Firmware Upgrade of Apple Mac Pro (Early 2009) from 4.1 to 5.1

I ran an ethernet cable and was able to progress through the list of tasks. It took two attempts to pass step 5. The trick was to keep the power button pressed well past the flashing of the power light and only releasing it again after the continuous tone has sounded. Long story short, I now have the 5.1 firmware installed, and have upgraded to Sierra 10.12.5.


High Sierra: Can't merge BOOTCAMP partition with APFS container

First convert the former Boot Camp partition to free space:

sudo diskutil eraseVolume "Free Space" %noformat% /dev/disk0s3

Then expand your APFS container to the max (0 is a magic size here):

diskutil apfs resizeContainer disk0s2 0


How to locate a particular place in macOS?

$HOME is your home directory.  This is the directory you are in when you start a terminal window.  Normal using on Mac (and most unix-like systems, is that your home directory has the same name as your short user name.  So if you are Mike Smith, and have a short user name of msmith then the value of $HOME is (usually) /Volumes/Users/msmith.

HOME is an environment variable. If I create a script or a set of directions and use $HOME instead of /Volumes/Users/msmith, then that script can be used by other people.  When I log in, during the startup process MY HOME variable is set to /Volumes/Users/sherwood.

The < > notation means, "Don't type this literally, but find out what the value is, and use that instead.  No automatic substitution this time.

In general on Mac and UNIX/Linux/*BSD systems a file in your home directory (possibly other places) that starts with a period contains settings for that software package.  So .matlab is a directory of Matlab settings, startup scripts, this and that.

<version> is replaced by the version number of your Matlab installation.  You may have several different Matlab versions.

The easiest way to find this is by typing

ls .matlab

In your home directory.  I don't have Matlab on my Mac, so I'm only guessing, but you will probably see something like R2009b and/or R2011a.

So if your username was msmith, you could refer to this file as

~/.matlab/R2011a/matlab.prf

The ~ is another shorthand meaning the 'home directory of'. Often you can just use ~ by itself.  As ~/.matlab.  ~/.matlab and $HOME/.matlab are two ways of saying the same thing.

If you need to GO there -- to see what else is in that directory, just chop off everything after the last / and put cd in front.

Thus

cd ~/.matlab/R2011a/

will leave you in the folder containing matlab.prf

The default settings folder in newer MatLAB versions seems to be $HOME/Library/Application Support/MathWorks/MATLAB/version/ though:

the path to matlab.prf is then e.g.

"$HOME/Library/Application Support/MathWorks/MATLAB/R2016b/matlab.prf"


Yes, you can do this natively.

Just open Spotlight as you normally would (e.g. use the commandspace shortcut) and start entering the name of the song. Spotlight will find it and you can just press enter to play it.

Notes:

You don't need to have iTunes running at the time you conduct the Spotlight search, but you do have to have the song stored locally (i.e. not in iCloud), otherwise you'll get web search results etc instead of an iTunes result.
You also have to ensure you have Music selected in the Search Results tab within Apple > System Preferences > Spotlight


How to repair disconnected battery connector MacBook Air 2011

There is no easy fix.

You may be able to salvage the battery connector.  If you can get it back into place and secure it with some tape and the the Mac functions, chances are the connector can be soldered back to the board.  (This is not a permanent fix, only a diagnostic)

If not, the connector and/or logic board needs to be repaired.

Either way, you won't be able to do this with a soldering iron - you will need a hot air re-flow gun and some technical skill to do this without un-soldering or heat damaging the components near it.

There are companies that specialize in repairs like this and are quite good at this type of repair.  They would be your best bet for repairing this type of damage.


Issue with Homebrew when trying to parallelly install Python 3.x

brew doctor spits out possible sources of error in your setup (see a description of some errors and reasons for which they are triggered on the Homebrew Github page, like this). If you aren't running into issues with your setup, you can usually ignore the messages (they're there to help Homebrew maintainers to solve issues, should you have them).

With this in mind, I think you can ignore the messages related to header files and .pc files from Jack. If you want to clear these ones, you can remove your current installation and brew install jack, which will house all of those files in "Homebrew-approved" locations.

As far as the Python issues, it looks like you installed Python from a package downloaded from python.org. This resulted in your PATH being modified (either by you via their instruction, or as part of the install script) with a line in your .bash_profile. When you type python at the command line, the system will execute whatever version of Python it finds first in the PATH. In your case, it's the 2.7 version in /Library/Frameworks/. You can uninstall that version using the instructions here, replacing instances of 3.x with 2.7. Regardless of whether or not you keep that installation, you can ensure that python directs to the "Homebrew-ed" version by making sure that /usr/local/bin occurs before /Library/Frameworks/... in your PATH.

In other words, remove the statement:

PATH="/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin:${PATH}"
export PATH

from your .bash_profile, or change the first line to:

PATH="${PATH}:/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/bin" export PATH

This second version is somewhat useless, as there are two versions of Python that will be encountered before the Frameworks version (the Homebrew one in /usr/local/bin and the system version in /usr/bin). If you're curious where all of your Python versions live, you can check with which -a python, which lists all binaries named python in your PATH.


Kernel Panic right after sleep in macOS High Sierra

Do you happen to have the GPU problem stated here?
If you do please do take care of Part 2: improve thermal and power management.


How do in-app purchases work for child accounts with Family Sharing?

Although they're related, you've actually asked a number of questions there. I'll deal with each of these briefly:

Question 1: This question is specifically off-topic. We don't answer questions like Why does Apple... or Should Apple... etc.

Question 2: Yes, it is possible you could get a refund. This will usually be in the form of a credit on your account.

Question 3: You need to contact Apple, not the App publisher.

Question 4: I suspect you have a few options. Since you have to contact Apple, I would just ask them what the best option would be. However, one option is to change the account details on the iPad temporarily so that it's your account that's logged into the App Store. Then try to make the purchase using your account. (You may need to delete the app and redownload it using your account). Once you've got the coins, log out of the App Store with your account and log back in with your daughter's. (NOTE: If you had to delete and reinstall the app for it to be associated with your account, this does mean you'd have to log back into your account again if/when she makes future purchases).


MacBook Pro 2018 - "You can't open the application "iTunes" because it is being update"

Updates worked for me. I had Safari - can’t open the application Safari because it is being updated.

I went into App Store then updates and clicked update all. That seemed to clear the issue. Safari is back running
Thank you


How to screen record higher than 1920x1080

A quick Google search found one of my favorite tips for OS X: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20131030130206132

Essentially, go to System Preferences > Displays, option-click the Scaled button, then select a  new resolution. Your QuickTime movie should record at the new resolution, but remember bigger resolutions take up more graphics power.


If you didn't use iCloud, the notes are stored in:
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes/ in a database file named NoteStore.sqlite
If you used iCloud, your notes are stored at:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes/Data/CloudKit/
To view the Notes you need an SQL app or typing sqlite at the command line.

https://github.com/jakwings/mac-notes-exporter


iOS 10: Control Center for Music- Music Won't Play

The problem here is in YouTube itself.

One way they try to get people to join YouTube Red is that you are only able to play YouTube videos in the background if you are a paid subscriber. You may have had a free trial that expired, or YouTube updated the way they check if you're active in the browser, but the only real way to fix this is a jailbreak or a YouTube red subscription.


Path to the Folder where Widgets are stored!

Part of CoreServices

The widgets are stored within /System/Library/CoreServices. They are plug-ins of small applications of the same name.

Finding Widgets

Widgets contain an Info.plist file containing the text com.apple.widget-extension. You can use this text to search for other widgets.

A full disk search from the command line would be:

grep -r 'com.apple.widget-extension' /

System Integrity Protection

Note that these widgets are protected by macOS's System Integrity Protection (SIP). This means you can not remove these widgets without first disabling SIP.

Apple recommends you do not modify the contents of the /System folder on your Mac. Changing the contents of this folder can result in unexpected behaviour from macOS.


How to stop TextWrangler changing the text file icon?

A support request was filed and Bare Bones responded quickly.

TextWrangler sets the file type (com.apple.FinderInfo; file icon) when it determines that the file name cannot be used to determine that it is a text file. The exact determination here is not too important; as I found, hence I would assume that source code files would fall into this category. The text encoding is a standard attribute and is set to indicate the file's character encoding.

To disable the writing of these extended file attributes, the following command is used;

defaults write com.barebones.textwrangler WriteExtendedAttributes -string "Never"

The command itself is documented in the TextWrangler help files; but not how it relates to the character encoding and file associations.

To find and clear the attributes of the modified file(s), you can use the following standard commands;

ls -@l # list the files with extended attributes
xattr -c filename.sh # where the file name and extension is as required


afaik since iOS 5 there is no longer a Linux Application that supports syncing Music to an iPhone (there used to be GTKpod)

The easiest would be to install WINE and then iTunes I suppose.


How to view the quota limits of an APFS volume that I had set at the time of its creation?

Yes you can with the terminal command :
diskutil ap list diskX

where diskX is to be replaced by the Container "Time Machine" identifier
On my Mac i get this :
    diskutil ap list disk4
|
+-- Container disk4 8C53B410-FC36-4221-9F13-F528C24CA4EC
    ====================================================
    APFS Container Reference:     disk4
    Size (Capacity Ceiling):      80134217728 B (80.1 GB)
    Capacity In Use By Volumes:   7213264896 B (7.2 GB) (9.0% used)
    Capacity Not Allocated:       72920952832 B (72.9 GB) (91.0% free)
    |
    +-< Physical Store disk3s6 D6E20B9A-34FF-462E-8AEE-5648523C1E5D
    |   -----------------------------------------------------------
    |   APFS Physical Store Disk:   disk3s6
    |   Size:                       80134217728 B (80.1 GB)
    |
    +-> Volume disk4s1 8E6FC6CF-149A-4A8C-BD4E-228953A8C07F
        ---------------------------------------------------
        APFS Volume Disk (Role):   disk4s1 (Backup)
        Name:                      Time_Machine_BS (Case-sensitive)
        Mount Point:               /Volumes/Time_Machine_BS
        Capacity Consumed:         7091273728 B (7.1 GB)
        Capacity Reserve:          None
        Capacity Quota:            20000002048 B (20.0 GB) (35.5% reached)
        FileVault:                 No


How can I make my Mac accept a user password of 8 characters?

