Can I make the trackpad tracking speed faster than allowed in System Preferences?

Open up the terminal and type

defaults write -g com.apple.trackpad.scaling x

"x" being how much you want your mouse speed increased. "6" worked perfectly for me.

Simply log out and log back in and your setting will be changed!

Under System Preferences the trackpad speed will now be in the middle of its slow/fast options, and if you change it it will override your new changes.

Source was this guy: https://gist.github.com/brandonb927/3195465
Found this in line 328 of his code.

Hope it works for you as well as it did for me!


Keynote on your mac is maybe a good way to make a lesson. You can make slides of your lecture and record your voice lectures with it. You can then record the whole slide show as you go through it. It has a great LaTex equation maker with all the symbols you'll need.

I hope this is what you are looking for.


How to pipe output of 'say' to another command

It seems impossible. It should have been possible to use -o /dev/stdout for this, but say insists on adding a file suffix, which rather ruins that option. I tried getting around that by creating a symlink to /dev/stdout, but it gives a permission error. (Perhaps this comes from say opening the output file for both reading and writing (option O_RDWR) instead of just writing.)


Does switching the keyboard language (literally) works?

If you want to replace your existing hardware keyboard, you need to contact an Apple store or other service operation directly yourself and ask whether that is possible and what the cost would be.  Whether the right parts are available somewhere for a 7-year old machine is hard to know.

An easier solution would be to try using a "skin" over the existing keys or otherwise mark them to meet your needs.


Time Machine Backup causes Macbook Pro to hang

The problem was my Time Machine backup. Here are the symptoms I got in their order:

Time Machine get stuck during the backup stage, gives the error "ComputerX.sparsebundle is already in use"
Process fseventsd started hogging CPU causing the computer to slow down
Computer could not restart or shut down

My sparsebundle on the Time Machine was corrupted so my computer could not complete the backup. The process responsible for maintaining the backup (fseventsd) got hung up on the currupted file and started chewing up CPU. When I tried to shutdown my computer, It would get stuck because my computer wouldn't be able to eject the corrupted sparsebundle.

I found the solution here:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1502226?start=0&tstart=0

In short, heres how to fix it:

1) mount your sparse bundle from your storage device
 2) do a disk repair from Disk Utility, make sure your sparse bundle is selected!

  Note: If your sparse bundle is not completely corrupted, you might be able to save some of your backups depending on how corrupted the bundle is

3) If your bundle is completely toast (like mine was) then you have to completely erase the bundle and start over from scratch. You DO NOT have to erase the entire backup disk, just your bundle

  Note: You may have to restart your computer to clear your bundle because now that the corrupted bundle is mounted, your computer won't be able to gracefully unmount.


MDM software on iPhone - Monitoring hotspot use?

"List Network Information" is related to blacklisted websites and what the device is using to connect to the internet (Roaming, VPN). For example if the corporate policy demands the device connecting through the corporate network.

Here you may get a sneak peak of what is able to get configured: http://www.wpci.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/BES10-2-FDM-EMM-data-sheet1.pdf (last page for iOS and Android)

Furthermore, see https://help.blackberry.com/en/blackberry-uem/12.7/administration/filtering-web-content.html and accompanied pages.

So, answering your question: It is possible, but you may never know what data your company is analyzing. The certificate with "list network information" just says it is theoretically possible.


Power on and start a terminal automatically at a specified directory

I would do this in two steps:

Open terminal on log-in
To do this, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items and add terminal there.

Run a specific command when terminal is launched
Open Terminal, go to Settings > Profile > Shell and in the first box write the command that you want terminal to run. In your case something like cd ~/Desktop.


can i safely use a 60 w adapter on a 2009 macbook pro computer

For future reference, providing the exact model of your computer will be very helpful in getting accurate advice. In 2009 Apple actually released five different MacBook Pro models. See below for the power adaptor used with each model:

MacBook Pro 17" early-2009 -
(85W MagSafe Power Adapter)

MacBook Pro 13" mid-2009 -
(60W MagSafe Power Adapter)

MacBook Pro 15" mid-2009 (2.53GHz model) -
(60W MagSafe Power Adapter)

MacBook Pro 15" mid-2009 -
(85W MagSafe Power Adapter)

MacBook Pro 17" early-2009 -
(85W MagSafe Power Adapter)

In a nutshell, your 60W adapter will work with both the MacBook Pro 13" mid-2009 and MacBook Pro 15" mid-2009 (2.53GHz model) computers. It should not be used with the others!

Hope this helps.


Fullscreen a running application from the terminal

Use applescript to send the ⌘⌃F shortcut:

tell application "Terminal"
    activate
    tell application "System Events" to keystroke "F" using {command down, control down}
end tell

You can use the osascript command to execute applescripts.


Dtrace script newproc.d stopped working after upgrade, because of missing proc:::exec-success probe

This is probably because of the "Rootless" feature in El Capitan.

You can disable this feature by rebooting into recovery mode and running the command csrutil disable (and you can similarly reenable it with csrutil enable).

There is a great explanation over at this Ask Different question: What is the “rootless” feature in El Capitan, really? The second answer addresses Dtrace directly.


Is it possible to control the Apple TV with the LG Magic Remote?

I found a really gross workaround.

Buy a learning universal remote. I used this old thing
After selecting any "DVD/Bluray" make from the LG TV UI, have the learning remote learn the keys you want to use for ⬆
With both remotes, sit by the Apple TV and hold and/or mash that key. After a dozen or so tries the Apple TV should eventually fill its progress bar and accept it.
Repeat for ,⬇,⬅,➡, OK, and Menu. Note that the button in the center of the magic remote and most settings buttons around it are not programmable, so I had to settle for "O" to mean "OK" and "8" to mean "Menu"

Not ideal, but better than nothing. LG Magic Remote now works fine for navigating the Apple TV


2017 Macbook-Pro did not want to turn on?

The System Management Controller is a subsystem responsible for power management as well as fan control. It is not unusual for it to get into an undefined state. Power spikes, i. e. can occur at any time and may influence the SMC.

So the question is not why or when it happens but how to resolve it. You have already posted the answer which is to perform a SMC reset. Therefore keep going with your MPB—there doesn’t appear to be any problem.


Can I use my iPhone charger with my iPad?

Yes, you can use your iPhone charger with the iPad.

This should not damage the iPad or the charger.

However, since the iPad is provided with a lower current the charging takes longer. Both the iPhone and iPad charge with 5V, but the iPad charger provides 2A while the iPhone charger only provides 1A.

This is why it takes longer to charge. You should completely turn off the iPad in order to speed up the charging process.


It may look like both are speakers, but in fact the speakers on the iPhone are top centre & bottom right - you get the best stereo impression with the phone in landscape orientation.

Pic from Apple -

Rather more blatant pic from youtube...


MacBook Pro crashes randomly after dropping it on the floor

You broke your MacBook, you need to take it for service.

The symptom that your Touch bar sometimes works (a.k.a. intermittently) means there is a bad/shorted connection somewhere.  Without physically examining it, it's impossible to tell what.  This is something for a professional to diagnose.


Is it possible to search within a PDF document using Kindle for iPad?

No.

As of version 4.5 of the kindle app for IOS in pdf searching is  not available.

As of version 1.10.7 of the kindle app for OS X in pdf searching is available.


What's the best way to edit Microsoft Word documents on iPad?

Pages will indeed give you the native app and nice interface, but for true Microsoft Word editing, you have to try CloudOn!

After creating an account in the app on your iPad, you will be given choices to use your dropbox to reach the documents you wish to edit. Another option is to transfer it to the app via iTunes. When editing, you will be using the full version of Microsoft Word on your iPad. No catch. Simply the full version like you know it from your Windows PC desktop. It is amazing!

It takes a while to get used to running it properly on the iPad, but it's worth it when all your CV formatting is intact and editable.


External keyboard doesn't show as separate keyboard to configure

If you are looking for Modifier remap, in keyboard.prefPane exists a modifier button where you can edit it for external keyboard.
For more advanced ways, you should checkout keyboard Maestro for Macro keys and this answer to figure out what you want to do.


Using "Jar Launcher" on High Sierra how do I pass command line arguments to a java app (jar)

try creating a sh or command file  where the jar file exists, eg  myj.command.
Then make edit with chmod7 755 so its executable in console.

the myj should be   java -jar .jar  --


Does running Google Photos in addition to the iOS Photos app cause two copies of each of my photos to be stored on my phone?

The photos are stored on your device and Google accesses them there.

It makes a copy of the selected photos (or all photos, depending on your settings) and uploads that copy to their servers for storage.

You only have 1 copy of the actual photo and not your device but some space is also used by the Google app to keep the links between your photo and it's databases in sync.


How can one create a shortcut for pasting unformatted text in Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac?

I found the answer in this blog post

Create the AppleScript:

try
  set theClip to Unicode text of (the clipboard as record)
  tell application "Microsoft Word" to tell selection to type text text theClip
end try

  Save in
  /Users/YourUserName/Documents/Microsoft
  User Data/Word Script Menu Items as
  Paste unformatted\mosV.scpt (the
  backslashed bit at the end of the
  filename provides the shortcut).
  Restart Word and you can now paste
  without importing extraneous styles
  with Apple-Alt-Shift-V.


iPad Other Storage - what is it and how to clear it up?

"Other" data is memory things other than apps, music, or movies use. This usually consists of mainly downloads and other content that your device cannot classify. You can remove it by downloading a file explorer and deleting unwanted items to free up space.


find . -type f -name "*filename*" -exec grep -il 'mywordinthefile' {} \;

find search for file recursively in a directory.
First parameters is the directory you want to look in. Here it's . so the current directory. You could use ~/Documents for example or any other directories.
-type f- option is to only return files, not directories.
-name option takes a pattern to find specifics filenames.
grep is used here to find the word/pattern you want in the files found by find.


What techniques for disk, volume and file system management are possible with OS X, but troublesome within Disk Utility?

Things not within a logical volume group (LVG) appear to be within the LVG

Affected: some applications of Core Storage, including but not limited to FileVault 2 in Mountain Lion.

