Macbook air, 11 inches backlight not working after lcd replacement

You'll have a much better vantage point than us on the internet to guess.

First, reconnect all cables and hope it's that.

If not, you'll need to start replacing parts one by one. The odds of a new LCD being faulty are low - but the circumstances of the repair might help.

Was the LCD out the reason you swapped the panel?

You might need a second machine to isolate each part - test whether it's the cable, inverter, logic board LCD or something else.


Discounted price and purchase prompt on iOS App Store

I have this same problem on an iPad.
If I uninstall the app I'm able to install the new version - but like you there are 10 apps I have this same problem with.

My suspicion is that these apps were installed when the iPad was setup to use Apple Account "A". A number of weeks ago I switched the Apple Account of the device to be account "B". So I think the problem is that the app store is preventing an app, installed by "A", being upgraded (for free) by "B".

Is anyone able to confirm this hypothesis?

UPDATE: Yes, this was my problem. I used the old account within the App Store and I was able to update those 10 apps.


What is this right-arrow line symbol in the iOS simulator?

That looks like a tab character. See this meta answer for details:

https://apple.meta.stackexchange.com/a/690/5472

The main list of keys is at Keyboard icons & terminology


Can an app be on your device but not on any screen?

No... not permanently. It's possible you ran into this iOS 9 glitch, but the app should appear upon restart.

  Create a folder with all the apps you want to hide away. While the
  apps are still jiggling, drag the icon one page at a time until you
  get to a blank page then let go. Attempt to drag the icon one more
  page over from the blank page, then tap the home button.


What is best way to get and play Age of Mythology on Mac?

I would try PlayOnMac, it's an easy-to-use wrapper for a program called WINE which basically replicates all the Windows code a normal win32 application needs to run. They have a database on their website of games that work on it, you might try there.


If you keep the accounts separate, it's easier to transfer control of the app to another developer in the future.


Minimum device requirements to enroll in the Apple Developer Program as an Organisation

There's no minimum device requirements as such to enroll in the Apple developer program - all you need is 2-factor authentication enabled on your Apple-ID. Your iPhone 6 and MacBook Pro is able to support that without problems.


iMessages showing up as seperate user when coming from Mac vs iPhone

When I went to Preferences > Accounts within Messages on my Mac under:

  You can be reached for messages at:

It was only listing my email address (no phone number).

Logging out and back into Messages on my Mac, caused the phone number to show up here. Checking it fixed the problem and they are now synced.


Is it allowed to incentivize users to leave reviews?

If they can force you to make in-app purchases (and spend real money) in order to unlock content, then why wouldn't they be allowed to force you to write a review in order to unlock content?

Plus, as you said yourself, you don't actually have to write a review for the content to be unlocked. You just have to click "Yes".


Is it possible to run lion, ubuntu, and backtrack on my imac?

It will be easiest to run Ubuntu and Backtrack in virtual machines rather than setting up a multiple boot configuration, and you'll be able to run everything simultaneously (assuming enough RAM). You'll need a copy of Parallels or VMware Fusion (which cost money) or VirtualBox (which doesn't).


Edit your ~/.bash_profile with nano replacing username with your actual profile username.

$ /usr/bin/nano /Users/username/.bash_profile

Delete the line(s) containing your PATH statement.  Save and exit.  When you restart your Terminal session, your path should be back to normal.


Currently recommended method (05-2017):

Install HomeBrew
brew tap domt4/chromium
brew cask install mac-chromium
brew tap buo/cask-upgrade
(click here for cask-upgrade info/source)

To upgrade Chromium, run:

brew cu

or

brew cu -y -a

This was the original posted answer:

Install HomeBrew
Install HomeBrew Casks: brew install caskroom/cask/brew-cask <- this is now obsolete
Install Chromium: brew cask install chromium

Or, an alternative
is this method which uses this script, and has a more up to date version as the one above (and also verifies the Chromium checksum), and provides updates:

Install HomeBrew
brew tap domt4/chromium
brew install domt4/chromium/chromium
brew linkapps chromium

updating is as simple as:

brew update; brew upgrade

If you want to automatically upgrade daily in the background you can use this (note that this also upgrades your other HomeBrew packages if you have any):

brew tap domt4/autoupdate
brew autoupdate --start --upgrade


In general, if your Mac runs the current OS - you can run all the Dev tools needed. In specific, that Mac meets all requirements for OS X 10.11 and Xcode 7
Xcode 7.3 system requirements
You want to start your machine to support Xcode 7.3 (which is now still in beta, 25 feb 2016). Xcode 7.3 beta requires a Mac running OS X 10.11 or later.
These Mac models are compatible with OS X 10.11, aka 'El Capitan':

MacBook (Early 2015)
MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (Early 2009)

So, you should be good to go and start developing!
Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xcode#7.x_series
http://adcdownload.apple.com/Developer_Tools/Xcode_7.3_beta_4/Xcode_7.3_beta_4_Release_Notes.pdf
https://support.apple.com/kb/SP728?locale=en_US


If the idle power consumption was 11 W and the maximum was 85 W, the average might be something like 15 W if it's under very low load.

That would be about 500 MJ per year (15*86400*365).

If you paid 0.15 USD per kilowatt hour for electricity and the Mac mini was on all the time, it would cost about 20 USD per year (0.15*0.015*24*365).

15 W is about 65 mA with 230 V (European) voltage and 125 mA with 120 V (North American) voltage.


How can I universally disable titles on hover in Safari?

You can change the delay for all Safari tooltips by setting NSInitialToolTipDelay. If you set a really long time, it's like they're disabled. For example, 10 seconds:
defaults write com.apple.Safari NSInitialToolTipDelay -int 10000

Delete to use the default value
defaults delete com.apple.Safari NSInitialToolTipDelay

Safari stores preferences in its sandbox container and defaults will only look in the container if you don't have a preferences file from a time when Safari wasn't sandboxed (e.g. if you've upgraded macOS and kept your home directory). Check you don't have a ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist file for defaults to use the one at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist, or manually provide this domain to defaults:
defaults write ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari NSInitialToolTipDelay -int 10000


Deleting folders in my Desktop using terminal in recovery mode

First, back out of Terminal and open Disk Utility. Use that to mount the data volume. Once it's mounted, you can go back to the Terminal and cd /Volumes and ls. You should be able to cd into that directory and find Users/your username/Desktop from there.


Connections to some sites time out from OS X but not from Windows, how to diagnose?

"Do pages often "stall" and then time out halfway through loading? (And then you hit the "stop" button, and refresh, and magically, they appear?) I just had this happen, and fixed it by manually turning "off" IPV6 (from the default setting of "Automatic") in the Advanced area of the Network settings control panel. "

I found this tip to work in conjunction with setting my DNS to google or freeDNS.


Turns out my 2011 MacBook Pro is one of several units suffering from a defective GPU.
I realized this issue happens only when I'm doing something GPU-related like using iPhoto or viewing certain webpages. My Mac is now completely unusable & I'm going to have to get a new one.

Here's more info on this.


How do I display in console the domain names used by the OS X 10.10 DNS resolver?

Open the terminal and enter the following command:

networksetup -getsearchdomains <networkservice>

Network service refers to the interface you are using (Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.). You can get a list of all interfaces by running the following command:

networksetup -listallhardwareports

Once you find the name of the hardware port, use that name in place of  in the first command. For example, I generally use Wi-Fi so when I run the command it looks like this:

networksetup -getsearchdomains Wi-Fi


Uninstall OSX-gcc-installer without first installing Xcode

From what I'm seeing in the developer's scripts here, it looks like he is recommending that you install Xcode over the top of his "osx-gcc-installer" to be able to uninstall...At that point, you can run the uninstall-devtools script...

From the developer:

  If something doesn't work as expected, feel free to install Xcode over this installation.

  Once installed, you can remove Xcode completely with the following:

sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools -mode=all

Alternately, you can copy and paste the actual script content into a blank text document (maybe named "uninstall-devtools"), make it editable (chmod 755 uninstall-devtools), and then execute it (sudo ./uninstall-devtools -mode=all):

#!/usr/bin/perl
####################################################################################################
#
# Copyright (c) 2002-2011 Apple, Inc.
# Xcode 4.2
#
# NAME
#     uninstall-devtools -- Meta-script for running the various devtools uninstaller scripts.
#
# SYNOPSIS
#     sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=all
#     sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=xcodedir
#     sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=unixdev
#     sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools --mode=systemsupport
#
# Where the specified 'mode' value invokes the following devtools uninstaller scripts:
#
#     all:
#         /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools
#         /Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools
#         /Developer/Library/uninstall-developer-folder
#
#     xcodedir:
#         /Developer/Library/uninstall-developer-folder
#
#     unixdev:
#         /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools
#
#     systemsupport:
#         /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools
#         /Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools
#
# The default value for 'mode' is 'all'.
#
# DESCRIPTION
#     This command runs the appropriate devtools uninstaller scripts according to the usage
#     specified on the command line.
####################################################################################################

my $do_nothing     = 0;
my $verbose        = 0;
my $warning        = 0;
my $debug          = 0;
my $help           = 0;
my $mode           = '';

get_options(
    'do-nothing' => \$do_nothing,
    'verbose' => \$verbose,
    'warning' => \$warning,
    'debug' => \$debug,
    'help' => \$help,
    'mode' => \$mode,
);

####################################################################################################

if ($help == 1) {
    print("Usage: $0 --mode=<all|xcodedir|unixdev|systemsupport>\n");
print <<"END";
This is a meta-script which invokes one or more of the devtools
uninstaller scripts, depending on which mode you select.