Try to change it by going to System Preferences -> Users & Groups -> your account, and click on Change Password...


Eyefinity PCI Express card with Apple Thunderbolt Display

You'll need a graphics card that can output Thunderbolt (if such things exist, I have not checked). The Apple Thunderbolt Display can only accept input in the form of a Thunderbolt signal, Mini DisplayPort will not work.

Apple does sell a Mini DisplayPort variant of their 27" display, so if you don't yet have the display you should get that instead


Can I see any information about which machines are authorized against my iTunes account?

I also have the same problem and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to view this kind of information at present. This is corroborated by several Apple Support Community threads here, here and here.

As you say, the only option seems to be to either try to figure out which machines are currently authorized and deauthorize them using iTunes (particularly difficult in the case of multiple VM's or machines you no longer have) or deauthorize all and start again.


Using recovery key on erased FileVault encrypted SSD

Your data is unrecoverable in the hands of an average data recovery attempt. First step Data Recovery. Low class data recovery doesn’t recovery everything and can scramble some files making decrypting the files very difficult. Nearly impossible without the recovery key. If the recovery key is known it’s, possible. This is very time and resource consuming and very difficult to target specific data. However If an organization wants to spend an astronomical amount of money to extract and decrypt data they pretty much can unless you destroy the disk. Zeroing out a drive makes it harder for the data to be recovered but takes a very long time and puts a lot of ware and tear on the disk.


Is there a way to disable iCloud documents only

Having Documents & Data active doesn't mean that your documents get saved to iCloud. Some applications might choose to store settings and data that could be shared between your devices. If you disable Documents & Data you disable this possibility.

You can always check your iCloud account if there are any documents already saved. Go to 'System Preferences -> iCloudand clickManage`. You can here see what applications that are using the storage.

You can see that in my case I have documents from Pages and TextEdit. I have chosen to save them there. It's not anything that your computer do automatically.

I'm myself also using Dropbox for documents but I really see no reason to deactivate iCloud Documents & Data


iPhone keeps disconnecting & connecting when transferring data

Disconnect your iPhone or iPad.
Open Terminal and type

sudo killall -STOP -c usbd

Happily connect again your devices.


I'm having quite the same issue not with an apple tv but with another stuff provided by my Internet broadband which is doing air mirroring.
I have a mid 2013 macbook air and mirroring my screen is lagy.

So I thought the issue was from the router too, but my brother with his latest MacBook Pro doesn't have any lag, it's really fluid.

So I thought the MBA wasn't power enough too handle the real time encoding, but one day while I was mirroring my screen I launched a slide show in iphoto and it was really fluid. Then I noticed when I turn air mirroring on it's always lagy until I launch a video from QuickTime.

So, to sum up - this likely is a software issue since under iPhoto and Quicktime, the MBA is fast enough to handle high performance mirroring of some content. (Or that it lags when it has to both assemble the image to draw on the screen and then mirror it - but when QuickTime or iPhoto take over the entire screen - mirroring can be quite snappy).


How to stop note to stop auto convert double qoute to inverted comma?

Right-click inside your note, then uncheck the following option:

Notes will no longer replace your smart quotes. Unfortunately, this applies to all notes. I don’t think there is a way to restrict this setting to a single Note.


This sounds like a defective hardware issue. Take your Mac to an authorized Apple repair/service center, or an Apple Store, and have them diagnose the problem. If it is under warranty, or if you purchased AppleCare to extend the warranty, they will replace any faulty components.


Cannot set permissions on Parallels volume

Typically when you mount an NTFS volume in OS X (or Linux for that matter) the permissions are determined at the time the volume is mounted. You'll probably find that all files within your volume are set with identical "-rw-rw-rw-" permissions and all folders are set with identical "drwxrwxrwx" permissions.

Some software for mounting NTFS volumes will allow you to change the these volume wide permissions with arguments to the mount command. For example, with OSXFUSE you can set umask, fmask and dmask arguments when you mount an NTFS volume that will allow you to specify the permissions you want to see. However if there is documentation on how to do this with Parallels Mounter I'm unable to find it.


Upgrading my 3GS to iOS 5.1.1, I lost all my apps

When I first updated to iOS5 I lost all of my apps too.  Interestingly, it had the spinning sync icon at the top of the phone for a few hours after as it manually downloaded all of the apps.  They suddenly appeared one after another.  Perhaps it's doing this.

Try downloading an app that you had and see if it still has the settings/saves it had.  If so, I'd expect this is the case.


Google Chrome does not use the system flash, it has it's own copy of Flash. Try deleting and reinstalling the Google Chrome app.


Pages 4.3 crashes on iMac Late 2013 Mavericks

Slightly off topic, but with Mavericks installed, you can update to Pages 5.1 for no charge and maybe your problem will not occur.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2056159/what-you-need-to-know-about-apples-free-apps-policy.html


How can I tell iTunes to stop playing a song?

The AppleScript for this is pretty simple:

tell application "iTunes" to stop

You can make this easily accessible by creating a Service.

Open Automator and create a new document. Select the Service document type. Set the Service receives: menu to no input. Drag in a Run AppleScript module and paste that code into its text box. Save the service and give it a name.

You'll now be able to activate it by going to the current app's menu and choosing Services-> Stop iTunes (or whatever you named the service).

You can assign a keyboard shortcut by going to System Preferences-> Keyboard-> Services, finding the service (it should be under General at the bottom) and adding a shortcut.


Is it possible to disable Safari extensions when using Private browsing?

EDIT: Making my answer better by offering a keyboard shortcut method since my question found a solution back in the day. for even quicker safari extension disabling in or out of private mode.
ORIGINAL: A much easier way to perform this action is to enable the Develop Menu in Safari Preferences -> Advanced -> At the bottom you can check this to have a Develop menu in your menu bar for safari. Here you can select from the dropdown "Disable Extensions" which will disable them completely for both private and non-private windows but the activation and disabling of the add-ons is extremely quick and hassle free.
Making private window/tabs default to having extensions disable isn't an option in any Safari settings sadly. However this is an easy one click solution to your problem.
Again, the steps are as follows:
Safari -> Preferences -> Advanced Tab -> check "Show Develop menu in menu bar"

Now you can click the Develop dropdown and click "Disable Extensions" as well as other options such as javascript, images, styles, and more!
This works with Safari 9.0 - 11.0


Do I need a special external hard drive to use with Time Machine

No special drive required. It only need support being partitioned as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (also known has HFS+) -- which just about any external drive from major manufacturers support. Make sure it supports a physical connection protocol (USB 2, USB 3, FireWire, Thunderbolt, etc.) that your specific Mac happens to have and you're good to go.


What certificates and/or files are needed to bypass iOS's passcode lock?

The complete description of the feature on the Lantern site is "Pass code bypass with certificate file from syncing computer" so I don't think "until the device is unlocked" is the accurate way to phrase it. It seems that Lantern re-uses the pre-existing credentials set up between the computer and the phone.

edit: And in re-reading your question it seems you may be aware of this. A quick perusal of the iOS developer documentation doesn't yield anything to me but you can likely determine this for yourself if you have a mac you sync your phone to.

from a terminal window run the command sudo fs_usage -wf filesys | grep -i itunes and you should be able to see what files iTunes consults when you connect your passcode-locked phone.


Google Hangouts on iPhone - how to have two accounts

Yes, in Hangout's settings you can add new accounts.


I did it with xattr !
My final script is :

find FOLDER -type f ! -name "*.*" -print0 | xargs -0 xattr -wx com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith \
"`xattr -px com.apple.LaunchServices.OpenWith FILEWITHGOODTYPE`"

Replace FOLDER by your folder (containing files without extension) (drag and drop)

Replace FILEWITHGOODTYPE by a file which has the expected type (drag and drop)

I found what I was looking for here :

https://stackoverflow.com/q/4833052/4135158


How to group Adobe CS5 application tabs in one window (like the Windows version)?

I only have CS6, and, in that version, I'd make sure Window > Application Frame was checked. This moves everything (documents, palettes, etc.) into one window frame like the Windows version.


Transfering Contacts from Icloud to Iphone

Log into your brother's iCloud account on your iPhone
Wait for the contacts to sync
Disable Contacts syncing in Settings and choose to keep the data
Re-login into your own iCloud account
Merge existing contacts (the ones on your phone) into the account


Using a Campark ACT74 action cam as a webcam in macOS 10.12

According to the User Manual available here this actioncam cannot be used as a webcam. The prompt you get upon connecting the device via USB lets you probably choose between Mass Storage (UMS) Protocol and Camera (usually abbreviated PTP - Picture Transfer Protocol).

Both protocols let you transfer pictures from the actioncam to your Mac/PC but neither of those allows the camera to be used as a webcam. That's the reason why it will not show up in any of the mentioned applications in your question.

However, if you have a HDMI capture card or a device to capture HDMI input, you could theoretically capture the output of the actioncam using the HDMI output of the camera on the side. If you don't have such a card you are probably better off just buying a webcam supported by macOS since those HDMI capture cards are more expensive than a webcam.


The file was corrupted, that’s why it was opening weird. Because of my slow download speeds, and continual resumes when it kept pausing the download... it got corrupted. After finding a coffee shop with some good download speeds I tried again and it worked perfectly.


Apple program to view images on Windows OS

You should use windows system restore to go back in time and find the name of that pretty software, once you found it, restore to present and re-install/active it.


How to backup Airport Extreme USB drive with Time Machine

Time Machine is only designed to backup internal and locally-attached drives. It cannot backup network-attached storage devices (such as the AE-USB). If you would like to backup this network drive you will need to look at another software solution capable of doing so. Some recommendations would include Carbon Copy Cloner and ChronoSync.

Another thing you can do is purchase an external hard drive capable of RAID 1 configuration. While this won't protect you from accidentally deleting a file, it will protect you from hard drive failure.


Is the gloss on iOS icons automatically applied?

Yes, it is automatically applied by iOS.

There is an option for iOS application developers to turn this off, called UIPrerenderedIcon. This is a value in the Applications Info.plist, that can be turned on and off (checking it would note that this is a pre-rendered icon, and to not apply the gloss).