Example

Disk Utility 13 (426) in Build 12A269 of OS X 10.8:

Volumes swap and spare are JHFS+ and truly not within the LVG.

disk0s3 is an Apple_Journal, currently unused and truly not within the LVG.

Disk Utility misrepresents all three as being within the LVG.


In Preferences choose the windows tab for your set of settings. There is an option Active process name - if this is not ticked then you should not see the command in the title bar.


You don't get an email address from the buyers of your book. iTunes Connect doesn't provide that kind of information.

What you could do is write a note next to the widget with an email address where the buyers can mail to. To get the password from you.

Or the note contains a link to a website where you can provide the password.


Macbook Pro 13 in, 16GB Ram, i7 3.1, 512 GB Flash Storage Purchase

I may be an Apple cool-aid drinker, but the answer is still yes.

I code for a living on a PC but have never personally owned a PC. I am deeply engrained in the Mac experience and every day at work I miss the subtle, simple, and elegant nuances of MAC OS. I've cussed Windows about some thing every day for 14 consecutive years.

My Mac experience from a user perspective is that Mac hardware has longer useful life. My average is about 7 years. We'll see as the Mac becomes less upgradable.

2008 iMac(Core 2 Duo, 6GB RAM): OS upgraded 4 times now, starting w/ OS X 10.5 now running Mavericks (OS X 10.9.5) just fine. It will run Yosemite.  RAM upgraded beyond the official maximum RAM supported. My 2nd Mac I've done that with. Windows 7 emulation is satisfactory, but only after I upgraded from 4 to 6GB of RAM.

2012 MacBook Pro (i7, 8GB RAM): Replaced original hard drive w/ an SSD, moved that drive to the CD bay, put the CD player in an external enclosure. OS X upgraded twice, running Mavericks just fine. This thing cold boots to Parallels -> Win 7 -> visual studio faster than my PC at work. Much faster. I have no performance issues.

P.S. I hope your SSD is 6G SATA, and not 3.

2009 iPhone 3GS: Cannot upgrade to iOS 7, but still syncs (via iTunes) with Mac running Mavericks.

Last "code camp" I went to every presenter doing web or Visual Studio specifically were all using MacBook Pros. One told me "I wish I'd done it sooner." I use Parallels to drive Windows 7, and parallels integration of the Mac/Windoze Frankenstein is astonishing.


Adding content via Siri to text files in Dropbox?

I do not think that it is possible. The notes app buries files deep in the mobile documents folder on the desktop.

I believe it uses some sort of IMAP protocol.


Why does Mac OS X requires repairing of permissions for maintenance while other OS (windows /Ubuntu) doesn't require it?

Only because OS X offers a convenient way to repair permissions shouldn't be taken as an indicator that other operating systems don't need similar functionality as well. At least in the Linux world it depends on the distribution whether something similar is available and how it is run (e.g. periodically via cron).

As for the "why is this required in the first place": Software is usually not bug-free, neither are Installer applications. So permissions may get changed in unexpected ways over time. Having a function to repair them may save a lot of time wasted for hunting such issues down.


Here's an iOS 7 status bar with the default UINavigationController background colour:


How can I stop iPhone prompting me to setup Apple Pay in Settings?

Choose the option to finish setting up your iPhone, then choose Set Up Apple Pay. On the following screen, under Continue, choose Set Up Later in Wallet.

If you are in a region where Apple Pay Cash is supported, go to Wallet & Apple Pay in Settings, then disable Apple Pay Cash.


Yes, you can use the Apple Pencil 2 to collect information in a web page.

Yes, it can also be used to fill out <input> and <textarea> fields. However, it might not be in the manner that you imagine. If you're hoping that all browsers convert handwriting into computer text when you "draw" on top of an <input> - then you're unfortunately wrong. Instead you'll be able to use a virtual keyboard with the pen to enter text into <input> and <textarea> form fields.

Yes, you can use use Apple Pencil 2 to create files that can be "attached" (i.e. uploaded) from a web page. There's both built-in apps as well as third party apps that allows you to create PDFs, image files, etc. on iPads. These files could for example contain drawings made with the pencil. Browsers support the standard <input type="file"> field for uploads on the iPad.

If you want the user to be able to use handwriting directly on your web page without having to create PDFs or image files, then you can use the <canvas> element. You can easily find many tutorials on how to use the <canvas> element along with a few lines of Javascript to convert touch events from the Apple Pencil 2 into drawings on the canvas (either simple line segments or more advanced bezier curves). This is commonly used to support collecting signatures with the Apple Pencil 2.


Missing lock icon in System Preferences->Sharing on El Capitan

There is no lock on this screen.  There is only a lock if the setting requires an Administrator (someone with the role of Administrator) to make the changes (i.e. Security).  If anyone can make the changes then there's no need for a lock.

Make sure you're logged-in with the role of Administrator to see the preferences that you can lock/unlock.

EDIT: based on OP's new comments:
  - Log in as a user with Administrator rights.
  - Open System Preferences and select Security & Privacy.
  - Click the lock icon and authenticate.
  - Click the Advanced button at the bottom and enable the Require an Administrator... in the popup window.
  - OK the change and then lock the S&P preference pane.

Now when you open the Sharing preference pane you will have your lock back.


You cannot review anonymously but Apple offers feedback through this form here.


What extensions are available to protect privacy while browsing the web?

I'm using Safari and there are a number of useful extensions for security.

Google SSL

This extension makes it so every time you use the search bar, instead of searching www.google.com, your search is redirected to the Google SSL encrypted search site.
Do Not Track Plus

Do Not Track Plus blocks tracking technologies that advertisers and other companies use to track your browsing behavior. Easily see who is tracking you at each website you visit and block any or all of them.
Google Disconnect

Google is notified whenever you visit one of the more than 25 percent of sites on the web that include Google widgets (see http://j.mp/dcdefcon). Google Disconnect blocks traffic from third-party sites to Google servers but still lets you access Google services.
TrafficLight

TrafficLight is taking the security-while-browsing concept where it belongs: in the browser. This extension will add a strong layer of security over your browsing experience without inducing speed penalties or system resource consumption. Part of the processing is done in the cloud with some intelligent small engines that make various checks on pages you're visiting enabling you to have top notch antiphishing and antimalware protection.

You can check out some more security extensions here.

DuckDuckGo

Google is widely known to track and store personal data, so it's not a good search engine for maintaining anonymity and privacy. A good, secure alternative is the DuckDuckGo search engine. Here's a short comparison by AffiliatePrograms:

  DuckDuckGo strongly believes in privacy. Currently, the company does not record any user information. As you probably know, this is a sticking point with many people when it comes to Google. Company founder Gabriel Weinberg had this to say:
  “By default, DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information. That is our privacy policy in a nutshell.”
  It is often times described as a “hybrid” search engine thanks to results that are pulled from multiple sources including: Yahoo Search, Wolfram Alpha, Wikipedia, and its own crawler.

Incognito

Incognito is Safari web extension focused on Security. Here's a description from their site:

  When browsing the web, you are continuously being tracked. Not only by the websites you are visiting, but also by major companies that embed their 'content' into other websites through ads and analytics. As a result, companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook have an almost complete picture of your online activity.

  Incognito protects your privacy by blocking Google Adsense and Google Analytics on non-Google pages. In addition, it allows you to optionally block Facebook and Twitter content on third-party websites as well as embedded YouTube movies outside of the YouTube website.

Hope this helps!


Will Upgrading to Mavericks Slow My System?

I would say that machine should run mavericks fine; its not much more resource intensive than 10.8 is. Is there some specific aspect of performance you are concerned about?


Does Find My Mac work if the disk gets erased?

As long as the thief does not manually clear the NVRAM in any way, or reconfigures iCloud with another account, the device can still be tracked when online.

see this answer


Is it possible to update my iPhone 3G without a computer?

No, you can't — you need a computer. Over-the-air updates were introduced in iOS 5. As the iPhone 3G can't run iOS 5, you can't do OTA updates, and therefore you need a computer to update it.

Also, 'the new update' (I presume you are referring to iOS 7) isn't compatible with the iPhone 3G, regardless of how you update.


My old iTunes library isn't appearing in iTunes on my new PC

The iTunes library on PC is stored in one of the following locations, depending on the version of Windows in use.

Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\
Windows Vista: C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\
Windows 7/8: C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes\

What version of Windows was in use on your old PC? It's also possible that an older version of iTunes was in use on the old PC and iTunes is somehow not recognizing it on the new PC.


You need to just add the variable to the end of your predetermined path string, like this…

set LastNameInitial to ""
repeat while LastNameInitial is ""
    display dialog "What is the first letter of your last name?" default answer ""
    set LastNameInitial to text returned of result
    if LastNameInitial is not "" then
        mount volume "smb://ServerName/files/myfiles/" & LastNameInitial
    end if
end repeat

I added a safety net just in case they don't enter an initial, which will keep springing the same dialog until they do, or cancel


latest command line tools available for macos mojave?

According to XCodereleases the last release of Xcode running in 10.14 is 11.3.1.


How can I mount an SMB share from the command line?

You could easily achieve this using mount_smbfs (which is, actually, a wrapper for mount -t smbfs) :

mount_smbfs //user@SERVER/folder ./mntpoint

Optionally, add the workgroup :

mount_smbfs -W workgroup //user@SERVER/folder ./mntpoint

You could, of course, change the ./mntpoint (for something like /Volumes/smb).

After doing this, simply go to ./mntpoint to browse your data.

To unmount, using the following command :

umount ./mntpoint


Lion: Change Keyboard shortcut CMD + ALT + Left/Right Arrow for spaces OR Firefox's next/previous tab

You can change Mission Control's keyboard shorcut from System Preferences/Keyboard/Keyboard Shourtcuts window or bind specific shortcut key for Firefox in same window.


Closing Terminal window does not kill script run with sudo

You are talking about orphan processes. As you will see, your question has little to do with sudo. Orphans are assigned to process 1. This process 1 is called init and is a daemon process that continues running until the system is shut down. Here are two simple examples where orphans are created. The macOS is High Sierra which uses bash as the default shell.

  If you choose to repeat the examples, you will have to replace the process ids with the ones you get.

