Can one exchange SSD's in a single MBP for doing a back-up (delayed) on one of them?

Apple recommends backing up your HD as they "can't guarantee the integrity of the data on hard drive." Or words to that effect.

Theoretically you can do what you have proposed. You may have boot issues, EG the Mac the SSD is swapped into may not boot but that is unlikely to damage either the Mac or the drive, so if you have the Mac and the time, go for it.

Personally I'd put the SSD in an external case, plug it and your backup drive into the same Mac and make a bootable image file of your SSD onto the backup drive. It's a little easier and you are less likely to damage more than one Mac accidentally by digging around in it... IMHO...


Macbook Pro keyboard and mousepad hang after waking up while connected to VPN

I also have the 15” 2018 MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.5 and am running into the same issue.
This started a month or two ago but has gotten worse, today especially.
The keyboard and mousepad freeze after a certain amount of time after closing the lid; when I reopen it’s unresponsive. It used to work after I woke up the Touch Bar, however that’s no longer waking the keyboard and pad. I’ve just reset the SMC so will update if this manages to fix the issue.


Because dust doesn't conduct well, you should not worry about anything getting damaged, especially not if it's small enough to fit through the speaker.

Fact is that a lot of dust slows down electronics, but such small quantities, as said, shouldn't be a problem.

If you still want to get it out, you should probably do as Solar Mike said and just vacuum it a little.


old iPod touch 1.1.4 youtube app hasn't worked since Sept 2011 or so

Actually I suspect your problem started when the YouTube API 1.0 was dropped by google.

Google notified developers that the YouTube API was deprecated in 2008. Since they keep deprecated APIs running for 3 years, 2011 would be the time they turned the switch on it. It would make sense if all apps and webpages relying on the YouTube API v1.0 failed when they shut it down. They had a lot of problems with YouTube in september 2011 (example with 502 errors). So it's reasonable to say that your iPod will never be able to connect to YouTube if you keep using the early 2008 iPhone OS 1.1.4.

Google released the YouTube Data API (v2.0) around march 2008, after the iOS 1.1.4 was released.

I fear the only solution to get your 1.1.4 device to play YouTube properly would be to get Google to turn the old API back on... Or simply update your iPod :(


How can I tell what group(s) a contact is already in?

There is no such field in the card, but you can create Smart Group to include contacts that are (or are not) members of certain groups.

To see all contacts that are not in any group, just select Card is not member of any group.

These options are available only if you have more than one group in your contacts.

Alternatively, you can do the following:

Open the Mac OS X Address Book.
Highlight the desired contact, either under All or in a specific group.
Press Alt / Option on keyboard.

Any groups of which the contact is a member will be highlighted in the Group column.


Connect MacBook to External Monitor Using USB to HDMI

A 1080 x 1920 display is easily within the capabilities of your MacBook Air. So, there are really only three possible reasons why this isn't working:
1. The monitor itself doesn't work.
Is this a brand new display, out of the box? Does it display a 'not connected' or 'no input' symbol on the screen, so that you can see that the screen itself works? Can you test it with another computer?
2. The MacBook Air doesn't work
Can you test the MBA with another display? Does the internal display work fine? Have you any reason to suspect that it might not work? Does the port work with other USB devices?
3. The cable/adaptor doesn't work
This is by far the most likely explanation, and the cheapest to test. If you have a USB to HDMI adaptor, followed by an HDMI to HDMI cable, try changing the cable first. Then try changing the adaptor.


What does "No Service" or "Searching" mean on iPhones?

No service means no calls are possible as you have no network,

Searching means no calls are possible and it is searching for your service set-up via your SIM card and Settings.


How to export all images and videos from Photo Booth to finder?

The easiest is probably to simply find the photos in Finder.

Open Finder
Locate the PhotoBooth library file (usually in user/pictures)
right click on it, hit show package contents
Copy all files from the Pictures folder (if you want to have the original photos without effects on them also copy the Originals folder)

You can read in a bit more detail here: OSXdaily


sync the bookmarks in Favorites folder with a computer

Ok, I found the bookmarks. They were already synced but apple has decided to put them in the main bookmarks bar inside Chrome. Not in the "Safari Menu bookmark"


Zsh provides a very easy way to add color to your prompt; you don't need Escape codes.
PROMPT='%F{blue}%n%f %#'

%F = Sets foreground color defined in braces {}
%f = resets to default foreground color
%n = username

You can even access the 256 color pallet for your colors by specifying the number within the braces - %F{146} for “light steel blue“
For a detailed list of all the codes and what they do, see the official Zsh Documentation - Chapter 13 Visual Effects.


Can't reboot mac os siera to factory settings

The reason you are having issues with this is because the guide incorrectly tells you to press Command + R which is Recovery Mode but uses your local drive and means you can't erase the whole drive.
You need to run Command + Option + R which will run Internet Recovery Mode, and from there you'll be able to show all the partitions and erase the top level one as APFS then quit Disk Utility and install macOS to this new empty drive.


Auto Delete Hidden File when USB Connected?

Here's a Keyboard Maestro script that deletes a file when a partition is mounted:

If you want wildcards, it might be more useful to use a script action with rm:

rm /Volumes/volumename/.file*


Snow Leopard: Current: python 2.6 - Desired: python 2.7

You can install 2.7.

It is generally considered a bad, bad idea to change the native version, because built-in apps and frameworks are written for specifically the version that is bundled.

The way to go is to install 2.7 along side 2.6. This is generally considered the best practice.
That way, you can use 2.7 when you want, and apps will still use the version they were made for.

Go to this page to get the Python for Mac installer. Follow the directions to install it. Then, to access the new version, type python2.7 in Terminal. You'll have a Python shell of the version specified.


Can an app window be minimized by clicking its Dock Icon?

You can hide an active application by option-clicking (alt-clicking) its icon in the dock. You can also hide the active window and open another window by alt-clicking whatever application you want to open in the dock.

But I agree with you that it would be more symmetrical to be able to click to minimize all the open windows in an application. I am a long-time PC user and this is one area where PCs got it right. That and combining closing and quitting (and the related window management issue).


Will SIM-free iPhone from Apple lock to first carrier activated?

According to Apple a SIM-free iPhone purchased directly via Apple should be unlocked. So, it is pretty unlikely that you get locked afterwards.

Furthermore you should be able to use every SIM worldwide*.

*considering there are no restrictions in the chosen country like e.g. in Turkey.

Edit: This answer is based on the situation in the U.S. only. Other countries/markets may vary.


How do I negotiate dialogue boxes using the keyboard only?

You can cycle the dialog boxes. Also note that by default esc will choose cancel.

To enable switching via the tab key this feature go to System Preferences → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Full Keyboard Access... → All Controls

Now you can use the tab key to switch the selection:

Press Space to choose the selected button (which has a blue border around it).
Press Enter to choose the default button (the blue coloured button).
Press esc to cancel.


Is there a default SSH password on Mac OS X?

Having no password on the OS level effectively means that ssh is disabled for that user. The protocol insists on a non-zero password and thus the hashes of whatever password is supplied fails to match the absence of a hash.

You must supply ssh keys or otherwise arrange some authentication to log in should your account have no password.


Can my iPad open iPhone apps using the iPhone 5 form factor?

No, this is currently not possible. iPhone apps running on the iPad will use the smaller iPhone 4s screen's aspect ratio.


Is Bonjour supposed to make your home networking a lot easier?

In a word, yes. Printing is only part of it. http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/core-foundation.html gives a short description, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonjour_(software) is a much more detailed one.


Why is there a AnonymousIdentifier_AD7E5BED-EF7F-59A7-856F-6984BE798469.plist file in CrashReporter folder?

CrashReporter creates those files for later uploading to Apple's servers. The files contain anonymous information (hence the prefix AnonymousIdentifier) about the crashes to help Apple diagnose and fix problems.


an error occurred while adding a recovery system to the destination disk

In my case I experienced exactly the same issue and noticed that recovery user interface was pretty old one when accessed using apple+r.

When I used option+apple+r, I got another recovery downloaded, which looked newer based on layout ant this was finally solved.


The simplest way to set this up is to use MAMP. You can download it for free from here: https://www.mamp.info

It sets up a local and isolated PHP/MySQL/Apache server that you can start and stop at any time.

It's a web developers friend if you want to keep your Mac system somewhat isolated from the development work.


Not all ap's have the App nap capability.

If you do not see it in the Get Info window it does not have it.

However you can enable it system wide with following in Terminal.

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAppSleepDisabled -bool YES


Why is Outlook 2011 constantly writing to my hard disk?

Try running the Database Utility that comes with Office to resolve any database corruptions.


How do I make Spotlight stop indexing my Backup drive?

Create an empty file on the root of that drive, named .metadata_never_index.  This Mac OS X Hints article says more.


You can specify the colors as RGB from the second tab of the color picker:

You can specify a color as a hex code by installing Hex Color Picker.


Sometimes background image for lock screen doesn't show on iPhone

In iOS 6 and lower (which was the current version at the time this question was asked), iPhone does not show the background image while the phone is charging. This is by design.


Launching .NET Core executable when Custom URL is opened

So as it would turn out, Apple doesn't like you having multiple copies of an app as backups.

Usually when I'm doing this kind of executable/package work, I keep backups, such as BAK1_Package.exe, BAK2_Package.exe, etc.

It seems that if you have more than one .app that's registered to a URL handler anywhere on your system then Mac uses one of those, and not specifically the one that's in the Applications folder. So when I tried to launch the URL, instead of launching the most recent .app that was placed inside the Applications folder, it was launching the first one that was in the _BACKUP folder on my desktop.

For anyone else who runs into a similar issue like this: make sure you only have one .app registered to that URL handler.


Copy range of files with same file structure

I would like to copy range of jpg files from the multiple folders. I
  have a lot of folders with *.CR2 and *.xmp, in addition, it has a jpg
  folder with *.jpg files. I need to copy only jpg files and save file
  structure. example:

  2018/folder1/jpg --> temp/folder1/jpg
  2018/folder2/jpg --> temp/folder2/jpg

If I understand correctly what you're asking...