The recognized modes are:
all:
    /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools
    /Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools
    /Developer/Library/uninstall-developer-folder

xcodedir:
    /Developer/Library/uninstall-developer-folder

unixdev:
    /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools

systemsupport:
    /Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools
    /Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools

The default value for 'mode' is 'all'.
END
    exit(0);
}

####################################################################################################
# Determine if we are authorized to uninstall the devtools packages.
####################################################################################################

$| = 1;
if (($do_nothing == 0) && ($< != 0)) {
    die("ERROR: Must be run with root permissions -- prefix command with 'sudo'.\n");
}

####################################################################################################

my $uninstaller_script = $0;
my ($uninstaller_dir,$uninstaller_script_basename) = parse_name($uninstaller_script);
if ($uninstaller_dir eq '.') {
    die("ERROR: Must change to another directory before running this script, since the current directory is about to be deleted.\n");
}
my ($developer_dir,$developer_dir_basename) = parse_name($uninstaller_dir);

####################################################################################################

my @flags = ();
if ($do_nothing == 1) {
    push(@flags,'--do-nothing');
}
if ($verbose == 1) {
    push(@flags,'--verbose');
}
if ($warning == 1) {
    push(@flags,'--warning');
}
if ($debug == 1) {
    push(@flags,'--debug');
}

if (($mode eq '') || ($mode eq 'all')) {
    run_uninstaller_script("/Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools",\@flags);
    run_uninstaller_script("/Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools",\@flags);
    run_uninstaller_script("$developer_dir/Library/uninstall-developer-folder",\@flags);
} elsif ($mode eq 'xcodedir') {
    run_uninstaller_script("$developer_dir/Library/uninstall-developer-folder",\@flags);
} elsif ($mode eq 'unixdev') {
    run_uninstaller_script("/Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools",\@flags);
} elsif ($mode eq 'systemsupport') {
    run_uninstaller_script("/Library/Developer/4.2/uninstall-devtools",\@flags);
    run_uninstaller_script("/Library/Developer/Shared/uninstall-devtools",\@flags);
} else {
    die("Usage: $0 --mode=<all|xcodedir|shared|systemsupport>\n");
}
print("IMPORTANT: If you are going to install a previous version of the Developer Tools, be sure to restart the machine after installing.\n");

####################################################################################################

sub get_options {
    while (@_) {
    my $option_name = shift(@_);
    my $option_pointer = shift(@_);

    foreach my $arg (@ARGV) {
        if ($arg =~ /^--$option_name/) {
        my ($arg_name,$arg_value) = split(/=/,$arg);
                $arg_value = 1 if (!$arg_value);
        $$option_pointer = $arg_value;
        }
    }
    }
}

####################################################################################################

sub parse_name {
   my $name = shift;
   my ($dir_name,$base_name) = ($name =~ m{^(.*/)?(.*)}s);
   $dir_name =~ s|(.*)/$|$1|s;
   return ($dir_name,$base_name);
}

####################################################################################################

sub run_uninstaller_script {
    my $script = shift;
    my $flagsref = shift;

    if (-x $script) {
        my @args = ();
        push(@args,$script);
        foreach my $flag (@$flagsref) {
            push(@args,$flag);
        }

        system({$args[0]} @args);
    }
}

####################################################################################################


Terminal behaving differently since updating to Lion

This is the resume feature of OS X Lion.
Undo resume for a specific application
Type the following command in the Terminal. Then restart the specific application.
In general the syntax is:
defaults write com."producer"."program-name" ApplePersistenceIgnoreState YES

Thus, in your case (Terminal.app) it is:
defaults write com.apple.terminal ApplePersistenceIgnoreState YES

If you want to set the resume feature again, simply write NO using the same syntax.
Undo resume for all applications
In order to disable this for all applications do this:
go to System Preferences->General


How can I create Todoist tasks with Siri?

For now this feature is only available for Reminders.

In iOS 11 it's possible for todo list apps to use Siri. So you need to wait for iOS 11 and for the developer of Todoist to update it's app to add support for Siri.

  SiriKit gives developers the ability to integrate Siri into their
  apps, and with iOS 11 it expands to support more categories, including
  to-do lists, notes and reminders; banking for account transfers and
  balances; and apps that display QR codes.

Source: look for SiriKit


Opening Chrome icon flashes up then disappears

We fixed this by deleting the lock file in ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome/SingletonLock and everything else in the profile running

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Google/Chrome

Seems related to the Chrome is not opening on the Google Chrome Help forum.


Try this:

sudo chown -R $USER /usr/local; brew update


Importing Facebook events into Calendar on Mac

I can export my upcoming events to iCal in Facebook. These are the steps that I follow:

Open up https://www.facebook.com/events/calendar
Click on the cog-wheel icon in the upper right corner (shown in the image below)

Click Export. A Facebook prompt window will appear with the following text:

  You can export your friends' birthdays or upcoming events into Apple iCal, Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar.

Click on upcoming events. Now iCal will open with a window where you can insert a calendar URL to which you want to subscribe. Leave the filled in text field as is and click on Subscribe.
Now you will have all your upcoming events in iCal.


Is it safe to enter your credentials on eBuddy for iPhone?

As part of the App Store approval checks, Apple analyzes all network data for unnecessary or malicious connectivity, meaning if it's on the App Store, it's not sending your data back to the authors.


For the first one Press,

A quick way :

cmd + shift + :

A permanent way

Click on Edit>Format>Spelling and Grammar>and then select "Check spelling while typing"

For the second question,

Goto Xcode>Preferences>Text Editing>Indentetion and then select "Wrap lines to editor width".

As shown in this picture,


Turn on/off Portrait Orientation, Depending on the Time of Day

This is certainly not possible with the stock software provided by the iOS and I haven't seen any application in the AppStore that does such thing. Should be "relatively" easy to do, but I'm not sure who'd want a software like that (other than you) ;)

EDIT: Now that I think about this, I'm not sure if the API for controlling that is public or private. If the later, then you can't really create an app that "modifies" the Phone's Settings, so my best guess is that you'd be out of luck.


I fought with an early Air that had been fully wiped by a well-meaning (but clueless!) IT person - he wiped not just the user partition (which I had already erased!) but also erased the reinstall partition. The only thing that worked to fix it was to find an original install image for the computer, place that on a bootable USB drive, and run from there, reformatting the internal drive as HFS+ in the process. If you can see the drive in Disk Utility, you should be able to reformat it.
If the drive WAS converted to apfs, you may need a newer version of Disk Utility to fix the format before you can drop to the Lion installer and start over. Use a bootable drive with macOS High Sierra or Mojave diskutil, dropping to command line to convert back to HFS+.
diskutil list to locate the APFS container
diskutil apfs deleteContainer /dev/disk#s# to kill the APFS container (replace disk#s# with the appropriate disk and partition)
diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ "Disk_Title" /dev/disk# to reformat the now-destroyed APFS container
See here for more detailed info.
After that's done, you should be able to use the Lion installer to see and select the newly-recreated HFS+ partition as the install target.


Mail: Separate unread counts (badges) on dock icon for different accounts

For all the software I searched and see the detailed specs, Dockstar is the best choice for the feature you are requesting.


As resolved in comments:

Try calibrating the battery by fully charging to 100%, and then draining it to when it crashes. From personal experience, letting it die out slowly overnight is better than sudden crashes due to increased demand while using.  Some users report doing the charge-discharge cycle twice. https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/15568/313842
If battery is still out of order, do a hard reset. This is an advice on several blogs I saw, and now this answer is one of them.

  Press and hold the restart button combination. If the iPhone can't be shut down normally, simultaneously press and hold the right button combination for your iPhone:

  iPhone 6S and earlier, iPad, and iPod Touch: Power button + home button
  iPhone 7 and 7 Plus: Power button + volume-down button
  iPhone 8, 8+, and X: Volume up, then volume down, then power button

  ... Continue holding the buttons. Do so for 10 seconds until you see the startup Apple logo on your screen, then release the buttons.

https://www.wikihow.com/Hard-Reset-an-iPhone

Adding some advice: keep iPhone plugged in, or at least on higher charge levels. Same reason for which Apple advices the same while upgrading iOS


Some .apps only open via sudo /Applications/*.app/Content/MacOS/*

Did you perchance move your user directory? If so, I suspect what's happened is that the owner/group of those applications is not the same as "you", and that's why they work under sudo and not normally.

I had this happen to me when I got my new computer. For some reason the machine refused to use the user/group ID from the old machine, and thus I wasn't part of the user/group who had access to things. I was able to fix most of this by selecting my user folder, Get(ting) Info, and then using the gizmo at the bottom to take ownership of everything inside the folder.

I also recall that there were lingering effects elsewhere, but I don't specifically recall apps being a problem. Nevertheless, I think you want to check to see if you have write access to the various /library folders, both in your own user folder and the system folders. Just try saving a text file into the one in your user folder and see what happens.


How can I change the default font size for composing in Sparrow?

I figured this out:

I had a problem that my font got changed size 11, and changing back to 13 didn't fix the default - the next email would go back to 11

The solution is this: Type some text and highlight it.  But instead of changing the font in the pulldown above the editing window (which won't change the default), so this instead:

With the text selected, in the top menu select Format > Font > Bigger or Smaller, till it get the size you want.  (You can also do this by hitting Command + or Command -.)

Oddly, that fixes the default, while using the normal size toggle doesn't.


iPhone and iPad recovery stops with error 14

I experienced this (error 14) when updating my iPhone 6.  I backed up the phone and apps in iTunes while downloading the OS update to iTunes.  Then I chose the iTunes Update Now button.  It took 18 minutes to arrive at the error code 14.  My phone then disconnected from my computer and could not be SEEN by my computer until I plugged the USB cable into a different USB port and then plugged in the phone. I was only given a choice to quit or totally reset the phone.  I did a reset which resulted in a choice to have a new phone or to restore it.  The first and second restore attempts failed. I chose restore from the phone choices.

It worked when I used the restore button from iTunes instead of using the choice on the phone. There were approx. 10 apps that did not restore but as I write this the phone is downloading them from the apps store.  My contacts are complete, as are my pictures and other personal data.  Yuck!  Always back up your phone before OS Updates!!!


Emails being replace to Holiday in the United States?

This has been a bug with Apple mail for a very long time (Funny because the issue just came back to me today). There isn't a clear solution for this issue, but I just go ahead and refer to this thread when I get this issue:

My gmail name comes up as Holidays in the United States

What seems to be the issue is the syncing with Google Calendars. Variations of this bug can be found when your name is changed to one of your contacts.


Is it safe to play the Macbook Pro/Air speakers at maximum volume?

The cones in almost any speaker will break down over time. Various environmental factors will determine how long a speaker lasts, but overdriving the element can definitely have an adverse effect.

It's impossible to provide any precise data but in short, you're probably shortening the life of the speakers (by an indeterminate amount of time) by running them at maximum volume but, provided you're not hearing any distortion from the speakers, you're not damaging them by doing so.


QuickTime does not see EpocCam after updating to Big Sur

In Big Sur certain applications (including QuickTime Player) block virtual webcams like EpocCam.
See here: EpocCam help page


Can I use both Mac mini display ports at the same time and which adapters do I need?

