OS updates on a MacBook without Apple ID

Yes and no. Upgrades can require an ID, updates do not.
With an MDM, you can push out most apps and updates without any Apple ID needed on the machines. Also in the yes, many but not all OS updates are pushed from the device channel and not the user channel of the App Store.
No for some cases if the machine is older. It really depends on exactly which Mac you have and which specific build of OS you want to install and if you install it from an already set up user account or if you install from recovery.

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

The easiest way to check is to go to this page in Safari browser and then try to download whichever OS installer you want.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211683

Another less easy way to test is to use recovery and reinstall the OS on top of your existing one. You will quickly know if that machine needs an Apple ID (less likely) or if it’s in the clear (more likely). You only lose some time with this test as the programs and data remain x especially if you pick to reinstall the same OS version and do not upgrade.


Using hotcorners to move between spaces/desktops

If you have a magic mouse with gestures turned on you can two finger swipe left or right to scroll through the desktops.


Numbers - multiple conditions in an if statement

IF(AND(day(now()) > 28,day(now()) < 1), A1 + B1, A2 + B2)

The full user guide is available here.


Apple did not change your Gmail profile picture. What is (likely) actually happening is the following:

When you add a Gmail account to Mail.app, you can choose to sync contacts with Google. (It might even do it by default. I am not sure because it has been years since I set it up.) If you do so, all of the contacts in Contacts (Address Book) on your Mac will be sent to Google, including the contact that represents you. If you did not set up a specific contact for yourself in Mac Contacts, Apple did so and for that contact, the picture would have been the one used for your Mac user account.

When the contacts synced to Google, the one with your name, email and the hawk picture was sent along with it. Google reads your contacts and displays the icon from your contacts, NOT your Gmail/Google+ profile picture, next to the Reply/Forward box.

To test this, confirm you have a contact in your Gmail account that has your email address in it, and that it has that picture. Delete that contact and the picture next to the Reply/Forward box should return to normal. You can prevent this going forward by changing the picture for your entry in Contacts on your Mac.


How do I launch an app at boot/startup on Sierra?

Service/app launch while booting is usually done with launchd and launch daemons controlled by launchctl. It depends on the app/executable and the environment if such a launch daemon is possible or not. A lot of GUI apps require a login session and the method doesn't work.

After inspecting GoCD you can either download a zip file or an "OS X/macOS app" version of the server. The server is started with a shell script in both cases: either explicitly in the zip version or implicitly with "Go Server.app/Contents/MacOS/go-server".

Go with the zip file, unzip it and move the resulting folder to /usr/local. Link the folder /usr/local/go-server-16.10.0 to /usr/local/:

ln -s /usr/local/go-server-16.10.0 /usr/local/go-server

Create a launch daemon with sudo nano /Library/LaunchDaemon/org.goserver.start.plistand the content

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>org.goserver.start</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/bin/bash</string>
        <string>/usr/local/go-server/server.sh</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/org.goserver.start.stderr</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/org.goserver.start.stdout</string>
</dict>
</plist>

Change owner and permissions of the file if necessary:

sudo chown root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.goserver.start.plist
sudo chmod 644 /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.goserver.start.plist

Modify /usr/local/go-server-16.10.0/server.sh to your needs. You should set a different log directory in line 85 or a log file will be created in the root directory. Check other variables and paths (like $JAVA_HOME, YOURKIT_PATH, $PID_FILE etc) in the shell script and modify them according to your needs/environment. Here it worked out-of-the-box - but I didn't test it thoroughly.

Then start the launch daemon with:

sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.goserver.start.plist

Check /tmp/org.goserver.start.stderr for launchd errors. If the launch daemon runs well you may remove the part:

    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/org.goserver.start.stderr</string>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/tmp/org.goserver.start.stdout</string>

from the plist.

The method should work accordingly with the GoAgent. The start of the agent is done with agent.sh. Use a second plist with a different plist and label name of course: org.goagent.start.plist/org.goagent.start.

You probably have to add a condition in the agent's plist so that the agent is started after the server is running.