You can change directory into the 2018 directory, e.g.:

cd "/path/to/2018"

Then use, e.g.:

rsync -aR */jpg ../temp/

This will copy the folder*/jpg directories in 2018 to temp so you'll have temp/folder*/jpg directories, where temp it at the same level as the 2018 directory.

In other words, as in your examples:

  2018/folder1/jpg --> temp/folder1/jpg
    2018/folder2/jpg --> temp/folder2/jpg

They will be created as you've shown.


Activation failed when a communication with Apple servers was expected.

(Official unlocks rely on having Apple send your device a list of approved SIMs during activation, and thus having the unlocker request Apple to approve your device for all cards).

This sounds like an occasional, temporary error: if it persists, I would be inclined check the hosts file on your computer to make sure it isn't redirecting any Apple servers, although I haven't ever heard of a modification that would break activation in this way.

The "043" in your serial number stands for "made in year (201)0, week 43": you can use the jailbreak tool redsn0w to install and then remove the iPad baseband, enabling you to software-unlock your iPhone as described in this guide: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-downgrade-iphone-3gs-3g-06.15.00-to-05.13.04-baseband-for-unlock-and-working-gps/


I have disabled SIP, I have read/write permissions with terminal, but not with Finder. What causes this?

I use a remote Linux server where the root directory is used (i.e. there are folders where users can r/w such as /data and /analyses )... In the interest of continuing to use the file organization system on our remote server, I have disabled SIP and I'm mounting / with read/write on each boot

This is not a good strategy and should be avoided.

The first and most important thing to realize is that macOS ≠ Linux.  What Linux lets you "get away with" is not always a best practice for system administration.  When we reduce  everything down, what you're essentially asking is about placement of two folders and the root directory is actually not the best place for them, thus the issues you're running into.

Disabling SIP, you remove one of the key protections that make macOS one of the safest operating systems on the market today.  Doing so to get around the security architecture so that you can create folders/mount volumes that reside in the root directory is counterproductive.  Instead of fighting against the OS, it's best to work with it.

Is /dev protected by SIP?
Other than user error, what types of attacks would SIP prevent?
How to repair macOS permissions after running “sudo chown -R _www /”? (A cautionary tale)

  Unless you are certain it will directly help to solve this issue with Finder...

It's not an issue with Finder.  SIP's been around a long time; since El Capitan (10.11) was released in 2015. This is not anything new.  However, the new APFS container structure of having two volumes, one writable and one not (with - Data appended to the volume name) is new.  While some of the security changes Apple has implemented causes more headaches than necessary, this isn't one of them.

This is actually something that system admins should be doing - hardening the system and limiting what and where the user can write to by   "containerizing" (sandboxing) the directories/volumes with appropriate read/write/execute permissions.

Mount user accessible directories in the proper location

Again, the root directory is not really an appropriate place for shared data whether it be macOS or Linux.  Whether these directories are local to the Mac (the Mac is the network share), or you're mounting them from a remote file server, they should be placed in a protected volume like in /Users/Shared or mounted in /Volumes.  The reasoning behind this is that you can set the "parent" rights and apply it to all of the child folders whereas if you were to modify the rights of something in the root directory, you could potentially apply the wrong permissions across the whole system.

Even my Synology NAS (Linux based) doesn't allow me to create shares on the root folder.  It forces me to mount them in a sub volume with permissions I (with root access) cannot modify.

TL;DR

You're going against the current here; work with the OS and not against it.  If you're finding that you need to disable all of the protections that the system came with, you're likely not following an industry best practice.  Don't try to force macOS and Finder to behave a certain way because you can "do it in Linux;" follow it's lead and you'll have a secure, available, and most importantly a reliable system that your users can depend on.


Create a wireless network while connected to another


/etc/hosts will not update/refresh at all

Check your hosts file, because probably it's malformed. It should look similar to this one:

##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting.  Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.0.1       youtube.com
127.0.0.1       www.youtube.com
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1             localhost

Opening the file with sudo nano /etc/hosts it should have a trailing empty line. All entries for 127.0.0.1 should be added above the broadcasthost. The space between IP-address and hostname should be one tab: ⇥.

After writing the file to disk with nano, the changes should take effect immediately (usually without executing any dnscacheutil or killall commands). Check this with ping youtube.com.

Google Chrome is (probably) the only app which doesn't adhere properly (as a test in a VM revealed).


Why is my MacBook Pro showing the low battery screen while at 100%?

Your battery is failing; it's not holding a charge  It's time to have it replaced.

The symptoms you've described is indicative of  one or more failed cells.  Your battery is going to "report" back to the SMC that it has:

7496 milliampe hours at full charge
3113 milliampe hours remaining (calculated value)
451 charge cycles
it's putting out approximately 12.3 volts (measured value)

As much as it can measure at a single point in time, it cannot "look into" the battery to see if there's capacity to hold a charge - in other words, there's no "dipstick" to measure capacity within the cells themselves.

When there's a bad cell, your charge will go from "good" to "bad" with no warning (i.e. 20% to nothing) because it cannot account for the missing capacity.

Also, given the age of the MacBook (3+ years) it's well within it's lifespan of 3 to 5 years.


I can't reproduce this issue with Safari 9. By visiting Skiplex UK everything loads correctly without a SSL cert error.

Here’s what you can do:

Ty clearing your Safari Cache and Cookie
Open Keychain Acccess and select Keychain First Aid > Select „Repair“ > Start
Reboot your Computer.

This sites covers your issue in more detail. http://osxdaily.com/2014/03/26/fix-safari-cant-verify-website-error/


How do I see who's online to my linked Gchat and Facebook Chat in Messages?

The sidebar shows your list of open chats. When someone is offline, the text "Offline" shows under their name:

This also depends on whether you have iMessage-enabled contact information for those people — it seems that if you do, they never appear as Offline.

(Also note that the buddy list window still works well for seeing who's online!)


Can 3rd Party Keyboards Access Data from Other Keyboards?

3rd party keyboards can't access data entered into the stock iOS keyboard, that's just the way Apple developed the API's.  Without understanding the Text API's it will be difficult to explain why this is.

If you're concerned about keyboard security, however, you should be more concerned with what info 3rd-party keyboards send to their servers.  These keyboards can send keystrokes, words, and phrases to their developers via the internet.  Granted, not all keyboards do this but every popular keyboard I've seen includes in their ToS that they can send this info if they want.

The "full access" warning message you see when installing 3rd-party keyboards is about doing just that: sending your info to their servers.

This reason is why Apple prevents these keyboards from entering sensitive text.  That would include passwords.  Take a look at this article about keyboard security.  It's a few years old but generally accurate.


Why are home folders in Mac OS X located in /Users, and not /home?

While we can only guess on Apple's motivations for certain decisions, the most obvious explanation would be that a "Users" folder has existed since Mac OS 9, before it was a Unix system, and Apple chose to stick with something familiar to their users. The same goes for other already familiar folders like "Applications".

This effectively translates in two different parts of the filesystem, where the not-so-user-friendly Unix hierarchy is hidden from the GUI, and a more friendly folder hierarchy is added on top of that and is exposed in the GUI.

There also is a clear difference in the style of directory names between the visible and invisible part. The invisible part uses all lowercase words as per convention in *nix filesystems, while the exposed part of the filesystem will uppercase the first letter of each word in a folder name.


Is it possible that my MBP (running Yosemite) can remote turn on my iPhone 4S's (running iOS 8.1) personal hotspot?

The feature I'm after is called: Instant Hotspot

It seems like an iPhone 4S cannot do this feature. From what people are saying, it's an iPhone 5 or newer. Apple also confirm this.

Sad.Panda :(


Numbers: Line graphs for cell values across multiple worksheets

Hopefully someone knows how to source data from multiple table inputs, but I just use brute force and make one table that contains all data I need to chart. Tables can refer to data from multiple other tables, so now with your charting data in one table, charting becomes a snap.


Why doesn't my Terminal show 'last login' message?

login should display that message unless it is run with a '-q' option or the file '.hushlogin' exists.

It would be good to know the command line for login.

At the command prompt go ps ax | grep login and you should get a line for each open Terminal window that reads something like this :

login -pf <username>

or

login -pfl <username> exec -la bash /bin/bash

Check that out and see what it says.

bash and it's profiles have nothing to do with displaying that message. The setting of the "Shell" preference also makes no difference as login is run regardless of how this is set.

If login is  not being run with a -q option then something else is happening. If you try type -a login you should get nothing but login is /usr/bin/login. I'd also triple check that ~/.hushlogin does not exist.


Application runs, but I can't find the .app file (Pages, Numbers)

You can check where any application is located via the Dock.

Right-click on the app's icon in the Dock and go to Options > Show in FInder.

If you haven't already got Pages and Numbers in your Dock, you don't need to add them. You can still do the above while they're running.


How can I map the F4 key's default functionality to trigger a key sequence rather than open Launchpad? (Mountain Lion)

This is more or less exactly what I wanted.

http://kevingessner.com/software/functionflip/

Works perfectly and no BTT is needed for setting the keyboard shortcut (Do it through Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts in System Prefs)


Macbook Pro Superdrive Only Works With DVD-ROM

It's extremely likely that the drive needs replacing. The lasers get worn out over time and this how they can react.


Create in iTunes a smart playlists of loved songs, and the playlist will be updated on the iPhone. If you mark a song as loved it will be added to the playlist without syncing.


How to tell when time has been sync'ed with NTP server in Mac OS X Lion?

I'm not sure if there are any log messages by default—I couldn't find any either.

One possible solution is to just enable logging. You can edit:

/usr/libexec/ntpd-wrapper

And add this (or something similar):

-l /tmp/ntpd.log

To the exec /usr/sbin/ntpd line in the script (the last line). Then kill the ntpd process (it will automatically relaunch) or reboot.