You can indeed use both the HDMI and Thunderbolt ports to drive two separate monitors with a Mac Mini.

Any Mac with a Thunderbolt port can use any mini Displayport display, cable or adapter, so you're correct that the mDP to DVI adapter is what you need1. If you have a display that requires dual-link DVI (typically only monitors with resolutions higher than 1920x1200), you'll need an active mDP to dual-link DVI adapter.

For the HDMI port, HDMI to DVI adapters are readily available (HDMI is essentially a superset of DVI with a different connector). Note that the HDMI port is limited to monitors with 1920x1200 or lower resolution.

1 Note that the reverse is not true - Thunderbolt monitors can't be used with mDP equipped Macs.


Can I set up each space to be a different file location?

It's not possible to achieve multiple desktop locations.

Spaces are not a replacement for desktops. On Stock Mac OS there is only one desktop per user and multiple spaces "above" the desktop.

Additionally it seems there are no tools to achieve this either with Spaces or independently.


Any Way to Remotely Control (or at Least View) an iPad without Jailbreaking?

The only workable solution I have found to the problem is a second device such as an iPod or iPhone running FaceTime or Skype so that you can see and talk with the person you are supporting.

With a gorilla tripod that flexes and something like the glif - this works amazingly well and everything needed has many other uses which does not lessen the impact on one's budget, but does ease the value proposition of this solution.

And - the approved way to get video off your iPad is through AirPlay mirroring which works with bonjour to find an AirPlay receiver on the local network. Currently, Apple TV and a Mac with some software (like Reflector. So if you had a Mac with your Dad or equivalent software on his PC, you could at least see his screen. The two drawbacks to this (in addition to the extra hardware and software) are you can't see where he is tapping and you can't control the iPad remotely.


iPhoto stores its Library in your User-Directory.

The Path: ~/Pictures/

Right-Click on the Package, and then select "Show Package Contnet" to view your pictures!

Or, right-Click on a picture in iPhoto, and select "Show in Finder"


OS X ships with a set of extensions that map to specific applications (and most of these map to Apple provided apps) so you could petition Apple to make the change, but that would be unlikely.

The other mechanism to inject a specific .extension to Application mapping into the Launch Services database is to install an Application that tells the system to map certain file types and extensions to that specific Application.

So, to keep things on-topic here let's just direct you to Stack Overflow to ask how to make your own Application. If you're not looking to develop an application,  you could also just modify the app you want to open your custom file extension by changing it's interal info.plist file:

About Information Property List Files for OS X Applications

Sorry if this level of detail is more technical than you want, but I wanted to answer this for anyone that needs to know how to modify things.


Folder Action to convert with ffmpeg a whole subfolder of videos

I actually came to a solution. The script

1) recieves a folder

2) gets folder contents repeating for subfolders

3) filters for mp4

4) runs a shell script:

for f in "$@"
do
    DIRPATH=`dirname "$f"`
    FILENAMEEXT=`basename "$f"`
    FILENAME="${FILENAMEEXT%.*}"
    EXTENSION=${f##*.}
    cd "$DIRPATH"
    mkdir -p WMV MP4
    /volumes/'macintosh hd'/applications/ffmpeg -i "$f" -b:v 4000k "$DIRPATH/WMV/$FILENAME.wmv"
    mv "$f" "$DIRPATH/MP4"
done

say "finished"


How to disable Apple Push Notification Service (apsd) which is trying to bypass firewalls

I figured out that I needed to enter the following in the terminal:

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.apsd.plist

I did this already, and it seemed to fix the issue, but would love to know if this is the advisable way to solve the problem.

========================================================

Also, in case you want to enable the process afterwards, you can use this:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.apsd.plist

sources:

https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/launchctl.1.html

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/disabling-unnecessary-mac-osx-services/


quickest way to transfer iPhone photo to "/tmp"

From your comment, I will ignore the "accepted" methods, such as Photo Stream.

Your question is still somewhat generic, as "quickest" can mean different things to different people in different situations.

If you are physically near your Mac, AirDrop. Here is an apple support document explaining the procedure.
With a USB cable, connect your iphone to your Mac and open the Image Capture application. Depending on your settings and OS versions, you may need to grant permission on the device. You can select one or many photos, and choose import, or just drag them into a folder. There is an option to delete them from the phone after transfer as well.
Without a USB cable, your method is actually what I would recommend, although with a twist. I attach the images to an email, then save it as a draft, retrieve the emails from the draft on my Mac, then delete the draft. This has the added benefit of not creating a copy of the email in your sent folder. It seems like this might be important to you as your concern with standard sharing methods is unknown "leakage."


Execute App (Apps Authorization Revoked)

Something tells me you have upgraded to Catalina and have run into Apple's heightened security around apps.

As is often the case, Apple has hidden how to get around this in plain sight, in a completely non-discoverable way:

Right or Control click on the App and select Open from that contextual menu. the resultant dialog box will then allow you to open the app.


Turning off default new window on terminal startup

In Terminal's General preferences, go to profiles and create a new profile (let's call it "exit"), then under the Shell tab check the "Run command" option and enter "exit" with Run inside shell checked and "When the shell exits" set to "Close the window."

Then under General preferences, under "On startup" simply choose your new "exit" profile.  This will still briefly open a window, but there's no way to have Terminal on launch do absolutely nothing.

You might want to check out iTerm2.


Archived Apple Messages - How to print or reactivate

Double-clicking any of those archived messages will reopen that conversation in Messages app.

If you Search in Archive for the caller name [or number if there's no name] then open the most recent archive, that ought to import the entire conversation. If in doubt, bulk-select all the relevant archive files,  Cmd ⌘    O  will open them all & you can test the newest against the earlier ones. Empirically it does seem to work, but I've only tried it with a couple of test cases, & not any of my 'major' conversations.

Caveat…
Whether the conversation will open correctly in the main Messages window depends on whether you had Prefs > "Save History when conversations are closed" checked at the time you closed that conversation.
Without that checked, you can open it in a separate window, but I can find no way to re-merge it to the main window.
If it is checked, it correctly opens in the main window too.


How to prevent Cmd-Q from typing "q" in the new foreground app?

Tested and mine doesn't do this.
Try to turn off key repeat: (mine below is not off)

Maybe you have a non-Apple keyboard with anti-ghosting?


How to export annotations in iBooks for Mac?

I think there are two options.

This app is still not yet released http://www.compendiumsapp.com/

The other technique involves an app called Digested. I took the hint from here http://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/beyond-highlighting-how-to-get-the-most-from-your-annotations--cms-20013 and should work for your other Macs.

  ...sync your iBooks with your iOS device, and use the Digested app to
  copy the annotations back to your Mac. It's a roundabout way, but it
  does work.


Error 3194 is related to a network connectivity issue. Typically security software or a firewall is blocking access to Apple's servers: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3694#error3194. You can also try connecting to iTunes on someone else's computer (preferably at another physical location as well).

As far as the screen suddenly not working, while not typical it certainly happens. The iPhone is a piece of hardware made from electrical components. Every electrical component made is prone to failure for various reasons. If you can't get it working after a restore, I would highly recommend making a Genius Bar appointment at your local Apple Store.


Make a Boot Camp partition totally impenetrable?

If your Mac OS partition is encrypted with FileVault 2, it will be unreadable when you are booted to Windows. At that point, the only thing malware could do to this partition would be to wipe or delete it.


I'm assuming you're talking about the detachable AC Cord (http://support.apple.com/en-us/ht2346)

Amazon has one for US outlets:  http://www.amazon.com/Power-Adapter-Extension-Apple-Macbook/dp/B009OA61UK
But, it is not an official Apple part, and (especially when it comes to power supplies) you might feel safer to stay with the sanctioned parts.

Your best bet for a real cord is to find a friend with a MacBook who plugs their charger directly into the wall, and ask them for their spare cord.


Error -36 "some data can't be read or written" when copying files from SD card

Not true; it's a privacy issue with the xfat format. You can copy the files via terminal: mv plus space, drag the file, plus drag the destiny. If that doesn't work, you'll have to change the format of the file.


How do I stop a particular service from running?

You can stop with this command:

$ launchctl unload com.wondershare.mobilegodaemon

Additionally if you want to completely delete it, you have to search for it on /Library/LaunchDaemons/, /Library/LaunchAgents/ and ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ to delete the configuration file, that should be called com.wondershare.mobilegodaemon.


It's possible that there are files in some other user's trash.  The .Trashes folder at the top of each volume has subfolders for each different user, by user ID number (e.g. user 502's trash is in .Trashes/502).
You can see if it for yourself using a command like this (replace VolumeName with your drive name):
ls -la /Volumes/VolumeName/.Trashes/
total 0
d-wx-wx-wt@  3 _unknown  _unknown   102 10 Feb 18:15 .
drwxrwxrwx@ 21 root      wheel      782 13 Feb 14:17 ..
drwx------@ 35 _unknown  _unknown  1190 13 Feb 14:18 502

Note: you might get a permissions error from this command, either because the .Trashes folder doesn't allow read access (solve this by adding sudo, e.g. sudo ls -ls ..., and entering your admin password when requested); and/or because of the privacy protections in macOS Mojave (10.14) and later (solve this by granting the Terminal access in System Preferences > Security & Privacy pane > Privacy tab > Full Disk Access category, see here for more details).
As you can see, on my USB disk .Trashes folder there's a sub foder called 502, owned by user ID 502 (for reference, my current user ID is 501). Since this user doesn't exist on my system, I see it as _unknown, and my user can't look inside of it, neither delete it.  To look inside that folder we need to do it as administrator (i.e. use sudo).
If you are sure that you want to, you can delete everyone's trash by deleting the entire .Trashes folder with a command like:
sudo rm -R /Volumes/volumeName/.Trashes

Warning: as with anything involving sudo ("do as super user", i.e. system administrator) and rm -R, use this carefully. If you type it wrong, it could have ... unpleasant consequences.


What is the command I say to make the curser 'Return' while in Notes using dictation?


Reading user Plist files from /var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users

You can try this to loop through the users.
USER_PLIST="/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/users"

for user in $(dscl . -list /Users | grep -vE '_|root|nobody|daemon|Guest'); do
  sudo defaults read ${USER_PLIST}/${user}.plist
done

This sets up a for loop with your dscl output and feeds those usernames to defaults. You can easily substitute plutil, if you prefer. You can make this a one-liner by using the semicolon between carriage returns. I left that out to make it easily readable.
HTH.