When the parent windows terminates, a hang up signal (SIGHUP) is sent to the child processes. Normally, this causes each child processes to terminate. However, if a child chooses not to terminate or is never sent a hangup signal (SIGHUP), then the child can become an orphan.

Example 1

Open a new Terminal window and enter the command shopt -s huponexit. This command is necessary because bash is a login shell. Output shown below.

Last login: Thu Mar 12 17:02:31 on ttys008
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ shopt -s huponexit
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Enter the command { trap '' hup; sleep 60000; } &, as shown below.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ { trap '' hup; sleep 60000; } &
[1] 8993
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Here a new process 8993 is created as job 1. The trap '' hup command causes the hang up signal (SIGHUP) to be ignored. Next, open a another Terminal window and enter the command ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 8993, as shown below.

Last login: Thu Mar 12 17:09:12 on ttys008
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 8993
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
ttys008   8993  8972 -bash
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

This shows the first window was assigned ttys008 and has a process id of 8972. Next, the first window is closed. In the popup window, Terminate is selected. A hang up signal (SIGHUP) is sent to process 8972, which is ignored. Process 8972 is now orphaned and will be assigned to process 1. Repeating the ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 8993 command in the second window will show this. See below.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 8993
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
??        8993     1 -bash
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Finally, the commands shown below are entered to send a terminal signal (SIGTERM) to process 8993 and show that the process has terminated.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ kill 8993
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 8993
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Example 2

This is basically the same as example 1, except instead of having the process ignore the hangup signal (SIGHUP), the disown %1 command is used to prevent a hangup signal (SIGHUP) from being sent to the process. Open a new Terminal window and enter the command shopt -s huponexit. This command is necessary because bash is a login shell. Output shown below.

Last login: Thu Mar 12 17:02:31 on ttys008
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ shopt -s huponexit
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Next, enter sleep 60000 & followed by disown %1. The %1 parameter represents job 1. The results are shown below.

Last login: Thu Mar 12 17:14:54 on ttys010
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ sleep 60000 &
[1] 9139
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ disown %1
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

In the second window, enter ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139. The results are shown below.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
ttys008   9139  9130 sleep 60000
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

After closing the third window, enter ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139 in the second window. The results are shown below. Another orphan has been created.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
??        9139     1 sleep 60000
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

Finally, enter kill 9139 and ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139, as shown below.

Marlin:~ davidanderson$ kill 9139
Marlin:~ davidanderson$ ps -axo tty,pid,ppid,args 9139
TTY        PID  PPID ARGS
Marlin:~ davidanderson$

References

Orphan process
Zombie process
init
Daemon


Many 0.1 -6 mb + disk images on running "diskutil list"under "Recovery HD". Is it normal?

Yes - the recovery HD layers many components to make a bootable system so I would call that normal / intended.

Since you are booting to a write restricted environment on an OS that typically wants to write log files, cache databases, system settings - those are likely created to be easily discardable without modifying the OS substantially for booting on Recovery HD as opposed to booting from a volume as normal.


Why do I need an admin password to change the VPN PPP Password in my keychain?

I think because VPN is a network interface, your basically changing preferences for that (so that´s a global change, not only for your keychain item). So the same way you need to identify as an admin to unlock "System Preferences...">"Network" for being able to change interfaces, you would need to do that here, too.


Transfer images to iPad from a second computer

Possible solutions:

iCloud sync.  I do this on several windows boxes using the iCloud control panel from Apple.  I am not sure how quality of RAW files are affected.
App store solutions may exist.  At the very least there are photo editors with Dropbox integration, although these have been manual processes for me in the past.
Koolertron 2 in 1 USB Camera Connection Kit+sd Card Reader for Ipad Ipad 2
... An inexpensive alternative to Apple's photo connector

I find these things tedious, but it is better than it was when I first got an iPad.  I don't know that it is intentional on Apple's part, but more of a result of them owning the basketball ... How are you going to play ball without them? iTunes has been a pile of garbage for years, but it doesn't seem to hurt sales, so . . . . . .

Good luck.

[edit] I have used PhotoForge 2, GoodReader, iFiles, and even email to move photos off and on to my iPad.  I like iCloud, as I can just sync back and forth from a folder on different PCs.  It took me a few tries to get it configured ... I also rely on DropBox, Box.net, and now Google Drive and Skydrive ... Many, many gigs of synced storage online.  Again, none of these necessarily meet your needs, your mileage may vary, and so on.


QuollEyeTree has many of these features http://binnie.id.au/QuollEyeTree.html

It was designed as a XTree/ZTreeWin implementation for OSX.


Trouble accessing the iPhone 4s smiley emoticons / icons

Go to Settings > General > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard and choose Emoji. The full range of available emoji will become available through the 'globe' icon to the right of the '123' icon.


Duplicating images and resizing one of the copies in Automator

This workflow seems to have worked for me, is this what you did?


Itunes music moved over, but the rating did not

I'm afraid you cannot do it, or at least you cannot do it via the home sharing mechanism at least.

Certain items of Meta data, (including play counts, last played, ratings etc) are not stored as a part of the songs own Meta data (Title, Album, Track number etc), but instead belong to the iTunes library as a whole.  When you transfer a song using home share, you are effectively making a copy of it and placing it into a second library, where the flags are effectively zeroed out as if they have never been set (which, they haven't, for the new library that is).

That's just the way iTunes works, it all revolves around your library as much as the individual items within that library, so a play count would not copy over as it is not considered a part of the song itself.

You may be able to script up a method of transferring such library Meta data, but it's by design that you see this behaviour using Home Share.  Tools may exist, but I'll leave it to others that may have used them to mention them as I have no relevant experience.


Your iPhone 3G isn't eligible to upgrade to iOS 5+ which use iMessage, as a supplementary (or primary) means of messaging, and which does not require use of SMS (cellular transfer).

As a result, you will need to rely on a 3rd party app (that supports iOS 4) to do your messaging. A Google search revealed that there are still a number of texting apps that support iOS 4.3 (which your phone should support) such as:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textplus-free-text-group-texting/id314487667?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4


broken EFI / missing space after re-partitioning — using mavericks 10.9.5

THere's nothing actually wrong with your Air's EFI, what you are experiencing are the death-throws of a failing-and-fading-fast SSD module.

We tend to be rather blasé about solid-state drives these days, but seven years ago the technology was still maturing, and SSDs were still susceptible to sudden and inexplicable demise. When Jobs decided to start fitting SSDs into the first MacBook Airs, Apple did a lot of destructive data testing until the found a brand that they thought might last five years - Toshiba.

I'd look at getting a replacement SSD-stick - Transcend make a nice JetDrive replacement for your machine.


iPhone 3G cannot send mail - rejected by the server because it does not allow relaying

In general, this is probably because one of, or a combination of the following reasons:

1. Outgoing mail server requires authentication

To avoid abuse by spammers, many outgoing mail servers require authentication for relaying messages across the the internet. You should check if the outgoing mail server you are using for this account requires authentication, and if so properly set it up in your account settings. These typically use the same credentials as the ones for checking your mail with the same provider.

2. Outgoing mail server only accepts connections from the same network

Many ISPs only allow connections from hosts which are connected through their own network. If sending mails through your ISP's outgoing mail server works fine from your home Wifi, but stops working over a cellular data connection, or an external Wifi hotspot, this probably is the case.

In this case you can use another outgoing mail server. If you have a Gmail or an iCloud account you can use those outgoing servers for sending mails.

3. Incorrect settings

Double-check the settings for your outgoing mail server as they are specified by your email provider, especially server name, encryption and the port to connect to. If everything looks ok, try to recreate the account. For AOL and other popular services, there are presets for creating a new account which will fill out all the correct server details.

The specific settings for AOL's outgoing mail server are specified here:

SMTP Outgoing Server Address: smtp.aol.com (Use port 587 for standard or 465 for SSL connections)
SMTP Username: YourUsername@aol.com (or @love.com, @games.com, etc.)
SMTP Password: password you use to login to Mail

For a secure connection, check the SSL option for IMAP/POP and TLS for
SMTP in your mail program.


How do I mount a Synology remote folder on iPad running iOS 13.3

Try connecting manually.

In the top left portion of the screen, select the menu button at the top (three dots in a circle) and then select “Connect to Server”. Try using the IP address first.  Make sure you firm the URL correctly:

smb://<Synology IP Address>

You should be asked for username and password.

If that works, try it with the DNS name next.


System Information Recognizes iPhone, Xcode/iTunes Does Not

This sounds like a problem with the iTunes Helper. Try reinstalling the latest version of iTunes, just in case something broke along the way.


How can I remove web phone links from opening in Google Hangouts?

I'm not sure about removing hangouts completely (perhaps use a cleaning tool such as CleanMyMac, though many users dislike that type of app), but I have a suggesting for changing how telephone links are handled: try RCDefaultApp, a free prefpane which manages default apps for opening different types of files and URIs.

Using that prefpane, you could change the default setting for tel URLs to open using the FaceTime app.

More details on modifying the files that control these defaults are in this answer on SuperUser.


Go to system preferences/language & text/input sources and check the box for US and uncheck the box for US International PC.


Running Java / Jython process in the background

I got the answer on github: https://github.com/jythontools/jython/issues/148

Solution is summarized below.

when running with jython,

export JAVA_OPTS="-Dpython.launcher.tty=false"
jython a_jython_script.py &

Invoking with java add -Dpython.launcher.tty=false

/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_212.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -Xmx512m -Xss2560k -classpath ../../../../../../usr/local/Cellar/jython/2.7.1/libexec/jython.jar:. -Dpython.home=../../../../../../usr/local/Cellar/jython/2.7.1/libexec -Dpython.executable=../../../../../../usr/local/Cellar/jython/2.7.1/libexec/bin/jython -Dpython.launcher.uname=darwin -Dpython.launcher.tty=true -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Dpython.launcher.tty=false org.python.util.jython a_jython_script.py &


On MacOS you can use PBKD2 (Password Based Key Derivation 2) to create secure password verifiers. This is an accepted method by NIST. Supply a random salt (you can save it with the hashed password) and an iteration count such the the derivation takes around 100ms.