I tried the same with the "OS X" app but I failed to eliminate all errors.


iPhone Facebook integration overrides local contact names

Just to give post-iOS 7 input, the contact situation is still problematic. If a Facebook friend changes their last name to something else (or uses a joke name), it will cause sync problems with your contacts.

You can “Link” contact cards together (edit one contact, go to the bottom, hit Link Contacts, and connect it to another card). This usually keeps the contact info connected even if the name on Facebook changes, but in my own, personal experience, contact sync errors happen when it tries to update from Facebook when you have a poor cell/wifi connection. But that may be unrelated.

A side note: I found a bug in iOS 7 though; when you link personal cards (i.e. your information from Facebook to your personal card that Siri uses), deleting duplicate or outdated fields will cause the Contacts or Phone app to crash. So if you link your own contact cards together and have to make an edit, you have to unlink them first.


A netsh counterpart for manipulating network settings would be the networksetup command, but to achieve what you want, the easiest would be to define two separate network locations in GUI, one with static IP, the other one with DHCP. Then execute:

# scselect
Defined sets include: (* == current set)
   02080D27-B377-4942-BB3A-CF0C8F049F9E (static IP)
 * 0F27B96E-9B5A-4FAE-B639-C374BD77C1A6 (DHCP)

Take note of the GUID and execute the following to switch:

# scselect 02080D27-B377-4942-BB3A-CF0C8F049F9E

You can write a more friendly script with grep and sed to suit your taste.


How can I identify which application I have installed for mouse gestures?

The app that creates this mouse gesture path is called Jitouch.
It creates the gesture path when drawing a gesture with two fingers on the trackpad AND when using the middle mouse button of a classic computer mouse.


My first instinct is to suggest using IMAP and just keeping all your mail etc on the server. Then it is as simple as using Thunderbird or another Mac compatible mail client up to date with your email accounts.

However, I am assuming you have a reason to not go this route. An alternative would be to use Outlook for Mac if you're familiar with Outlook and wish to keep using it (and are okay with shelling out a little bit of money for it). I would like to believe that Microsoft kept compatibility with pst files alive in the transition.


iMac 2008 (24") Running Windows x64 BootCamp - NVIDIA Driver Crashes Everything

this is Gidoza (original poster) I'm just responding from elsewhere so don't mind the name change.  :)

I have Mac OSX El Capitan - it originally worked fine, and I installed Windows 7 x64 through that.  I used the standard BootCamp software that could be downloaded for this brand of computer, the latest version...I don't recall which one that is though.

Sorry, but I don't know what a BIOS or an EFI is.


Catalina update 10.15.4 freezes with 5 min. remaining

Something was clearly borked on the target SSD, as after finding and booting from an external Catalina startup disk, I could reinstall Catalina on the original disk, and all is well. Possibly something with the nested APSF volume chain?


How to solve the "Connection Unsuccessful" when trying to connect iPhone to Mac Book Pro via bluetooth?

Using the Mac's keyboard as an external keyboard for the iPhone over Bluetooth is, unforunately, not supported.

You would need third party software on the Mac and special apps that support this third part software for something like that to work. I don't know of any such software in existence today.


Can iPad be hacked if password's security is questionable?

Assuming you have the Find my iPad enabled, one can use that feature (from another device while knowing your password) to lock it remotely.

  Activation Lock.

  Activation Lock is designed to prevent anyone from using your iPhone,
  iPad, or iPod touch if you ever lose your device. It starts working
  the moment you turn on Find My iPhone. From then on, your Apple ID and
  password will be required before anyone can turn off Find My iPhone,
  erase your device, or reactivate it. This can help you keep your
  device secure, even if it’s in the wrong hands.


