sync.
Check address book in Contacts.
Test Spotlight Search: success.


How can I reinstall Mac OS X (Lion) without erasing data?

Reboot your Mac. When you hear the boot chime, hold the COMMAND + R keys. You will enter the Lion Recovery environment. From there, simply choose to reinstall Lion. It will simply remove the current system and replace it with a fresh copy. None of your data will be deleted or moved. The only thing that will be replaced will be the core system files. There is no longer any need to make backups, migrate your data, or mess with partitioning.

If you'd like to read more about the Lion Recovery function, go here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718


BlackHole is similar to Soundflower. Rogue Amoeba is better, but not free.
There's a discussion regarding Apple Silicon compatibility at
https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole/discussions/227
I've never tried it myself (prefer RA) but it might be worth a shot.


Where are ethernet/internet/networking configuration files/settings stored on OS X 10.6


iCloud Backups of iOS devices include the Keychain of all saved passwords on the device, including WiFi network passwords, however that keychain is signed against the UDID (The Universal Device Identifier, a unique ID for your device).

If the UDID does not match (examples being if your device was replaced by Apple due to failure or you purchased a new one), than the key store will not be able to be opened, and your passwords will need to be re-entered on the device.

Macs using iCloud backups do not back up the Keychains at this time.


First-time iCloud backup of my iPhone took 26 hours

Honestly it depends on what you consider to be a LOT of videos.  Truthfully a 64 GB Phone filled on a standard Wifi home network should not take more than 10-15 hours at most.  Truth is the easiest way to see what is going on is go to www.icloud.com and check out your icloud space available.

The other thing to take into account is that you only get 5GB Free. You might have run out of space on iCloud and you didnt get the notifications.


Mac OS X locks up when I plugin in headphones on MacBook Pro

Could you try creating a new user and see if it happens there? Create a new user. Restart your computer and log with the new user. Make sure you don’t have anything in the “Login Items” (nothing starts at login).

Also try starting your Mac in “Safe Mode” as described here and see how it goes.

This could be related to a Kernel Extension (ktext) problem.


There isn't currently a way to set an iPhone (or iPad) to require a passcode to allow powering off, without jail-breaking your device. It seems to be quite a popular feature request that Apple haven't implemented. For example, this 9to5Mac post from earlier this year. https://9to5mac.com/2016/01/28/feature-request-theft-protection/

Unfortunately if your device is turned off it will not be able to update its location. However as soon as the device is turned back on (assuming it is turned back on) it will resume updating its location. Thankfully, without a lot of effort, Find my iPhone can only be disabled by entering the appropriate Apple ID password.


How to resize partition after failed installation of Windows 10 via boot camp?

Open a Terminal application window and enter the following commands.

sudo diskutil erasevolume free none disk0s3
sudo diskutil apfs resizecontainer disk0s2 0


How to set the file order (arrangement) permanently in Finder?

All folders except the Applications folder and its sub-folder will maintain your setting for Date Modified if so set in the

  Arrange pull down menu

The Applications folder does not even has such a option.

However, if you're talking about the "Sort By" option, when you're in a folder press command+J to see the View options.

Now go about setting the view options exactly how you'd like them to be. Once completed, click on the Use as Defaults button at bottom centre of the View options window. This will set your configuration as the default for all folders.


If applications can still send sound to your speakers but the system does not, it sounds like your default output device is something other than your speakers. Hold down the Option key and click on the volume icon in your Menu Bar (or go to System Preferences > Sound > Output). Under "Output Device:" select the device you want to use, probably "Internal Speakers." Make sure your volume is up, then try playing a sound again.


Can't boot after El Capitan Installation

Shut down your computer. Press the power button and before you hear the boot chime hold down the Command (Apple) key and R at the same time.
This will boot you into Recovery Mode. You should then be able to connect to your network and reinstall the operating system.


Can I reset app windows to default size/position?

Window size preferences are generally stored in the .plist files found in
/HD/Users/YourName/Library/Preferences

You may need to enable hidden files by using:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES  in command line, followed by a relaunch of Finder.

As an example, for Finder the file is called com.apple.finder.plist and the window state information is under the key WindowState for each different type of finder window (e.g. standard folder, searchview...) Other applications have similar naming (ctrl+F is your friend here!), e.g. the Fontbook app uses the NSWindowFrame key.

You should be able to safely remove the window state information as it get auto read from defaults database anyway.

Having said all that, this doesn't appear to work for a few applications such as Maps and Mail (which is what you want unfortunately). But hey, it's a start.

(Also apologies for the lack of codeblocks, they are refusing to show up for some reason)


It depends on how you're going to use it.

If your daily MacBook usage only consists of stuff like websites browsing, watching movies on VLC and creating a Word or Excel document from time to time, then, I would say, 2 cores are surely enough.