When saving a password verifier just using a hash function is not sufficient and just adding a salt does little to improve the security. Instead iterate over an HMAC with a random salt for about a 100ms duration and save the salt with the hash. Better yet use a function such as PBKDF2, Rfc2898DeriveBytes, Argon2, password_hash, Bcrypt or similar functions. The point is to make the attacker spend substantial time finding passwords by brute force.

See NIST Digital Identity Guidelines

See this How to use CommonCrypto for PBKDF2 in Swift 2 & 3
 or example code.


Python 3.4 + installed, python program that requires it still not running?

The issue is that your $PATH environment variable finds Apple's python 2.7 before the python.org one in /usr/local/bin

One way is to run the script as /usr/local/bin/python

Or run as python3

Another is to alter your path so /usr/local/bin is before /usr/bin . This has bee described in many questions


Go to an Apple store or Apple reseller and purchase the Snow Leopard install DVD.  It's relatively inexpensive (as far as Operating System prices are concerned).

Here is the link to the online store, where it will ship within 24 hours.


Restart screen features a progress bar: what is it?

This is the Mac restoring from safe sleep (aka hibernation). The contents of RAM was previously copied to disk and is now being restored. For HDDs, this process can take a while.

  When your Mac wakes from sleep, you might see a progress bar on its display. This is normal behavior that means your Mac is waking from Safe Sleep.

If you see a progress bar when your Mac wakes from sleep - Apple Support


iPhone SE says "connect to wi-fi or cellular to play music" when I AM connected to cellular

Update to iOS 12.1.2
Sign out of iTunes account (Mac iTunes app)
Sign in to your iTunes account
Connect your iPhone to your  (having iTunes app open)
Manage your songs and settings through iTunes

I hope it helps.


Access folder in which Photos stores its files

Launch photos, click on the Photos in the top navbar. On the dropdown, click Preferences > General and click Show in Finder. This will open the library. On top of the show in Finder button, there is the path to where the Library is located in.

Update: As Tetsujin said, the Library folder appears as a flat file rather than a directory. So access it by Right clicking > Show Package Contents


No, that SSD is not compatible with your MacBook Pro, as the form factor is different. Your Mac takes "blade" SSD, while the one on Amazon is the regular old hard drive-like enclosure. Personally, I recommend Intel for SSDs, I've had great luck with them.


Terminal tab number shortcuts completely messed in High Sierra

The answer to this is really unintuitive...when you don't have this option selected, the tabs show the shortcuts you want "cmd + number":

However, then you see this annoying issues where the tab shortscuts are based on opening order, even if you rearrange them. After selecting the option to switch tabs, the shortcut shown on each tab is misleading:

But, it now works with cmd + number in the tab order you see (without needing to use the "option" key.


How can I make the draggable titlebar file icon always appear at the top of files in Big Sur?

Backup your plist first. ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Preview/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Preview.plist
Then run this command:
defaults write com.apple.Preview NSWindowSupportsAutomaticInlineTitle -bool false

It will change the look of the toolbar so the title name is now on its own row above the tool icons. You can revert back to default with this command:
defaults write com.apple.Preview NSWindowSupportsAutomaticInlineTitle -bool true

Alternatively you can change the delay setting from the default 0.5 seconds to 0 seconds with:
defaults write com.apple.Preview NSToolbarTitleViewRolloverDelay 0


Why are files in the Shared folder automatically copied to other Macs?

This isn't anything specific to the Shared folder, but rather because you're using the clipboard to copy files there.

When you copy something such that it is placed on the clipboard, Universal Clipboard allows those files to be pasted anywhere across any of your devices logged into the same iCloud account, including iOS devices and Macs.

To disable this functionality, disable Handoff in System Preferences → General → Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.

macOS Sierra: Copy and paste across devices


How can I get boot details when booting from Snow Leopard DVD?

There should be a point—after you choose the language, but before it starts trying to install the OS—where you see a Utilities option in the menu bar.

Do you get to this point? If so, what happens when you choose Disk Utility?

There's more information about this at Using Disk Utility to Repair a Disk (University of Wisconsin).

OK, now it's a different question, so here's my different answer:

If repairing your main partition is what you want to accomplish, why not just run Disk Utility off the 10.5 system disk?


opensnoop
You can also use opensnoop to get more info on the icon. opensnoop is a Terminal app, it is pre-installed on your mac. When run with no options, opensnoop just prints all the files that are accesed on your computer in real-time

open Terminal.
type sudo opensnoop, your console will fillup fast.
click the icon.
look at the console to see which PID or which program get triggerd when clicking on the icon.


How many external displays can I power with the 15" retina MacBook Pro?

The Other World Computing Blog shows that the new MacBook Pro 15" with Retina Display Can Run 3 External Displays:

  image source: http://blog.macsales.com/

These resolutions were used:

Retina on laptop @ “best for Retina”
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt
iMac used as a display @ 2560 x 1440 via Thunderbolt/DisplayPort
LG monitor @ 1920 x 1200  via HDMI

Quote from the MacRumors news article on that:

  This makes the Retina MacBook Pro the first Mac -- other than a tower-based workstation like the Mac Pro -- to natively power four displays simultaneously.


AppleScript Application - Path of folder in 'Supporting Files'

The "Folders" in the Xcode sidebar are "groups" and not filesystem entities. In your project there is no "Supporting Files" folder on disk.

That said, you might try putting a dummy file in your target folder on disk, adding it to the project, and using the snippet you found to get a posix path to the dummy file. Which you can shorten to get the path to the target folder. You would want to remove the dummy file after you copied the folder of course.


You can actually customize your own input source icons via keyboard layouts! I found step-by-step instructions, which involve a bit of graphics editing, a Unicode Keyboard Layout Editor, and some work in Terminal.app: Salvatore Testa: Customizing Your Mac Input Source Icon. Have fun!


Find my iPhone without full internet access

There are solutions for this.  A good number of our clients use a Junos VPN portal for telecommuting associates.  Meanwhile, Junos provides a free iOS VPN client that integrates very nicely with the on-device OS.  Though I'm not aware of other VPN products (it's not my side of the business) I'm reasonably certain there are other products with similar functionality.

My solution would be to set up the VPN, then allow a specific rule to go back out to the iCloud service.  If you're dead-set on using iCloud to monitor location, that's probably your best option.  Apple Configurator does not currently allow for supervising a device's location, but I wouldn't be surprised if they added it for supervised devices in the future.

Another alternative would be to check out the available documentation from Apple to see if there's a specific feature for your use-case.


Why does Image Capture crash when downloading pictures from my iPhone?

You may have a malformed/corrupt image on your phone.  Have you tried with alternative software like iPhoto?  It may simply be a case of identifying the culprit and removing it.


Is there any energy wasted through USB cables due to data sync when plugged in wall charger

According to this article (sorry, german only) the iPhone - attached to a wall charger - detects that no data sync is possible and charges with the full specified power (±1000 mA).

Attached to an USB 2 interface (like your Mac) the power is reduced to ±500 mA to not interfere with the data stream.

Now the smart PCBs in USB cables as "SONICable" and "Doubletime" come in: Attached to an USB interface they trick the charging controller by simulating a wall charger on the data lines and the charging power is then increased to > 500 mA again if the interface can deliver that. As mentioned by bmike ♦ USB1/2 is specified with 500 mA and USB3 with 900 mA. But most interfaces have some upwards tolerance and deliver more power than specified and thus decrease charging time.

Due to the non-linearity of the charging process the charging time will NOT be halved though!

The conclusion of the linked (german) post:

In some combination (USB3 - Tablet, not necessarily Apple devices!) charging speed will be increased up to 100%. In most cases the charging speed increase is lower than 100%. Attached to a wall charger no significant speed increase is detected.

To answer your question(s):

Attached to a wall charger charging speed shouldn't be increased noticeable using the two mentioned cables.
No energy is wasted through USB cables due to data sync when plugged in wall chargers.


How to UNDO stopping OS X from writing Spotlight and Trash files?

What Metaxis described looks like it can be reverted with the following:

mdutil -i on /Volumes/yourUSBstick
cd /Volumes/yourUSBstick
rm -rf .fseventsd/no_log .metadata_never_index .Trashes
cd -

The first line with mdutil is the most important if you want your volume to index again, as it sets the indexing status for the volume back to on, according to the manual:

-i on | off
     Sets the indexing status for the provided volumes to on or off.  Note that indexing may be delayed due to
     low disk space or other conditions.

EDIT:

in your case (but this is specific to OP), you forgot to cd (change directory) into the volume before deleting the index files and adding a few files. You just need to delete the files you created locally (in your home folder):

rm -r .fseventsd/no_log .metadata_never_index .Trashes

No need to use mdutil to re-enable indexing on your drive as you did the first command right and only did a mistake after the second command.


Can you copy location metadata from one photo to another in iPhoto?

Yes, it's very simple.

Select the photo you want to copy the location data from and hit CMD+C to copy
Right click the photo you wish to paste the location
Select 'Paste Location' from the contextual menu.

Also you can check out http://thedigitalstory.com/2009/04/copy_and_paste_geoda.html for a pictorial guide.


How did my photos get transferred to my new iPhone even though they weren't in iCloud?

iCloud keeps your photos, and other documents, in the trash and ready for recovery for 30 days after they're deleted.

Depending on how many photos & files you have in iCloud, it can take hours or days for a sync to complete.  You didn't indicate if you deleted the photos from iCloud.com or from a device.  You also didn't mention if you had other devices signed-in to the same iCloud account.  It's important to note that iCloud doesn't do real-time syncing of files.  It does it on its own schedule.

When you deleted the photos in iCloud, they went into the Trash.  They were deleted but not technically deleted because iCloud allows you to recover items in the Trash for 30 days.

I'm guessing (and I can only guess here, based on the info provided) that the iCloud deletion of the photos was registered after it did the restore of your new device.  If you have other devices signed-in to the same iCloud account, they might not have received the 'delete' message before you connected your new device.  Therefore, the new device got the "sync all photos" message before getting the "delete all photos" message.