Creating a Bridged Network Connection in Terminal

Here is an interesting solution to share internet with a layer-2 bridge but without using NAT/DHCP (not required)/Internet Sharing Pref Panel at all:

Create a shell script ethernet-bridge.sh in /usr/local/sbin with the following content:

#! /bin/sh
# ######################################
#  coded by Nat!
#  2013 Mulle kybernetiK
#  GPL

command=${1:-start}
shift
proxyarp=${1:-no}
shift

start()
{
        sysctl -w net.inet.ip.forwarding=1
        sysctl -w net.inet.ip.fw.enable=1
        if [ "$proxyarp" != "no" ]
        then
                sysctl -w net.link.ether.inet.proxyall=1
        fi

        ifconfig bridge0 create
        ifconfig bridge0 addm en0
        ifconfig bridge0 addm en1
        ifconfig bridge0 up
        if [ $? -eq 0 ]
        then
                syslog -s "Ethernet Bridge is up"
        else
                syslog -s "Ethernet Bridge failure"
        fi
}

stop()
{
        ifconfig bridge0 destroy

        sysctl -w net.inet.ip.forwarding=0
        sysctl -w net.inet.ip.fw.enable=0
        sysctl -w net.link.ether.inet.proxyall=0

        syslog -s "Ethernet Bridge is down"
}

case "$command" in
        start*) start
                ;;

        stop*)  stop
                ;;
esac

and make it executable:

chmod 755 /usr/local/sbin/ethernet-bridge.sh

Then put the following XML into /Library/LaunchDaemons as com.ethernet-bridge.plist

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

<plist version="1.0">
    <dict>
        <key>Label</key>
        <string>com.ethernet-bridge.plist</string>
        <key>ProgramArguments</key>
        <array>
            <string>/usr/local/sbin/ethernet-bridge.sh</string>
        </array>
        <key>UserName</key>
        <string>root</string>
        <key>GroupName</key>
        <string>wheel</string>
        <key>RunAtLoad</key>
        <true/>
        <key>LaunchOnlyOnce</key>
        <true/>
    </dict>
</plist>

Then modify the file and load it:

sudo chmod 644 /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.ethernet-bridge.plist
sudo chown root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.ethernet-bridge.plist
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.ethernet-bridge.plist

The plist will enable the bridge mode while booting.

Check with ifconfig -a if the bridge is visible.

To stop the bridge mode just enter:

sudo /usr/local/sbin/ethernet-bridge.sh stop

To restart the bridge mode just enter:

sudo /usr/local/sbin/ethernet-bridge.sh start

Now set up the clients with a fixed IP/netmask/Gateway (the internal IP-address of the briding machine)/DNS or properly set up a DHCP server on the bridging machine.

Additionally you have to set up a static route on your router to the network  you provide Internet Sharing to (in your example (en1)).

Until now the syslog messages don't work - I'll try to improve the script pertinently.

A similar approach is outlined here, but I didn't get it to work in Yosemite


It sounds like the Flash update you installed was fake, I would suggest you immediately stop using secure sites like online shopping and banking.

Personally I am probably a bit paranoid, so I would be worried about any other stuff that has been installed and would be looking to do a Anti Virus scan and backing up all my data and reinstalling the operating system.

However looking online it appears that these fake Flash installers typically just install a few browser extensions and a security profile.

The extensions you seem to have handled, but the security profile requires a little more work....

Go to System Preferences.
Click Profiles.
The list will include an item "AdminPrefs".
Select this and click the remove - button in the lower left corner.

This will remove the security profile, you should then check all browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera (if you have these installed) and remove the extension/verify it is removed.

Then finally finish up by resetting the browser settings for these browsers, to avoid repeating this information I'll reference this article for that:
https://www.bugsfighter.com/remove-weknow-ac-mac/

Again I would be mindful that while this is how you are able to remove this malware, I would personally be concerned and would be looking to backup and reinstall my operating system.


How do I disable DVD player auto start when a DVD is inserted by using Terminal

Couldn't you just copy the preference files? I don't know anything about managing multiple Macs, but there's probably some better way to do this.

Opening DVD Player can be disabled with com.apple.digihub com.apple.digihub.dvd.video.appeared -dict action 1.

com.apple.digihub com.apple.digihub.dvd.video.appeared -dict action 105 will reenable it.

The preference for the desktop picture is in ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist, but I don't know how to change that directly.

You can find where the preferences are stored by diffing the output of defaults read before and after changing a preference.