You can read more details in the iOS Human Interface Guidelines.

Web Applications (as noted in Mathias's answer) also do have this reflection applied to them. You can override this by naming your file apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png. More information is also provided in the HIG for web clip icons.


Dell DW15 docking station audio output set up with mac

If I go to System Preferences -> Sound -> Output and then choose the
  docking stations USB output it only outputs audio to the docking
  station, meaning that there is no sound when the audio jack is
  unplugged from the docking station.

This is expected behavior.  USB audio devices don't "report back" that speakers aren't attached.  As far as your Mac is concerned, the audio device (USB dock) is seen and functioning.


Why won't Time Machine restore my Contacts even though they're visible in a Time Machine backup?

This fixed my problem Fix corrupted Contacts database


AppleScript - mdfind kMDItemTextContent script to find specified content from display dialog query

Try:

set searchText to text returned of (display dialog "Enter your search text:" default answer "")
set matchText to paragraphs of (do shell script "mdfind \"kMDItemTextContent == " & quoted form of searchText & "\"")
if matchText ≠ {} then
    set targetMatch to (choose from list matchText) as string
    if targetMatch ≠ "false" then tell application "Finder" to open (POSIX file targetMatch) as alias
end if


You can press the command ⌘ key and click the target Folder in the Dock, this will open the folder in a new Finder window.

If the command ⌘ key and click doesn't open directly to the target Folder, you can also try pressing option+command ⌘ keys and click the target Folder in the Dock, this should open directly to the folder in a new Finder window.

You can also instead of right-click, just click the target Folder and select Open in Finder.


Mail.app Never finishes "Downloading Messages"

I'm using POP3 and found that clicking 'Remove now' in Preferences, Accounts cleared this up for me (suspect there was a corrupted message on the server).


Iphone 4s says i have no storage available

If erase all content and settings fails to restore the storage then you either have a hardware failure (Flash storage needs to be restored/repartitioned/erased) or a software failure (iTunes is needed to reload the software).

You'll need to take the phone to someone with iTunes and/or experience repairing and testing the iPhone unfortunately.


I always suggest that people check with the company called Other Word Computing, at macsales.com. They specialize in Macintosh memory upgrades and they provide good technical support. If you know the exact version number of your Macintosh, they can tell you exactly what the upgrade possibilities are and give you the exact memory specifications for your particular model. They post notices about which Apple firmware updates must be applied to your specific model before you attempt an upgrade. Of course they sell RAM at good prices, but you could use their upgrade advice to purchase RAM of the appropriate specification from a different company than theirs.


Is there way to know when last logged in and out?

In the Terminal application, type last and voilà, there is your answer!


How do I wipe the hd on an old iMac that is pretty well bricked?

I would suggest, that assuming you can physically--and safely(!), taking note of the comment about voltages and CRTs--removing the hard drive and taking it apart. Most times you can get the actual platters/discs out without too much trouble and carefully smash them. Most are, I think, a metal coating on glass of some sort, so watch splinters wear eye protection, etc. This can be easier than smashing the metal case of the hard drive which might not actually destroy the platter(s).


You have many choices but none of them as good as One Note (It's just my opinion)

Omnioutliner
Journler
Macjournal
EverNote


How to set multiple folder icons in finder (for symbol- and list-view)?

To change a folder's icon just:

Open the image you want to use as icon, (with Preview, for instance). Select it all, or the part of it you want to use, and Copy it ( Command + C ).
Right click on the folder and choose Show Info ( Command + i ).
Select the folder icon image, and Paste ( Commdand + V).

Doing it this way, no matter in which view you'll be displaying the folder, the icon will be the image you've pasted.


Turning Off Wi-Fi During Logout Script Doesn't Work With Launchd

Use networksetup -listallhardwareports to get a list of all network devices. Usually en0 is the ethernet interface, en1 is WiFi.


Google + won't let me see my photos, they ask me to upgrade safari

The only way to update Safari is to update your OS. I would try opening Google+ in Chrome which has been updated for 10.6 more recently than Safari.


How to install and setup s3fs on OS X 10.7 (Lion)

For Amazon s3fs you have two options for credentials: root or per user.

For a root setup you would place your credentials in here:

/etc/passwd-s3fs

And then make sure the permissions to that file are 640 like this:

sudo chmod 640 /etc/passwd-s3fs

The contents of that file should simply be [AccessKey]:[SuperSecretKey] with those two values substituted for your real access key and super secret key. Note I did not prefix the “bucket” name as you have in your example. I would recommend just seeing if you can access the S3 stuff to begin with for testing.

If you want to do user level credentials, that would be placed in the home folder of the user who would need to have s3fs access. So it would if this were for you, it would be in here:

nano ~/.passwd-s3fs

The contents of the file would be the same as /etc/passwd-s3fs but the permissions would be different. So make sure those permissions are 600 like this:

chmod 600 ~/.passwd-s3fs

Then as far as mounting goes, this is how you would mount the contents if you are root:

sudo s3fs [BucketName] /mnt/s3

Be sure to change the bucket name to match the actual bucket you wish to mount. And to run that on a per user basis using the ~/.passwd-s3fs credentials, just run the same command without sudo like this:

s3fs [BucketName] /mnt/s3

To unmount the mounted bucket, just do this:

sudo umount /mnt/s3

Or do this if you are using a per-user setup:

umount /mnt/s3


Multiple user accounts in Safari like in Chrome?

I, too, have looked for this ability in Safari, but it just doesn't exist. I've submitted an enhancement request at Apple's Safari Feedback page every time a new version has come out.


Why are my iMessages being sent through my Apple ID?

On your own iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Receive At. Tap Caller ID and make sure it is set to your phone number.

Optionally, on the other iPhones, go to Settings > Messages > Receive At. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen and choose Sign Out.


You can rotate your MacBook Air screen using the OS X system preferences. What you need to do is:

Launch System Preferences (first quit it if it’s already open)
Hold down Command Option and click on "Display"
Look for 'Rotation' on the right side of the Display window and take your pick

If System Preferences is already open then holding down Command+Option doesn’t seem to make the Rotatation menu appear. If you run into that, just quit out of System Prefs and relaunch it.

(found on OS X Daily and found here on AskDifferent)

EDIT:

Cave! I had serous troubles on my MacBook Pro retina. Do NOT try this method described above in Yosemite (and properbly newer systems as well)

Read this:
I recently tried this trick again to rotate my screen and got stuck in a nasty situation. My screen is inverted and my 'Display' menu in System Preferences will not open, when trying to open the 'Display' preference pane it gives me the following error:

"Preferences Error Could not load Displays preference pane."

I have tried the following things to fix it, non of these work:

Removed ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist and ~/LibraryApplication Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db, and rebooted.
Logged in as another user or as guest user.
repair permissions, gives the following warning:

User differs on on "private/var/db/displaypolicyd"; should be 0;user is 244
Group differs on on "private/var/db/displaypolicyd"; should be 0;user is 244

Installed the 'OSXUpdCombo10.10.3.pkg'
Re-installed 'OS X - Mavericks over my current system'
Manually removed the Display preference pane from /System/Library/PreferencePanes and installed the 'OSXUpdCombo10.10.3.pkg' after that.

Luckely I have an external display that does not go 'Australian' on me, but this is quite nasty. I am now preparing for a clean install of my system as I am out of further ideas.

EDIT 2: - Temp fix/hack.
This will not fix the broken 'Displays' preference pane, but it will help you to leave 'Down Under' and zero out gravity.
Rotate your screen using a third party app:

'Display Rotation Menu 1.2'

EDIT 3:
Complete clean reinstall of the system 'fixed' the issue. I have only restored the non-admin users via TimeMachine.

Error message:


With the assistance of AppleScript you can accomplish this.

Open AppleScript Editor, create a new document and paste the following stolen lines:

tell application "Finder"
    try
        if exists Finder window 1 then
            set thisPath to (the target of the front window) as alias
        else
            set thisPath to (path to desktop)
        end if
    on error
        return
    end try
end tell
set x to my the_perfect_datestring()
if x is not "-ERROR" then
    set fullPath to thisPath & x as text
    tell application "Finder"
        try
            --activate
            if not (exists fullPath) then
                set y to make new folder at thisPath with properties {name:x}
            end if
            activate
            open y
        end try
    end tell
end if
on the_perfect_datestring()
    try
        set cd to (the current date)
        set the_year to year of (cd) as number
        set the_month to month of (cd) as number
        set the_day to day of (cd) as number
        if the_month < 10 then set the_month to "0" & the_month
        if the_day < 10 then set the_day to "0" & the_day
        return ((the_year & the_month & the_day) as string)
    on error
        return "-ERROR"
    end try
end the_perfect_datestring

Save the file as AppleScript application (e.g. DateFolder.app) somewhere (e.g ~/Applications).

Open a folder and drop the DateFolder.app on the toolbar:

To create a folder in an open folder just hit the app's icon in the toolbar. The new folder will open automatically. Remove line 22 in the script (open y) if you don't want the new folder to be opened. If you add the app to the Dock and open it, it will create a new folder in the frontmost folder or on the desktop (if no folder is open).

Only tested in Mac OS X 10.7.5. Lion!

To add a hyphen and the current time add the following lines (replacing line 32-34 in the script above):

        set the_hour to hours of (cd) as number
        set the_minute to minutes of (cd) as number
        set the_second to seconds of (cd) as number
        if the_month < 10 then set the_month to "0" & the_month
        if the_day < 10 then set the_day to "0" & the_day
        if the_hour < 10 then set the_hour to "0" & the_hour
        if the_minute < 10 then set the_minute to "0" & the_minute
        if the_second < 10 then set the_second to "0" & the_second
        return ((the_year & the_month & the_day & "-" & the_hour & the_minute & the_second) as string)


Open Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Select your hard drive in the left column. Most likely it will be named “Macintosh HD.”
Click on “Repair Disk Permissions.”
Close Disk Utility. Check if the problem is still there.
If it is still not resolved, restart and hold down the Command and R keys. You will boot into the Repair Utilities screen. On top, in the Menu Bar click the Utilities item then select Terminal.
In the Terminal window, type reset password and hit Return. The Password reset utility launches, but you’re not going to reset the password.
Instead, click on the icon for your Mac’s hard drive at the top. From the drop-down below it, select the user account where you are having issues.
At the bottom of the window, you’ll see a button labeled ‘Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs’. Click the Reset button there.