Confusing, I know.

Go to iCloud.com and verify your photos are in the trash.  If not, you can delete them (again).  Also, you can do a permanent delete from the trash on that site.

Then allow your new device, and all other devices, to sync again.  This could take several hours or a day.  When that's all done, your photos should be deleted from iCloud as well as deleted from all other signed-in devices.


How to make macOS cmd+tab switch desktops when app is on a different desktop

System Prefs > Mission Control > When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows...


How do I automatically save messages on my Mac, even after deleting the conversation

It's 'all or nothing' you can't be selective about which to save [unless you juggle this parameter before each time you close a conversation, which might work] but in Messages prefs, check "Save history when conversations are closed"


Hidden .DS_Store files not appearing in Finder despite enabling display of hidden files

I'm not sure what command the Cmd+Shft+. shortcut invokes, but to truly show hidden files (on 10.9.* through 10.13.*, as of today), use terminal to execute:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; killall Finder

For 10.6.* through 10.8.*, use (note the capitalization difference in the first instance of Finder):

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; killall Finder

Source: http://osxdaily.com/2009/02/25/show-hidden-files-in-os-x/
(I'm definitely not a fan of osxdaily.com, but it works.

Additionally, to check on your current value, use

defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles

... and for simple usage of the defaults command, just enter defaults with no arguments.

I verified that the value on this system is set to TRUE and I can see all the .DS_Store files as seen below... (using 10.11.6)


How do I change the color depth of a monitor in Lion/10.7?

You're right in that Apple removed the option to switch between "Millions" and "Thousands" of colors from the Displays preference pane in OS X after Leopard (10.5).

I've not tried them, but something like Display Maestro or SwitchResX both appear to have the ability to change color depth and might help.


What characters might be used to substitute for colon in folder names using a time-of-day?

ISO 8601 “Basic” variation
You can avoid using the colon by employing ISO 8601 “basic” format strings (YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ) for naming files and folders. The standard allows for the separators to be omitted from the YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ format.
So both of these examples are valid under the standard:

2016-03-27T07:01:02Z
20160327T070102Z

If you need to process those strings with certain programming or scripting languages then maybe you have to convert them to the extended format that incorporates separators (hyphens, colons) and time zone info.
International standard date and time notation - "If a date and a time value are stored together in a single data field, then ISO 8601 suggests that they should be separated by a latin capital letter T, as in 19951231T235959". So the T in the middle is optional (19951231235959) but suggested.


Is there a way to assign global hot keys to go to the next/previous album in iTunes?

From http://www.usingmac.com/2007/11/21/mac-os-x-leopard-200-productivity-booster-hotkeys

153 Option-Right Arrow  Select next album
154 Option-Left Arrow   Select previous album


Automator AppleScript: Only Click Checkbox if Unchecked

The following example AppleScript code assumes there is only one account in Contacts > Preferences… > Accounts and will only click the Enable this account checkbox if it's not checked, and then closes the preferences window:
Note:  The example AppleScript code was tested under macOS High Sierra and may need to be modified for earlier/later versions of macOS.
tell application "Contacts" to activate
tell application "System Events"
    repeat while not (exists window 1 of application process "Contacts")
        delay 0.1
    end repeat
    tell application process "Contacts"
        click menu item "Preferences…" of menu 1 of menu bar item "Contacts" of menu bar 1
        repeat until (exists button "Accounts" of toolbar 1 of window 1)
            delay 0.1
        end repeat
        click button "Accounts" of toolbar 1 of window 1
        repeat while not (exists checkbox "Enable this account" of tab group 1 of group 1 of group 1 of window 1)
            delay 0.1
        end repeat
        if not (value of checkbox "Enable this account" of tab group 1 of group 1 of group 1 of window 1 as boolean) then
            click checkbox "Enable this account" of tab group 1 of group 1 of group 1 of window 1
        end if
        keystroke "w" using command down
    end tell
end tell


Trouble re-downloading paid Apple apps bundled for free with new Mac

To obtain the paid apps that were included for free with your Mac, launch the Mac App Store and login with your Apple ID. Check under the Updates section and see if the apps appear there, with Accept appearing where the Update button normally would be (towards the right).

If you cannot access them that way, check your purchases by going to the Purchases section in the Mac App store. They must have already been linked to your Apple ID.

If both the above options fail, open a case with Apple Support. They can verify your ownership of the computer and can issue download codes and/or link the purchase to your Apple ID. That way, you will be able to retrieve them for free.


Can I play 4k video on my TV through my MacBook using a Thunderbolt/HDMI cable?

Yes, the correct mini-DP to HDMI cable will work and your MacBook is not limiting this.
Have a look at the tech specs from your MacBook Air or read this article on macrumors.


Migration assistant will copy files into expected places on the disk so ~/Library ~/Documents etc and is only meant to be used when installing OSX.

If you want to copy to one directory don't use Migration Assistant. Instead

Install OSX from scratch and create a new user (for ease if you have multiple users create them in the same order as before so that their UIDs match) - or just keep the target running current OSX.
Connect Macs via firewire and boot up old Mac in Target Disk Mode
The old disk is now seen under /Volumes
Copy files onto new disk as you want

If step 2 fails then you need to take the disk out of the old Mac and put iy in a USB or other external disk caddy. Then it might work. If the disk is corrupt then look at disk recovery tools or firms.


I’m not sure you can block it other than uninstalling it and whatever you did to install it (other installer, other app, ???)

To get Apple’s attention, unless they sold that app on the App Store or you were sure you can locate an app that’s signed from the Mac App Store or iOS App Store from the same developer, I’d start with Apple Support to report potential loss of that developer’s Apple ID.

https://getsupport.apple.com/

If you assume no developer would sign code that does bad things, you can also assume that somehow they lost their keys and someone is abusing their keys to spread bad software. If it turns out they are the bad person, you’re not making the assumption of anything other than their keys were used for something they may or may not have approved.


I can't see usb-drives and archives in the sidebar of the finder anymore

In your Finder sidebar, can you see your internal hard drive listed under Devices? If you hover over Devices you should see either Show or Hide just to the right of it, perhaps it's set to hidden?


Difference between System and Global Daemons

No Difference

Once running, there is no difference between the locations. The origin of the launchd job determines the authorisation needed to manage the job.

Both /Library and /System launchd jobs can run as any user. Per-user jobs are limited to their owner's user and group.

Editing of the /System launchd jobs is restricted by System Integrity Protection.

From man 5 launchd.plist:

  ~/Library/LaunchAgents         Per-user agents provided by the user.
  /Library/LaunchAgents          Per-user agents provided by the administrator.
  /Library/LaunchDaemons         System-wide daemons provided by the administrator.
  /System/Library/LaunchAgents   Per-user agents provided by OS X.
  /System/Library/LaunchDaemons  System-wide daemons provided by OS X.


Changing right-hand Command & Alt key order to be like a Windows keyboard

Apple's Technical Note TN2450 describes how to remap keys.  It is important to know that Right Command is also Right GUI.  Running the following command will switch Right Command and Right Alt (if you also want to do the Left Command and Left Alt, refer to the technical note to get the hex values and the Python code below to do the or operation).

hidutil property --set '{"UserKeyMapping":
    [{"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x7000000e7,
      "HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x7000000e6},
     {"HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc":0x7000000e6,
      "HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst":0x7000000e7}]
}'

The table at the bottom of the Technical Note has a list of hex values for each key.  To generalize the above answer to switch any keys (at least is macOS Sierra), you must or the hex value from that list together with 0x700000000.  The following Python code demonstrates one way to do this.

In [1]: def convert(val):
   ...:     int_val = int(val, 16)
   ...:     ref = '0x700000000'
   ...:     int_ref = int(ref, 16)
   ...:
   ...:     return hex(int_ref | int_val)
   ...:

In [2]: r_alt = '0xE6'

In [3]: print(convert(r_alt))
0x7000000e6


How to remove a user from staff group in macOS?

I was also having trouble with this, all the other resources/answers I had found didn't work for me. I finally figured it out (have only tested on my machine on Catalina). This is kind of a kitchen sink approach so some of these steps might be unnecessary, but this is what I did and it worked. I'm not an apple engineer so YMMV and do at your own risk.
Say we want to remove staff group for a user with the name "someuser"

Setup a shell script like this: https://superuser.com/a/395738 it'll make debugging easier. Assuming you've saved it in a file members.sh with executable permission, You can double check that it is working by doing:

./members.sh  staff

and seeing if someuser appears in the list.

From the system preferences UI create a new group, you can do this by under "Users & Groups" hitting the plus sign and selecting group in the drop-down box. It doesn't matter what you call it, we'll say "new_group"

Select that group in the UI and check the box next to "someuser"

Right click on "new_group" from the UI and select advanced options, copy the Group ID # (not UUID), it should be a regular number. Say the number is 1234.

Now we are going to change someusers's primary group to new_group instead of staff (see also: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/81553/409162). Do the following:

sudo dscl . -create /Users/someuser PrimaryGroupID 1234

(where 1234 is the number you copied in step 4)

Right click on someuser from the UI, select "Advanced Options" and in the "Group" textbox, change "staff" to "new_group". If you close and re-open this "Advanced Options" window it should stay set to new_group.

Finally remove the user from staff. Run the following (note: I got this from the "EXAMPLES" section of man dseditgroup you may want to double check there to confirm)

sudo dseditgroup -o edit -u someuser -p -d someuser -t user staff

You may have to enter your password because it is a sudo command, but when it says "Please enter user password" this refers to someusers's password.

Run ./members.staff to check that someuser was successfully removed. If someuser is still in the list:

Restart your computer
Re-run the command in step #7
Check again

I've tried this a couple times, sometimes restarting was necessary, other times it wasn't. Sometimes re-running the command was necessary, other times it wasn't


Understanding how safe boot fixed a boot problem

I assume that at least one of the updates required a restart.

As Disk Utility found problems with the file system, it's possible that:

some such problems existed before your friend attempted to install updates; and/or
some such problems arose from a forced shut down or forced restart during a problematic installation (before an automated restart), or force whilst awaiting progress following an automated restart (impatience with the spin).