Downgrading an iPhone 4 from iOS 6 to iOS 5.1.1 using iTunes with a restore.ipsw file

In short: not if you didn't bother about jailbreaking or never heard of TinyUmbrella.

Apple is very strict on installing iOS firmware. Everytime you do a restore, iTunes is verifying the firmware for the connected device with their own server by checking SHSH blobs at Apple's servers. An app like TinyUmbrella allows you backup your SHSH blobs (they are unique for every iOS device) locally or to saurik's server. This however only works the latest iOS version that is available for your iOS device.

read this: http://www.redmondpie.com/reminder-save-your-ios-5.1.1-shsh-blobs-now-before-its-too-late/ or this: http://www.saurik.com/id/12


It's not a bad thing. You don't need a .bash_profile, but if you want one, simply re-create ~/.bash_profile as an empty file.

~/.bashrc is not sourced by default in OS X.


How can I get the PostScript name of a TTF font installed in OS X?

Open the Font Book application. (It should be in your Applications folder.)
Select the font you need the Postscript Name for.
Select Show Font Info from the Preview Menu. ( Or use ⌘+i).

If you are seeing only a preview ensure you click on the i


I'd say hold ⌥+⌘+–. In fact, holding ⌥+⌘+8 will disable it, but once you press it again, it comes back to the old level, therefore ⌥+⌘+– seems the best solution.


the resolution was to turn off the background app refresh in settings then general


You cannot control processes you do not own as a non-admin user. If you can run the command as an admin, you can send the quit signal using the killall command for all existing instances of the program and quit the program that way. If you only wish to quit specific program instances you will need a more complex combination of commands.

Granting selective admin rights to non-admin  users is possible, but keep in mind that granting process killing rights is universal and the semi-admin user will be able to kill any process. Shell scripting, AppleScript and Automator all derive their access from the same user privileges controls, so using a different tool won’t grant this right in a different way.


Screen sharing with windows 8.1 - observe windows screen on mac

A couple of options come to mind. You can try both and see which works best for you.

1) you can install VNC for Windows (there are several versions) on her machine

Most are free and should work with the OSX vnc client application. I haven't use it so I can't say more. As long as they on the same network you should not have any problems. Over the internet, things get complicated...

2) install a free (for personal use) application like TeamViewer.

I prefer Teamviewer as it is simpler and it will work from anywhere in the world with a semi decent connection. There are several other applications like this out there but I've used it for years and I've come to trust it.

The other good thing about TeamViewer is that once her machine has it installed (and password protect it), it will get an numeric ID that should not change. Open an account with TeamViewer.com and save her ID there. Then anywhere in the world you can find her machine and share her screen. Neat no?

Hope that helped.


Recent Experience

For what it's worth, I recently used a loner MacBook Pro for a week while mine was in the shop. Because I mostly use my mac to develop software for unix servers (typically using case-sensitive ext4 file systems) I decided to give HFS+ case-sensitive another try.

For me, all core OS X applications worked perfectly and I didn't notice any stability issues with the system at all. Also, most of my third-party software worked without a hiccup.

But there were exceptions. When I decide to give this a go, I already had in mind a number of programs I expected to break, and a few of them did. Most notably, ALL Adobe software refused to run. Because Creative Cloud requires that it is installed on your boot volume, a case-sensitive boot disk is a show stopper.

Generally, though, there are better-built alternatives to these brittle codebases. For example, I began using Affinity's Designer and Photo instead of Illustrator and Photoshop, which almost perfectly fit my use cases.

There were a few pleasant surprises: Backblaze continued to work and Microsoft's Remote Desktop was still able to be used.

I don't have any other Microsoft programs so I can't comment about Office apps, etc, which might be a bit iffy.

My Plans

Once every few years, I totally rebuild my system from scratch instead of upgrading. I'm planning to do this when El Capitan is officially released, and I will be using a case-sensitive file system. As I see it: any software that is unable to run with case sensitivity is probably not something I want to be running at all. If there is something that I absolutely need, I can always run it inside a case-insensitive VirtualBox VM.

[[ Update 2015-10-15 ]]

I've now been on HFS+ Case Sensitive for over 2 weeks on El Capitan, and I haven't had a single issue. Of course I haven't even bothered to install the software I knew wouldn't work (Adobe), but I haven't run into an issue with any Apple software, App Store apps, or open source code. If you spend a good amount of time developing for unix systems, I'd highly recommend making the leap.

[[ Update 2016-09-23 ]]

Well, it's been about a year now, and I'm never going back. I'd encourage all developers to always use a case sensitive filesystem. Also, it should be noted that the successor to HFS+, APFS, will become the default filesystem for macOS, iOS, and watchOS next Spring, and as of now it's only available as case sensitive.


Application Desktop assignment does not last

Make sure
System Prefs > Mission Control > Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use
is off

You can then reassign them back to what you wanted by invoking Mission Control & dragging the thumbnails at the top of your screen back into the correct order.


My first instinct would be to try logging out of the iBooks Store and then logging back in. You can do this as follows:

Launch iBooks
Go to Store > Sign Out
Wait about 30 seconds and then go to Store > Sign In...
Enter your Apple ID and Password
Click on Sign In
Click on Get Started
iBooks should now populate with all your books, PDFs etc.


First Generation Macbook Air Firmware Locked

I've solved it using MacOS installer. There is 'Firmware password' application in Utilities (top menu). Just use it.


Can two different App with the same name exist in App Store?

No, the name of your app as it appears in the App Store must be unique.  When creating your app, you will receive the following error if you try to use a name that is already taken:

  The Application Name that you provided has already been used. Please provide a unique Application Name.

But the name on the icon can be whatever you want - it can be the same as another app's icon name.

Source: Quora


Will a standard MacBook Pro optical-bay HDD caddy fit a non-unibody MacBook Pro?

The optical drive in a non-unibody MacBook Pro uses a PATA interface, so you would need to go with the MCE or iFixit caddy, both of which use an interconnect board to convert from SATA on the HD side to PATA on the logic board side.

The caddy on Amazon needs a SATA connection on the logic board side, so it will only work in a unibody MacBook Pro.


Macs on wireless network can't see eachother

I have almost the same setup except that I have an E3000 but I'm not running Synergy.  My Macs can ping each other and share files.  I have IPV6 turned off.  You may have tried some of my suggestions but let see if any of them will help the cause.

I have file sharing enabled on both Macs and I can see my other on-net mac in the Finder Sidebar under Shared.  My Sidebar Preference under Shared allows connected servers and Bonjour computers.  With these settings, can either Finder see the other Mac?  It's good to verify this on both machines as a control.  If you can see either machine, you should be able to double-click to log in.

If not, please turn off Synergy then reboot each mac and see what comes up in Finder.

Make sure your E2000 basic wireless is set to mixed.

I did not use Cisco Connect opting to configure my E3000 manually and I'm not running WPS (WiFi Protected Setup).  If you are running WPS, temporarily disable it to rule it out as a potential cause.  On my E3000, I have configured any MAC access lists and access point isolation is disabled.

Temporarily disable any security option under Wireless Security for both the 2.4G and the 5G settings.

Save router settings.

Reboot each mac and see what comes up in Finder.  This will help us see if this is a Mac, Synergy or Cisco issue.


How to load a subtitle file in VLC for Apple TV

Changing the subtitle file name so that it has the same file name as the movie worked for me.


How to remove the downloaded OS X El Capitan from App Store

It's actually very easy....

Using Terminal

Type the following command:

rm -rf /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ El\ Capitan.app/

This will remove the the install and sub-folders for the El Capitan installer.

Using Finder

Open the Applications Folder by navigating to it or by pressing ShiftCommandA.  Select the Install OS X App and Control Click or right click and select Move to Trash

That's it.  The installer has been removed!


Is a USB/USB cable the recommended way of connecting the two devices

No, not if you're trying to get the display of the laptop onto the TV. A USB port doesn't carry monitor signals.

  are there reasonably priced adapters to convert FireWire 400 to HDMI

Firewire is also not a monitor signal. It can be used to transfer video information but afaik it's a completely different format to HDMI. I've not seen a device that converts firewire video to HDMI.

From your given ports the only way I'm aware of connecting your laptop to your tv would be with a VGA to HDMI adapter. VGA to HDMI adapters do exist at a reasonable price point, eg. https://www.jaycar.com.au/vga-to-hdmi-with-audio-adapter-usb-powered/p/AC1719?utm_campaign=redirect&utm_source=AC1639r&utm_medium=web

Maybe if you post the model of your laptop someone could confirm if it has a displayport capable of being adapted to HDMI. Not all displayport sockets can be converted to HDMI, even if the socket is electrically compatible with the adapter they still need to output the correct signal.


No - you need a newer Mac to take advantage of the new storage connections and protocols.

This is well covered in the exhaustive post on what hardware has drivers and connections needed for NVMe to operate:

Do MacBooks support NVMe SSD drives via the use of a Sintech adapter?


Does Time Machine backup programs like Photoshop and iWork?

Usually the apps like PhotoShop just come across with all the right licenses.  However, sometimes you must contact the vendor if they have a draconian DRM policy where they are tied to a specific machine / OS.

I'd be very concerned with Adobe if it was a new machine but I've done the upgrade "in place" for Creative Suite at least twice on my MBP 2010.

To upgrade "in place" I just allow the installer to do its thing, and only keep Time Machine in the loop for catastrophes.  If I'm super paranoid I'll take a disk image onto USB using some program like SuperDuper!


According to Apple: "If you get an iMessage from someone who's not saved in your Contacts, you'll see a Report Junk link under the message." You then have to block the sender if you want to stop getting messages from them.

But since you are asking the question I'm guessing that isn't showing up. And since the perpetrator is jumping to new Apple IDs every time you block them I don't know how useful it would be.

If you do end up seeing the "Report Junk" link, maybe use it and don't block them, just mute the thread, reporting it every chance you get?


What are the blank files in my Home Folder of macOS?

They look like zero byte files created by an error of some sort. A good culprit is a script that has a path variable that usually points somewhere else and doesn't catch that the parameter or variable is blank - so your home folder (the current working) directory gets spammed.

I'd be slightly concerned since it's creating these wrong - what else is going wrong in that script? Deleting wrong files, or worse?