Source: http://osxdaily.com/2011/11/15/repair-user-permissions-in-mac-os-x-lion/


Question 1

The activation message doesn't mean it will do a factory restore, no, however it is possible that not all to the data will be retrievable even though you can see it.

Question 2

If you cannot get to the Settings app, which you can't from what you've described, then without activation there is no way to use iCloud to backup. iTunes would be the only option in this case.

Do you have an iCloud backup by chance?


Creating a static route through a specific interface

I tried moving Ethernet on top of service order stack and removing its IPV4 Gateway, but my Mac still keeps connecting to the NAS via WiFi even though Ethernet comes first.

Service order priority is great for different networks (i.e. home and work via VPN or work network and lab network).  If you're multi-homing to the same network (WiFi and Ethernet both connect to home), the priority doesn't matter.  Routes are determined by what gets advertised first, the least amount of latency, etc.  As you said, your WiFi is about 10x faster; it makes sense that the traffic will try to go through what it thinks is the fastest.

Set a static route for the host

You can set a static route for an individual host and ensure that all traffic bound for that host goes through a particular interface (gateway).  The route command takes the following syntax:

% sudo route add -host <target host IP> <IP of network adapter>

So, in your case, using 0.3 as the NAS and 0.55 as your bonded interface, it would be as follows:

% sudo route add -host 192.168.0.3 192.168.0.55

All traffic would be to that one host (NAS) would be routed though the bonded interface while everything else would go through WiFi.

The problem with this is that it's only temporary.  You'll need to rerun this command every time you boot and quite possibly can get overridden (see next section).  To automate it, you'll need to put this into a script (call it setroute.sh for example) and have it executed with launchd.  See the following posts on how to accomplish this:

launchd plist format for running a command at a specific time on a weekday
How do I run an app using launchd at regular intervals?
How do I create a static permanent ifconfig alias?

Create a different subnet

This is my preferred solution because the NAS will be on it's own network isolated from the rest of the traffic by default.  You won't have to tell it where to go or what traffic to prioritize because it will already know that.  In addition RIP (Route Information Protocol) advertising packets can't override any static routes you may have put in.  Yes, your router can tell your Mac how to get to hosts automatically and this may conflict with what you want.

WiFi Network -> 192.168.0.0/24   ← 254 hosts max
NAS Network  -> 192.168.5.0/29   ← 6 hosts max

So, on your Mac, you'll have two network connections: 192.168.0.2 (WiFi)
and 192.168.5.2 (Bonded Connection) to the switch (or directly to the NAS).  The NAS, 192.168.5.3,  will have it's connection to the same Ethernet switch that your Mac is connected to.  All traffic destined for the NAS will have no choice but to go through the bonded Ethernet while all other traffic will go via WiFi.


No as VirtualBox does not emulate the CPU but virtualizies it as described by Oracle.

You would need to find Virtual PC or Bochs (I have used both in the past) or others in a list from www.macwindows.com

However now getting an extra second hand intel box might well be the easiest thing to do and would definitely provide the faster solution.


Can I enable more key combinations for keyboard shortcuts?

QuickKeys allows you to record actions or define macros and assign them to keyboard shortcuts. I don't know if the Macintosh draws a distinction between Right Shift and Left Shift though.


Is there a guideline for the max number of active fonts

I would say you are the slowest part of the equation in most cases. If you find yourself slowing down since you have too many choices, slim down your fonts. If not, don't worry until you notice a program you need to be responsive lagging.

On the CPU side, any computer will track 10,000 files as easily as it tracks 1. Unless you have software that is really poorly programmed and refuses to render a font menu until it loads a sample of each of the 1000 font faces - you'll likely not ever notice a slow down. No one cleans out their iTunes library since there are 10,000 or 40,000 music files since you never access them all at once. The smart programmer makes an ordered list to hold the playlists and only references the files when you need to play a specific song.

You can test this yourself by opening a word processor and a spreadsheet and open the font picker. Time how fast it loads and then go in and deactivate 900 of the font faces and repeat the measurement.

You'll probably have slowness the first time the program or the OS has to traverse the list of active fonts and do some caching. After that, the speed to open the UI should be basically constant whether you have 100, 1000 or 10000 items to load.


Two notable differences between 'old' Rosetta and 'new' Rosetta are:

Rosetta 2 will 'pre-compile' its translation before the app is launched. The old Rosetta would 'translate' PPC code to Intel anew each time the app was executed.

PPC CPUs were 'Big-endian' (the order in which multi-byte words were stored), whereas Intel and ARM chips are both 'little-endian'. That removes one of the major headaches and causes of problems in translation.


Try to apply a PRAM Reset:

Hold P+R+⌘+⌥ right after boot and wait till the MBP restarts.

Then insert the install DVD and try to read it again.

C will boot from the DVD
⌥ will let you choose your startup volume

Click here for more startup key combinations.


What iPhone apps are available for sending bulk SMSs?

Built-in Group Messaging

On any iPhone with iOS 4 you can enable group messaging which will allow you to message a group and for responses to be sent to the whole group:

Open Settings
Tap Messages.
Finally, flip the Group Messaging slider to On.

Other soltions include:

Mass Text Message
Beluga
textPlus


Many MacBook models will not power up if the battery is basically dead. And, reading between the lines I'm assuming this is an older model MacBook which probably still has its original battery - and therefore at much greater risk of having a dead battery.

You could try powering the MacBook up while connected to AC power and without the battery installed (this was possible with some models), but otherwise you'll need to replaced your battery (something I would recommend even if you could power it up without the battery).

Further info

Most MacBook batteries have a life expectancy at or around 1000 cycles.  It's not uncommon for batteries to exceed or fall short of this number; it's just an estimation of how long it can last.

Your options are to have the battery replaced or to only use it while connected to an AC power source (if this works for you). There are many 3rd party battery options available for purchase, so if you're still happy with your MacBook then that's your best option. If not, then it's time to upgrade.

If you do decide to replace the battery, then I would ensure that you purchase a battery from a reputable online store dealing with Apple products.

For example, the following are some well-regarded sites:

Mac Sales
Simply Mac
RAM City
Macfixit

By buying from a reputable store you'll be sure to get a battery fit for purpose, regardless of manufacturer. Being reputable means they're only going to sell something that works and they'll stand behind the product they sell, regardless of the brand.


Backing up to iCloud is only a backup, it will not free up space on your iOS device.. you'll need to free up space manually.

You can find more information on iCloud storage and backup overview here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12519?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US


Safari on ipad, how to tell browser to ignore mobile stylesheet

UserAgent Faker for jailbroken devices (in Cydia) changes the User Agent to ones of a desktop browser. Probably some third party browsers too, e.g. User Agent Browser (free ad supported or $.99 to remove the ads), but haven't used them.


Mac 13inch 2020 model-M1chip- Lenovo USB C gen2 dock station--> Unable to connect dual monitors

You can't connect two external monitors to M1 MacBooks with the extend mode. There exist a work around consisting of connecting one monitor through USB-C and the other with the help of DisplayLink software, but I do not know how good is this working. Possibly, we will see Big Sur update for 2020 MacBooks that enables 2 external monitors in extended mode.


Switch from sleep to hibernate after set time

Retina MacBook Pros and newer MacBook Airs actually do that by default under certain conditions. If Power Nap is disabled, the computer is on battery power, not connected to USB devices and not paired with Bluetooth devices, it enters standby mode (hibernation) after about 70 minutes of normal sleep.

If pmset -g | grep standby looks like this, your computer supports standby mode:

 standby              1
 standbydelay         4200

You can change the delay to 15 minutes with sudo pmset -b standbydelay 900.


Is there any way to disable Mac OS X global search string propagation?

It's usually called the find pasteboard or find clipboard, and I think it has been around since before OS X.

I tried using strings to search in frameworks, but I didn't find any hidden preferences for making it application-specific.


Which version of iWork can I use on OS X 10.6.3?

According to Apple's iWork system requirements page, you should be able to download this trial version.


How can I empty the trash with old backups in it?

Okay, before I get into more detail, let me quickly tell you this:

You should not delete TimeMachine backups yourself like this!

The filesystem on a HD formatted for TimeMachine works differently from what you're normally used to. Without going into too much detail, the main difference is that it uses hard links. That means that files that look like they're a simple copy, are actually just links, pretty much like an Alias that you can create in the Finder. That's how you can see each backup folder as a full mirror of your system (or all files that are backed up) without really having x copies of them (where x is the number of backups taken). This saves disk space (by a lot).

Instead, you should simply let TimeMachine sort this out on its own. Once it runs out of disk space, it automatically starts removing older backups.

Btw, for the same reason you probably don't want to store anything else on the TimeMachine partition. It's simply not a "normal" disk, from the perspective of the average user.

To actually answer: There are several ways to force delete from/clear the trash bin. The first one I'd try is to open it, right-click the problematic file(s) and chose "Delete immediately..." Other methods usually involve Terminal and require some shell knowledge. A quick google search revealed this, which also covers your system version it seems. In short: running

sudo rm -rf /Volumes/YOURTMDRIVE/.Trashes/*

in Terminal should work, but again, I think you shouldn't go down that path anyways. (YOURTMDRIVE would be the name of your TimeMachine volume, watch out for spaces, those must be escaped with a preceding \)

(That being said I don't think you're running risk of ruining anything fatally, but TimeMachine will now probably take a while to fix the backups when it runs the next time).

Last note: You can read up a bit about how TimeMachine works here


How can I change the ownership of the unwritable directories for Homebrew?

I would start with a simpler command.

sudo chown -R 501 /usr/local/share/aclocal

Use a user number instead of name to see if that’s he error. Also, do one directory first to be sure where the error arises. You could even skip the -R if the above command fails to further reduce the variables in play.


Brand new MacBook Pro with Retina display - Mail, Preview and App Store freezes on launch

Found out what it was.

Ink > Write Anywhere was enabled, when it shouldn't. As soon as it was disabled, the affected Apple apps started working again.