No mention of force from you or your friend, so let's assume that:

HFS Plus file system problems were present but unknown before installation
those problems caused an apparently successful installation to have a problematic end result.

In the 2013-05-06 edition of Apple's article:

  A Safe Boot deletes the dynamic loader shared cache at (/var/db/dyld/). A cache with issues may cause a blue screen on startup, particularly after a Software Update. Restarting normally recreates this cache.

Not only blue screens.

Alternative symptoms might include hangs of the type seen by you and your friend – the asynchronous progress indicator with the Apple logo.

Also, I do not find that a normal restart recreates that cache. To see whether the cache was recreated, at your friend's Mac in Terminal you might run the following command – be prepared for your friend to enter her administrative password at an on-screen prompt:

sudo update_dyld_shared_cache -verify

If the output indicates that a file does not exist, then there may be:

a problem with Apple's documentation (inconsistent with normal behaviour of the software); and/or
a problem with the software (abnormal behaviour).

If the command completes with no visible output, there's no problem (the file exists and is verified).

Reference

update_dyld_shared_cache(1) Mac OS X Manual Page


There are 2 apps that I can think of that might do what you want, wile it is still unclear what you want.

The first one is called the Pacifist and shows you a hierarchical (and searchable) list of every item contained therein in mavericks Installer package.

The second one is used to install customized Mavericks called UniBeast and MuliBeast.

Here are the instructions how to use that.


Xcode 10: Failed to create Provisioning Profile - There are no devices registered

Make sure you have connected your iOS device to your Mac and selected it as the run destination.

Yes, you do not need a paid membership to the Apple developer program. You can register for an Apple developer account for free and can build and run apps on a maximum of upto three devices.


Make sure that on those sites you select the "Remember Me" option, as websites can set an expiration time for the cookies, which is what appears to be happening here.


Mysql process takes 500 mb of primary memory

You can get exact memory allocation of any process with a quick command:

sudo sysdiagnose PID

(Where PID is the process ID of the mysql binary or the name of the mysql process you want to inspect deeply). There is a manual page and you will want to start with vmmap.txt and all memory files. I'm not certain that 500 mb of allocation is a problem or even of concern without understanding the options you have configured for the database and what the rest of your workload is.


iOS 6 Maps: Able to cache route or location offline?

Maps in iOS 6 should actually do a better job of this, because it uses vector based maps, which use far less data than the old image-based tiles, which means they can stay in memory longer, and more can be cached.

You can test this yourself by loading up Maps for an area, then turning on Airplane Mode and browsing around. In my own testing I found I could keep maps for most of Toronto, although when zooming down, it lacked street names for some of the smallest streets.

Searching or routing won't work without a connection, but any route or places you searched for prior to disconnecting should stay in place as long as you don't clear them.


How to disable fullscreen system location notifications?

Unfortunately, you currently cannot turn these off. It may be helpful to send feedback to Apple concerning this.

If you really want to stop them, you could go to Privacy > Location Services and disable location services on your devices. You could also go application by application on this list and change all apps that have the permission set to "Always" and change them to "While Using", but you likely have a reason to have them set to always to begin with.


Can Mountain Lion OS X run on HP G62 series using VMWare virtualization?

A more or less official answer from a VMWare support forum moderator from what I can tell is at
http://communities.vmware.com/thread/428763?tstart=825

In short. Windows CANNOT run an OSX guest OS. The OP in the linked thread is even running a Mac under bootcamp, and hangs at Apple logo on boot. Proper hardware emulation is the cited cause. There might even be a bit (pun intended) (intentionally) missing from BootCamp drivers to hinder such activity.


Simple and cheap: USB to MIDI connector. If you need to plug in more than one MIDI device there are dedicated MIDI interfaces. Additionally, many A/D audio interfaces - that you might also use to record input from analog devices like guitars or microphones - include MIDI ins/outs.

Without more information about your specific needs I can't say the products I linked to are the best choice, but they are representative of the vast array of options for plugging a MIDI device into your MacBook Pro.


Prevent users from unchecking "require password to wake computer from sleep or screen saver"

Although I have concerns about recommending this solution, you can change the access permissions for the Security (or Security & Privacy) preferences pane itself so that only the Administrator account, or members of the Administrator group, will be able to open that pane.
[ᔥ Owen Linzmayer: Require Password to Wake 2005]

I want to emphasize that I have not fully tested this solution and that you should proceed with caution and do your own testing  before implementing it across an entire production environment. It seems innocuous enough, but experience has taught me that changes in places that Apple does not intend you control can sometimes have consequences.

You can set permissions for the pane using the terminal, or by navigating to the /System/Library/PreferencePanes folder:

Selecting the Security pane file:

do a Get Info using the menu, contextual menu or ⌘ + i and change the permissions for everyone to no access. You will most likely have to click the lock in the lower-right-hand corner and authenticate with your administrator password before you can edit the permissions.


Really strange behavior creating a directory on SMB NAS share

I was having this issue, and I'm so glad that I'm not alone! I solved it by mounting the drive using AFP instead of SMB, and that meant that I could see files called AUX again. (For various reasons, renaming the directory was not an option.)


Unable to restore applications after hard drive replacement

When you say "cant get anything to restore", do you mean

you're having difficulty getting your data back onto your new drive?
You are having problems reinstalling software (either from the original install media or DMGs) you had before the drive swap?
Software from a TimeMachine backup is not running after you try and manually restore it back?

Now that you have Snow Leopard installed, is this the same version of OS X you ran previously? If you did run 10.6, what update version did you run? 10.6.8? 10.6.7? Or, since you had paid for Lion "ages ago", was your iMac running 10.7?

Your best bet is upgrading to and/or installing the version of OS X your iMac ran prior to the drive replacement. If this was Lion, you'll need to update to 10.6.8 first, then you can redownload Lion.

Once you have your OS back to parity, you should have an easier time reinstalling your software.

One other point to consider: if you are downloading current install files for the software you ran, you might not be finding the same version you ran. Newer versions of some programs may require Lion or later to run.

Good luck!


Missing saved files after updating iPod to iOS 5

Backups are managed by iTunes, there's no need for you to know where the actual files are (This is the beauty about Apple things).

To restore your backup connect your iPad, right click it in iTunes' sidebar and select restore from backup (Sometimes it helps to restore from backup twice).


Is it safe for the hard disk drive to operate while MacBook Pro is positioned vertically?

It is safe to operate the HDD this way. There are many servers that use HDDs vertically.

Your main concern, while operating this way, would be the slightly worse cooling. The Twelvesouth guys are saying that they deliver better cooling, but they are comparing it to a closed and put on the table notebook. My experience shows that the best way to keep the notebook cool is to keep the lid open. If I want to use only my external monitor, I close it, wake it with the external keyboard/mouse and then reopen the lid (only the external monitor works and the cooling is best). Note that if you're not doing CPU/GPU heavy things (gaming, transcoding movies), you'll be ok.


How to set transparent color in figure in Keynote?

Have you tried selecting the item and clicking the format icon top right?
See image below:

And using Opacity...


Is it possible to generate promo codes for in app purchases?

It's possible since October 28, 2016, see Apple's guide.


Is it possible to use an Apple gift card toward repairs?

If the card can be used in an Apple retail store (i.e. not an iTunes gift card), then yes. Repairs are treated as an in-line item in their POS system. Any valid form of payment that could be used to pay for anything else in the store can be used to pay for repairs.

I called an Apple retail store to confirm this.


How to display tagged files inside hidden directories?

Not exactly what I was looking for, but here is a neat trick that satisfies most of my needs.

Create a new directory, hide it via chflags hidden directory, deposit tagged content in it.

Finder will cooperate with us and display all tagged content.

file is tagged dev and exists in a directory hidden via chflags. I named the directory dev as well for convenience, but this is not strictly necessary.


Can I boot my mac without pressing the power key?

shutdown -u

I tried the 'Start up automatically after a power failure' but after a cold shutdown, a power cord disconnect/connect did not boot my computer.

The automatic power on only works if the power was cut. You can induce this behaviour using the command shutdown -u now. According to man shutdown the -u flag does the following:

-u: The system is halted up until the point of removing system power,
but waits before removing power for 5 minutes so that an external
UPS (uninterruptible power supply) can forcibly remove power.
This simulates a dirty shutdown to permit a later automatic power
on. OS X uses this mode automatically with supported UPSs in
emergency shutdowns.


It's a bug in 10.8.1 and 10.8.2 only.

The workaround for this pesky bug is to disable two items in Language & Text Preference Pane in System Preferences on affected versions of Mountain Lion:

Select (click) on Text in the middle towards the top of the window
deselect (uncheck) "Correct spelling automatically"
deselect (uncheck) "Use symbol and text substitution"

Credit for this workaround goes to user shess on the open radar web site.


How can I make an application open at startup, without automatically opening a window?

Try System Preferences > Users and Groups > Login Items and press the little + sign to add your application.

To hide an application on startup, IIRC you can unselect the "Show on Startup" checkbox.


The question itself isn't exact too, because the OP talks about:

files names like ABC 123456 (without extension), but in the example code using *.txt extension
add a dash between two blocks (e.g. where is the space) like ABC - 123456, but in the next taking about counting to 4 and count 3, e.g. not exacltly clear what the script should do for example if find ABCD 12 or AB 345
also, want keep the trailing space, what is strange - but OK ;)

The problem is dividable to 3 separate parts:

selecting the right files for the rename
preparing the new filename, replacing/adding characters into the old one
the "physical" rename

Ad "selecting the right files". Selecting the files, can be done by some external utilities, for example by the find command.
The main benefits of the find are:

it can search files recursively in the sub directories too
is possible more precisely select the right files, e.g. exclude directories, select files by time or size and so on. (check from the terminal man find.)

Ad "prepare the new name". This can be done by external programs,
like sed or awk or any program what can manipulate text in shell
scripts, or it can be done (in some simple cases such this) withing
the bash itself - and is possible to save one expensive command execution.
(for hunderts of thousand files it makes a difference).

The following:

${file/ /-}

substitutes (replaces) one space (the / / part) with the dash (/-). So it is possible to write

mv "$file" "${file/ /-}"

and save the sed execution.