But if you're using software that requires more resources like audio/video processing (Adobe products, for example), graphic excessive games, etc. then go for 4 cores.


Auto run a shell script when connecting to a network? (wifi or utp)

I use a program named EventScripts which among the events it monitors, there are Network Events, i.e., Internet became available, Internet became unavailable, External IP address changed and Wireless network changed. Update: In the latest release there is also a Wireless network reconnected event not shown on the linked webpage.

It uses AppleScript scripts to preform the action(s) you want to have happen when a given event is triggered.

You can execute a shell command/script using the AppleScript do shell script command.

Not sure if any of these can be adopted for your use, and it will probably require some additional coding, either in AppleScript or shell script to validate the conditions are met for wanting the main shell script to run. Just wanted to offer a possible solution.

It is a paid app, $4.99 USD, but does have a demo version you can download to test with before purchasing.

Mac App Store Preview (US)
Download for Demo

Note: Other then being a paid user of this app, I have no affiliation with its developer.


Updating modifier keys from the command line takes no effect

It's because values are written as strings not integers. You can see that using:

$ plutil -convert xml1 -o - ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/.GlobalPreferences.*.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-591-0</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
            <string>30064771303</string>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
            <string>30064771302</string>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
            <string>30064771302</string>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
            <string>30064771303</string>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

So the right way to update the setting is using XML format:

$ defaults -currentHost write -g com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-591-0 -array \
'<dict>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
    <integer>30064771303</integer>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
    <integer>30064771302</integer>
</dict>' \
'<dict>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
    <integer>30064771302</integer>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
    <integer>30064771303</integer>
</dict>'


How to resolve "mpirun: command not found" error on Mac

You are trying to use a program but the Mac does not find the program. It's probably because it's not installed. The program you are trying to use is called Open MPI, here is how to install it: https://intothewave.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/install-open-mpi-on-mac-os-x/

After installing it you will be able to use the mpirun command. Because Open MPI isn't an Apple product, I recommend you to go to stackoverflow.com if you have questions regarding Open MPI.


How do I set up an Exchange Account in Mac Mail?

Domain shuld be the beginning part of your username when you logon to your machine or account at work.  It's the name of your internal corporate network.  It looks like this when you sign on to machines at work:

netbsa\myusername

You might need to specify this format as your username in mail.app.  However, if it's timing out, it's probably more likely that the server settings are wrong.  Don't use the https:// part in the server settings and see if it will connect.


How can I pair my Apple keyboard and mouse to multiple Macbooks Pro?

You can pair several but they tend to auto pair with the first beacon and not the computer you want.

Usually you can force a pair from the current machine but I’d recommend getting a device that has a button to have the keyboard choose which Bluetooth module to pair or get a KVM.


Has 3D touch to switch apps been removed in iOS11?

This feature was removed in the first iOS 11 beta and the feature did not ship with the official iOS 11 release.

Apple has publicly explained a technical limitation caused the tradeoff and that a 11.x release will return this feature. No date is given for 3D touch's return.


Install a graphics card in a MacBook Pro 2015

No, Apple portables do not have user-upgradeable graphics boards.  The graphics chips are integrated into the main logic board and cannot be removed or replaced.


How to batch rename images, in reverse numerical order?

You can use an Automator Workflow.

Something like this:

Sort Finder Items step will sort image names descending (IMG_0003.jpg, IMG_002.jpg, IMG_001.jpg).

Make Sequential step will rename them sequentially (IMG_0001.jpg, IMG_0002.jpg, ...).

Copy Finder Items step is optional, just to be sure not to mess with original files.


How to prevent displaying the total sum of A + B if columns A + B are empty

You can extend the formula to check whether the value in the column to the left is empty or not:

=if(j3>0;sum(h$2:h3);"")


It indicates that the MacBook Pro was not able to load the OS kernel from the selected disk. The usual reason for this is that it's an OS version that doesn't support that model (Mountain Lion supports MBP's starting with the Mid/Late 2007 models (see the specs). Another possibility is that the USB disk is damaged, improperly set up, or something like that.


How do I save podcasts to the new Apple podcasts app?

The podcast app is a bit convoluted to know which episodes are unplayed but available for streaming and unplayed and downloaded. I haven't been able to tell visually which is which and am in the habit of turning on AirPlane mode to check which podcasts are actually downloaded then going back and downloading them if needed before leaving Wi-Fi or wireless range.

The manual for iOS 6 is actually great for things like this.  (If hit that link your phone, you can save it as a webapp on your home screen for other issues.)

Here's the relevant section on your question:

  • Download an episode so you can listen to it when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi: Tap the "down-arrow" icon next to
  any episode.


How can I prevent a user to use admin rights to work around restrictions?