I thought it was something to do with the Wacom tablet I bought, but couldn't find any connection. Now I know it was Apple's own Ink software. Maybe I shall report it as a bug.


Great Apple (first and third-party) accessories or peripherals

Smart Cover
Apple's Smart Cover for iPad 2 ($39 for Polyurethane, $69 for leather)

The Smart Cover and iPad 2 were made for each other. Literally. Built-in magnets draw the Smart Cover to iPad for a perfect fit that not only protects, but also wakes up, stands up, and brightens up your iPad. That’s not just smart. It’s genius.


How do I disable iCloud without losing all my photos?

In short, disabling iCloud should keep your photos on your device. To turn it off, navigate to "System Preferences" > "iCloud" and click the "options" button next to "Photos". Deselect "iCloud Photo Library" and "My Photo Stream" (as below).

Note: On iOS turn this off under the iCloud setting, not the Photos & Camera settings.

To answer the question

  ...is there any way to delete my iCloud without deleting all my photos?

Turn iCloud Photo Library off. I have tested this on my Mac and all my photos are still there. You can not delete iCloud because it is a service, not a place or thing. Hence you just stop using it.

If the Mail Man stopped delivering letters, you still get to keep the ones you already have.

  Can I do this, and if so, how?

By definition synchronisation (sync) means to make the same. So iCloud will do whatever it can to make sure all your devices have the same content for everything. This is obviously not what you want.

However, there are three main parts to iCloud photos, not just the syncing bit.

iCloud Photo Library (the syncing one I assume you have enabled – a.k.a sync everything)
My Photo Stream (upload only new photos you have taken to all devices)
iCloud Photo Sharing (upload selected albums).

Think of these as three different services. You want to enable iCloud Photo Sharing so that you may select only the albums you want to keep in sync. As far as I'm aware, iCloud Photo Sharing does not store pictures in iCloud like the photo library does. It says below, this is for sharing with other people, but you can just add yourself when sharing the album.

To share albums

On Mac, select an Album you which to share, then click the share button. Click "iCloud Photo Sharing", then the big plus to add the album. Now just add yourself as a contact in the "invite people" section.

On iOS, there is a little cloud symbol at the bottom of the screen in the "Photos" app labeled "Shared". If it is empty, it will guide you though it.


Export from Notes.app to Markdown format?

Unfortunately the native app does not offer this.

There is an app available for macOS in the App Store called Exporter that offers this. I am not affiliated with the software.

Another option is exporting to PDF in Notes, (File > Export as PDF…), then exporting to Markdown using a website like this one: PDF To Markdown Converter


How to log all files that have been opened?

No a keylogger will only perform a logging of the key you type on your keyboard.

To log all files you open you need a kernel trace function, which will report every open system call. This function is provided by the command
dtrace on MacOS X.

The command opensnoop is a shell script based on dtrace and performing exactly what you are looking for.

I advise you to start by using it in its basic mode:

/usr/bin/sudo opensnoop

And then refine it with the use of grep to eliminate file you are not interested in surveying:

/usr/bin/sudo opensnoop | grep -v /System


Not clear who and what smoked in your question.

I presume the ezig charger got fried since it was overloaded.

A word to the specs:

5 volt is 5 volt,however the problem could be the current.

The iPhone will take as much as it gets up to 1 Amp.

If your ezig charger did not have a current limiter (like the USB on you Mac have) then it got overloaded.

Since you continued charging the iPhone using the Mac USB, you might be OK.


Backup a Time Machine .sparsebundle to Amazon Glacier

The "s3cmd" tool seems to be quite popular for copying files to Amazon Glacier, either manually or via scripts:

https://s3tools.org/s3cmd

You could also use commercial tools such as CloudBerry Backup to automatize synchronizing the Time Machine sparsebundle with Amazon Glacier.


What is the quickest way to unmute the phone app on a locked iPhone?

I've struggled with the same for years--and just discovered an easier way.  Tap the home or power button to get to the lock screen, or on the iPhone 6s or 7 just pick the phone up so the screen "wakes up".

You'll see the phone number you're dialed into and the current call time in mm:ss at the top of the screen.  TAP THE PHONE NUMBER and you'll get the mute/keypad/speaker/add call screen, all without unlocking the phone.


try pressing the home and off button at the same time for about a minute, or longer, and usually that will work. If not the battery may be dead. if it does not work try taking it to a tech shop. usually the first works with mine, still not sure why that happens though.


Download entire iTunes purchase history as CSV file

You asked, "is there any way to script the UI?"  Yes, if you are on a Mac.  You also asked, "Has anyone actually succeeded in doing this?"  Sort of.  My history goes back to 2005, and the iTunes Store session kept timing out, so I had to run it it batches, but the following script does work.  Be aware that it runs very slowly;  simply retrieving the class of an object from iTunes can take almost a second.  I would welcome any performance enhancements anyone can suggest.

This worked on OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 with iTunes 12.3.2.35, and on OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 with iTunes 12.3.2.35, on or around February 28th, 2016.  Any changes Apple makes to the iTunes Store account interface will likely break this script.

In iTunes, go to Store > View Account, log in, scroll to Purchase History and click See All, then, when the screen showing Batch 1 out of N is visible, run the following script in Script Editor:

tell application "System Events"
    set dateString to do shell script "date \"+%Y-%m-%d_%H.%M.%S\""
    log dateString
    set target_file to ((path to documents folder) as text) & dateString & "_iTunes_Purchase_History.txt"
    set myOutput to ""

    set webArea to UI element "loading iTunes store" of splitter group 1 of window "iTunes" of application process "iTunes"
    set batchText to value of first UI element of webArea whose value starts with "Viewing Batch"
    log batchText
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to {" "}
    set num to last text item in batchText
    log num
    set currentNum to text item 3 in batchText
    log currentNum

    repeat num times
        set els to UI elements of webArea
        set ready to false
        set open_target_file to open for access file target_file with write permission
        --repeat with el in els
        repeat with el in els
            set cl to class of el
            if cl is button then
                set myOutput to myOutput & "\n"
            end if
            if cl is static text then
                set val to value of el
                if val starts with "Copyright" then set ready to false
                if ready then set myOutput to myOutput & val & "\t"
                if val is "Total Price" then set ready to true
            end if
        end repeat
        log myOutput
        write myOutput to open_target_file starting at eof
        set myOutput to ""
        close access open_target_file

        click button "Next" of webArea
        repeat
            delay 2
            set batchText to value of first UI element of webArea whose value starts with "Viewing Batch"
            set tempNum to text item 3 in batchText
            if tempNum is not currentNum then
                set currentNum to tempNum
                log currentNum
                exit repeat
            end if
        end repeat
        delay 2
    end repeat
end tell

This produces tab-delimited text, not CSV as the OP requested, but most spreadsheet applications will import it.  Gift purchases seem to mess up the formatting, so it may need some manual curation.

I relied on information at http://n8henrie.com/2013/03/a-strategy-for-ui-scripting-in-applescript/ to learn how to do GUI scripting.


According to an Apple Support page called "Prepare your institution for iOS 10 and macOS Sierra":

  ...you must use the nvram command to properly set boot-args NVRAM variable. Starting with macOS Sierra, you must be booted to the recovery partition to run this command.

But now you can clear the NVRAM with

sudo nvram -c

Then restart for the reset to take effect.

I also have a PC keyboard that doesn't seem able to reset the NVRAM on startup, but I think the real problem is that it's wireless. But this command is easier and more reliable anyway.


Mac won't boot up using Bootcamp after trying to resize partitions

Your Windows installation is probably permanently ruined.

Disk Utility can't resize NTFS partitions correctly. When it tries to, it corrupts some of the data inside. Unfortunately, Windows may not be able to boot anymore.

What you can do, however, is try to mount the partition (usually labeled BOOTCAMP) in macOS and copy whatever important files you have there onto a backup drive or other external/internal storage.

Sorry to say, but Windows may not boot ever again.

I once made this exact mistake and had to reinstall Windows completely.


The other answers here are inaccurate. The correct answer is "sort of"

@MichaelGoerz Comment is correct. There seems to be a bug in iOS where key repeat only works for certain keys instead of all keys as expected. For example backspace will repeat per your settings but "w" won't. I recommend filing a bug report with Apple at https://bugreport.apple.com in an effort to prod them to fix this. This bug is highly irritating especially when using remote desktop tools where holding down a key might be required.

I occurred to me that this may also be by design, an attempt by Apple to be "helpful" by only allowing the most commonly used repeating keys. Due to the fact that the Settings->General->Accessibility->Keyboard->Key Repeat menu makes no mention of this I am treating it as a bug.


How did my iPhone determine the location of Photos when off-line?

That's what GPS is for, which doesn't require data connectivity because, like any GPS receiver, it gets its position data directly from the GPS satellites.


Writing to NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems with defaults

Different ways to add a replacement:

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems -array-add '{on=1;replace=a;with=b;}'

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems -array-add '<dict><key>on</key><integer>1</integer><key>replace</key><string>a</string><key>with</key><string>b</string></dict>'

Different ways to replace the whole list:

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems -array '{on=1;replace=a;with="b \"\\b";}' '{on=1;replace=c;with=d;}'

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems '({on=1;replace=a;with="b \"\\b";},{on=1;replace=c;with=d;})'

defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems '<array><dict><key>on</key><integer>1</integer><key>replace</key><string>a</string><key>with</key><string>b "\b</string></dict><dict><key>on</key><integer>1</integer><key>replace</key><string>c</string><key>with</key><string>d</string></dict></array>'

Quit and reopen applications to apply changes.

Edit: the changes made with defaults are lost if you open the Text tab of the Keyboard preference pane. To prevent it, use a script like this:

date=$(date +%s)
while read -r replace with; do
  plist+="{on=1;replace=\"$replace\";with=\"$with\";},"
  sql+="INSERT INTO 'ZUSERDICTIONARYENTRY' VALUES($((++i)),1,1,0,0,0,0,$date,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,NULL,\"$with\",\"$replace\",NULL);"
done < <(sed 's/\\/\\\\/g;s/"/\\"/g' ~/replacements.txt)
sqlite3 ~/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/$USER~*/UserDictionary/local/store/UserDictionary.db "delete from ZUSERDICTIONARYENTRY;$sql"
defaults write -g NSUserDictionaryReplacementItems "(${plist%?})"

The replacements are saved to ~/Library/Dictionaries/CoreDataUbiquitySupport/$USER~*/UserDictionary/local/store/UserDictionary.db even if iCloud is disabled.