So one of the alternative solutions could be, for example the following:

#!/bin/bash
while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' filename
do
    newfilename="${filename/ /-}"
    [[ "$filename" != "$newfilename" ]] && echo mv -i "$filename" "$newfilename"
done < <(find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname "* *.jpg" -print0)

The abobe is for the DRY RUN - it only will show, what will be done, for the real execution remove the echo.

Decomposition:

selecting the right files for the rename: the find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname "* *.jpg" -print0 will find all

what are only in the current directory (-maxdepth 1)
and they're plain files (-type f)
and their name matches (anything)(space)(anything).jpg case insensitively - e.g. the name must contains a space
supply the filenames as null terminated, so their name can safely contain newline character too. (-print0)

the cycle while IFS= read -r -d $'\0' filename; do ... done < <( )

reads the output from the above find command
where the filenames are null terminated (-d $'\0')
ignore any escaped characters (-r) /advanced topic - not needed to explained here/
the IFS=  prevents trimming of leading and trailing whitespace from the filename (also, a bit advanced topic)

preparing the new filename newfilename="${filename/ /-}"

is done by bash internally (without executing an external command).
if want preserve the trailing space after the dash use ${filename/ /- }

the actual renaming is done by the mv command (see man mv from the terminal), where

the -i what will ask the user if here are already a file with the new filename (don't override it)

and the mv is executed only when the newfilename is different from the filename [[ "$filename" != "$newfilename" ]]

The above solution is mostly error-prone, but it still isn't very effective,
because for hundreds of thousand files will execute hundreds of
thousand times the mv command.
The solution can be: using some
utility, what can read the filenames and do the renaming without
executing the mv command N-times.
For example, the "big gun" of system admins the "perl", as:

find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname "*.jpg" -print0 |\
    perl -0nle '$n=$_; $n=~s/ /-/; rename $_,$n unless($_ eq $n || -e $n)'

what will rename all files what outputs the find in one execution - e.g. much faster as thousands of mv executions.

Tor testing (DRY RUN) use the following:

find . -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname "*.jpg" -print0 |\
    perl -0nle '$n=$_; $n=~s/ /-/; print qq{old:$_ new:$n\n} unless($_ eq $n || -e $n)' #print instead of the rename

Ps: the perl is powerful enough to handle everything itself, eg. the find command too, but it is more advanced topic...

Ps2: my English is much worse as my bash, so someone could kindly edit this post for adding/correcting things.. ;)


Generally speaking, only applications that were installed via drag and drop can be directly transferred from one drive to another via drag and drop.

Applications that use installers, such as Microsoft Office does, have to be properly installed from their installation media and you will need the product key in the case of Microsoft Office.

If you have a Time Machine backup of the old hard drive, you can get the product key out of its plist file and use it, if you can borrow a copy of the same version of Microsoft Office from a friend and use your product key to install it.


2 airport extremes, one extends the main network but doesn't provide internet over wired ethernet connection

I do this all the time.

Connect any of the normal Ethernet from the main station to the source Ethernet on the second station.
Set the second to bridge mode
Have each broadcast the same network, don’t extend, just set up the same or different SSID / network names to suit your preferences.

Having both create a wireless network works best for me. Until such point you get newer hardware like UniFi Dream Machine (or pro) or perhaps another ubiquiti line or like product.


Fix fusion drive partition mess from bootcamp assistant

The surefire fix is to format everything and recreate your Fusion Drive, then restore from a backup.

Hopefully someone can help us fix this another way, but my research shows that non-destructively merging content onto a live fusion drive isn't supported by Apple or another tool chain yet.


How to change allocation size for external ssd on mac?

The diskutil command is a more reliable than the Disk Utility application when creating two ExFAT partitions on a drive. I do not believe you can specify the Allocation Block Size when ExFAT formatting a partition with either the diskutil command or Disk Utility application. However, you can with the newfs_exfat command.
The Allocation Block Size was originally referred to as the cluster size. Microsoft defines the cluster size as follows:

Cluster size represents the smallest amount of disk space that can be used to hold a file. When file sizes do not come out to an even multiple of the cluster size, additional space must be used to hold the file (up to the next multiple of the cluster size).

Basically, a larger cluster size results in faster access times, but at a cost of more wasted space. Certainly, if you have a large number of files significantly smaller that the cluster size, then you will find the volume is consuming far more space than the sum of the file sizes. The is no easy way to answer what you should choose for a cluster size. This really depends on the quantity and size of the files themselves.
There are alternatives, if you are using the disk to archive documents. For example, you could create a single file compressed archive of many documents. This eliminates the wasted space that normally occurs at the end of each file. Again, accessing an archive usually take additional time. You can easily create a zip archive by using the Finder Application. However, you can not use the Finder to view the contents of a zip file without first unzipping the file. You can list the contents of a zip file by using commands entered in a Terminal window. Or you can install a third party tool with a GUI. You can also use the Disk Utility to create a compressed dmg file. Here, you can use the Finder to mount and view the contains of a dmg file without first having to extract the contents.
Example
Below is an example where a 1 TB disk is partitioned into two 500 GB ExFAT volumes. Here the legacy Master Boot Record (MBR) partitioning scheme is used. The identifier for this disk is disk1. Basically, you specify the size of the first partition and the rest of the space is allocated to the second partition. The names of the volumes are MyExFAT1 and MyExFAT2.
diskutil partitiondisk disk1 MBR exfat MyExFAT1 500G exfat MyExFAT2 R

Below is the output from this command.
Started partitioning on disk1
Unmounting disk
Creating the partition map
Waiting for partitions to activate
Formatting disk1s1 as ExFAT with name MyExFAT1
Volume name      : MyExFAT1
Partition offset : 2 sectors (1024 bytes)
Volume size      : 976562504 sectors (500000002048 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 131072
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 30720
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 32768 sectors (16777216 bytes)
# Clusters       : 3814569
Volume Serial #  : 5faa3183
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 476822
Upcase start     : 6
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 7
Mounting disk
Formatting disk1s2 as ExFAT with name MyExFAT2
Volume name      : MyExFAT2
Partition offset : 976562507 sectors (500000003584 bytes)
Volume size      : 976562533 sectors (500000016896 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 131072
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 30720
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 32768 sectors (16777216 bytes)
# Clusters       : 3814569
Volume Serial #  : 5faa3186
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 476822
Upcase start     : 6
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 7
Mounting disk
Finished partitioning on disk1
/dev/disk1 (disk image):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme                        +1.0 TB     disk1
   1:               Windows_NTFS MyExFAT1                500.0 GB   disk1s1
   2:               Windows_NTFS MyExFAT2                500.0 GB   disk1s2

If you wish to use the GUID Partition Table (GPT) scheme instead of the MBR partition scheme, then you would enter the following.
diskutil partitiondisk disk1 GPT exfat MyExFAT1 500G exfat MyExFAT2 R

The output from this command is given below. Note that a small EFI partition is also created.
Started partitioning on disk1
Unmounting disk
Creating the partition map
Waiting for partitions to activate
Formatting disk1s2 as ExFAT with name MyExFAT1
Volume name      : MyExFAT1
Partition offset : 411648 sectors (210763776 bytes)
Volume size      : 976562176 sectors (499999834112 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 131072
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 30720
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 32768 sectors (16777216 bytes)
# Clusters       : 3814568
Volume Serial #  : 5faa32d6
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 476821
Upcase start     : 6
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 7
Mounting disk
Formatting disk1s3 as ExFAT with name MyExFAT2
Volume name      : MyExFAT2
Partition offset : 976973824 sectors (500210597888 bytes)
Volume size      : 976150528 sectors (499789070336 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 131072
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 30720
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 32768 sectors (16777216 bytes)
# Clusters       : 3812960
Volume Serial #  : 5faa32d7
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 476620
Upcase start     : 6
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 7
Mounting disk
Finished partitioning on disk1
/dev/disk1 (disk image):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        +1.0 TB     disk1
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk1s1
   2:       Microsoft Basic Data MyExFAT1                500.0 GB   disk1s2
   3:       Microsoft Basic Data MyExFAT2                499.8 GB   disk1s3

In either case, the output from the command diskutil info MyExFAT1 | grep "Block Size" would be the following.
   Device Block Size:        512 Bytes
   Allocation Block Size:    131072 Bytes

So, if you wanted a Allocation Block Size of 4096 bytes, then you could enter the following commands. Below, the disk identifier is disk1 and the disk is using the MBR partition scheme.

Note:  If you wish, disk1s1 can be substituted for rdisk1s1, when entering the newfs_exfat command below. However, using rdisk1s1 results in the newfs_exfat command completing quicker.

diskutil info MyExFAT1 | grep Identifier
diskutil unmount disk1s1
newfs_exfat -R -v MyExFAT1 -b 4096 /dev/rdisk1s1
diskutil mount disk1s1
diskutil info MyExFAT1 | grep "Block Size"

These commands would produce the following output.
Marlin-3:imac2015 davidanderson$ diskutil info MyExFAT1 | grep Identifier
   Device Identifier:        disk1s1
Marlin-3:imac2015 davidanderson$ diskutil unmount disk1s1
Volume MyExFAT1 on disk1s1 unmounted
Marlin-3:imac2015 davidanderson$ newfs_exfat -R -v MyExFAT1 -b 4096 /dev/rdisk1s1
Volume name      : MyExFAT1
Partition offset : 2 sectors (1024 bytes)
Volume size      : 976562504 sectors (500000002048 bytes)
Bytes per sector : 512
Bytes per cluster: 4096
FAT offset       : 2048 sectors (1048576 bytes)
# FAT sectors    : 954368
Number of FATs   : 1
Cluster offset   : 956416 sectors (489684992 bytes)
# Clusters       : 121950761
Volume Serial #  : 5faa919e
Bitmap start     : 2
Bitmap file size : 15243846
Upcase start     : 3724
Upcase file size : 5836
Root start       : 3726
Marlin-3:imac2015 davidanderson$ diskutil mount disk1s1
Volume MyExFAT1 on disk1s1 mounted
Marlin-3:imac2015 davidanderson$ diskutil info MyExFAT1 | grep "Block Size"
   Device Block Size:        512 Bytes
   Allocation Block Size:    4096 Bytes

The output from this example was produced using High Sierra (macOS 10.13.6).