The resulting log looks something like this:

ntpd[10728]: ntpd 4.2.8p6@1.3265 Fri Feb  5 17:38:17 UTC 2016 (124~824): Starting
ntpd[10728]: Command line: /usr/sbin/ntpd -c /private/etc/ntp-restrict.conf -n -g -p /var/run/ntpd.pid -f /var/db/ntp.drift -l /tmp/ntpd.log
ntpd[10728]: proto: precision = 1.000 usec (-20)
ntpd[10728]: proto: fuzz beneath 0.083 usec
ntpd[10728]: Listen and drop on 0 v6wildcard [::]:123
...
ntpd[10728]: drift PPM:0.000 -> -37.418
ntpd[10728]: peer time.asia.apple.com. @ 17.253.66.125
ntpd[10728]: sample offset +0.000000 s @ 17.253.66.125
ntpd[10728]: sample offset -0.000569 s @ 17.253.66.125
ntpd[10728]: sample offset -0.000518 s @ 17.253.66.125


SSD boot drive does not work only on primary drive slot

Is it definitely the Late-2011 model and not the early-2011 model? as the early-2011 model had an intermittent problem with interference on the hard drive flex cable. It would usually only cause problems when a 6G SSD is fitted. Because it is the boot drive you can find the interference can cause boot problems, sometimes locking up or beach balling (the coloured circle going around).
If this is the case, the Late-2011 hard drive flex cable resolved this problem, so a replacement cable should sort it... but if its not working in the optical caddy either, then something else is going on (unless you have the 2.3GHz i5 Early-2011 machine. in which case, thats the only 2011 machine with a 3G SATA port in the optical bay, so your 6G drive wouldn't work in it). Can you confirm the generation? or the serial number will help identify the exact range and processor speed.

you can sometime fix the interference problem by insulating the flex cable a bit... or for testing the machine, connect your SSD to the hard drive flex cable, but instead of fitting it to the machine, leave the drive sitting on the side out of the casing unit so its away from the cable itself, as it will eliminate most of the direct interference issues.

I hope this helps. if you check your machine generation just let me know and i will see if i can help any further


Where does Chrome's Gmail Offline store its files on my Mac?

Gmail Offline usually stores its files under your profile path.

You can find your profile path by typing chrome://version in the address bar, and searching for Profile Path.

The path is usually:

  /Users/%username%/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/

Alternatively, if you are logged in under the account you want to explore, the path is:

  ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/

If you have a Chrome user profile other than the default one, replace Default with that profile name.

You should then look at the "Local Storage" and "Local Extension Settings" directories under that path.


Spotify always starts and I’d like it not to on my Mac

Have you tried disabling it from the startup login? If not try this.

Click on the Apple menu > System Preferences > System > Uses & Groups.
Click on Login Items.
The list of apps which are automatically launched when you login, will be displayed in this section.
Uncheck the items you don't really need.


Logic Pro X 10.1 update button does nothing

Try resetting the Mac App Store.

Enable the debug menu and restart the Mac App Store.

defaults write com.apple.appstore ShowDebugMenu -bool true

Choose the Reset Application option.


I forgot the password to Mac OS X 10.5.8 - Leopard.... How can I reset it?

Once you are in single user mode you will need to do the following:
1) mount the file system as read-write
2) navigate to the /var/db directory
3) remove a special file that tells the computer it's already been set up
4) reboot the machine
5) go through the set up process to create a NEW admin account
6) log into the new admin account and reset the password on the original password via the system preferences

The details:
Boot to single user mode, then type the following:

mount -uw /
cd /var/db
rm .AppleSetupDone
reboot

At this point the system will reboot and go through the "out of the box" setup process which will allow you to create a new Admin account. The original account will be intact.

After you've created the new user account, you can go to System Preferences, Accounts (might be Users & Groups, they keep changing the name!), and reset the password on the original account.

Keep in mind that if you do this you will lose all stored passwords on the original account, at least until the original owner is able to give you the old password.

Of course, as the new owner, you might want to just use the new account you create and delete the old one...


Disable warning: "There is a user sharing this computer."

You could use launchd to execute /sbin/shutdown -r now as root at the time you want to restart.

I'm not able to expand this into step-by-step directions right now, but this might be helpful and if you don't get a more thorough answer first, I can come back and expand this hint in a fuller set of directions later this week.


Connect a Mac as an external drive to another Mac

Macs can boot into a “Target Disk Mode” that causes them to function like an external hard drive. Connect one Mac to another Mac and you can access its files in the Finder.

Before entering Target Disk Mode, you’ll need a few things:

Two Macs: Target Disk Mode works with Macs, so you’ll need two Macs for this. Each Mac needs either a Thunderbolt port or a Firewire port.
A Firewire or Thunderbolt Cable: You’ll need either a Firewire cable or a Thunderbolt cable for this. You can’t do this via a USB cable. If one Mac has a Thunderbolt port and the other Mac has a Firewire port, you’ll need a Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adapter cable.
FileVault Disabled: Macs now enable FileVault encryption by default, which will prevent you from accessing FileVault-encrypted home directories over Target Disk Mode.
No Firmware Password: If you’ve set a firmware password in the recovery environment, you’ll need to disable that first.

How to Enter Target Disk Mode

Connect your Macs via a Firewire or Thunderbolt cable.
Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
Click the “Startup Disk” icon and click the Target Disk Mode button to restart your Mac in Target Disk Mode.
You can also enter Target Disk Mode by rebooting your Mac and holding down the T key as it boots.


Check out some of the electric-guitar-interfaces.  For example, the Line 6 Sonic Port Channel Audio Interface has a stereo 1/8" input jack available. On the pricier side though.


Switch between full-screen windows of the same application in Lion

You can switch between spaces using ctrl + left right arrow keys, but this can be used with all spaces not just Xcode


How can I automate keeping historical versions of iOS apps on the Mac?

Indeed, iTunes will simply throw in the Trash any item that is replaced by a subsequent update, which is a handy getout clause if you notice that you need the old version back quickly, before you empty it, but isn't exactly a robust solution with long term options.

Using Time Machine is a simple way of checking back through your history, and should be very effective on the understanding that you are using it regularly and to the normal hourly schedule, but may people don't have it setup, or use an external disk that is often not connected for long periods of time (guilty as charged).

So, they key is to get ahead of iTunes, and create your own archive of Apps, and you can break this down into 2 simple steps, the first being noticing when an app has changed, the 2nd being to do something about it.

You can happily write a script that you schedule to check for changes to select files and folders, but this is inefficient when you can simply use built in OS features such as Folder Actions, which are a much neglected yet insanely useful and powerful set of tools.

A folder action is simply an action that is executed automatically whenever certain things happen within the folder to which is is applied.  When the folder is opened, closed, or modified (and modifications include files being added, removed, or altered), the folder action script activates automatically.

The script that you apply to a folder action can be anything you like, and the simplest way is to create something within Automator, which allows you to string together various application specific functions with bits of AppleScript or even Shell scripts to achieve the end result, in our case taking a copy of updated apps and archiving them off.

So, to start off, let's start Automator, and choose Folder Action as your document type.
On the left hand side is a column (may require expanding, under Library) of collections of actions, choose Files and Folders, and in the list that appears under the adjacent column, drag the following two items into the space in the right of the screen:

Copy Finder Items
Rename Finder Items

Next, either create (or locate) a backup folder where you wish to store you backups, and in the Copy Finder Actions tasks, either browse to this location or simply drag it on top of the folder name to make it choose it.
The 2nd task, Rename Finder Items will likely be called "Add Date or Time" instead, which is odd, until you realise that this is simply the first method of renaming that is offers.  Change the selection to read "Make Sequential", the default options should be self explanatory, adding a number to each file that is renamed, starting with -1.ipa etc.  (note that the file renaming takes place before the file extension, so you will get file-1.txt, not file.txt-1)
Now, above your two tasks, you have likely spotted the option to choose the folder to which the action is applied.  Browse away and locate your mobile Apps folder in here, it's likely to be something in ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media somewhere, exact location dependant on the age of your iTunes library, current iTunes version, and dependant on how you let iTunes organise your folders, for me it was Mobile Applications in the above folder.  You are essentially looking for a folder stuffed full of files ending in .ipa.
Your Automator should now look something like this:

Now you can save your action, I called mine "Itunes App Backups", don't worry where it saves the file to (which is actually ~/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions/)
You now have the action you just created, applied against the folder you chose.  You can prove this, just right click on any folder and click "Folder Actions Setup", from here you can pick a pre-existing action and assign it to a folder without having to recreate the whole thing just by choosing to add from the list of known actions you are presented with; note that your new action is listed in the options provided, but hit cancel for now.  You will see a list of folders which have actions assigned against them.  Select your Mobile Applications Folder, and there you see the following:

That's it.  Because iTunes removes and replaces applications with upgrades, then each new file has a copy taken at the time it is added, meaning that it doesn't matter when it subsequently get's removed.  Note that sometimes Apps include version information in the file names, sometimes they change names completely (Read It Later becoming Pocket, for example), and sometimes they use the same name exactly (which is where the renaming with sequential numbering comes in for added safety)

Note, that you can amend or expand this workflow to do all sorts of clever things, from keeping a set number of versions, removing any files older than X months at the same time etc etc, and if named sensibly you can apply the same workflow to multiple folders, thus creating your own personalised archiving mechanism for things other than just Apps for example. Also, note that if you subsequently replace an upgraded app with one of your own backups, it will get backed up again, which is something you might like to be aware of for such files that retain the same filename and are only distinguishable by their timestamps.