Well, somebody (aka at least one user account) needs to have full admin privileges on a Mac, there is no way around it. If you want to restrict the ability of an account, you will have to set up a dedicated user account (and define Parental Restrictions for it) and use this account for day to day work.

You would still need an admin account to install software etc, so you could for instance split the admin password in half, with each of you only knowing one part. Whenever an admin password is required, you both would need to sit in front of the Mac then and enter your respective half.


How can I get my iPad 2 to view a website on a laptop over an adhoc network?

This isn't an Apple specific question, but the simplest way to do this is to use the IP address of the laptop. There are various ways of determining the IP address of the laptop. You may be able to find it by hovering your mouse over the wifi icon in the taskbar, or if not open a command window and run 'ipconfig'.

Once you have the ip address, you can browse to it from the iPad at the URL:

http://a.b.c.d/

where a.b.c.d is the IP address of the laptop.

You will have to ensure your Windows firewall is allowing access and ensure IIS is listening to this IP address - by default it listens to all IP addresses on the machine, so unless you changed it, you  should be ok.


iPhone XR take a second to go to sleep, instead of going out instantly

The side button won’t immediately sleep your phone if iOS is waiting for a potential second press of the button. Features which enable a second press of the side button and thus delay sleep are:

Apple Pay, where double press of the side button opens the wallet to your cards.
Accessibility Shortcut (Settings → Accessibility), where triple press of the side button toggles your selected shortcut or opens a menu of your selected options.

Disabling these features will ensure a single press of the side button can only mean sleeping the device, therefore iOS won’t wait for a potential second press.


It's generally a good advice not to run beta software for critical operations. Use a stable version. I use SuperDuper personally.

After cloning the drive, you should be able to just hook up the new cloned hard drive to your iMac and the computer will be just like when you cloned it. If you do any work after cloning it, the cloned drive won't have that changes.

Every Lion installation creates a recovery partition for when you want to reformat the drive or when something bad happens to your OS.

If you just clone your main hard drive partition, your Lion recovery partition will not be cloned.

This means that you will not be able to boot into your recovery partition in your cloned drive. There are a few ways to get around this, but I haven't tested this myself:

Install Lion on your new drive before you clone your old data to it.
Install Lion on your new drive and use Migration assistant instead of cloning.


You could use an AppleScript like that to do it.

tell application "Safari" to activate
delay 3 --adjust to your needs
tell application "System Events"
    tell process "Safari"
        tell menu bar 1
            tell menu bar item "View"
                tell menu "View"
                    click menu item "Hide Toolbar"
                end tell
            end tell
            tell menu bar item "View"
                tell menu "View"
                    click menu item "Hide Status Bar"
                end tell
            end tell
            tell menu bar item "View"
                tell menu "View"
                    click menu item "Enter Full Screen"
                end tell
            end tell
        end tell
    end tell
end tell

Save it with the name you want, and then run with osascript your-script.


Asking QuickTime Player 7 to play MIDI files through GarageBand

If you have a blank Garage Band song open and you drag a Midi file in and drop it onto the timeline, it will import the tracks.


If you run brew install -v binutils, you will see this output flying by:

*** This configuration is not supported in the following subdirectories:
     ld gas gprof
     (Any other directories should still work fine.)

In configure.ac there is

*-*-darwin*)
  noconfigdirs="$noconfigdirs ld gas gdb gprof"
  noconfigdirs="$noconfigdirs sim target-rda"
  ;;

So, gprof is not supported on OS X.

I think the preferred profiling tool is DTrace.


How do I get archive to work in Mail.app in Lion?

If you're okay using Mail's delete function as archive, then simply go into Mail > Preferences > Accounts > Gmail > Mailbox Behaviors and deselect both of these options:

[ ] Move deleted messages to the Trash mailbox

[ ] Store deleted messages on the server

Screenshot:

Then when you delete a message in Mail, you'll be archiving it.

Reference here:

https://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=78892


Accept Macbook Touchbar typing suggestions with keyboard

From Apple documentation:

Touch Bar typing suggestions
If your Mac has a Touch Bar, enable this option to display typing
suggestions in the Touch Bar as you type.
While typing, you can display a list of suggested words onscreen by
pressing F5 (you may need to also press the Fn key, depending on your
Mac model).


My macbook pro hard drive seems to be corrupted, should I replace it?

I changed the sata cable of the drive and it is working fine now.


How to selectively (un)subscribe IMAP folders in 10.9 Mail.app

In theory: Control+click an IMAP folder in Mail, and select Get Account Info from the context menu. In the resulting dialog, select the Subscription List tab. Then subscribe and unsubscribe as desired.

In practice, I'm not sure whether that actually works; I can't test it on my particular system.