Is there a dashboard widget for Microsoft Outlook/Exchange calendar?

There are no widgets for OSX for use with Outlook, there are calendar widgets for iCal or Google Calendars, that can be downloaded here but you will need to route all your calendars through iCal or Google calendars instead of Outlook and you probably won't want to do that.


untrusted_cert_title error when reinstalling MacOS Sierra

You don't execute MMDDHHMMYY. You replace all those characters with the current date information.

If we were performing/entering this command in Terminal right now, since it is 16:14 for me on 05/01/18, we would enter the following command: date 0105161418 and then hit "enter/return".

01 - 05/01/18

05 - 05/01/18

16 - 16:14

14 - 16:14

18 - 2018


Press and hold for accents does not work everytime

When it stops working, does ps -ef|grep PressAndHold include a line for /System/Library/Input Methods/PressAndHold.app/Contents/MacOS/PressAndHold? If it doesn't, try to run open -a PressAndHold. Or if it does, killall PressAndHold;open -a PressAndHold might also be worth a shot.

You could also try to delete ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.HIToolbox.plist. Normally defaults read com.apple.HIToolbox should show com.apple.PressAndHold under AppleEnabledInputSources and AppleSelectedInputSources.


I want my Mac Mini power button to shut down the computer

I'm not aware of a way to make the power button tell your Mac mini to perform a normal shutdown, however one solution that comes to mind (assuming you have an iOS device) is to shut your Mac mini down from your iPhone or iPad using an app like iShutdown.

There is a small application that you install on your Mac.

And then you have the app on your phone that has a list of computers you can shutdown and a big virtual power button for each.


Persistent vertical blue line (Macbook pro 13 mid 2010)

That looks very much like a column of stuck pixels to me. Similar happened on one of my devices recently.

Only fix is to replace the screen.


how to keep two iMac's in different locations completely synchronized

You could probably configure something with DropBox.

Create symbolic links for preference files for your programs, and save all of your documents to the DropBox folder for syncing.

The downside to this is that if you have more than 2GB of data, it will cost money.


Which memory upgrade gives a faster Mac Mini?

The difference in speed between matched/unmatched pairs will be completely negligible vs having more RAM.

Tell your friend to get as much as he can. 3 > 2 always :)

I haven't tested that particular case, but I have played with a Mac Pro (that offers eight memory slots) and although I have them in the "best possible scenario", when I didn't (for a while I was testing a different "less optimal" setup), I couldn't really notice the difference…

I recommend you head over to Crucial and fill the fields to find the type of memory you can install. They have a decent model/type database and tips to obtain the best combination.

But again, I recommend > memory rather than worrying about memory performance. More is better :)


Open specific links in specific browsers

Try to use Choosy
It can prompt you to select from the browsers on your Mac so you can decide which browser is right for a particular link.

:)


Macbook Pro 2015 - Install Windows 7 then upgrade to Windows 10 (Boot Camp)

Bit late to the party! However, this is essential for anyone else in the same boat -

If you install Windows 10 directly and update to version 1511, it'll accept Win7/8/8.1 product keys when you activate.


Notifications appear on your primary display. The primary display is typically the one showing the menu bar; however, you can show the menu bar on every display.

To change your primary display:

Open System Preferences.app > Displays
Select the Arrangement tab
Drag the menu bar to the desired display


Had the same problem in an environment that uses Active Directory. When I attempted to run Chrome, I would get the error. The error mentioned the CryptoTokenKit, or something like that.

Oddly enough, other accounts on the same machine worked fine.

When I dug deeper, I found that the client did NOT have a Mobile Me account. Setting them up with a Mobile Me account appears to have solved the problem.


Latest macOS Mojave update (10.14.4) and Mail.app Google accounts issue

No.

The update broke access to some Library configs that are under control of System Integrity Protection(SIP).

Boot to the recover console, disable SIP with 'csrutil disable' in the terminal, then boot into the OS, go into Internet Accounts and select Google as normal.

After following the steps to give your Mac permissions to your Google objects(mail, calendar, etc.), boot back into the recovery console and re-enable SIP by running 'csrutil enable'. Boot back into the OS and compute on.

I got the hint to do this by looking into the console logs in the console utility, but I have no idea which log I searched for 'google' or 'accounts' in, but I found a problem mentions an error with a 'file-write-xattr', so that gave me the idea that SIP was involved.

Someone should be able to track down the issue and get the errant permissions logged with Apple so the fix can go out with the next patch, or set a sticky here with a more detailed explanation and fix, and not just a work-around.


I want install Windows 7 on my Macbook after I formated Snow Leopard

You need to boot from the OS X install DVD which was bundled with your Mac (start the Mac with pressed C while the DVD is inserted). Launch "Disk Utility via "Utility" in the menu bar and create a partition which is "MS DOS FAT" formatted. If its done replace the DVD with the Windows install DVD and boot again with pressed C button. After the Windows install assistant has started, reformat the partition to NTFS and continue installing Windows.

Be aware that Windows OEM versions won't work. It must be a retail version.


iPhone X iOS upgrade failed, now in recovery mode

There is no way to restore if you have not made a backup.
If you only want to retrieve certain files, try this or one of these tools. They let you choose PHOTos and Vids to recover.

1


OSX Calendar not showing Exchange Account

I feel stupid for answering this myself because the "fix" is idiotic.

Remove the exchange account
Restart the mac
add the account back -> everything works.

I hope another answer gets two upvotes if they help someone so they're assigned the bounty I put out on this question.
Thanks for the answers!


Magnify entire dock instead of where the cursor is?

Yes and no.

You could get most of the functionality by:

Turn Hiding on - you now need to mouse over to grow it.
Turn Magnification off - since all the dock needs to be the same size
Making the dock super large when it's visible - so when you mouse to it, it's zoomed to your preference.

No, in that you can't have a small bit of the dock on screen and then have that visible dock get larger when your cursor is on it.


In general, to search for something on a Mac, Spotlight is what's used and can be brought up pressing: Command (⌘)-Space bar

Have a look at: OS X Yosemite: Spotlight keyboard shortcuts

If in an application, like TextEdit as an example, pressing ⌘F brings up Find.

Also have a look at: Mac keyboard shortcuts


How to pass an AppleScript variable to Perl script?

The maximum length of a command line is 2**18 bytes:

$ getconf ARG_MAX
262144

So that for example this results in an error:

read "/usr/share/dict/web2" for 270000
do shell script "printf %s " & quoted form of result

If the input is short enough, you can pass it to perl as part of the command line:

read "/usr/share/dict/web2" for 260000
do shell script "printf %s\\\\n " & quoted form of result & "|perl -pe'$_=uc'"

Otherwise you can use a temporary file:

set input to read "/usr/share/dict/web2" for 270000
set f to (system attribute "TMPDIR") & "my.tempfile"
set fd to open for access f with write permission
set eof fd to 0
write input to fd as «class utf8»
close access fd
do shell script "perl -pe'$_=uc' " & f & ";rm " & f

The default text encoding is still an encoding like MacRoman or MacJapanese, so that adding as «class utf8» to the write command preserves non-ASCII characters, even though it is not necessary in the example above.

In your case you could also do something like this:

quoted form of POSIX path of (choose folder)
do shell script "find " & result & " -name \\*.txt|perl -pe'$_=uc'"

quoted form of escapes text for shells, so that it replaces ' with '\'' and surrounds text with single quotes.


The Time Machine menu bar item is located at:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/TimeMachine.menu/

The menu bar item uses four PDFs for the four different icon states, in Contents/Resources/:

Above icons from OS X 10.10 Yosemite DP2


Ok, The solution was not simple. but I found it in http://www.softpanorama.org/Scripting/Shellorama/inputrc.shtml.

When I ran bind -p i've noticed that I have a line like this per each char:

"A": self-insert

but not for "B". so I've ran:

bind -p > ~/.inputrc

then I've edited the file and added the letter.

Great Success.


Is there a 'guaranteed support period' for iOS?

Apple supports hardware like iOS in the same 5+2 year pattern for Obsolete and Vintage hardware like all the rest of the hardware.

Apple supports software through AppleCare officially so that's 3 years but in practice, it's always been N+2 releases with N being the current OS and two older ones. AppleCare generally has terms limiting support to N+1 so look for wording like prior Major Release, but in practice Apple appears to be more generous supporting older OS than the agreement spells out in practice.

  Apple will provide support for the then-current version of the supported software, and the prior Major Release.

Same for upgrade, Apple doesn't commit anywhere you can run newer OS on hardware once you buy it (heck, they don't even guarantee the software will be fit for your purpose as is - current, sold today although consumer law likely makes them liable in some way for some level of fitness of purpose in many locations). In practice, the coat tails for running older hardware on newer OS are generous and long and break on CPU architecture boundaries generally as opposed to yearly release cycles.

Support means Apple issues security patches, fields support calls, generally makes it run on all hardware or will disable features like graphics to let older hardware run newer OS with some features disabled, but the majority of the system running.

Warranty and Guarantee and Software Licenses are legal terms, so I'll dodge them since they depend on  which locale you buy the goods and possibly which locale you import / use / seek support after purchase.

In the past the Apple Support pages would clearly list each supported OS, but with the newer redesign I can't locate that page but you can read the tea leaves by searching for archived support for older OS and hardware.

https://support.apple.com/macos


How to sync Faces between devices in iCloud Photo Library?

Unfortunately faces are not synched across devices using iCloud Photo Library.

There is evidence that Faces data is stored in Apple servers somewhere since you can ask Siri to show you pictures of a specific person from a different device that uses the same iCloud photo library. There is a reddit thread on this topic here:  https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3ggvn3/icloud_photo_library_and_faces/.

My guess is that Apple is still grappling with how to create a consolidated view of your contacts across devices and photos.

Please request that Apple prioritize fully implementing face syncing across devices:  http://www.apple.com/feedback/photos.html.