  Note that a lot of the ideas in the post were inspired by a Macworld
  Article, which introduces the same process but in less detail


The short answer is YES.
It is possible to install Sierra over Sierra.  The procedure is no different than installing one OS over another.  Personally, I would wipe/format my target drive (using Disk Utility) first.  Be sure you have a backup of anything you don't want deleted forever.
There are a couple ways you can do this:

Internet Recovery (Hold Command R while booting)
Download Sierra from App Store and create a USB installer (preferred)

Both methods will utitimately work identically once you have the installer loaded.  With option 2, if you choose to restart or want to do it all over again, you won't have to download the image repeatedly.
To create the installer, you just need an 8GB or larger USB flash drive and the installation image.  Once downloaded, format the USB drive with a GUID partition, Journaled and call it Sierra (or something easy for you to remember).  Then, issue the following command:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Sierra/ --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Sierra.app/ --nointeraction

Re-install to your hearts content.


Give a short name / nick name to a printer in iOS?

Get the respective printer's IP address. Printer touchscreen menu:
Settings > General Settings > Network Settings > Network Status > Wired LAN/Wi-Fi Status
Enter the IP address of the printer into a web browser (override security warning if needed).
The web-based printer config UI appears.
Click the ‘Basic Settings’ link (lower left, see screenshot below).

In the Basic Settings UI, click ‘AirPrint Setup’.

In the AirPrint Setup screen, change the Bonjour Service Name to your liking. You can also set location information.

Confirm changes by clicking the ‘OK’ button.

The info entered will appear in the AirPrint printer selection on iOS, even with location info if set.

Repeat with every respective printer.


Different results of running the same AppleScript

The problem may be quite simply that your compiled applescript is not privileged to access DEVONthink-Pro's menus - but ScriptEditor is ...

Have a look into:   System-Preferences-app / Security & Privacy / Privacy
... and select "Accessibility" in the list on your left.

Now you can add your compiled app to the "privileged list" on the right side.


There may be a less drastic explanation for this. I had the exact same issue and found that this happens after using slack for calls where I share my screen. So just restart slack after your call has ended. Haven't tested it with other screen sharing software yet.

Some ones to watch are the obvious, Zoom, BlueJeans, Microsoft Teams, Google, as well as all manner of remote support apps that don't necessarily use Apple's Screen Sharing controls in system preferences.


Is it safe to charge iPhone while it is powered off?

Short answer

This is perfectly fine to do, although the benefit of doing so is negligible.

The reason an iDevice will typically switch on when connected to a charging source is for usability reasons (i.e. due to User Experience considerations, not due to any hardware limitations). Likewise, you'll find in the case of a totally dead battery that plugging an iDevice into a charging source will not allow the user to switch on the device until the battery has been charged to about 5%.

Long answer

Your impression that it charges a estimated 1.5x faster then while charging turned on is probably due to the different stages of charging rather than the fact your iPhone was on/off during the period.

To clarify this somewhat, your iPhone uses a process known as trickle charging once your iPhone battery has reached 80% of its charge capacity. That is, the first 80% of a battery's capacity is charged at a much faster rater than the last 20%. This process increases the lifespan of your battery, not to mention lets you get going again faster in between charging sessions.

So, if you're plugging your phone in for short spurts every now and then in between uses, and thereby it's still switched on, it's much more likely to be at 80% or above or that it reaches that point sooner rather than later. And, once it does, trickle charging kicks in and that explains the impression that it's charging slower while your iPhone is switched on.

Another factor that affects battery performance and charging times is temperature. If your iPhone is switched on in the car and streaming Apple Music while also using Maps to navigate you to a destination it will charge a lot slower than it would otherwise, not only because of how much the phone is being actively used, but also because the temperature levels will rise under those conditions. So, for these reasons, if your phone is switched off while charging, then it's temperature level isn't likely to be an issue and, of course, it's not actively being used either.

However, based on my own testing, having an iPhone switched off while charging only reduces charge time by between 1% to 2%, so it really is negligible. You'd get close to the same benefit by putting your iPhone into Airplane Mode and switching off Wi-Fi, which may be more convenient than switching off the phone altogether.

If you're keen, the following may be of interest to you:

Myth need to be solved: will the battery drain faster in places with poor wifi signals?
Why is it better for an iPhone’s battery to NOT close down apps?


System Images with different Model Identifiers

No, one image should work for all models of Mac that are compatible with that particular version of Mac OS X. A single image can be used across all kinds of Macs: MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis, Mac Pros.

So check each of your 7 Macs and identify the most recent version of Mac OS X that each Mac can run.


Is there a utility for mac that shows the information of an SSD like the health etc…?

If you're OK with Command Line utilities, you can always use smartmontools from http://www.smartmontools.org/.

You would need XCode to compile them from source (unless someone here knows binary distribution for Mac OSX), but if I remember correctly I had no issues compiling the package.

I have an OCZ SSD retrofitted into my MBP 15" mid-2010 and I can use smartctl command to monitor various stats, including your Total Bytes Written (called here Lifetime_Writes) as well as Media Wearout Indicator (shown as percentage).

To give you an idea, here's the example output:

MacBook:~  smartctl -a /dev/disk0
smartctl 6.0 2012-10-10 r3643 [x86_64-apple-darwin12.2.0] (local build)
Copyright (C) 2002-12, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===
Model Family:     Indilinx Everest/Martini based SSDs
Device Model:     OCZ-VERTEX4
Serial Number:    OCZ-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
LU WWN Device Id: 5 e83a97 49c31f44c
Firmware Version: 1.5
User Capacity:    512,110,190,592 bytes [512 GB]
Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical
Rotation Rate:    Solid State Device
Device is:        In smartctl database [for details use: -P show]
ATA Version is:   ACS-2 (minor revision not indicated)
SATA Version is:  SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 3.0 Gb/s)
Local Time is:    Sat Apr 20 23:39:33 2013 IST
SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.
SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===
SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:
Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity
                    was never started.
                    Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.
Self-test execution status:      ( 249) Self-test routine in progress...
                    90% of test remaining.
Total time to complete Offline
data collection:        (    0) seconds.
Offline data collection
capabilities:            (0x1d) SMART execute Offline immediate.
                    No Auto Offline data collection support.
                    Abort Offline collection upon new
                    command.
                    Offline surface scan supported.
                    Self-test supported.
                    No Conveyance Self-test supported.
                    No Selective Self-test supported.
SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering
                    power-saving mode.
                    Supports SMART auto save timer.
Error logging capability:        (0x00) Error logging NOT supported.
                    General Purpose Logging supported.
Short self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (   0) minutes.
Extended self-test routine
recommended polling time:    (   0) minutes.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 18
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x0000   006   000   000    Old_age   Offline      -       6
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       2981
 12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       417
232 Lifetime_Writes         0x0000   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       14566414269
233 Media_Wearout_Indicator 0x0000   100   000   000    Old_age   Offline      -       100

SMART Error Log not supported

Warning! SMART Self-Test Log Structure error: invalid SMART checksum.
SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1
No self-tests have been logged.  [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t]

Selective Self-tests/Logging not supported

The exact parameters and stats shown for your SSD might vary, but as it's a free tool, you can try and see for yourself!


What's the best way to transfer ALAC files between computers when subscribed to iTunes Match?

Turn off iTunes Match on the PowerMac.
Use Home Sharing to move the ALAC files to the PowerMac.
Re-enable iTunes Match on the PowerMac.  It should re-scan the library and match the ALAC songs.
Don't ever delete the ALAC songs from the PowerMac, otherwise your only choice will be to download a 256Kbps file from the cloud.


You can use the same strategy you would use with any of the other drive formats, namely creating a new partition.
Create a new APFS partition (aka container) with a single volume (as opposed to creating a new volume within an existing APFS container.) Time Machine will expand the volume such that it uses the entire container, but it cannot use any space not belonging to the container in which its volume resides.


While still not understanding the reason this occurred, I was able to make the problem go away by explicitly adding the user to the inherited group in Workgroup Manager, verifying it with dsmemberutil, reconnecting to the AFP share, disconnecting, and then removing the explicit group assignment.  After all that, dsmemberutil still shows that the user is in the group.


MacOs Catalina doesn't fully boot until you log in

If you've turned on Disk Encryption, then you might get the login from a small boot partition, which then boots the 'real' system after you've authenticated the unencryption with your password.

Alternatively, it may be that Catalina's increased security is more cautious about how third-party software launches at this stage.

If you have just updated to Catalina, then you will need to check that your apps are compatible with Catalina. You may need new versions.

The other option, if your Mac is located in a secure location, is to turn on auto-login in System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Options.


How to restore default folders for Desktop, Downloads and Documents?

If they don't exist, Documents and Downloads - just create a folder with those names in your home directory. I think you can do the same for the Desktop directory. Make a Desktop folder in your home directory.


Is this a good strategy to optimise web images for iphone?

I think you are on the right track of optimizing images for mobile devices, but I think that the way you are going about it won't scale very well. If you just target iPhones with resized images, you're going to be supporting 5 different sizes, iPhone 6+, iPhone 6, iPhone 5/5S, iPhone 4/4S, plus the original, which isn't that bad.

But what if you want to support Android phones at the same level, having an image for every device made? You're going to end up with dozens of different image sizes.

Android screen resoultions

Here is another link with a larger list of device sizes.

mydevice.io common smartphone sizes

Not only will you have dozens of different devices, but your naming scheme won't work that well, as some resolutions are used for multiple displays, leaving you with duplicates of images.

A better way to optimize for mobile is to target screen resolutions instead of devices. For example, you could target a set of resolutions like

  xxxhdpi: 1280x1920 px
  xxhdpi: 960x1600 px
  xhdpi: 640x960 px
  hdpi: 480x800 px
  mdpi: 320x480 px
  ldpi: 240x320 px

With this method, you can support all mobile devices with just 6 different sizes, plus, when a new device is launched, you won't need to resize every image on your site for the new device.

This is all assuming you are just talking about resizing your image assets. If you are going to be redoing your layout for every device, you would be much, much better creating a responsive site that scales for mobile devices.