Run the Single User mode with rEFIt installed

Figured it out, have to press F2 when I am in the rEFIt menu, and then select Single USER mode


What do I need to know for setting key combination shortcuts

1. Is there a way to see what key combination is already taken, and for what purpose?

You can see if there is a conflict with your chosen shortcut. From "If a keyboard shortcut doesn’t work":

  Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Keyboard.
  Click Keyboard Shortcuts. A yellow warning triangle appears next to conflicting keyboard shortcuts.

2. Is there a key combination convention or rule for the different modifier keys? What key would be appropriate for what task? (e.g. when would I choose Command or Shift or Option or Ctrl or one of the function keys)

For dictionary lookups, Apple has already defined Ctrl+Cmd+D as "Display the definition of the selected word in the Dictionary app."

The OS X Human Interface Guidelines on Keyboard Shortcuts states the following about when to use these modifier keys and for what purposes. The recommended priority is to use Cmd frequently, use Option sparingly, avoid using Ctrl and use Shift for complementary functions of a common command (of course, you may observe that in certain instances Apple does not follow these guidelines).

Quote from the Keyboard Shortcuts page:

  As much as possible, use the Command key as the main modifier key in a keyboard shortcut. For example, Command-P uses Command to modify the P key. For a command that complements another more common command, you can add Shift to the shortcut. For example, the shortcut for the complementary Page Setup command adds Shift to the shortcut for Print to give Shift-Command-P.

  Use the Option key sparingly. If there’s a third, less common command that’s related to a pair of commands that use Command and Shift-Command, you can use Option-Command for the third command’s keyboard equivalent. Use combinations like these very rarely. You can also use Option for a keyboard shortcut that’s a convenience or power-user feature. For example, the Finder uses Option-Command-W for Close All Windows and Option-Command-M for Minimize All Windows.

  As much as possible, avoid using the Control key. Because the Control key is already used by some of the universal access features—as well as in Cocoa text fields where Emacs-style key bindings are often used—it should be used as a modifier key only when necessary.

  List multiple modifier keys in the correct order. If you use more than one modifier key in a shortcut, always list them in this order: Control, Option, Shift, Command.


Open homebrew version of emacs instead of Apple version

The problem was that emacs was still hashed, so the old version was used even after installing the new one.
Therefore,

$ type emacs
emacs is hashed (/usr/bin/emacs)

This can be remedied by either logging out and then back in again, or forcing the shell to rehash by running hashemacs, which will result in

$ type emacs
emacs is hashed (/usr/local/bin/emacs)

Then, the correct version will be used.


Block opening of DMG files by non-admin user

Here is a solution that may work for you.

Paste this following AppleScript code into a new ScriptEditor.app document then save it as a .scpt file "AutoEjectFolderAction.scpt" to your /Users/your user name/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions/ ...folder

on adding folder items to theFolder after receiving theNewItems
    -- Add Names of Any USB, Flash Drive, or Disk Image to allow to be mounted
    set allowedDisks to {"Time Machine Backups", "Parallels Desktop 13.2.0 (43213)"} -- examples to be allowed
    tell application "Finder"
        set ejectableDisks to disks whose ejectable is true and local volume is true and name is not in allowedDisks
        eject ejectableDisks
    end tell
end adding folder items to

That new .scpt file will now be used as a folder action that we will attach to the folder... /Volumes

Now every time A new disk image gets mounted, it will trigger the folder action which will run the script that will automatically eject it.


How do I format a usb drive on a PC or Mac?

It’s quite simple. Note that reformatting the thumb drive will erase all it’s contents.

Open Disk Utility. It’s located in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Or just type in “Disk Utility" in Spotlight.
Select the drive (not the volume), and click the “Partition” tab.
Select “1 partition” from the drop down. Then click Options… > select “Master Boot Record” as the partition scheme
Format: exFat
Give it a name.
Click apply, and you are done.

Notes:

If you want the USB drive to be universally compatible, format it as exFAT/FAT32. The standard nowadays is exFAT. It supports files of up to 16 exabytes in size. FAT32 only supports 4 GB files. Additionally, in a windows environment, the FAT32 filesystem is subject to more fragmentation.
If you want to use it exclusively on your PC, reformat it as NTFS in Windows on your PC (you can reformat as exFAT and FAT32 in Windows as well). An NTFS filesystem is read only in an OS X environment. OS X’s Disk Utility does not offer this as an option.
Others may suggest just to click the erase tab. This does not properly reformat the disk since the partition table isn’t modified.


Applications in OSX Yosemite independently freeze then execute simultaneously

I've been having this problem with my Mac Mini as well. I'm running with 10 gigs ran and just recently Secure wiped the entire disk and started over. Do you have this problem with safari? With the most recent glitchiness I have decided to try out Safari and it runs a whole lot smoother over there compared to Chrome.

Also are you using a disk drive or a solid-state drive in your Mac? I have a disk drive and I believe that's one reason why the Applications have been running a lot slower because whenever chrome is open it will attempt to cache its way all the way through your RAM no matter how much you have (recently I saw a complaint in a forum showing chrome had taken up 56 GB of their Mac pros ram). When chrome does this, you end up getting pushed into the swap area on your disk where disk drives really do struggle.

My guess for MS Word: Now that most of the modern machines or using solid-state drives, Developers are starting to safely assume that the user most likely will be using this as well and start sending resources back to the hard drive instead of RAM so they have more room to work with. This new method slows everything down as well if you're using a disk drive.


What options are there for dealing with MacBook Pro palm rejection problem?

Try turning off “tap to click”. It doesn’t solve palm rejection entirely, but at least your palm will stop clicking elsewhere in the document causing your input to be out of order etc.


Microsoft Remote Desktop Keychain access

I solved it by deleting the username/password settings from MS Remote Desktop Preferences. After adding them again, it works.


Streaming with Videos app fills Other memory

I have the same Issue and was a long time in contact with Apple Developers over the Apple Bugreporter. At the moment there is no "fine" way to delete the "Others" Memory on your Device.

My Bug is marked as Dublicate - so we only can hope for an Apple Solution.

I'll stay tuned and but here some news (if there are some)


How to create MacOS/*nix command explainer text like this using a tool?

That's my answer! I did it manually, but used PressAndHold.app (built into macOS) to speed up entering the box drawing characters. The text was abridged from the man page manually.

By customising PressAndHold.app keys, basically editing /System/L*/Inp*/Pr*/*/P*/*/*/R*/ to add box drawing characters, I can type the characters directly into the text field whether here on SE or elsewhere.

Add the following to your language's keyboard file within that folder, such as ‘Keyboard-en.plist’ for an English keyboard layout. Open the plist with a text editor to paste the XML below, or open with Xcode and manually create the dictionary, pasting values as necessary. Replace ‘f’ with the key you wish to use. You can then insert box drawing characters by holding down the key and then selecting a number, or if you have a Touch Bar the keys appear there too with High Sierra.

<!-- f: box drawing characters -->
<key>Roman-Accent-f</key>
<dict>
  <key>Direction</key>
  <string>right</string>
  <key>Keycaps</key>
  <string>─ │ ┌ ┐ └ ┘ ├ ┬ ┤ ┴ ┼</string>
  <key>Strings</key>
  <string>─ │ ┌ ┐ └ ┘ ├ ┬ ┤ ┴ ┼</string>
</dict>


The MacBook Pro from early 2011 will support 16GB of ram. The Macbook Pro 15" (non-retina) were sold with a maximum upgradeable ram of 8GB from the factory. However you can check OWC with your exact model number and confirm that it supports 16Gb.

OWC states the models that support 16GB here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_1333MHz_SDRAM

To get your exact model id follow those steps: (Lion instructions also apply for mountain lion)


From my personal experience, Yosemite isn't really too bad in terms of bugginess. It's quite unlikely that you will suffer data loss, but take backups as always. I have had no more problems running on Yosemite than Mavericks (aside from some cosmetic issues related to Dark Mode and reducing transparency).

That said, it really depends on what you use for web development. TextMate, iTerm, and Xcode work really well, but if you've got another IDE running you might want to  wait until you know it works well with Yosemite. I'm also a big fan of Alfred and Karabiner, both of which have official support for it.

Also, what reason do you have to run Yosemite? Even if it is low risk, it isn't worth the trouble to just be able to use the flashy new GUI.

The legal limitations are pretty severe, however:

  […] don’t blog, post screen shots, tweet or publicly post information about the pre-release Apple software, and don't discuss the pre-release Apple software with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the OS X Beta Program.

In a work environment it's going to be difficult to avoid discussing or demonstrating it to people not in the program.

So in this instance, it's probably a good idea to wait until 10.10 is publicly released, as Apple also warns against using it on production machines or business-critical ones.


Modifying .plist with shell changes .plist order

The order of key value pairs within a Property List, plist, dictionary structure is not specified and can not be relied upon.

Ideally, your application needs to parse the property list without relying on the order of the dictionary pairs.

If the order is critical to your application, consider changing the property list structure to an array of dictionaries; where each dictionary contains a single key value pair.

If you can not change your application, and the property list is formatted as XML, then you may want to investigate other command line XML manipulation tools.


Mac Pro 4,1 (Early 2009) Sierra Compatibility?

Though the Mac Pro 4,1 won't run Sierra, the Mac Pro 5,1 will.

Apparently, the Sierra installer only looks for the 5,1 firmware, not the 2009 tag.

The thing about the 4,1 & 5,1 is they are so similar, it's possible to turn one into the other with a simple firmware update.

I have never personally done this, mine was bought already upgraded. The original hack is at http://forum.netkas.org/index.php/topic,852.msg5004.html#msg5004 Which links to a user-made utility to allow this to be changed in both directions, 4,1 to 5,1 & back again. It apparently uses the official Apple Firmware updater as part of the process.
You can pre-empt the download by fetching the 5,1 firmware first, directly from Apple

There are 69 pages of comments... which, honestly,  I haven't read. Early theories were that this would allow the machine to use Westmere CPUs - which is now known to be true.