I'd be interested to see what the detailed information is for them. You can get this information using Finder list view, or via Terminal with ls -la. Whilst you're in Terminal, you could also do file "/mavericks" and see what that comes back with - it identifies the file type by its contents.

Did you buy your Mac brand new or previously used?


How can I turn off Siri's joke responses?

You can't.

Due to the design of Siri, you cannot change the way she behaves. This behavior is all run off of apple servers and is the same for every person.

Siri is able to learn behaviors but that is limited to repeated behaviors like opening an app and the way you speak.

So no,  because of the way that Siri was written, you cannot disable her "jokes". Sorry about that.

EDIT:
Source: myself after listening and reading up on Apple's privacy info, and the Internet's many forum posts complaining about this topic.

Also, from more reading, I found out that people have varying amounts of times that this happens to them. Generally, people who don't mind it (like me) don't really notice it. People who are bothered by it appear to notice it more often, so it becomes more of a problem.

You can provide feedback about this to apple via apple.com/feedback


iCloud Documents and Desktop empty - macOS High Sierra

I discovered, that you need to give it some time to restore the Desktop & Documents info from iCloud back to your Mac. If you keep signing back out, you just start the process all over again. Make sure you are connected to Wifi, and walk away. Check it in a few hours or tomorrow.


Why iOS on iPhones and iPads automatically end an app (ie Youtube) after idling? Is there a way to stop iOS from ending apps when idling?

iOS automatically quits apps which haven't been used for some time, especially if available memory required for the active apps runs low. There is no setting to disable that (which probably wouldn't be a good idea anyway as it would block other apps from getting loaded/started).

But usually apps get notified before they get unloaded and are supposed to store their current state (including for instance the playback position for YouTube) so they can restore it when you switch back to them/restart them. If you need advice on how to make this work for you when using YouTube, please ask a new question (and include the details others asked for in the comments).


How can I shut down an unlisted php-fpm?

You can just let the apache version alone and set up nginx to proxy to the php-fpm process you want via socket or just another different port. Keep in mind that the default port for php-fpm is 9000 in the case it has the original setup which is using the port and not the socket.


Go to System Preferences→iCloud on his machine, sign out of your iCloud account and into his.


How to start with launchd a bash script that calls fswatch with `&`

What happens if you amend git-watch.sh to use the "wait" command to wait on the background processes?

while read -r line; do
  {
    fswatch -r "$line" | grep --line-buffered -v '.git' | xargs -n1 -I{} git-commit-unattended.sh "$line";
  } &
done

wait


How can I get the LED on an iPhone 6 to blink constantly?

I'm not sure what search criteria you're using, but there are countless flashlight/torch apps that offer this function. Usually they refer to an option in their settings for a Strobe effect - this flashes the LED.
I've just done a search on the iOS App Store using the term "flash light" and the first three hits offered flashlight apps with a strobe option:

Flashlight by Intellectual Flame Co., Ltd.
Flashlight by MobileTrends Inc.
iTorch Flashlight by Pixelinlove Ltd

NOTE: I have not personally used any of these apps, nor am I affiliated in any way with the developers.


It's hard for me not to to question the validity of your setup (broken sync!), but ... for doing something on sleep or wake, you should try SleepWatcher by Bernhard Baehr (more context at Mac OS X Hints). It is using launchd for monitoring.

  [SleepWatcher] is a command line tool (daemon) […] that monitors sleep, wakeup
  […] of a Mac. It can be used to execute a Unix command when the Mac
  […] goes to sleep mode or wakes up, […]

If you have a bit of terminal experience, I think you can set it up. Make sure you read the well-hidden "Installation for new SleepWatcher users" section in ReadMe.rtf


How to locate UI Button for AppleScript using Accessibility Inspector

To get information about UI elements in Accessibility Inspector, you just need to hover the mouse over whichever UI element you want to know more about. For the purposes of closing this security warning, you need to be able to identify which button and which window. So if you hover the mouse over the title bar of the window you can see the AXValue is "Security Warning". And if you hover over the Continue button you can see the AXTitle value is "Continue".

From this you can create the following AppleScript which will close this dialog...

tell application "System Events" to tell process "java"
    click button "Continue" of window "Security Warning"
end tell

Also you can get AppleScript to tell you the actual names of the buttons in the window with. Please note that it will list the three standard Close, Minimise, Maximise traffic light buttons in the top left corner as well.

tell application "System Events" to tell process "java"
    get name of every button of window "Security Warning"
end tell

Hope that helps.


Notarizing App Distributed Out of App Store

Limited Options

As a developer wanting to distribute unsigned and unnotarized applications, your options are increasingly limited on macOS. You would not be alone disliking this trend.

If your users are technical, the advice from Apple can be referenced in your documentation. This will help a few potential users but will dramatically limit your audience.

Apple's Advice to Users

Apple provide Safely open apps on your Mac for users wishing to open unsigned and unnotarized applications on the latest versions of macOS.

Alternative Certificate Authority

In theory, you could code sign your application using another certificate authority that has an appropriate root certificate pre-installed in macOS. This assumes you wish to avoid dealing with Apple, rather than wishing to avoid code signing.

Is an Apple Developer Account Mandatory?

I suspect an Apple Developer Account is not mandatory, but not having an account will make some tasks difficult.

Given you have a code signing certificate from Comodo (Sectigo), you could try using codesign with it.

The manual for codesign does not obviously state a requirement for an Apple issued certificate. A code signing certificate with a trusted root certificate in macOS should be useable.

You will need to create a new Keychain containing the certificate and private key. Then pass the absolute path of the keychain file to codesign via --keychain.

One possible problem you may run into is macOS's spctl, aka Gatekeeper. spctl's rules may state the signing certificate must have a root Apple certificate. Investigate the spctl tool on macOS.

I recommending trying codesign with your certificate and then ask more questions as specific problems arise.


Growl does not pass on Tweets to Notification Center

While creating this question, I figured it out.

Twitter was not yet listed in the Growl preferences as an app that was outputting to Growl. Simply restarting the Twitter app fixed this. Oddly enough this wasn't necessary for Adium or Colloquy.

Works fine now! Channeling the notifications to Notification Center strips them of profile images and the Twitter program icon, so I'm sticking to Growl's defaults.


At the lower left corner of the Network page in System preference, there's a "+" button.
If you click it, you will have a drop-down window asking you how you'd like to create a new network service.
From there you should be able to select "Wi-Fi" as its interface, and give that service a name.
Then click "create", and you should have the "Wi-Fi" tab back.
Then in the Wi-Fi tab, at the bottom there's checkbox "Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar", check it and the Wi-Fi symbol will be in the menubar.

After all these steps you should be able to connect to Wi-Fi networks just as you usually do.


Is it possible my neighbor could hack in and read my files on my Macbook?

Whether a neighbor hacks into your network/computer is hard to say without detailled analysis. What you can do to reduce the risk is to

Make sure your WiFi is set to WPA2
Change the password on your WiFi to something which is not/not easy to guess
Change the passwords on all the accounts on your computer
Check whether there are accounts visible in System Preferences->Users & Groups which don't belong to you

This will not prevent a dedicated attacker from finding a way in of course, but might be enough to keep sneaky neighbors out.


Is it possible to disable force shutdown from the power button?

It is not possible to disable the force shutdown, it is hardwired, and the interrupt cycle runs continuously checking for it.


Cant seem to file share between cloned drives

Cloning is intended to provide an identical copy of the system. That is great for disaster recovery, but not so good for running on another computer unless you perform some extra steps.  You have two identical software configurations (possibly even with the same computer name) and that causes confusion.
If you don't want to start from scratch on one of the Macs, you need to rename and reset one of the Macs.
As a start, I would give Macs different names (do this in System Preferences > Sharing). Reboot. Then remove one from iCloud and re-add it. Again, reboot.  That may be all that is needed - you will need to tell us!
Those two steps should enable iCloud (for iMessage, etc) and local network services (e.g. AirDrop) to recognise them as separate computers.


Could the Java Updater (com.oracle.java.Java-Updater) be the source of all my kernel panics?

These message aren't being produced by Java. Launchd is part of OS X that manages scheduled jobs, amongst other things. The messages you are seeing here are launchd trying (unsuccessfully) to launch the Java Updater. It appears that the Java Updater is either partially or completely missing from your machine.

If you check the folder /Library/LaunchAgents/ on your Mac you should find a file called com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist. This file instructs launchd to run Java Updater once a week at a specific time.

If you need Java I would recommend uninstalling Java and then installing Java again from scratch. If you are using the Java Development Kit rather than the Java Runtime you can find uninstall instructions here and the install here.

Having said all this, I wouldn't expect this to cause kernel panics. This is simply a piece of software being repeatedly called to run and repeatedly failing. As klanomath mentioned you might want to check the kernel panic logs. You can find them in /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports. They'll be called something like Kernel_DATE-TIME_COMPUTERNAME.panic.


How can Finder empty Trash more quickly than "rm -rf /Volumes/Foo/.Trashes/501/*"?

The time it takes to delete a file doesn't depend (much) on the size of the file. Thus, the number of files being deleted matters much more than the size of the files. My guess is that the trash on FooDrive had lots of small files, and that's what took so long.

I just ran a quick test on my HD, with 500,000 zero-length files scattered through 1,110 directories (10 top-level directories, each containing 10 subdirectories, each containing 10 subdirectories, each containing 50 empty files). du -ch gave their total size as 0B, but find /path/to/trash -mindepth 1 | wc -l counted 501110 items. Deleting them with rm -R took 75 seconds, while the Finder took 91 seconds. The difference was mostly that the Finder took 18 seconds "preparing" (i.e. counting the files) before actually deleting them.

Verdict: rm -R is slightly faster, but not enough to matter. Oh, and the Finder waited until all items were actually gone before playing its crinkle sound.

BTW, for some types of files (e.g. applications), the Finder will show them as single files, but they're actually a hidden folder structure that can contain a large number of files. Use find /path/to/folder -mindepth 1 | wc -l to get an accurate count of items.


I experience the same. The "Disable Idle Sleep" selection is automatically turned off and the computer goes to sleep after some time.


MacBook Pro Slow local network SMB upload speed

Looks like the issue is with SMB client signing. Try disabling it and see if your transfer speeds improve.
To do this open Terminal.app (search with Spotlight or go to Applications/Utilities)
Enter this command: sudo nano /etc/nsmb.conf
Add these lines to that file:
[default]
signing_required=no
Ctrl + X to exit the editor, Y to save the file name, Enter to confirm.
Unmount and remount the SMB share and test the transfer speed.