How to upgrade RAM of MacBook Pro 15-inch, Mid 2012

macsales.com aka OWC is a fantastic website for buying RAM. I purchased 16 gb for my late 2011 model with no problems. Order the RAM amount that you want, then when the ram arrives you must unscrew the back cover of your macbook and find the RAM to remove, which you will then replace with the RAM you bought. I highly suggest watching a YouTube video on the correct procedure to do this, as it is virtually impossible to describe the process in words. Search on YouTube: installing RAM MacBook Pro. Good luck!


How do I increase sudo password remember timeout?

Run sudo visudo and add this line:

Defaults    timestamp_timeout=-1

See man 5 sudoers. -1 causes the password to never timeout. You may change the number to whatever you like in minutes.

The man page for sudo says that sudo -v "extends the sudo timeout for another 5 minutes".

Running 'sudo visudo' instead of editing the file directly causes the system to validate the sudoers file before it commits the changes.  For instance, if you leave a stray character somwhere, when you save and exit, it will say "there is an error in the sudoers file, what would you like to do?" ... hence giving you a chance to go back in and edit.  This actually just happened to me 10 minutes ago.


Can I listen music from USB-C port by using USB-C/Jack adapter trough MacBook Pro?

Yes, in general these USB to audio adapters work well with the MacBook Pro. I haven't tried the specific one you're linking, but I have tried others that worked without problems - no need to install drivers for example.


You have two options:

restore the library from a backup copy (previous libraries folder in the iTunes folder, Time Machine, other backups)
re-import the songs by dragging the media into the library section and allowing it to add the tracks back to the library - optionally you can import any playlists or library xml documents that saved the playlists, ratings and data relating to the tracks and not embedded into the media files on the drive

If you have enabled iTunes Match, you will also be safe from most data loss since all playlists are stored in the cloud unless it contains exclusively tracks that were not matched to the cloud like podcasts and other oddities like voice memos and low bit-rate recordings.


How can I delete my Windows partition and add the space back to my OS X partition?

Using the tool Disk Utility, select your hard disk, then select the "partition" tab that appears on the right.  This will allow you to list the partitions on your drive.  If you used a standard bootcamp install, you will probably find that the windows partition appears after the end of the Mac one, and is at the end of the disk.

Selecting this partition, and hitting the minus button should remove it, and will leave a blank hole in it's space.  Now you should be able to select the first partition, and increase it's size in order to fill the available space vacated by the windows partition.

Top tip: Backup your Mac partition!  Use Time Machine, Super Duper, Carbon Copy Cloner of similar tools.  This should be perfectly achievable without even a reboot, but you are mucking around with your disks partition table, risks do exist, there is always a chance of failure ruining both partitions.  I wouldn't worry it about it too much, but if your data is important, you should do this first.


How to increase the max user processes hard limit(Mojave)

Looks like kernel is hard coded to 2500 in param.c

#if CONFIG_EMBEDDED
#define NPROC 1000          /* Account for TOTAL_CORPSES_ALLOWED by making this slightly lower than we can. */
#define NPROC_PER_UID 950
#else
#define NPROC (20 + 16 * 32)
#define NPROC_PER_UID (NPROC/2)
#endif

/* NOTE: maxproc and hard_maxproc values are subject to device specific scaling in bsd_scale_setup */
#define HNPROC 2500 /* based on thread_max */
int maxproc = NPROC;
int maxprocperuid = NPROC_PER_UID;

#if CONFIG_EMBEDDED
int hard_maxproc = NPROC;   /* hardcoded limit -- for embedded the number of processes is limited by the ASID space */
#else
int hard_maxproc = HNPROC;  /* hardcoded limit */
#endif

and while this may be scaled in bcd_scale_setup (if you are running server version), hard_maxproc is always taken as upper limit according to syslimits.h

#if !defined(_ANSI_SOURCE)
/*
 * Note: CHILD_MAX *must* be less than hard_maxproc, which is set at
 * compile time; you *cannot* set it higher than the hard limit!!
 */
#define ARG_MAX        (256 * 1024) /* max bytes for an exec function */
#if !defined(_POSIX_C_SOURCE) || defined(_DARWIN_C_SOURCE)
#define CHILD_MAX          266  /* max simultaneous processes */


Is it possible to change the screen display names in MacOS for a multi monitor setup

SwitchResX will let you rename your monitors. You can download a free 10 day trial of it to do so.

To address your root problem though, try the free terminal tool I wrote, displayplacer, that lets describe your monitor layout as a terminal command. I then use BetterTouchTool to execute these profiles via hotkeys. I have the same issue as you, when I plug in my monitors the layout randomly changes.

For example, on my 4 monitor setup at home I have this profile: displayplacer "id:A46D2F5E-487B-CC69-C588-ECFD519016E5 res:3840x2160 hz:60 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(0,0) degree:0" "id:F466F621-B5FA-04A0-0800-CFA6C258DECD res:1440x900 color_depth:4 scaling:on origin:(-1440,1437) degree:0" "id:4C405A05-8798-553B-3550-F93E7A7722BB res:1440x2560 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(3840,-363) degree:270" "id:18173D22-3EC6-E735-EEB4-B003BF681F30 res:1920x1200 color_depth:8 scaling:off origin:(960,-1200) degree:0"

Also available via Homebrew brew tap jakehilborn/jakehilborn && brew install displayplacer


Why is cp command 4 times slower than copying in Finder in OS X 10.6?

Since I have a much newer system, I couldn't accurately test with a 119 MB file as it took less than a second to copy in Terminal.  So I created several much larger files, up to 2 GB, using dd and /dev/random as the source and made duplicates.  I then rebooted and then did timed copies of each of the sets, one in Terminal and the other in Finder.  This way, there was nothing in the disk cache/memory during the subsequent copy operations in each app for each set.

The timings were near identical, so near as to be the same for this test purpose.  I say near identical as in Terminal I used the time command and in Finder I used the second hand of the clock. So in your case, the file definitely was still in memory when the second copy operation was performed.


Does Google access my iCloud email through Gmail app

If you enter your iCloud password into any app or code (including safari or Apple OS devices), it surely can act on your behalf. Whether that app saves the password securely or not or retransmits any or all of the data or has a switch or timer to enable this periodically is a lot harder to discern.


Unable to use Audio Midi Setup to use two audio outputs

Use a Multi-output device, rather than an Aggregate device.


Disabling "access to contacts" dialog box with terminal

Mail will ask you only one time, and if you deny it should stop asking.

You can use the

defaults write com.apple.mail SuppressAddressHistory -bool true

However if you need to deny the access already given following are the instructions for that.

According to OS X Man pages you can reset privacy for apps to use your address book.

I did not try it since I do not want to revoke my settings, but it is safe to say it works on 10.9 according to Apple.

DESCRIPTION

The tccutil command manages the privacy database, which stores decisions the user has made about whether apps may access personal data.

One command is current supported:

reset    Reset all decisions for the specified service, causing apps to prompt again the next time they
              access the service.

EXAMPLES
     To reset all decisions about whether apps may access the address book:

   tccutil reset AddressBook


Disable non-breaking space (Option-Space) specifically in Xcode

I have found a somehow dirty workaround to disable the key combination for Xcode only:

To disable alt/optspace add a new keybinding in the file  IDETextKeyBindingSet.plist in the folder /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Frameworks/IDEKit.framework/Resources.

Open the plist and add a new dictionary called 'Customized'.
Create a new child named 'Insert No Alt-Space' with type 'String' and the value 'InsertSpace:'. Save the file.

Open Xcode -> Preferences -> Key Bindings -> Customized
Highlight 'Insert No Alt-Space' -> Key and enter alt/optspace.

In the future you will get an audible error message typing the combination but nothing will be written.

Until now i haven't found a method to just insert a space instead of a non-breaking space.

Probably you have to redo the modification with every new Xcode version.


One solution is to import the contacts stored in the Word table into the macOS Contacts Application. These are the steps to get your Word table over to Contacts:

Copy the whole word table into the clipboard (cmd-C)
Paste what you’ve copied into a new excel spreadsheet (cmd-V)
Save the Excel sheet into a CSV file (comma-separated values
Open the macOS Contacts application and select File > Import (cmd-O)
A dialog appears in which you can specify how the import file components will be assigned to the Contacts fields. Click Ok when you’re done to start the import process.

Once the contacts live inside the Contacts app you can easily synchronise them onto the iPhone using iCloud or iTunes.

Hope this helps.


How to recursively edit path of symlinks?

From the top of my head (and without any testing at all):

Create a text file with the following content

#!/bin/bash

find "$1" -type l | while read symlink; do
    if [ ! -e "$symlink" ]; then
        old_path=$(readlink "$symlink")
        new_path=${old_path/Old Drive/New Drive}
        ln -f -s "$new_path" "$symlink"
    fi
done

Make it executable by running chmod +x name-of-file
Run ./name-of-file /path/to/search

This is untested so try it with a sample directory first.

To add some explanations

old_path=$(readlink "$symlink") runs the command in $(...) and assigns the result to $old_path
${old_path/Old Drive/New Drive} does text substitution on $old_path


Encryption apps or password managers for iPhone without cloud or Internet connection

I use 1password (https://agilebits.com/onepassword) for a long time already. Especially because it syncs very well across all my devices :)
However you can install iPhone only app and set in the Settings -> Sync Service -> Disable Sync.


You need to make sure Spotlight searches the Applications folder. Go to System Preferences/Spotlight and make sure the Applications folder is checked.


Script Editor.app: newlines are formatted as CR rather than LF

Below is a screenshot showing the raw clipboard data when copying three lines from Script Editor.app on OS X 10.10.1:

The lines in Script Editor appear as:

The outcome depends on your destination text editor when pasting. The copied lines are encoded in multiple formats on the clipboard. The destination of the paste determines which format is preferred.

For example, pasting from Script Editor to BBEdit results in LF line delimiters. However, that is the default line ending style I have set in BBEdit.


Is it possible to define template files for the context-menu?

There is no equivalent user or system wide feature in Mac OS X 10.6.