From page 68, this is apparently the process for El Capitan...

  Boot into recovery mode and disable SIP since I'm running El Capitan
  Reboot
  Mount the MacProEFIUpdate dmg (for 5.1)
  Run MacEFIRom's utility.
  Shutdown and power back up by holding the power button until light flashes and beep sounds
  Verify Boot ROM Version: MP51.007F.B03
  Boot into recovery mode and enable SIP
  Reboot
  Reset PRAM

Just to prove it does work, screenshots from my own machine, originally, I think, a Nehalem 4-core, now a Westmere dual 6-core

From Apple KB: About EFI and SMC firmware updates for Intel-based Mac computers

And a comfirmation image from the netkas thread...


I believe that currently the only way to do this is by setting the Album Artist. Considering that you only need to set the Album Artist for albums that you are having problems with, and that you only need to copy and paste the artist name once for each album, it doesn't seem very tedious.


After a lot of searching and much cursing, I think that this is really a problem that practically nobody is aware of or concerned about.  Still, I was able to find a solution, it's not great, but it should work.  The idea is to mount the DMG in a known directory with some random name -- this name (the last element in the -mountpoint path) will be the name property of the disk.  So using this I walk over all of the disks and look for ones with a matching name -- complain if I find none or more than one, otherwise, I have the needed object ready to work with.

mnt="some-random-name-$$"
hdiutil attach -readwrite -noverify -noautoopen \
               -mountpoint "/tmp/$mnt" "/tmp/out.dmg"
/usr/bin/osascript <<-EOF
      tell application "Finder"
        set myDisks to every disk of desktop
        set theDMGDisk to ""
        repeat with d in myDisks
          if name of d = "$mnt"
            if theDMGDisk = ""
              set theDMGDisk to d
            else
              error "Too many attached DMGs found!"
            end if
          end if
        end repeat
        if theDMGDisk = "" then error "Attached DMG not found!"
        -- found a single matching disk, continue
        tell theDMGDisk
... etc ...


iPhone calendar "+" button to add events grayed out

I have Iphone 4s and this happens once or twice a year.I ignore signing in my emaail account when asked.This time I signed in to my account as if I wanted to send to my Calender and the plus sign turned back to red and now works.I don't normally sync to my account.I just keep info on phone.


Use Siri to play currently selected podcast in Overcast

As of now Overcast does not have support for Siri functions.


Can someone help me to translate this automator workflow to applescript?

You can use a "Run Shell Script" action and sips to downscale your pictures to any value. Add a "Run Shell Script" action, make sure the input method is set to "stdin" (should be the default) and insert the following script

SCALEFACTOR=500
while IFS= read file; do
    sips --resampleWidth $(($(sips -g pixelWidth "$file" |
                                  sed -n -e '/pixelWidth/s/.*pixelWidth: //p')
                            * $SCALEFACTOR / 1000)) "$file" --out "${file%/*}/resized-${file##*/}"
done

Shell arithmetic only supports integer values, so you'll have to specify the scale factor in thousands (e.g. 424 for 42.4%)


Syncing a music directory with a device when the device doesn't have enough space

When you create a smart playlist, you can select another playlist or folder as source, there you can personalize how would the selection of songs be done, etc.


What kind of adapter do I need to connect this external monitor?

If you register your Mac with iCloud / AppleID and then use the iOS Apple Store app - it shows compatible adapters. Two I know that work well are the Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter adapter and another is the Belkin USB-C to HDMI Adapter

https://store.apple.com/xc/product/MUF82AM/A
https://store.apple.com/xc/product/HKQ22ZM/A

Monoprice also has great value and quality adapters in general, but I’ve not tested these specific ones yet.


If one reset of the SMC doesn't restore the function, you've done all the triage except for one last ditch option before hardware repair or dropping an USB BTLE adapter on.

Install a clean new 10.14 Mojave installation onto an external drive and let it update the firmware and then test without any user data migration or app installations. A total clean OS install can sometimes restore the drivers or state of the adapter if it's hung up and not a hardware issue.
Hardware repair is likely going to be costly so I've had very good luck with all manner of BTLE 4.0 dongles that use USB connectors. They cost $9 or so for good quality - try and look for one that says Mac compatible or buy from a company that accepts returns or can offer pre-sales assurance your chosen macOS will work. OWC is a good solid Mac centric vendor but I don't see them stocking, so this Amazon search should get you going: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=btle+dongle


VMware fast for first user, sluggish for second

How do I go about debugging the problem?

Passing VM images around is tricky business. The image is often created with hypervisor extensions that take advantage of specific hardware features on the machine where the VM was created. If you're not using precisely the same hardware (especially the same CPU) the VM can run slowly or even crash your host OS or lock up your CPU.

I'd start with getting the VM back to an initial state:

Delete all the snapshots in the VM
Power down the guest OS so it's "off", not just suspended
Bring up the Virtual Machine Library window (Shift+Cmd+L) and select the VM
Click the Wrench icon in the toolbar to bring up the settings window for this VM
Select 'Advanced' and make sure the preferred virtualization engine is set to 'Automatic' and that hard disk buffering is also set to 'Automatic'
Click 'Show All' to return to the main settings
Click 'Compatibility' and make sure the VM's compatibility is set to be with the version of VMWare you're running or higher (in my case that's Fusion 4 or higher) so you don't need legacy VM capabilities maintained
Click 'Show All' and return to the main settings
Click 'Display' and make sure 3D graphic acceleration is on. If it cannot be turned on this is a pretty good hint that the VM was created with another chipset and really isn't compatible with your machine.
Click 'Show All' and return to the main settings
Click 'General' and then press the 'Clean Up Virtual Machine' button. This will get rid of all the extra cruft from snapshots and get you back to a nice clean VM image state.
Click 'Show All' and return to the main settings
Click 'Processors & RAM' and set these to suit your needs. You need at least 1 processor, but if you have a multi-core machine you could set this higher. Ideally you wouldn't ever set the number of processors in the VM to any more than Physical Cores in the Machine - 1. That way your physical machine always has one core to itself. RAM should be set to at least the recommended value. If you have a lot of RAM in the machine you can increase this but don't go too crazy with it.
Now power up the VM and do a re-install of the VMWare Tool (Virtual Machine -> Reinstall VMWare Tools...).

Other things to consider:

The VM should be on fast disk. This usually means your primary drive in your machine. If it's on a USB-attached disk or a network attached drive performance will suffer.
You can't both use the VM image at the same time. I say this in case you have it on a shared drive and you're both trying to run it at the same time. You have to make your own, unique copies of the image.
Check the Task Manager in the VM to see what's running. Maybe you have a process or two that's going off the rails and eating up all the VM CPU. If that's the case  you're in to a straight why-is-this-process-misbehaving-in-Windows type question and you'd need to take it to http://superuser.com I suspect.

If this doesn't get the VM in to a useable state it's likely that your hardware and the hardware the VM was created on are too far apart in compatibility for you to pass the VM around.


Suddenly see "get the latest update to continue using skype" in Skype. Will it stop working by April 2020?

Are you required to update Skype or it will stop working?  Yes.

From their Support FAQ

  Do I have to update to the latest version?
  Yes. Support for Skype version 7 and below will end on November 1, 2018 on desktop devices and November 15, 2018 on mobile and tablet devices. When support ends, we’ll begin requiring updates to the latest version

I know this first hand as I had a VM with an old snap shot that had an out of date Skype client - 8.1, I believe. It didn’t connect until I updated it.  Additionally, I ran across this thread on the Microsoft Forums.

  Why does Skype stop working after MINOR update?
  For example, several days ago I updated Skype to version 8.27 at several computers.  Today Skype stops running at those computers because version 8.28 was releasing.

Generally speaking, Microsoft has changed its update policy to make sure everyone is running the latest and greatest.   Most of the time it works, but I still prefer to be in control.  I can’t tell you how many times I updated my laptop the night before a presentation only to be presented with an updating screen just as I was about to present or demo.


Is there a gesture to navigate back to previous page in iPad 2 (or the new iPad)?

Safari on a standard iPad does not have a gesture for returning to the previous page.


Display Issues for Early 2011 Macbook Pro

This is almost certainly a hardware problem.  To determine whether it's the screen or the graphics card/motherboard you can plug in an external monitor.  If you get the same problem on the external monitor then it's likely a fault with the graphics card/motherboard, if you don't get the same issue on the external screen then there's a problem with your MacBook's display.

Since it's an early 2011 model it should still be in warranty.  I'd bring it to an Apple store and have it checked out for repair or replacement.  On the plus side, you may get a brand new MacBook out of it.


You change the script - or better use a build system makefile, cmake, waf etc to have the full path to the C++ compiler and not rely on the $PATH.

Alternatively see of the package has been ported to Homebrew and use that or if only to fink or MAcPorts see how they changed the script.

Lastly make the build as a Homebrew formula making use of Homebrew's own build tools


Unable to double tap on the trackpad to highlight multiple words in macOS Mojave

Although not specific to Mojave, this link helped me out.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6295852

System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse & Trackpad > Trackpad Options > "Enable dragging" [without drag lock].


Which key is Num Lock on an Apple keyboard in Windows?

Under Boot Camp, it's the Clear ⌧ button, according to Apple's documentation.

That makes some sense, at least, because that key is where Num Lock normally lives on other keyboards.

(Note: I don't have the same keyboard to test with, but I'm guessing this document isn't actually Boot Camp-specific; it's just a guide to how the keys are mapped under Windows.)


How to make finder launch to the previously closed location, on startup?

Here is the solution to the OS Mojave, Finder problem

Click on top-left Apple icon
Then click on System Preferences
Then General
And then uncheck the box saying, "Close windows when quitting an app"
It will save your session of Finder and when you restart your system it will show you last opened tabs of the session

  NOTE: before Shut Down or Restart of the system, don't close the
  Finder


Why does the desktop Hard drive icon keep moving?

It looks like your hidden .DS_Store file in your Desktop is corrupted, which will cause this issue for sure.

You can restore this by using Terminal.