Adding a new administrator account without password

I think you're missing a step, namely the /sbin/fsck -fy command. After logging into Single-User Mode, enter the following commands in the order listed:

/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone

This should negate the need to override.


How can I upload my whole iPhoto-Library to flickr?

You can also do this natively with iPhoto, although FlickrExport by Connected Flow does offer some additional features. If you go to Preferences - Accounts you can add your Flickr account and it will allow you to share your photos and albums natively.


What does the “Current Period” data usage number mean?

Current Period refers to the period of time since the last reset. This is nothing to do with the cellular plan. You can see the beginning date of the current period by scrolling to the bottom and looking at the date under the reset option.

If you have never reset the counter, it has been counting up like the odometer of a car since you started the OS at a clean restore.


I've followed the instructions from

vim powerline mac

and powerline is displayed in my vim setup finally. :)


Tracks are listed in the wrong order when iTunes is importing CDs

Tracks are sorted by the selected sort column. To sort by track number, choose the track number column header and observe the sort arrow appear next to the header.


Password with £ when using security add-generic-password / find-generic-password

As a workaround, I now encode and decode to base64:
security add-generic-password -a username -s "test" -w $(echo "abc£" | base64) -U
security find-generic-password -a username -s "test" -w | base64 --decode


I can't reproduce it, I can however tell you that it's a pretty common problem.

I've had the same thing happen on my Retina MacBook Pro. Rumor has it that it's especially common on displays manufactured by LG.


Will turning on two-factor auth require me to know my security question answers? (because I dont)

Turning on two-factor-authentication may require your security questions.

You might be asked to answer your Apple ID security questions.

https://support.apple.com/HT204915
Once 2FA is activated, your security questions are deleted.

Do I still need to remember any security questions?
No. With two-factor authentication, you don't need to remember any security questions. We verify your identity exclusively using your password and verification codes sent to your trusted devices and phone numbers. When you enroll in two-factor authentication, we keep your old security questions on file for two weeks in case you need to return your account to its previous security settings. After that, they're deleted.

https://support.apple.com/HT204915
Therefore, I suggest you attempt to set it up, since the use of ‘may’ in the first quote means there is potential that the security questions are not asked for, and it you are successful in setting up 2FA your security questions are removed. However, this is on the condition you have a trusted device to receive the authentication prompt, which requires you to be logged in to your Apple ID on the device.


The App Store app update kept asking for Yahoo password

The app store dialog that is titled "Sign in to iTunes Store" is worded slightly ambiguously.  The last sentence reads (for example:) `Enter the password for "youremail@yahoo.com".

You are not being asked here for the password to your yahoo account.  You are being asked for the password for your appleId that uses "youremail@yahoo.com" as it's username.


If I set up Apple Mail, will it delete my emails?

The .eml file is a mail file that is based on the MIME RFC 822 specification.  It's basically a text format that pretty much all Mail applications can open

Outlook (macOS, Windows, iOS, Android) / Outlook Express (Windows Only)
Microsoft Mail (Windows 10)
Apple Mail (macOS)
Mozilla Thunderbird

Regarding your question, you don't need to setup a Gmail acccount (or any account for that matter) to read a single .eml file.  If it asks you to set one up, just skip it.
You can also open a .eml in your browser.  Simply rename the file with an .mht extension.  Assuming the file is on your Desktop, using Terminal
% mv ~/Desktop/foobar.eml ~/Desktop/foobar.mht

Then open with your browser.  If it's only text, any browser will work, but if it has embedded images, Chrome or Microsoft Edge will natively display it (I prefer Edge over Chrome as it uses the same engine, but I distrust Microsoft less than I do Google).
Microsoft Word will natively open both a .eml and the .mht.  If you don't have Word, you can open it with the free web version of Word.  You just need to create a free Microsoft account.
As an example, I got an old .eml file (an Uber receipt) and tested.  It opens natively in

Outlook for macOS
Apple Mail
Microsoft Word
Edge/Chrome (as a text file)


External Display is not behaving as expected

When you plug in an external monitor (or TV, etc) to your Mac, it merely extends the desktop area into it, so it can look blank except for your desktop background.  You can get it to mirror the display, so what you see on the external screen matches the Macbook itself, but that's not the default option.  There are various reasons for this, it nothing else the external screen is unlikely to have either the same display resolution or screen ratio, and so a mirrored display may well look odd as well as being a bit of a waste of the extra space.

So, you should be able to drag your apps and windows into it, although it's guesswork until you configure it whether it thinks that the display is left, right, above or below your existing screen.  Experiment by dragging a finder window across all edges, and note when it starts to appear on the TV.  The TV might be to the right of your macbook, but it may require pushing content off the left edge in order to use it...