I believe you want to define a watched folder that selects all, compress (zip), rename the archive.zip file, copy for another locations and erase all to wait new files. If the automator action is not working properly you could try using applescript to use Finder commands. For instance open the folder using Finder and run the script:

set numberOfFiles to number of files in folder (((path to desktop folder) as text) & "YourFolder")
tell application "Finder"
    activate
end tell
tell application "system events"
    keystroke A using command down -- select all
    tell process "Finder"
          click menu item "Compress " & numberOfFiles & " Items" of menu "File" of menu bar 1
    end tell
end tell

After that carry on with your actions to rename, copy and delete.


Processors either work or they don't. As long as they are siting in their sockets correctly. Tightening the heatsinks is unlikely to do anything, but be careful not to over tighten as you could damage something if you do.

You could take them out and verify the sockets are clean and free of obstructions and that there are no bent pins. You could also swap which socket which proc is in. I know that doesn't make sense but sometimes it just works that way.

Try with the old Procs in place if that is possible. If they work then you may have the wrong upgrade processor(s) or a defective one or two.


Where are the bookmarks folders in Safari?

I think to clarify this, when you click the Bookmarks icon, you can create lots of new folders, with bookmarks.

However, the only ones that will appear in the bookmarks menu have to be in the collection - Bookmarks Menu.

If you create them lower down in the Bookmarks section, they will only be in that section. Yes, this is odd and confusing.


Bootcamp: Bluescreen after installing drivers

It is hard to answer your questions. Mostly, because you have not fully answer my questions. I am going to guess that you are trying to install Windows to boot using the EFI firmware interface instead of the legacy BIOS interface. If so, you have not been the first to try. It is really not a question of whether or not you can get Windows to boot using the EFI, but rather what method the "Boot Camp Support Software" expects you to use.

I did an experiment last night. I have a mid 2011 iMac. The "Boot Camp Support Software" for 64 bit Windows 7 is version 5.1.5621. Your Mac would use the same software. My internet connection is 40 Mbps so downloading was not a problem. I also used the Boot Camp Assistant running under OS X 10.11 to download the software to a flash drive. I then compared every single file using windiff.exe. The files are identical. This is not proof that version 5.1.5621 do not contain any EFI drivers, but I do not think the drivers have not changed since the release of Windows 7. When Windows 7 was released, no Macs were booting Windows using the EFI.

OS X does not boot using the EFI specification. To use the specification, OS X would have to store software in the FAT formatted EFI partition. It does not. OS X does not even require a EFI partition to boot. The firmware is capable to reading HFS formatted partitions and recognizing the OS X operating system. Many Linux operating system take advantage of this. Fedora, for example, appears to the Mac firmware to be OS X. Once loaded, it transfers control to grub to finish the booting process.

In the end, I think you are trying to do something that can not be done. If your MBP was a year newer, the story would probably be different.


How do I send data from an iPhone via Bluetooth to a MacBook?

If you have a jailbroken iPhone, you can send files over Bluetooth using the tweak AirBlue Sharing - here's the developer's page about it and a Lifehacker post about it.


administrator account with parental control?

Just create an admin account for yourself, where you know the password, and create a standard account for your daughter.

If she wants to install something or do something 'admin-y' that you approve of, she can ask you and then you can go and type in your password to change it (Mac's can do this without needing to have the admin account logged in, it will bring up a dialogue box where you type the admin name and password so it's easy for you), however you can also set parental controls to block only somethings, so you can enable app installing etc., for your child, while still blocking sites.


Is there a way to hibernate macbook then switch to windows?

OS X does not natively hibernate like Windows.

For maximum effectiveness, apply both of these methods:

Install rEFIt.
Start Terminal
Run /efi/refit/enable.sh
Put the Mac to deep sleep.
When you power up the Mac, the efi menu will appear and you are able to select to boot OS X or Bootcamp.

But, since you have Mac hardware, you should be able to VM OSX.

Secondly, you can try pmset.  You can change it with sudo pmset -a hibernationmode 25.

The pmset man page also recommends using 25 instead of 1.

0000 1000 (bit 3) encourages the dynamic pager to page out inactive pages
prior to hibernation, for a smaller memory footprint.

0001 0000 (bit 4) encourages the dynamic pager to page out more
aggressively prior to hibernation, for a smaller memory footprint.

We do not recommend modifying hibernation settings. Any changes you make
are not supported. If you choose to do so anyway, we recommend using one
of these three set- tings. For your sake and mine, please don't use
anything other 0, 3, or 25.

[...]

hibernatemode = 25 (binary 0001 1001) is only settable via pmset. The
system will store a copy of memory to persistent storage (the disk), and
will remove power to memory. The system will restore from disk image. If
you want "hibernation" - slower sleeps, slower wakes, and better battery
life, you should use this setting.


Problems Connecting Canon Powershot to 2015 Macbook Air

Yes, you need driver & software for your Canon PowerShot G12.


Preferences/General - How do I get it to save in Lion?

Need to reset permissions? Try the following:

Turn off computer
Reboot Mac into Recovery (press and hold Command+R when you hear the chimes until a screen loads)
Select "Disk Utility"

Select your "Macintosh HD" volume on the left and press "Repair Disk Permissions"

Once that has finished, reboot your computer


Change sound level when using earphones with iPhone dock

The short answer is "no".

Although it shares a connector type with headphones, the 1/8" mini stereo jack on the Apple iPhone dock is a line-level audio output. Its purpose is to connect the iPhone line out (part of the dock connector) to devices like amplified speakers, stereo amplifiers, etc. These devices provide their own volume control and (aside from fine-tuning of input levels) the assumption is that you don't want to have control over the sound level in two places.


What (un-)documented multitouch gestures exist in Lion and common applications?

The best resource I have regarding gestures in OS X is: http://www.danrodney.com/mac/multitouch.html


Mounting Encrypted Core Storage Volume(s) On Startup

Here is a script that automatically unlocks: https://github.com/jridgewell/Unlock

Unlock allows the system to unlock and mount Core Storage encrypted volumes during boot. In other words, this allows you to log in as a user whose home directory is on an encrypted secondary disk without any problems.

Install Lock

Run this in the terminal.

curl -L https://raw.github.com/jridgewell/Unlock/master/install.sh | bash

You will be asked for your login password.
Follow the prompts

The install script will find all Core Storage encrypted volumes connected to
your computer (it will ignore the startup volume).
It will then loop through the volumes it finds and ask you if you want to
unlock the volume during boot.
If you do, it will then ask for the passphrase used to unlock that volume.

Everything should be set up! Restart your computer and log in to test.

Uninstall Lock

Run this in the terminal (you'll be asked for your login password)
to remove all traces from the system.

curl -L https://raw.github.com/jridgewell/Unlock/master/uninstall.sh | bash


How to convert a RAW 16-bit audio file to something else on Mac?

Unless I'm mistaken, you can download pre-built SoX binaries for the Mac direct from Sourceforge. I just tried it on Lion and it seems to work for me.

Alternatively, afconvert is built-in and can be used to convert a wide variety of audio file formats.

Usage:
afconvert [option...] input_file [output_file]
    Options may appear before or after the direct arguments. If output_file
    is not specified, a name is generated programmatically and the file
    is written into the same directory as input_file.
afconvert input_file [-o output_file [option...]]...
    Output file options apply to the previous output_file. Other options
    may appear anywhere.

General options:
    { -d | --data } data_format[@sample_rate][/format_flags][#frames_per_packet]
        [-][BE|LE]{F|[U]I}{8|16|24|32|64}          (PCM)
            e.g.   BEI16   F32@44100
        or a data format appropriate to file format (see -hf)
        format_flags: hex digits, e.g. '80'
        Frames per packet can be specified for some encoders, e.g.: samr#12
        A format of "0" specifies the same format as the source file,
            with packets copied exactly.
        A format of "N" specifies the destination format should be the
            native format of the lossless encoded source file (alac, FLAC only)
    { -c | --channels } number_of_channels
        add/remove channels without regard to order
    { -l | --channellayout } layout_tag
        layout_tag: name of a constant from CoreAudioTypes.h
          (prefix "kAudioChannelLayoutTag_" may be omitted)
        if specified once, applies to output file; if twice, the first
          applies to the input file, the second to the output file
    { -b | --bitrate } total_bit_rate_bps
         e.g. 256000 will give you roughly:
             for stereo source: 128000 bits per channel
             for 5.1 source: 51000 bits per channel
                 (the .1 channel consumes few bits and can be discounted in the
                 total bit rate calculation)
    { -q | --quality } codec_quality
        codec_quality: 0-127
    { -r | --src-quality } src_quality
        src_quality (sample rate converter quality): 0-127 (default is 127)
    { --src-complexity } src_complexity
        src_complexity (sample rate converter complexity): line, norm, bats
    { -s | --strategy } strategy
        bitrate allocation strategy for encoding an audio track
        0 for CBR, 1 for ABR, 2 for VBR_constrained, 3 for VBR
    --prime-method method
        decode priming method (see AudioConverter.h)
    --prime-override samples_prime samples_remain
        can be used to override the priming information stored in the source
        file to the specified values. If -1 is specified for either, the value
        in the file is used.
    --no-filler
        don't page-align audio data in the output file
    --soundcheck-generate
        analyze audio, add SoundCheck data to the output file
    --codec-manuf codec_manuf
        specify the codec with the specified 4-character component manufacturer
        code
    --dither algorithm
        algorithm: 1-3
    --mix
        enable channel downmixing
    { -u | --userproperty } property value
        set an arbitrary AudioConverter property to a given value
        property is a four-character code; value is signed 32-bit integer.
        A maximum of 8 properties may be set.
        e.g. '-u vbrq <sound_quality>' sets the sound quality level
             (<sound_quality>: 0-127)

Input file options:
    --read-track track_index
        For input files containing multiple tracks, the index (0..n-1)
        of the track to read and convert.
    --offset number_of_frames
        the starting offset in the input file in frames. (The first frame is
        frame zero.)
    --soundcheck-read
         read SoundCheck data from source file and set it on any destination
         file(s) of appropriate filetype (.m4a, .caf).