However, many applications support Stationery Pad documents. These are documents marked as read only and when opened create a new untitled document using the original document's content.

The Stationery Pad option is available in the Finder > Get Info panel:

tuts+ has a tutorial explaining how Stationery Pads can be created and used.


Can an iPad (3rd gen) run solo with an Airport Express

Edited since I misread the question

You can definitely set up and control any Apple router that supports 802.11n from an iPad only. Apple has an iOS app just for that purpose.

However if you want to save some money, or possible use the existing router, that may be an option too. Almost all routers these days have web interfaces, so an iPad can manage most routers. However there are some routers that require a PC app to manage, typically older ones.

Chances are they'll be fine, but you'll first want to check what kind of router it is, then have a quick look at the manufacturer's page to figure out if it has a web interface or not. If it does, you'll probably want to figure out the IP (typically 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1) and bookmark that for your parents.

It is a bit troubling that the router crashes when the PC crashes - sounds like something's not quite right there, so definitely check that out.


How compatible are Apple Airpods with Android phones?

They work like standard BT headsets for music and calls. Mono is played on both ears. Haven’t seen any usable tap/click functionality on non-apple devices, no voice assistant either. That last one is probably because Siri initial processing is mostly on-device, which other platforms don’t have.


How to identify CPU and memory usage per process on iPhone?

Xcode has an app called Instruments and you can use it to gather all sorts of CPU and memory statistics both live as the device runs and to save for analysis over time. This use of the tool doesn't require a developer account, any paid software, or a jailbroken device. You do need to set up the devices in Xcode's organizer to indicate you wish to use them for development and connect them via USB - just cancel out of any requests to manage certificates or developer profiles as you add each device to Xcode's organizer.

Above is a one click, capture and you can dive as deep as I could imagine anyone needs by selecting extra data to be sampled and displayed...


Exclude all .git or .svn folders from Spotlight index

It is possible to exclude a folder using the command-line.

From there try this:

Open a Terminal window
Type

sudo defaults write /.Spotlight-V100/VolumeConfiguration.plist Exclusions -array-add 'path/to/exclude'

So I guess you can try this using xargs' magic:

sudo locate .git | xargs -I {} defaults write /.Spotlight-V100/VolumeConfiguration.plist Exclusions -array-add  {}

You can check it worked using this:

sudo defaults read /.Spotlight-V100/VolumeConfiguration.plist Exclusions

You can remove all entries (there is no -array-remove option) using this:

sudo defaults write /.Spotlight-V100/VolumeConfiguration.plist Exclusions -array

Be careful with these commands, I don't know if there are side effects.

I could not really check this worked for my .git folders since none of them were displayed by spotlight search before nor after running these commands.


First of all, you need to change the default location for downloads to your Desktop folder, if that's what you want.
In Safari > Preferences > General, there's a setting for the downloads location. This sets the preference for all applications, not just Safari.
If you don't do this, then any app that wants to save a file there will likely recreate the folder in the process of saving.
As of Catalina, the Downloads folder has a com.apple.macl extended attribute, which is protected by SIP. You may therefore need to disable System Integrity Protection before deleting this folder.
How do I disable System Integrity Protection (SIP) AKA "rootless" on macOs [OS X]
Don't forget to enable it afterwards, otherwise, you'll be 'leaving the front door open'.
Apple has hardwired some folders to ensure that they will always be present. It's possible that the folder might even get recreated. The alternative is just to hide it from view in the Finder.
Sometimes, MacOS can be inflexible about the way things are done, and it's often easiest to reprogram the more flexible computer on the other side of the keyboard. ;-)


Black rectangles in menu bar that randomly appear

To start with I would boot your Mac into Safe Mode and determine if the rectangles still appear.
Booting into Safe Mode on an M1 Mac
Follow these steps to boot your Mac into Safe Mode:

Fully shut down your Mac
Press the power button to start your Mac, but continue holding it down as your Mac starts up until you see the startup options window:

Select your startup disk, press and hold the shift key and click the Continue in Safe option
Let go of the shift key
Log into your Mac (Note: you may need to do this twice)
Take a note of what happens (i.e. do the rectangles still appear while in Safe Mode?)
Exit Safe Mode by restarting your Mac as normal
Test again to see if the rectangles still appear when booted normally

Once you've followed the above steps, let me know how you went and we'll go from there.


I'd think again about 'saving time'.

While you're cloning it - however you do it - the chances are high that the work actually been done at the same time won't get cloned. To ensure it does, you'd have to clone it again...

I'd just prepare for 2 hours downtime - or wait 'til bedtime - use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the old drive to the new [that would probably be easier in the Mac Pro, just in terms of physical access, unless you have an external USB/SATA drive adaptor], then just swap them over.
It will boot & you'll be back to where you were 2 hours ago, but with a zippy new SSD. It will also make a new Recovery Partition on the new drive.

A little trick to make the swapover easier...
Before you clone the old drive & while not booted from it, rename the old drive to whateverNameOld, then make sure the new one is GUID/HFS+ & named whateverName.
Once the clone is finished & swapped back into the MBP, the OS won't waste any time at all trying to figure out where everything went.


sierra changes both desktops when shifting using better touch tool

To ensure each display has independent monitor selection, make sure
System Prefs > Mission Control > Displays have separate Spaces
is checked.


If your phone has activation lock, you will have to get control of the old Apple ID to remove the account. The device should keep working, but you won't be able to sign in with the new account until the old is under your control.

You can read the details and what to do with a forgotten password at:

iCloud: Find My iPhone Activation Lock in iOS 7

If you don't have activation lock, then open the settings app, and tap iCloud

Swipe up so you see the bottom of the screen and press "Delete Account" - answer what you want about any content and you'll know if you need the password when it's ready to remove your old account.

Also, it's not very easy or often even possible to bypass Activation Lock since that would defeat the purpose when someone steals the device.

How to bypass iCloud login for iPhone 5 running iOS 7 when email and password was forgotten?
How secure is Activation Lock on iOS 7 (and later)?

If you're not on iOS 7 or later, then please edit that into your question as you might have other options.


How to lookup disk "Device Identifier" from "Device / Media Name"?

The following will output the device node for any volume with a matching name by replacing <string> with the Device/ Media Name you're searching for.

for d in /dev/disk*; do
    if [ `diskutil info $d | grep -c <string>` == 1 ]; then
        diskutil info $d | grep "Node"
    fi
done

One-liner

$ for disk in /dev/disk*; do [ `diskutil info $disk | grep -c '<string>'` == 1 ] && diskutil info $disk | grep Node; done

BTW, on my MacBook Pro I have two "drives" with the same device name as they are two volumes on an APFS drive so some people reading this may have similar happening. I also don't have a 10.7 Mac available to test it, but it doesn't rely on any fancy shell stuff so should work fine. It certainly works on 10.12 and 10.13.


Suddenly unable to screenshot- Do not have permission to save files in the location where screenshots are stored

You may have just gotten the commands wrong. Try

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/eggsalad/Desktop

make sure to press Return, then

killall SystemUIServer

and press Return again.

Then run

defaults read com.apple.screencapture location

As a last resort, just reset all the settings for your user:

 defaults delete com.apple.screencapture


Trouble changing default search engine in Safari

PEBKAC, sorry.

My problem was caused by the SafariKeyboardSearch extension. Disabling it helped.


2018 MacBook Pro won't let me install macOS High Sierra 10.13 from USB installer

Original answer

As described in this support article, there are different ways to load macOS Recovery:

  cmd+R: Install the latest macOS that was installed on your Mac.
  alt+cmd+R: Upgrade to the latest macOS compatible with your Mac.
  shift+alt+cmd+R: Install the macOS that came with your Mac, or the closest version still available.

I suggest you try the last option and see if it lets you install macOS 10.13.

Update as per OP comments

Apparently the key combinations from my previous answer did not work for you and you receive the message "/Applications/Install macOS High Sierra.app does not appear to be a valid OS installer application.", when creating the USB installer.

It seems you face exactly the issue discussed here. The AppStore downloaded only a down-sized version of the installer image. Try the solutions offered in the answers over there. Basically you have to first download the full image / SharedSupport folder before you can create your USB boot installer.


Copying 85000 files...(takes literally for ever)

If your NAS supports FTP or SFTP, you could try with a client like Cyberduck. That could be more efficient than through the Finder (with AFP).


I had the exact same problem trying various options on terminal didn't help, eventually just by  luck I went back to disk utility and chose format/MacOS extended journaled and scheme/Apple partition map. After that went for scheme/GUID   This was an absolute fluke after encountering various messages regarding being unable to format the drive. Might not work for everyone but I had exhausted all other avenues.


Is there a keyboard shortcut for Don't Save?

The default shortcut was changed to ⌘⌫ on Lion.

You can change it back to ⌘D with defaults write -g NSSavePanelStandardDesktopShortcutOnly -bool true. It won't affect some applications like TextEdit though.


Adding a compiled application to $PATH. Understanding the problem

The PATH variable already containts a list of directories which the shell (which is what is running inside Terminal) is using to search for any executables. So if you compile something on your own and put it into one of the folders listed in PATH you can execute it from the shell prompt right away.

The current folder (.) usually is not part of PATH for security reasons. So for stuff you compile and want to run right away, you have to execute ./stuff for the shell to find it.


The arrow-into-a-tray symbol above also shows the number. When the symbol is clicked, a list appears, showing new entries on her calendar. When I click on an entry in the list, apparently to acknowledge it, the numbers decrease by one. So the numbers are notifications that a new entry or entries have been made on her calendar.


How to add Quick Look support for OpenDocument file formats?

There's a longstanding request for it at
https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=68600

And an early implementation is at http://eric.bachard.free.fr/mac/aquavcl/patches/aqua_February2008/quicklook/

To install, place OOoQuickLook.qlgenerator from that site into /Library/QuickLook and wait a few minutes for QuickLook to detect the new generator.