In order to change this, and if you want it to become your main display so that the dock and menu bar and other desktop icons appear on it and don't want to just mirror the display (useful for example when connecting a Macbook at 1280x800 resolution up to a 1080p tv) then open up display preferences from system preferences, where you will be able to identify, position and configure both monitors, and drag the menu bar from one screen to another in order to make it the primary screen.

If you make the TV your primary screen, then unplug it, it will automatically revert.


Bootcamp cannot find both systems at startup

Author of the question answering:

It's not necessarily a disk failure since I installed my SSD into a friend's Macbook Pro (same model: retina 15" late 2013, 2.3Ghz) and it works properly. I also tried to insert his SSD into my Macbook Pro and it is not recognized.

I don't know where it comes from though...


My ethernet and Wi-Fi are connected but, i can't seem to connect to the internet

The problem came back in the same computer. The connection was restored after rerunning the Windscribe app. In addition, this app was available in both instances where my internet connection disappears. It seems that it's activity without closing it correctly caused


Well, if you start an Application that uses X11, just like that : ssh -X user@host

You can run most "Linux GUI" X11 applications on mac as described here using docker: How to run a Linux GUI application on OSX using Docker

Make sure to check out XPRA for Mac, too.
You can forward X11 apps on mac or forward the whole mac desktop using xpra, to install do

brew install Caskroom/cask/xpra

to shadow the desktop

/Applications/Xpra.app/Contents/Xpra_NoDock.app/Contents/MacOS/Xpra  shadow --bind-tcp=127.0.0.1:10000

etc.pp.


Worked out what the issue was. Double checked the specs of my machine and realised it was a mid 2007 model. Upon checking with Apple using the link in the linked answer I found the specific bootcamp file and that I had to use Win 7 32bit. Altering these files and using the correct disk image allows the installation to start.

Thanks for your help David.

Ross


How to change fonts picked by Terminal.app to display languages other than English?

You can set the font for terminal in the terminal preferences. (Terminal -> Preferences... then select the "Settings" tab and "Text" sub-tab. Fonts are choses based on profiles so you could set up a profile with an Arabic font.

You must have monospaced Arabic font installed. You'll need to to search the internet for one.

Most important, for using using Vim read this:

http://vim.dindinx.net/orig/html/arabic.txt.php

The default version of Vim on the Mac is compiled with "-arabic" so it will never give you what you want, you'll need to recompile you own version (try homebrew) also MacVim may work (GUI version of Vim so no terminal necessary).


I have filed a bug report on the homebrew project. The problem is fixed now.


Cannot mount UDF formatted hard disk in OSX

Details:

I have formated a 2TB external disk with UDF filesystem in Ubuntu. The way I formatted it was:
sudo mkudffs --media-type=hd --vid=myDisk --blocksize=2048 /dev/sdc

This UDF partition on your external disk would not be readable by any non-Linux system. Requirement of UDF filesystem is that disk's logical block size must match UDF filesystem block size.
All hard disks and SSD, including external disks have logical block size of 512 bytes. Note that new disks have physical block size of 4096 bytes, but here is  relevant just logical. CD/DVD/BD optical discs have logical block size of 2048 bytes, so you probably thought that settings for optical discs would work also for hard disks...

So first problem is that it doesn't recognize the TYPE NAME is defined in format option (--vid=myDisk).

Volume label for UDF filesystem is defined by Logical Volume Identifier which is configured by --lvid option in mkudffs.
What you need is to re-format your disk again with correct --blocksize and ideally specify also --lvid for label.
New version 2.0 of mkudffs now automatically set --blocksize to the logical block size. And it also supports option --label which sets correct parameters for volume label.
For more information about compatibility of UDF, mkudffs and other operating systems looks into mkudffs 2.0+ manpage into section COMPATIBILITY and BLOCK SIZE.
Summary:
To format hard disk correctly with mkudffs prior to 1.1 you should do:
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdc bs=1M count=10
sudo mkudffs --blocksize=512 --lvid="label" --vid="label" /dev/sdc

With mkudffs version 1.1+ you should just do:
sudo mkudffs --label="label" /dev/sdc

If you want your hard disk to be readable also by Windows systems then you need to use at least mkudffs version 2.0.


OK, I got this idea: maybe it's the headset that is preventing the pairing from happening (remember I removed the pairing on the Mac, but on the headset it might still be somehow locked with the previous pairing for this specific device). When I read the manual a while ago I remember there was a way to clear the pairing settings.

So I did that, and voilá!, I can now pair with the Mac again :-)


Why doesn't my MacBook Pro Retina connect to 802.11n?

I had the same problem with my rMBP 15" late 2013. Like Exact same problem. Apple is terrible at quality and consistency control in making drivers.

Intall this older kext(wifi driver) and it will fix your  problem. I can connect to N only networks on 2.4 and 5 ghz  and get 300 mbps transmit rates now.

Here is what I did to get the WIFI working as described above.