Open Terminal.app
Type cd Desktop
Type ls -aF
Now, if you see a list of all your Desktop items, you're in the right place. And make sure you check whether or not the .DS_Store file is there
Now, type rm -i .DS_Store
When you're prompted hit 'y'
Log out and in again

Mac OS X should have rebuild this file and your icons should be ok. Let me know if you have any issues with the steps, I'm glad to help you.


AppleScript call function in IF statement

Your If statement isn't checking out.
Change "is equal to" to "contains", it should catch it.
if selectedoption contains "demo one" then
    notification()
end if


Multi-monitor: spaces thumbnails on external monitor missing

Restarting your Dock should do the trick. To do so just open the Activity Monitor, type dockand press End Process.


Just make sure you remember to activate the text area you want to type in by clicking on it first, condition yourself to be aware of what is active.

Pay attention to which application is active

[insert image of Mac OS x application bar]
Pay attention to which window in an application is active, notice the differences in title bar color and transparency.

[insert image of window active differences in an os x app]
Pay attention to what and if any text input areas are selected and ready for text input.

[insert image of blinking input cursor -->| in text area ]
Be redundant and just click if you don't want to do the above observations.

This seems to crop up since scrolling works with out having to click on the window / content, and I think this leads us into a confused state that we have activated the app / window by placing the cursor over it and scrolling.

However that is not the case since scrolling a window by just mouse-ing over does not change which program was originally active. And to enter text or do other command actions that still requires that you tell Mac OS where your intending your input to go other wise it remembers the last active place selected.

And actually for other OS's this is a feature, called focus follow pointer or mouse but unfortunatly is not really implemented at a system wide level on OS X according to comments and feedback noted here Focus-follows-mouse (plus auto-raise) on Mac OS X. So it is not something you can easily enable in system preferences, and as far as I can tell no 3rd party App exist to add this functionality to OS X.

There are some defaults work arounds for certain apps to allow windows in those certain apps to be activated on mouse over, but unfortunately there does not seem to be a system wide option for OS X.


Multiple Desktops, how to have them be different?

@Confused I too had the same issue. I wanted different desktops for different projects. So, I made an Python/Applescript app which allows you to have multiple desktops in the "true sense" that you refer to:

http://www.shirt-ediss.me/clarity/

It should serve your purpose, but please see the "Tips" sections for caveats with my approach. It works simply by moving files and folders from the Desktop to a storage folder, and recording their icon positions. This means that this desktop can be restored to exactly the same state later. There is still only one Desktop/ folder on the Mac, and Mission Control works just as it did before.

I now have about 20 different desktops and switch between them all of the time - great for productivity.


Using 2 displays on late 2011 Macbook Pro

Officially your MacBook Pro is only capable of simultaneously outputting a video feed to the internal display and a single external monitor.

However, there are a number of USB display adapters that will allow you to support a second external display.

USB Display Adapters

These are USB to VGA or USB to DVI adapters. Some of these support up to a maximum resolution of 1920x1200 or 2048x1152.

These three are guaranteed to work on Apple Macs and support a maximum resolution up to 2048x1152:

Kensington Multi Display Adapter USB 3.0
IOGear USB 3.0 to DVI External Video Card
OWC USB to DVI/HDMI/VGA Adapter

These adapters work in by compressing and decompressing the video signal in order to utilise the limited bandwidth provided by USB 2.0 or USB 3.0.

However, you should be aware that there are limitations to USB Display Adapters. Namely they do not support OpenGL 3D hardware acceleration and you are likely to notice a lag.

If you're intention was to use these for gaming or animation/video editing, I'd say forget about it.  But with your music production software it may be fine as the emphasis will be on the audio side of things, especially if you keep your graphics intensive work limited to the other display connected via the Thunderbolt port.

As far as how well a hub will go trying to connect to another display as well as your MIDI keyboard and a mouse, your success will depend on the quality of the hub and ensuring that it's also got its own power source.

A better option may be to also get a hub that connects to your Thunderbolt port that connects the display and also provides an additional USB port for example.


Is it possible to run Internet Explorer on OS X El Capitan?

You can use a virtual machine and then use the images provided by Microsoft for use in testing older versions of IE. Requires no cost and you can delete it when you've finished using the site.

For free you can use VirtualBox, and then use one of the images from Microsoft.


Why does the SMS bubble only appear next to some numbers but not others?

How is the android phone number labeled? The SMS bubble shows up if the device is labeled as mobile or iPhone. Otherwise, it is unable to determine if it's a mobile phone that can accept SMS messages or a landline.

The email addresses shows up as iMessage of FaceTime if they are tied to an appropriate Apple ID.


What is the architecture CAD app that was shown in the iPad Pro video

I think the app you're referring to is BIMx, our building information viewer app that lets you interact with and explore architectural CAD drawing files on iOS.


Multiple bluetooth devices connected to an iPhone?

Yes they will work at the same time! Apple recognizes that one is a health device and the other is a listening device so u are able to use both at the and time!! I speak from experience because I sometimes have 3 devices connected at the same time (Headphones, Apple Watch, Health Device)


Upgrade to High Sierra installed version of Fuse too old for OS

If you are not aware of any app needing FUSE you can remove it. You should see an icon in System Preferences for FUSE. You can remove or update from there:

See also: FUSE for macOS website


You should try iExplorer for macOS and Windows. At $40 it is a bit pricy, but it is a virtual Swiss Army knife of an app for iOS devices. Worth every penny.

(Disclaimer: I'm a very satisfied user of iExplorer for macOS. No financial ties between me and Macroplant LLC.)


Is it possible to disable Personal Hotspot on iPhones with a configuration profile?

As of iOS 9.2, there is no way to disable the Personal Hotspot feature through Configuration Profiles.

The best you can do at the moment is to use an MDM server to report on the status of the Personal Hotspot feature and manually instruct users to switch it off, or arrange to disable it through your carrier.


I am assuming that you got a flashing folder with a question mark similar to this:

That means your Mac cannot find the boot loader.

Now, since you said that you were able to go into disk utility, you already know how to boot into Recovery Mode.  What I am assuming you saw when you were working in Disk Utility is something similar to this:

The SuperDrive being greyed out is probably because the drive is empty.  disk0 is typically the disk drive in your Mac.  Mac OS X Base System is more than likely a partition on disk0

Do this:

Hold down the Option while powering on your Mac.  If there is a bootable partition, it will be listed (other than the recovery partition).  If so, boot into it.

Once you have booted, check to see what you have selected as your startup disk (Preferences --> Startup Disk)


How do I manually add a URL as a bookmark in Safari?

Add a new bookmark (any site will do)
Navigate to Bookmarks -> Edit Bookmarks in the menu bar
Find the bookmark you just added and edit the URL/Title


Boot Camp Control Panel macOS partition doesn't show up

Since High Sierra, the macOS partition is formatted APFS. Due to what I presume is an oversight by Apple, the Boot Camp Control Panel only looks for HFS+ partitions as suitable startup disks. Therefore macOS partition won’t show in Boot Camp Control Panel since High Sierra.

To set macOS as default, use the Startup Disk preference pane in macOS System Preferences, or hold control as you select the disk from Startup Manager (the alt boot menu).


What is the default function for a play/pause media key?

It appears that there is a Gist on GitHub using USB Overdrive and a Windows Keyboard that addresses how to map the media keys the way you want to. Configure media keys on a non-Apple keyboard to control Spotify via AppleScript and USB Overdrive on OSX.

If you scroll down to ludalex addition to the Gist, they have added an Applescript that can identify either iTunes or Spotify and assign the Play/Pause key press to the correct app.


Prevent a Mac from waking up from keyboard or mouse?

The solution I can offer is to use Sleepwatcher and add the following to your ~/.wakeup script:

#!/bin/bash

WR=`syslog | grep -i "Wake reason =" | tail -1 | awk '{ print $11 }'`

if [[ "$WR" =~ EHC[0-9] ]]; then
    pmset sleepnow
fi

This won't prevent your Mac from waking via keyboard or mouse. It will however sleep the computer immediately after it is woken via keyboard, mouse, or any other USB device.

According to an anonymous user this works for some versions of OS X (e.g. Mavericks):

#!/bin/bash

WR=`syslog | grep -i "Wake reason:" | tail -1 | awk '{ print $11 }'`

if [[ "$WR" =~ EHC[0-9] ]]; then
    pmset sleepnow
fi


What's the advantage of buying an iMac over building a Hackintosh?

If your intention of buying a iMac/Hackintosh is to use it for a long term, then go for the iMac (or the Mac Mini/Macbook/Macbook pro with an external monitor). If it is for just playing around, experimenting or learning OSX internals(as @shpokas
 mentioned), or using for a relatively short term, the hackintosh is just fine.

If you think the iMac is too expensive for you, then hackintosh is definitely not the way to go, IMHO, I do not see any ROI in the hackintosh.


When using Internet Sharing is there any danger of IP address conflicts with the parent network?

In general yes and no. With your example of Thunderbolt in and WiFi sharing it's more likely you are in the "no" camp.

The yes is you are bridging more than one device in on the network connection and this warning is provided by Apple in the help:

  WARNING: If your Internet connection and your local network use the same port (Ethernet, for example), investigate possible side effects before you turn on Internet sharing. In some cases, sharing your Internet connection disrupts the network. If you use a cable modem, for example, you might unintentionally affect the network settings of other ISP customers, and your ISP might terminate your service.

The no is when you share from one adapter to another you are being more safe since the DHCP/DNS effects of the added load on the main network since you are operating a new subnet and operating like a router as opposed to switching / bridging in all the connections to the main network.

In practice, you will get error messages and the network will fail should you overlap network segments and have IP conflicts. This is more likely if you specify static IP and netmask as opposed to letting DHCP handle things.

You'll also want to be sure you're using Private Network ranges (also known as non-routable or RFC1918) on IPv4. If you can move to IPv6 you will have more freedom and less chance of overlap but that's a bit more involved than a simple post here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_network


Use an old driver (for OSX 10.3) in a new mac (OSX 10.8/9)

You are in luck. Your printer is supported by the Gutenprint open source printer drivers.

http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php

Install these and you should be OK. You may find not all functions of the printer are supported but usually with Gutenprint they come close.