This all stems from how font files have a file name as well as a family name and a full name stored inside the file. The file name is what is seen in Finder when looking at /Library/Fonts, whereas the family name is what is shown at the top level in Font Book (with the added items for the full name shown when you click on the triangle). You can find the full name of a font file from Finder using Get Info.

This screenshot shows the answer to your point 3. The file is called AmericanTypewriter, but it could be called anything, because the actual font within the file is called American Typewriter and won't be changed by renaming the file.

To find a font file given the font listing in Font Book, right click on the font and choose Show in Finder. This will select all the font files which are used to make up this font face.

AppleGothic is not missing from the list of fonts in Font Book, it's just at the bottom, out of alphabetical order.


MBP Retina 2015: Graphical glitches after update to 10.12.4

You're not alone (see this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7908354?start=0&tstart=0). I had the same artifacts and reverting to 10.12.3 "solved" everything. Let's hope this bug will be fixed with the release of MacOS 10.12.5 (sadly, I doubt it).


How can I change which application is launched when I press the play button on my remote?

according to the writer : This seems to work with iTunes 8 and 9, although you'll need to redo the patch after upgrading.

Open a Terminal and type the following

cd /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS
sudo mv iTunes iTunesX
sudo curl http://www.cs.umd.edu/~dmonner/iTunes -O
sudo chmod uog+x iTunes enter code here

From http://www.cs.umd.edu/~dmonner/iTunes

#!/usr/bin/env python

import sys, os, subprocess

launch = True
blocker = ""

apps = ["Spotify", "Songbird"]

ps = subprocess.Popen("/bin/ps -x", shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)

for line in ps.stdout.read().split("\n"):
    for app in apps:
        if app in line:
            launch = False
            blocker = app

ps.stdout.close()

if launch :
    os.spawnvp(os.P_WAIT, '/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesX', sys.argv)
else :
    print "Not launching iTunes while %s is running." % blocker

and you can read more here and here.


Do all Cinema Displays emit noise at reduced/minimum brightness?

It is not normal for the aluminum or polycarbonate cinema displays to make audible noise. They have been used 24x7 for a decade in recording studios and 3D and production cutting rooms where we put the CPU in a sound isolating box and never had to mitigate a Cinema Display due to noise until they start to fail. Many of these places are very low light so brightness is often way below max for us.

When the power transformer starts to fail, that can then make the display make noise and these displays and power bricks were manufactured in pairs so swapping power supplies from two working pairs would make both get noisy. Don’t just assume the part that makes noise is the culprit.

Like Allan and bmike have said there is something wrong with your display when driven by the adapter that supplies the transformed power from mains.

If you have to hit something to make it behave properly... Well an Apple Cinema display is not a mid 60s-era color TV and that should not happen.

You can do two things

Replace it
Have it repaired

Repair could be conditioning or filtering the mains power so the Apple power supply does less work and filtering.
Locate a new power supply that makes your display quiet again.
Have the LCD panel disassembled and inspected. If physical hits and taps alter vibration, it might just be a failed internal physical mount that needs repair.

I would imagine that #2 might cost more than the value of a replacement unless you’re unable to source a matte LCD panel of that size.


It will work, but it will make the CPU fan on the installed processor run at full speed. When I upgraded the processors in my '09 I made sure I had one running correctly before adding the second and discovered the issue. Fan noise is quite loud. You might be able to limit it with a third party fan control app, like 'Macs Fan Control', but I'm not positive and am unwilling to test it by removing one of my processors. :)

Also, you will be limited to the four RAM slots of the installed processor.


Difference between variable and pipe to shell in applescript

There is a hidden error that is generated when you run your "working" script... You have to bump the shell script part of the code into its own tell current application block as shown in the second example below...

This version works for me with creating a TextEdit document:

global presenterNotes
tell application "Keynote"
    activate
    -- open (choose file)
    tell front document
        set presenterNotes to presenter notes of every slide as text
        set the clipboard to presenterNotes
    end tell
    tell application "TextEdit"
        activate
        make new document with properties {name:"KeynoteNotes.txt"}
        set text of front document to presenterNotes
    end tell
end tell

The shell pbpaste version with proper blocking to avoid error -10004:

global presenterNotes
tell application "Keynote"
    activate
    -- open (choose file)
    tell front document
        set presenterNotes to presenter notes of every slide as text
        set the clipboard to presenterNotes
    end tell
    tell current application
        do shell script "pbpaste > ~/keynote-notes1.txt"
    end tell
end tell


After Catalina upgrade and server to 5.9, AFP ACL access locked, SMB access ok

The problem has been solved after investigating the sharing, groups & users and permissions setup with a remote desktop app.

All shared folders resided on an external drive which was an old system drive. Remnants could be found like a /bin, /sbin, /usr the usual symlink suspects and some other files and folders (all invisible). The groups & users were properly set up. Permissions for the disk and file & folders were set (but rather unclear to me).

The basic problem/bug could't be found, because time was short (and I was lazy).

My proposal was: building everything from scratch

Add an admin to each sharing group (if not done already)
Disable sharing for the drive (or the shared folders)
Copy all shared folders to a second external drive, remove all ACLs and use (sudo) chown ... -R ... to reset all major folders and their content to adminuser:admin
Format the external drive to JHFS+
Create as adminuser a main folder Shared on the drive:

mkdir /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared
ls -ale /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared
total 0
drwxr-xr-x   2 adminuser  admin   68 Feb 11 18:55 .
drwxrwxr-x  10 root       admin  408 Feb 11 18:55 ..

Copy all major subfolders back to /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared

Example/Result:

ls -ale /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared
total 0
drwxr-xr-x   4 adminuser  admin  136 Feb 11 19:10 .
drwxrwxr-x  10 root       admin  408 Feb 11 18:55 ..
drwxr-xr-x   2 adminuser  admin   68 Feb 11 19:10 develop
drwxr-xr-x   2 adminuser  admin   68 Feb 11 19:10 finance

Apply chmod 750 to the main subfolders:

chmod 750 /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared/develop
chmod 750 /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared/finance

Apply group ACLs (I named the dev group develop and the fin group finance - like the folders)

Examples (the example ACL allows full access to all sub-subfolders - every user of the respective group can really do anything, so be aware/fine tune it):

chmod -R +a "group:develop allow readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity,list,search,add_file,add_subdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared/develop
chmod -R +a "group:finance allow readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity,list,search,add_file,add_subdirectory,delete_child,file_inherit,directory_inherit" /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared/finance

Result:

ls -ale /Volumes/ExternalDrive/Shared
total 0
drwxr-xr-x   4 adminuser  admin  136 Feb 11 19:10 .
drwxrwxr-x  10 root       admin  408 Feb 11 18:55 ..
drwxr-x---+  2 adminuser  admin   68 Feb 11 19:10 develop
 0: group:develop allow list,add_file,search,add_subdirectory,delete_child,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity,file_inherit,directory_inherit
drwxr-x---+  2 adminuser  admin   68 Feb 11 19:10 finance
 0: group:finance allow list,add_file,search,add_subdirectory,delete_child,readattr,writeattr,readextattr,writeextattr,readsecurity,file_inherit,directory_inherit

Enable (AFP) sharing for the Shared folder or share each main subfolder (i.e. develop, finance etc.)

In the first case all users can access the Shared but have no or restricted access to subfolders. Example (member of the develop group opens the share - other groups' members have no access at all, except if a user is member of several groups and develop is one of it)

In the second case (e.g. sharing develop and logging in as member of the develop group)

If you need to have personalized sub-subfolders (access for one user of the group only), you have to stop the "global" group ACL and add a new user ACL.

AFP-Sharing worked again afterwards.


Does the AppleTV support multiple Apple ID accounts?

You have to use a single apple id in iTunes homesharing on all devices that you want on your appleTV
BUT
This does not mean that you can't buy anything anymore with your personal apple ID everything you buy will still be placed in your library and will be shared on the 'family' apple ID account
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4352


Why is this stock iMac so slow at launching apps?

It could very well just be the slow-ish hard drive. Apple generally does not put 7200RPM drives in its Macs. While it could be the O/S and it might be worth your while to image the internal drive onto an external drive and wipe the internal and start fresh with the OS and Apps. Depends on what is more valuable to you time or money.

An SSD WILL speed up your system, often it's like a whole new Mac, depending on your usage. A deep cleaning of the current OS or a wipe/reinstall might fix the issue or at least improve it.


How can I set a keyboard shortcut to paste text?

You could create this using AppleScript and run it using Automator.

Create a script:

tell application "System Events" to keystroke "Hello World."

Replace "Hello World." with your desired text, but make sure to keep the quotation marks around whatever text you input as that is what is making the data type a string.

Next, use Automator to trigger the above AppleScript:

Open Automator.
Create a new services workflow.
Set Service Recieves to no input.
Set in to any application.
Under "Actions" in the left pane, search for "Run AppleScript."
Once you find that, drag "Run AppleScript" over to the right pane, which enters it into your workflow.
Save the workflow.

Finally, use System Preferences to assign this workflow to a global hotkey.

Open System Preferences.
Click Keyboard.
Click Keyboard Shortcuts.
Scroll down to and select Services in the left pane.
In the right pane, search for the name of the Automator workflow that you just saved and click on the checkbox to the left of the file name.
Hold down your desired keyboard shortcut and it will automatically assign this workflow to your selected hotkeys.

This is probably the easiest way of accomplishing your desired task while writing the least amount of code as possible.

There is also a tool called Alfred that is outstanding; I use it many times on a daily basis. At this point I would probably be lost without it. It can completely take over spotlight for you (in fact I deleted the hotkey to bring up spotlight search (cmd + space) and assigned that hotkey to open Alfred instead. Within Alfred you can do things such as copy text from one place, then copy more text from somewhere else and append them together, do anything that you can do in Spotlight search, plus much, much more. The reason that I bring up Alfred is because you can create this same exact workflow within Alfred and assign it to a system wide hotkey all within the same application without writing and code at all (if you consider the example that I just gave to actually be writing code). In fact, the types of workflows you can create in Alfred is essentially limitless and there are even already built recipes online, for different applications that you can download.