Go to you hard drives root folder. Open system/library/extensions
drag & drop the IO80211Family.kext to a new folder on your desktop(as a backup) then delete it from system/library/extensions
Download & Run Kext Wizard

Direct download-->  http://wizards.osxlatitude.com/kext/download.html

Download & Extract - IO80211Family.kext zip. Here are two links incase one goes down

https://www.sendspace.com/file/4v4a4r

In Kext Wizard click install tab then then Drag & Drop the extracted IO80211Family.kext file into the Kext Wizard, Then click Install button.
Click the Maintenance tab and check the S/L/E box to repair permissions & Rebuild Cache.
Restart and adjust your router settings to N only and test. Should fix it. If it breaks wifi(99.5% chance it wont) or makes it worse then repeat these step and reinstall the original Kext that you backed up in Step 1.


Always boot windows, unless option is held down

From: Boot Camp: Set the default operating system

  After installing Windows, you can set the default operating system.

  Set the default operating system in OS X

  In OS X, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Startup Disk.
  Select the startup disk with the default operating system you want to use.
  If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click Restart.

  Set the default operating system in Windows

  You can’t change your startup volume to an external FireWire or USB
  drive while you're using Windows.

  In Windows 7, click the Boot Camp icon in the system tray, then choose Boot Camp Control Panel.
  In Windows 8, move the cursor to the upper-right or lower-right corner of the screen, then click Search. Search for “Boot Camp,” click
  Settings, then click Boot Camp.
  If a User Account Control dialog appears, click Yes.
  Select the startup disk with the default operating system you want to use.
  If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click
  Restart. Otherwise, click OK.

  Restart in OS X using the Boot Camp icon in the system tray

  In Windows, click the Boot Camp icon in the system tray, then choose
  Restart in OS X. This also sets the default operating system to OS X.

  If you don’t see the Boot Camp icon in the system tray, click the
  triangle to show hidden icons.


Is the firewall really pfctl, or another instance of pfctl?

There's no second instance of pfctl running.  Pretty much everything you have to do with pfctl requires root priviliges.

For example, just getting a listing of rules without using sudo gives a "permission denied"

$ pfctl -sr
pfctl: /dev/pf: Permission denied

Adding sudo allows you to view the current rule set:

$ sudo pfctl -sr
No ALTQ support in kernel
ALTQ related functions disabled
scrub-anchor "com.apple/*" all fragment reassemble
anchor "com.apple/*" all

The issue you may be experiencing might be related to this post:  Application Firewall is not enabling pfctl


iCloud Backup Restore 6.0 to 7.0 but not 7.0 to 7.1

It is possible to restore an iCloud backup from iOS 7.0.x on iOS 7.1. Since iOS 7.1 is later than iOS 7, you can restore the backup fine.


How to copy my files from "On my ipad" to my Mac?

As far as I know, you can't see the "On my iPad" folder, however, the easiest way I found was using iCloud or use the app Documents by Readdle


How to find program's Application Support folder

AFAIK, applications can name their Application Support folder whatever they want—there's no requirement that it be the name or bundle id of the app. Heck, there's also no requirement that it be stored in ~/Library/Application support—an app could save all configuration data to your Desktop if it wanted to. Most Mac developers try to follow conventions, but I don't think there's a "rule" you can follow.

That said, one application that is surprisingly successful at finding these folders is AppCleaner. Intended to help you remove leftover files from an app you want to delete, AppCleaner also displays a list of these files prior to deletion:

What I will sometimes do is drag an app into AppCleaner, make note of the paths, and click CANCEL instead of delete.


Podcasts app "disappearing" from background?

This is just how it is. After an undefined period the podcasts app is being closed by iOS to save battery and memory. If you want you can delete the Apple podcasts app and sync podcasts from iTunes. You will find the podcasts section re-appears in the music app.


Step 1: You need to put the iPad into recovery mode.

Press and hold the home and sleep/wake buttons until the device shuts off. Keep holding the home key until the "connect to iTunes" graphic appears on the screen.

Step 2: Make sure you have iOS 3.2 somewhere on your system. Drag it into the organizer.

You can get any version of the iOS firmware from here.

Step 3: Open XCode's organizer and connect the iPad.

Step 4: Select your iPad in the organizer and choose the firmware version on the top right.

NOTE: You can probably use replace steps 3 and 4 with Option + Click in iTunes, just make sure to have the proper firmware lying around on your system.

NOTE2: Excuse me, I meant iOS 3.2, not iOS 4.1. I'm a little distracted at the moment.


iPhone 4 iOS 7 seems to register more data used

Try iCleaner. This removes a variety of leftovers and other jailbreak files that can consume a lot of space. These files don't show in Usage as they are regarded by iOS as part of the system, but can be safely removed.