Output file options:
    -o filename
        specify an (additional) output file.
    { -f | --file } file_format
        use -hf for a complete list of supported file/data formats

Other options:
    { -v | --verbose }
        print progress verbosely
    { -t | --tag }
        If encoding to CAF, store the source file's format and name in a user
        chunk. If decoding from CAF, use the destination format and filename
        found in a user chunk.
    { --leaks }
        run leaks at the end of the conversion
    { --profile }
        collect and print performance information

Help options:
    { -hf | --help-formats }
        print a list of supported file/data formats
    { -h | --help }
        print this help

Also, typing afconvert -hf will show you the supported audio formats


Split Input Channels Using SoundFlower and AULab

I could be done using Rogue Amoeba's Audio Hijack which is ostensibly an audio recorder but has really comprehensive routing capabilities too.

You build your path just by drag & drop, it makes the connections for you.

Route a source to two different Channels plugins, kill left in one & kill right in the other - that way each will pass only a single side of the stereo pair.
In front of that you put two EQ plugins, then route both to a single output, headphones/speakers etc.

It's fairly expensive for a one-trick pony, but it's extremely useful if you need the trick it can do.

I posted more examples on https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/203009/85275

BTW, remember to switch it on once you've built it ;-) Button bottom left goes white & the numbers go orange & start to count time.
As a side-effect, launching any specific Hijack preset will launch any apps assigned to it.


Stuck on blue screen after running "rm *" in /

Depending on your system setup and your command you probably lost only some files - including one essential - and folders and some sym-links.

Using the command rm * - executed by an admin in the root folder - usually deletes the sym-link /etc only:

Boot to single user mode, check your file system with /sbin/fsck -fy, and mount root read/writable with /sbin/mount -rw /. Then recreate the sym-link /etc with ln -s /private/etc /etc and reboot your Mac with shutdown -r now.

Using the command sudo rm * - executed by a sudoer in the root folder - in a standard setup you'll only lose the file 'mach_kernel' and the sym-links 'etc', 'tmp' and 'var'.

(No other files were deleted in the file system). After further investigations it turns out that some other files and folders are also deleted often: a folder with a sudoer's name (usually the short name of your admin account) in /private/var/db/sudo/ and a .state file with an arbitrary name (the generatedUID of your admin/sudoer account) related to another equally named file in /private/var/db/shadow/hash/. I can't determine if they are deleted by 'sudo', 'rm' or 'sudo rm'. These files & folders are of minor importance though.

I've tested that in an almost vanilla Mac OS X 10.6.8 Server VM.

Before executing sudo rm * the root folder looks like this - invisible files, folders and sym-links included - with ls -la:

drwxrwxr-t  32 root  admin      1156 25 Dez 11:55 .
drwxrwxr-t  32 root  admin      1156 25 Dez 11:55 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 root  admin     15364  4 Jan 14:35 .DS_Store
drwx------   3 root  admin       102 10 Sep 01:37 .Spotlight-V100
d-wx-wx-wt   2 root  staff        68 10 Sep 01:23 .Trashes
----------   1 root  admin         0 23 Jun  2009 .file
drwx------  38 root  admin      1292  4 Jan 14:59 .fseventsd
-rw-------   1 root  wheel      4096 10 Sep 01:29 .hotfiles.btree
drwxr-xr-x@  2 root  wheel        68 18 Mai  2009 .vol
drwxrwxr-x+ 35 root  admin      1190 25 Dez 16:49 Applications
drwxrwxr-x@ 16 root  admin       544 25 Dez 12:04 Developer
drwxrwxr-t+  2 root  admin        68 10 Sep 01:37 Groups
drwxrwxr-t+ 65 root  admin      2210 25 Dez 12:02 Library
drwxr-xr-x@  3 root  wheel       102 26 Feb 20:43 Network
drwxr-xr-x   4 root  wheel       136 10 Sep 01:28 Shared Items
drwxr-xr-x   4 root  wheel       136 10 Sep 02:02 System
drwxr-xr-x+  5 root  admin       170 10 Sep 01:37 Users
drwxrwxrwt@  4 root  admin       136 26 Feb 20:43 Volumes
drwxr-xr-x@ 39 root  wheel      1326 10 Sep 02:09 bin
drwxrwxr-t@  2 root  admin        68 23 Jun  2009 cores
dr-xr-xr-x   3 root  wheel      4013 26 Feb 20:43 dev
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel        11 10 Sep 01:26 etc -> private/etc
dr-xr-xr-x   2 root  wheel         1 26 Feb 20:43 home
-rw-r--r--@  1 root  wheel  20828964  8 Jun  2011 mach_kernel
dr-xr-xr-x   2 root  wheel         1 26 Feb 20:43 net
drwxr-xr-x@  6 root  wheel       204 10 Sep 01:28 private
drwxr-xr-x@ 68 root  wheel      2312 10 Sep 02:09 sbin
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel        11 10 Sep 01:26 tmp -> private/tmp
drwxr-xr-x@ 14 root  wheel       476 25 Dez 11:57 usr
lrwxr-xr-x@  1 root  wheel        11 10 Sep 01:26 var -> private/var

After executing sudo rm * only one file and the sym-links vanished:

drwxrwxr-t  28 root  admin   1020 26 Feb 19:41 .
drwxrwxr-t  28 root  admin   1020 26 Feb 19:41 ..
-rw-rw-r--   1 root  admin  21508 26 Feb 19:41 .DS_Store
drwx------   3 root  admin    102  9 Sep 23:37 .Spotlight-V100
d-wx-wx-wt   2 root  20        68  9 Sep 23:23 .Trashes
----------   1 root  admin      0 23 Jun  2009 .file
drwx------  38 root  admin   1292  4 Jan 13:59 .fseventsd
-rw-------   1 root  wheel   4096  9 Sep 23:29 .hotfiles.btree
drwxr-xr-x@  2 root  wheel     68 18 Mai  2009 .vol
drwxrwxr-x+ 35 root  admin   1190 25 Dez 15:49 Applications
drwxrwxr-x@ 16 root  admin    544 25 Dez 11:04 Developer
drwxrwxr-t+  2 root  admin     68  9 Sep 23:37 Groups
drwxrwxr-t+ 65 root  admin   2210 25 Dez 11:02 Library
drwxr-xr-x@  3 root  wheel    102 26 Feb 19:39 Network
drwxr-xr-x   4 root  wheel    136  9 Sep 23:28 Shared Items
drwxr-xr-x   4 root  wheel    136 10 Sep 00:02 System
drwxr-xr-x+  5 root  admin    170  9 Sep 23:37 Users
drwxrwxrwt@  4 root  admin    136 26 Feb 19:39 Volumes
drwxr-xr-x@ 39 root  wheel   1326 10 Sep 00:09 bin
drwxrwxr-t@  2 root  admin     68 23 Jun  2009 cores
dr-xr-xr-x   3 root  wheel   4013 26 Feb 19:39 dev
dr-xr-xr-x   2 root  wheel      1 26 Feb 19:39 home
dr-xr-xr-x   2 root  wheel      1 26 Feb 19:39 net
drwxr-xr-x@  6 root  wheel    204  9 Sep 23:28 private
drwxr-xr-x@ 68 root  wheel   2312 10 Sep 00:09 sbin
drwxr-xr-x@ 14 root  wheel    476 25 Dez 10:57 usr

Using a non-standard setup all other files and sym-links in the root folder (if any exist at all) will be deleted also. All non-standard folders (e.g. /opt) survive.

If you didn't delete the kernel file (which is unlikely), try to boot to single user mode and rebuild the three deleted sym-links with ln -s /.../folder /folder (e.g. ln -s /private/etc /etc)
If you have a backup and deleted the kernel file, try to restore the file mach_kernel, the symlinks, the folder with your admin user name in ../sudo/ and the missing state file. You need some bootable hard disk/thumb drive to restore those files from the backup.
If you don't have a backup try to copy the file mach_kernel
from another Mac with the same system (e.g. 10.6.8). Recreate the symlinks. You probably have to adjust ownership and permissions (see listing).

"mach_kernel" is also available in the Mac OS X Combo Update 10.6.8 and probably other combo updaters like Mac OS X Combo Update 10.6.6 and Mac OS X Combo Update 10.6.7. Thus updating your corrupted system with the combo updater from an external bootable thumb drive or attached in target-disk mode to another Mac should also work.

After restoring the kernel file and the symlinks you might boot to super user mode and enter mount -o rw,remount / and create the missing folder in /private/var/db/sudo/ with mkdir /private/var/db/sudo/adminname. The missing .state file rebuilds itself.

If you've executed sudo rm -dR * you are doomed without a proper backup. My system was unbootable afterwards but bewilderingly only ~524 MB of 9860 MB were deleted after override confirmations for '/System/Library/CoreServices/boot.efi' and '/dev/fd/4'.
In a second attempt i got 8445 MB of 9860 MB deleted using sudo rm -dR *. The first attempt might have also been recoverable with the Combo Update, the wimpy remains of the second attempt surely aren't.


I finally need to connect the iPad to the iTunes. Then, in my iTunes, I go to the place where I see my books, select them, right click, add to the playlist and select the iPad.
I think that the confusion comes for refering to a list of books as a playlist (which I think is more addecuate for music); but I is just an opinion.


How does the Apple TV remote control my iPhone when using Airplay?

Applications can respond to the "Remote Events" from the AirPlay device. This is some kind of back-link as you described it. Developers has to respond to those events manually (unles they are using some built in classes..). For more info please check official Apple site.

  When AirPlay is in use, your media might be playing in another room from your host device. The AirPlay output device might have its own controls or respond to an Apple remote control. For the best user experience, your app should listen for and respond to remote events, such as play, pause, and fast-forward requests. Enabling remote events also allows your app to respond to the controls on headphones or earbuds that are plugged into the host device.

So your phone is "not aware" of the remote/game controller etc. It receives some events from the AirPlay.

For the allowed events please check developer site.


How do I remove the 802.1X settings in Mountain Lion

Try System Preferences > Profiles. It listed my 802.1X profiles and I was able to remove them from there.

Alternatively, you can manually edit configuration files in /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration (see this post) - grep the files located there for the name of your profile.