Macbook Pro 16" fried all USB-C ports after using a Samsung 43" monitor

Without putting hands on with the proper test and diagnostic equipment, there is absolutely no way to tell.

I used the original USB-C cable from Samsung, not anything cheap, so why did this happen?

Until you test the cable, you have no idea whether or not it's at fault.  However, if you have any doubt as to the functionality and reliability of said cable, cut it in half (to prevent it from being used by others) and throw it away.  Replace it with another from a known good, reputable brand.

This could have been a failure on your monitor's part - it just dumped way to much power into your Mac.

This could have been a failure on your Mac's part.

USB controller that negotiates power/charging died in some way
The SMC (and related circuitry) could have had a component failure

I'm mainly asking because I got the laptop fixed but I'm afraid of hooking it back up to the monitor.

If I had to guess, my money would be on the Mac failing and not your monitor.  However, you can get a rather inexpensive USB-C power meter to "see" what your laptop's drawing and what your monitor (or other power source) is delivering.  These run from $20 to $40USD online.

It's it "pro grade?"  No.  Those cost hundreds and would be way overkill for what you want.  But it's "good enough."  We're not looking to measure microvolts or check for negotiation packets.  It will tell you, however, if something is majorly wrong so you can take preventative or corrective action.


Apparently removing the file
~/Saved Application State/com.apple.mail.savedState
resolved Daniel's problem without resorting to a factory reset.
Mac OS X is great for saving your progress but once in a while that savedState file causes these types of problems.
Happy Day!


Cannot send message using the server stmp.atlas.cz

The URL of the server name is probably wrong. The correct server name is smtp.atlas.cz instead of stmp.atlas.cz.

SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
STMP: Simple Transportation Management Protocol or Sodium trimetaphosphate (the latter is not even a protocol but a substance ;-))


To what degree should the oldness of my phone affect my tethering speed?

Bluetooth is slower than WiFi but it conserves battery power.

BT are capable up to 2 Mbps, which equals 240 KB/s, sounds like you are right on the target.

Kilobytes per second (KBps) and Megabits per second (Mbps)

Source:

  Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, the flavor built into all iOS devices, has a raw
  rate of 3 Mbps and a net throughput that’s just a bit over 2 Mbps.
  That’s fine on Verizon’s 3G network, where average speeds never top 2
  Mbps.


What is the current Apple policy on purchases outside the App Store?

The rules of iTunes connect are only really available when you sign in to the service, and agree to the terms. I am not currently a developer so I don't know even if the details are protected by an NDA.

I don't have a link to a good press article covering the current state of affairs, but my understanding and gross oversimplification of the rules are:

It's OK to enable extra content if the iOS app does nothing to link to, process, enroll or advertise the paid portion of the service or app.
It's always OK to handle purchases through in-app purchase where Apple will take their cut of the sale in return for providing the accounting, customer service, billing, returns, server hardware, software and bandwidth for distribution of your app and the handling of the paid content sales. It's probably very not OK to sell in the app and not use Apple for the payment.
Newsstand apps are different and I'll let someone who knows edit in how a subscription might be different than a one time sale, but I would be surprised if it was overall different than the normal in-app purchase policy.

If your work for your client is to advise them, you'll really want to just spend the $99 and join and have your team participate in the developer program NDA / restricted chats and or just read the terms of iTunes Connect. If not, it's their problem and make sure your contract with them is clear as to under whom all responsibility of knowing and adhering to the Terms and Conditions fall.


Is it free to forward text messages to your Mac?

Text Message Forwarding works via iCloud on your iPhone and Mac. There is no 'extra' message being sent, however this will incur additional data usage if you are not on Wi-Fi.

Text Message Forwarding purely uses an internet connection, whether that be Wi-Fi or cellular data (if enabled). It does not use SMS to forward messages to your desktop. If you don't have an internet connection, the device will wait for network, then send the message to iCloud.


I have sometimes have similar issues accessing iTunes libraries from AppleTVs. Sometimes I have better luck using a WiFi rather than Ethernet connection.

Also, have you tried assigning your AppleTVs static IP addresses (assuming you use DHCP?)


Is it possible to configure what is shown in control center

For the moment : nope, it's not configurable.


Is it possible to get Keynote/Pages/Numbers for El Capitan?

Here’s the deal:

iWork requires macOS Sierra (or whatever the latest OS version is at the time) to “purchase.”
You can install the latest compatible version onto your computer, but only if you already have that iWork app associated with your Apple ID.

So the solution is to:

Get access to a Mac with macOS 10.12 Sierra installed.
Create a guest account with your Apple ID and use it to login to the Mac App Store.
“Purchase” Keynote, Pages and Numbers.
Now if you go back to your older Mac, these products will be associated with your Apple ID, and the Mac App Store will offer to install the latest compatible version.


bash command works on Ubuntu but not on macOS

The command as written doesn't really make sense, the command substitution will always return an empty string (and the part after the || will fail for non-root users). If you are looking for a way to add a line to /etc/hosts if there is no entry yet, try

grep -qxF '127.0.0.1        app.local' /etc/hosts ||
    sudo sh -c "echo '127.0.0.1        app.local' >> /etc/hosts"

PS: Relying on the number of spaces in the grep part is asking for trouble, maybe better use a regexp instead


Mac mini 2018 problem with USB pen drive

This is most likely Bluetooth interference from radio frequencies.

Your choice is probably to not use a USB or get another device.

  This means that any USB 3 port, cable or USB 3 device can emit radio frequencies that may cause interference with any Bluetooth devices you using in your computer.

(Source)

Another quotation:

  The issue is that USB 3.0 hard drives can emit radio frequencies that interfere with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transmissions on the 2.4 GHz band, especially when placed near the antennas in your laptop.

(Source)


This is how you can disable the calculation of folders:

In Finder.app press CMD+J.
uncheck "calculate folder sizes"
Click the button on the bottom to set it as the default behavior
Press CMD+J again to hide the panel.


OS X ML 10.8.2 sound from certain applications going to non-selected sound card?

Not entirely sure and I'm not familiar with iTerm2 but, as a workaround, does iTerm2 have audio preferences of its own?
If so, check to see if your USB device is available to select as the output device.

Also check Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities).


iphone notes app that supports Dropbox sync, search, import text files automatically

I currently use Simplenote to sync with my nvAlt on my Mac. While Simplenote is doing the syncing, you can configure SimpleNote to also sync to Dropbox, or you can have nvAlt store the files in Dropbox on you Mac.

A little more in line with your question, I have used Notesy in the past. It uses Dropbox for syncing, and nvAlt could still access the files via Dropbox on my Mac. However, It was very slow to search, and I recall it had several other annoyances. I haven't tried recent versions, so it might be better.


Why some iCloud folders do not show up in Finder?

Go to System Preferences > iCloud > iCloud Drive Options... and check the boxes for Keynote/Numbers/Pages/Preview makes the corresponding folders appear.


You have a couple of options:

1) Call Apple Customer service and they will be able to help you. That's the hard way.

2) You can also delete your iCloud account if you don't have any purchases of content attached to it. I highly doubt that you don't need the account and that's why I would tell your daughter to go to the iPhone Settings>>iCloud>>Sign Out. She can then sign in with her own iCloud/Apple ID. If she doesn't have one, she can set up a new Apple ID and new iCloud account by following these steps. While at it, she'll make things a lot easier if her icloud account is the same as her apple ID account. Access to all of your content will be much more simple. This is a mistake a lot of people make. I highly recommend you have only one account/pass for both.

In case you still want to delete your iCloud account and deactivate it, here is how to:
How to delete your iCloud account

I hope all this helps :)


How to merge an external audio source with my iPhone's audio out?

Yes, it's called Audiobus, in the Appstore you can find multiple AudioBus compatible Apps, you can choose multiple source and let them stream in compatible apps or on the headphones or other outputs available on your iPhone.


Disappearing Alerts - Notification Center not working as per Preference Settings

I'm a Mac OS X developer and I just finished adding Notification Center support to my app. For what it's worth, here's what I found out:

By default, notifications (the alerts) are NOT shown if the application is already frontmost (this explains why alerts refuse to show up sometimes, and you only see the notification in Notification Center). This is up to given applications to overwrite and it is not very straightforward, so do expect most applications to not show notifications when they're active. In my opinion, this is very annoying.
The application, after sending a notification still has a lot of control over that given notification. It can remove it from your screen at any time it wants, regardless of the settings you have. Basically, if Safari, for some reason was set to remove notifications after X seconds, it will do that, your settings do not matter.

I have no idea if this is a bug in Safari or Notification Center, or both. However, I am fairly confident that there is nothing you can do about the second issue (there might be a hidden defaults setting for the first one, but I haven't heard of it). I did check the WebKit API Specification, to make sure it's not something that the individual websites are doing, and you can rule out websites from your suspect's list, because they do not have any control over the notifications.

I guess we'll have to wait and see if Apple will address this in its next bug fix release (10.9). However, by the looks of it, not showing notifications when the app is frontmost is a "feature", so don't get your hopes up.


Two different apple id 's contacts sync together

You mentioned, "I have sign out my apple id and deleted my contacts then...", if you are sure about that, you don't have to worry about your friend getting your contacts.

After your friend signing in their Apple ID on your phone, you or your friend probably might not select to delete the contacts after signing out from your device. That would be the reason that you can see your friend's contact.

You can easily restore your contacts via iCloud (https://www.icloud.com/#settings).


I tried the Beta of CCleaner, and it cleared out 10 GB of stuff, 7GB from the Trash. It's free and worked great


MacOS 10.14: Disable headphone volume key repeat (prevent continous volume increase)

Key repeat can be turned off in the keyboard preference panel.  That's a global setting affecting all keys, if you want this behavior only on the volume controls then that's not going to help.