Cydia: it cleans up Cydia caches and temporary files, Cydia applications unnecessary files, partially downloaded Cydia packages and repo files.
[…]
Log files: it deletes log files and crash reports from known locations. These files are generally irrelevant to the user and can be safely deleted.
Cache files: it scans and deletes system cache files and databases. Some of them are rebuilt upon respring. This helps removing obsolete cache data.
Temporary files: it deletes temporary files from your device. These files are meant to be removed automatically, but they often happen not to. iCleaner takes care of that.


How to use the mouse scrollwheel to trigger a macro/service?

One of the best apps that I have found that can do that is BetterTouchTool. It is free for MacOS 10.6+ It allows you to create links from all kinds of gestures, and button combinations. It works for the Magic Mouse, Normal Mice, Touchpads, Apple Remote, Siri Remote, Etc.
I was unable to get the cmd+scroll alone to work, but cmd+shift+scroll works great. To get it working: Install from https://www.boastr.net/ then open the app preferences and go to "Normal Mice" for gestures. "Add New Button" then Hold down the shift key as you scroll over the action area. (3) Make sure to check the Shift and the Cmd boxes.
Add a "Custom Shortcut" of + or -
You will have to create an entry for scrolling up and scrolling down separately.

Limiting The shortcut:
In the left panel "Select Application" you can have the Shortcut usable Globally or only apply if a specific app is active, ie. only work if you are in Chrome.
Advanced -- if you only want the shortcut to apply to a specific app you can setup a "Predefined Action" -> "Send Shortcut to Specific App" You can then Choose an app that receives the + or -


Notes in Mail will be removed in iOS 6, and iCloud only syncs notes between the notes apps.

So, Mountain Lion is just a few month ahead of iOS 6 so there is a bit of a missing link between the systems.

  You can create for every "mail.app-note" one entry in the notes app
  from iOS and they will be synced to all your devices.

So copy and paste every entry from the Mail-Notes to a new entry in the notes app on iOS, and they appear in Mountain Lion and on your other iOS-Devices.

  Works between iOS 5, 6 and Mountain Lion.


Best way to clear up space and dump to computer when getting iCloud storage backup prompt?

First question: yes, iCloud backs up your photo as it is. If you delete media from your photos library it will be deleted from iCloud. (I might add that videos are also stored in the cloud - and consequently take up the most room).

Second question: It is possible you can use the Scanner and Camera wizard to import photos from your iPhone. Here is are two articles that briefly describe the process.

Tech Recipes
OSX Daily

Before you delete all (or most of) your photos off your iPhone, I would recommend that you double check that everything has been transfered correctly so you don't lose any pictures.

You probably already know this but it's worth mentioning anyways. When you go to delete photos from your iPhone, open the Photos app, click the Camera Roll album, then select the box with the arrow icon at the top right of the screen. Select pictures to be deleted, then tap the Delete button in the bottom bar (this is also a way to email more then one picture).

Of course, the other option would be to turn off the iCloud backup of your photos. (You already know how to get there but go to iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > [your name] iPhone > Turn Camera Off.)


Saving a filename with a special character in Mac?

Unicode U+002F is equivalent to ASCII 47, or the "slash"/soldus key on your keyboard. Calling it a Unicode special character
is a bit like maître Pathelin in the medieval farce discovering that he was speaking prose; it's just the unmodified output of the key next to the right shift key.
It's not so much that it's a Unicode special character as that it's a special character in the operating system. MacOS has long had a complicated relationship with the slash and colon symbols in path names.
In the command line, / is treated as the directory separator, and cannot be used in filenames. In the Finder, : has been used as the directory separator. A file with a : in its name will display as a / in the Finder, but may produce problems with some program's name safety checks.
If you type at the terminal prompt touch ~/Desktop/test:mytest:2021.html, that file will appear on your desktop as test/mytest/2021.html, but not all programs might be happy about it.


Why can't I press "return" to see all pages in Preview on Mountain Lion?

Try Opt-Cmd-5 to get the same effect in Mountain Lion.


Is it possible to add an internal broadband card to MacBook Air?

No unfortunately the only options are really external. Until someone can come up with a 3G / 4G card that will work in place of the MacBook Airs Wifi / Bluetooth card, but even then how portable are the antennas designs between Wifi and 3G / 4G cellular signals, not sure it would work well if at all.

See iFixits teardown of the MacBook Air 11":

A mobile WiFi Hot Spot is a real option for now, essentially a portable broadband card that interfaces with your Mac via Wifi to allow a data connection. Also if have a smartphone such as an iPhone or Android phone that offers this Wifi sharing you can use one of those as well to do the same thing.

These kinds of devices have their own battery and would allow  you to tuck them away in a backpack, bag, pocket etc and use your MacBook Air with out any dongles, etc.