(Using OS X Mavericks)

 (Profiles is located in the second row from the bottom)


Activating Titanium Apple Card: iPhone XS/XR vs iPhone X and earlier

iPhone XS/XS Max/XR include a new feature that let them scan NFC tags in the background. For iPhone X and earlier, users must first launch an app to enable NFC reader mode.

iPhone Xs and iPhone XR can read NFC tags without having to launch an app

  iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone XR include a new feature for NFC that Apple didn’t mention on stage. The new models will be able to scan NFC tags in the background. With current iPhones, users must first launch an app to enable NFC Reader mode.

  iPhone Xs and iPhone XR require no such preamble, the user can simply walk up to a compatible NFC tag, wake the iPhone screen, and scan it …

What's New in Core NFC

  Background reading of NFC tags is a new feature for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.


SNESTile is a Java-based cross-platform tool for editing SNES graphics.

Links:

GitHub Project
Mac Binary Download

Most such tools are DOS-based though. You could certainly download DOSBox and some of the tools listed here.


RAM usage on a slow MacBook with OS X Yosemite

While Apple says you need a minimum of 2 GB RAM and 8 GB of disk space, those are the minimums.

I would recommend adding RAM to speed things up. (4 GB would be just enough, the more the faster).

Look up your model and get it if it is not MacBook Air. (no upgrade for MacBook Air).

You are correct, there is no formatting, but to speed up the hard drive, use Disk utility to do so.

Getting it back to factory settings would mean to erase all data and do a fresh instal--usually not necessary since you can refresh the operating system online (Internet) using the cmd+r during start up.


How to run swift command while staying on breakpoint in XCode?

Right-click on a breakpoint
Select "Edit breakpoint"
Define an action


Java and Flash Player do not work on Chromium

Unfortunately Google seems to think they know better than everyone else what people need to use online...

Here's the deal. They've deprecated those APIs, meaning if you want Java/Flash to work, you're out of luck.

HOWEVER, they haven't been removed yet, merely disabled. It'll get removed in a couple of major versions, but you can still force-enable them in the short term. This WILL stop working when Chrome 45 comes out in a few months. The only alternative then if you need Java/Flash will be to switch to a different browser.

In short:

For PPAPI plugins, go to chrome://plugins, scroll to the plugin, hit Details, and Under "Type: PPAPI," click Enable.

For NPAPI plugins, go to chrome://flags/#enable-npapi. There's an option there that says Enable NPAPI. Toggle that, and restart the browser.

I'd suggest getting used to Firefox or Safari in the meantime :(


How do you show only complete albums in iTunes 11?

Make a smart playlist with the following filter - Comments contains Full Album.
For each album I want to add, I click on Get Info and add Full Album to the comments field


Ordering a 21.5" iMac with a different graphics card

No you are correct there are no upgrade options available for the 21.5" iMacs (Mid-2011). Yes, you are stuck with what comes in each of the two 21.5" models available. Your eyes are not deceiving you on the iMac Specs, what you see is what you get no exceptions.

You graphics card options are:

Buy the 21.5-inch: 2.5GHz model and get the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB
Buy the 21.5-inch: 2.7GHz model and get the AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512MB

According to MacWorld's article / review "21.5- and 27-inch iMacs (Mid 2011)"

So in reality you have two options, and its all in which machine you buy. If all you want is a graphics boot, your going to have to pay the premium to upgrade all the other components too, unfortunately there is no way around it, other than letting apple know you want options, give them some feedback stating so.


How to upgrade boot rom firmware without an original drive

Why not try the (alternate) command and (better) restore using latest macOS?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904


Can't update apps in iOS App Store; can only Open

I had same problem and fixed it by closing the app down then reopening it, selecting the updates tab, then quickly press on 'update all' before the app updates revert back to 'open'.. You only have a split second to do this but it did work


Two Apple IDs - one for business and one for personal

Yes - you can split accounts on one device and this is just about the only case where I would say you would want to make a second AppleID.

Just be really careful when you sign in - in general don't accept or enter the AppleID in any set up screen as that places the first AppleID in all the slots. Decline the easy set up and choose app by app which you want to use for App Store, for iCloud, for messaging, email, etc...
You will run into device limitations for Two factor and Two Step auth - watch out, Apple had both and they are easy to confuse and don't do the same thing or meet the same requirements.


Reviving a dead iPod Touch 8GB (2nd gen?)

Try leaving it connected to a PC or Mac for several hours. If the Battery is completely empty, it will take some time to turn on. Happens to my 8GB iPod (which is not used much anymore) every time I leave it disconnected for 2 weeks or more.

THe only other option I can think of is trying to use a tool called RecBoot to boot the iPod into recovery mode. I don't know if that works (never needed it) and where to download it, but it's the only other option that would come to my mind.


Can an AppleScript write to a Notes.app document?

Notes is scriptable, and the dictionary can be opened with Script Editor for details.

There's also a lengthy tutorial here.

Although I've not tested it with iCloud, you should be able to set the account, and create a note in that account.

Simplifying the example on that page, and using my Exchange account, I was able to create the note using this script:

tell application "Notes"
  tell account "Exchange"
    make new note at folder "Notes" with properties {name:"this is a test", body:"and more text"}
  end tell
end tell

To get the contents of an existing note, in order to modify it:

tell application "Notes"
  tell account "Exchange"
    tell folder "Notes"
      get body of note "this is a test"
    end tell
  end tell
end tell

And, to modify the content:

tell application "Notes"
  tell account "Exchange"
    tell folder "Notes"
      set body of note "this is a test" to "reset the body text"
    end tell
  end tell
end tell


"Forget" WiFi networks you don't want to automatically join.

Your iPod touch will automatically join any network that it has previously joined.  In order to prevent it from jumping on any of these network automatically, you must "forget" them.  Go to the wifi settings, tap the little blue arrow to the right of the network you want to prevent your device from joining, and then at the top, tap, "forget network". (exact wording?)

Hope this helps.


I backed up my iphone to move it to a new phone

The backup function backs up all application data, system settings and user preferences. Data such as contacts, notes and calendars are only synced on request unless you are using something like MobileMe which syncs this data in the background.

If you didn't sync your contact, note and calendar data whilst you were travelling then your only backup remains on your primary machine. Restore from there and your contact, note and calendar information will be synced back from whatever applications you have designated as managers of that data.

From my own personal experience I have used and restored from MobileMe independently of iTunes successfully many times and continue to use that service for that reason should an iTunes or system backup ever fail for me. In future this functionality will be available for all via the iCloud service.


In Safari, is there any keyboard shortcut to *hide* the Web Inspector?

According to the apple website, there is no hide shortcut. Sorry.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42951

Sorry.


How about actually using a GUI app to make an unsaved document?

osascript -e '
    tell application "TextEdit"
        activate
        set d to (make document)
        set text of d to "Your script is still running!"
    end tell
'


How can I troubleshoot apps which won't quit and force me to reboot?

Try restarting it. Just go to the Apple menu on the top left of the screen and select Restart. This will shut it down and automatically start it up again. A restart will likely solve your problem.


How to stop multiple iDevices from sharing iCloud-sync'ed information?

I believe the best way to accommodate lush you goal is by doing the following:

Delete account from Settings > iCloud
When asked to keep on iPad or delete, choose whether you would like that same information saved but be able to edit it without it affecting other device's information.
Choose set up a free Apple ID and proceed through the setup

The pros of this scenario:

Having the other devices using the new Apple ID to receive their own free 5 GB of iCloud storage
You will still be able to use the other Apple ID for iTunes and App Stores
Edit the content from the old iCloud account without those iCloud devices being affected from the changes
Utilize the iPhone cellular calls with iPad and other features of iCloud which are functionally made to be segregated between people

The cons:

Another email / password combination to remember.

Other information:

You can still share photos between accounts using iCloud photo sharing
Check the Apple ID used in Settings > Messages and Settings > FaceTime to ensure the proper Apple ID is being used, otherwise all devices could be sharing text messages and phone calls.
Additionally, you can setup Family Sharing in order to keep using apps, music and other media already payed for, and paying for future purchases with the same credit card.


Network TimeMachine backup errors - System keychain problem?

I found an answer on the Ars Technica forum, which helped to get the issue resolved: http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?t=1225417

The file at /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security.plist contained the following text:

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

It was necessary to remove the DLDBSearchList key and array from that file:

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

After removing that entry, Time Machine network backups are working normally (as NetAuthSysAgent is now able to locate the correct System keychain item).


What security preferences are blocking McAfee?

When the message from McAfee appears, click OK and open System Preferences > Security & Privacy. Under the General tab, you may see an Allow button like the image below. You will need to click this and follow the prompts to allow your software to work properly.

McAfee's knowledge base has instructions on this under the "Standalone installation on macOS High Sierra without a Mobile Device Management (MDM) profile" section of this page.This is a security feature introduced in macOS 10.13 to make sure certain kinds of software, kernel extensions, are loaded with the permission of the user. This Allow button is only available for 30 minutes after the alert appears.


You need to loop over all files

for f in *.txt; do
    mv "$f" "${f%.txt}.csv"
done

If you have files with names starting with a . as well you might need to run

for f in *.txt .*.txt; do
    [[ -f "$f" ]] && mv "$f" "${f%.txt}.csv"
done


Duplicate icons in Applications Dock Stacks

Right click Applications in Dock, remove it from Dock and then add again.


I don't think it's possible to edit album art directly on your iPhone, there are no iPhone apps to do that, but there are Windows apps which could help. I've used Tune Sweeper in the past to download album art and correct incorrect track info on my iTunes library. You can then re-sync your iPhone to iTunes which will update the music files on the phone too.


Bootcamp is designed to allow you to change your operating system while the computer boots.

Nothing allows you to swap purely back and forth between operating systems that way. What you can do is use software that runs Windows in OS X with hardware virtualization, a huge step up from the software virtual machines of old.

There are three good options: Parallels, VMWare Fusion, and VirtualBox, the last of which has the advantage of being free.

If you want more technical details, particularly the ones that drove an edit to improve this answer, read the comments below.


Apple TV (2nd generation) - video quality seems poor

The problem was with the TV settings - it has three "Picture modes": vivid, standard, and pro. It was set to vivid, which adds artificial sharpening. With this set to "Pro", it looks terrific.


iOS app to edit .txt files (w/ Dropbox sync) that preserves Windows-style line breaks

Nebulous Notes and Elements both support windows newline characters.


Web fonts look worse after deleting MS Office

Your font are probably corrupt. But no worries, you can restore them with almost no effort :)

Open fontbook
Select all the fonts
Right click and select validate. All the fonts Office installed that are bad will show warnings.
Remove those, and you'll be good as new without a reinstall of anything.

Let me know if this helps you out!