Is there any way to change a password hint without changing the password?

dscl . -merge /Users/username hint "your password hint"

Replace username with the short name of the account you wish to modify.
Replace your password hint with the hint you would like to set for the account.

dscl is the Directory Service command line utility.
. is the local machine.
-merge allows you to add a new key to a record path.
/Users/username is the record path for the key.
hint is the key you would like to assign a value.
your password hint is the string value for the key.


How do I count words in a PDF file on OS X?

Use the GhostScript tool ps2ascii,
$ ps2ascii MSWiM_2016.pdf | wc -w
*** Warning: composite font characters dumped without decoding.
    8964


Can't Enable Filevault because Recovery Partition Missing

You will want to recreate the recovery partition following any of the answers here.

How to recreate Lion Recovery HD partition?
How can I create or recreate a Lion recovery partition?

That ensures the installer will throw an error if you have an issue with the partition map (or better it might fix that issue for you). Since FileVault 2 takes over the whole drive, you might also be out of luck to convert the drive with the other partitions present. Worst case, you could remove the partitions that aren't standard and run the conversion. Just like the BootCamp assistant cannot carve space out when FileVault is enabled, the graphical tools might not allow coexistence of non HFS+ partitions or volumes.


How to delete duplicate photos from an iPhoto event?

Just because there are duplicates within iPhoto, doesn't mean that iPhoto actually has duplicated the file.  Navigate to ~/Pictures/.  Right-click on iPhoto Library, show package contents.  Find your event within Originals/<year>/<event name>.  Backup the directory.  Remove the event from iPhoto - I don't know if this removes the actual folder or not, that's why I suggested backing it up first.  Re-add it.  Voila.

Let me know if it has actually duplicated the files.  I know of a great duplicate removal app, but it's not free.


What are the risks of connecting an iPhone to an unsecured wireless network?

The iTunes Store uses HTTPS for most of it (if not all), at least that's how it was when I checked.

Regarding your specific question, you have to consider the iPhone is another regular device, albeit full of limitations in the tweaking department, it still runs a OS X variant, with derived UNIX parts, etc. So for the sake of this question, let's say your iPhone is a computer running some form of Unix Operating System; with that in mind, all the security risks that affect a computer are valid. Should the iPhone (and iOS) have a remote vulnerability, you would be exposed, just like your Macbook or your Windows computer or even your Linux Box.

Using 'open' Wi-Fi means anyone can log in and inspect the traffic. Anyone trying to do malicious stuff will be eavesdropping and listing for traffic in the network.

If you send an email, it will likely be unencrypted and visible. If you use IM (MSN, Yahoo, iChat/AIM, Jabber, etc.) you are likely not encrypted either (nor using a secure channel by default).

When using Safari, anything that doesn't go though some form of HTTPS is visible. Cookies and Data, with all the associated risks.

So as you can see, and excluding particular OS vulnerabilities, we're very exposed when using open networks. Most people doesn't really care or know but the risks are there (and so are the malicious users) :)

Connecting through a VPN will help with your traffic, but I have never used a VPN on an iPhone and thus I don't know what the capabilities of that are.


In the menu bar click View -> Show Status Bar

The status bar will appear at the bottom of the Finder window with the icon size slider on the right hand side.


A couple of things you can try:

Open the folder in Finder - click on the Actions button- select Show View Options - put a check next to Show icon preview. If it's checked, uncheck it, close the window, open it back up and check it again
Head for your home folder - Library / Preferences - move the com.apple.finder.plist file to the desktop - log out and back in. If this fixes it, you can delete the file. This is going to reset all your Finder preferences to default.
the thumbnails are stored in a folder called com.apple.QuickLook.thumbnailcache in a subfolder of /var/folders. The quickest way to locate it should be to run sudo find . -name com.apple.Q*. You could move that folder to a different location and restart the Finder process (killall Finder) to force a recreation of the thumbnails.


It depends on what your full usage scenario is. For a one-off full image Time Machine is not very well suited, you are better of with using

the disk imaging functionality in Disk Utility
SuperDuper
Carbon Copy Cloner

If you are looking for having a full image of your drive updated regularly, fast and hassle-free, Time Machine is a good way to do that. The initial backup will just take a while longer, the incremental ones will be rather fast.


Can grep highlight matching text without hiding file content?

I don't think there is any simple option in grep but this seems to work fine. From https://stackoverflow.com/a/981831

grep --color -E "pattern|$" file

The |$ at the end of the regular expression makes grep find pattern OR end of lines. It can't highlight those though, so just the pattern gets colored.


You should escape the !.

Try:

chflags nohidden \!_TRANSCODE

! is a special character to bash, it is used to refer to previous commands. A more extensive explanation can be found at: What is “-bash: !”: event not found"