MacBook Air's Mini Display vs Thunderbolt

It is only possible with the Thunderbolt port. You cannot run an ethernet adapter on a Mini Display Port.

However, you can use a USB Ethernet Adapter and connect to your network with that.


brew update fails wtih fatal: could not read Username

After trying to fix the gitconfig in my local I found out that actually brew was the issue.

For me homebrew-dupes and homebrew-versions caused the problem. But the fix is similar to taps.

Just do

brew tap

which gives you

...
homebrew/dupes
homebrew/versions
...

a simple untap

brew untap homebrew/dupes
brew untap homebrew/versions

after which everything is ok

brew update
Already up-to-date.


Mac Wi-Fi / AirPort icon has an X through it

You are not alone in seeing this problem; the Apple discussion Hello, my iMac's wifi icon has an x in it and I cannot access wireless wifi on it, … has attracted a couple of answers.

Linc Davis's answer suggests the following possible cause and a multi-step solution:

Sometimes the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar may falsely indicate that Wi-Fi is unavailable. That could happen if you switch between network locations, one of which doesn't have a Wi-Fi service.

Open the Network pane in System Preferences. A list of available network services appears on the left.

If Wi-Fi is in the list, select it, then from the popup menu labeled with a gear icon at the bottom of the list, select Make Service Active. Click Apply.
If Wi-Fi is not in the service list, click the plus-sign button at the bottom of the list, and then select Wi-Fi from the  Interface menu in the sheet that drops down. Click Create, then Apply.

If there is a closed padlock icon in the lower left corner of the preference pane, click it and enter your administrator password to unlock the settings.

If the above steps don't solve the problem, Linc goes on to suggest deleting the computer's /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.airport.preferences.plist file and restarting.

Full instructions are in the discussion.


Boot Camp Assistant crashes when partitioning drive (exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS)

Run Repair Disk on your boot partition. To accomplish this, reboot your Mac into the recovery partition, holding down ⌘R when you see the Apple logo. Select Disk Utility from the menu, then in the First Aid tab click Repair Disk. This may take some time. Partitioning trouble is usually a file system or disk hardware problem; this will solve the former, and a trip to the Apple store is usually needed to address the latter.


What is a user friendly ebook converter for pc to Nook HD+?

Calibre is without a doubt the best ebook library converter/manager I've ever used.  Free and crossplatform for Mac, Linux, and Windows.


MBP 2017 w/ Touch Bar: How to turn off internal display & use external display instead

I have tried this as well with no luck for several months, then connected to docks and still stuck with internal display to be on.

Then I tried the hedge dock and similar and works well but using an external Apple Key and Mouse was my only solution.

I do know the Windows PC have that certain function and only seen it on older macs with Function keys nothing yet on MBP2016 and later w/TB

I would figure there must be a way via a terminal command.


Installing TextWrangler command line tools into /usr/bin

Sorry, but /usr/bin is still a root/wheel directory, so it is actually going to be worse to install the textwrangler stuff there.

In any case, in your terminal type

echo $PATH and see if /usr/local/bin is in the path.  If /usr/local/bin is in your path all the stuff you install there will NOT need root permissions to be run.  If it is not, you can add it as such:

go to /etc/paths.d/

create a text file that you can call localstuff (or whatever)

edit localstuff putting /usr/local/bin in it.

Example:

$ ls /etc/paths.d/
50-X11   MacGPG2  TeX      TeXbin   git      julia

$ cat /etc/paths.d/julia
/usr/local/julia

$ echo $PATH
/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/X11/bin:/usr/local/git/bin:/usr/local/julia:/usr/local/MacGPG2/bin:/usr/texbin:/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin

make sure that your shell is a login shell in whatever terminal you are using, the OSX predicated way of adding stuff to $PATH seems to break if you do not use a login shell.

As I said though, chances are that /usr/local/bin is in your user's $PATH anyway, so no need to worry.  I'd also move all the textwrangler files you put in /usr/bin in /usr/local/bin to avoid future problems.


It does sound like the graphics card is failing. The garbled display is a symptom of this.

If you only run Windows, any PC graphics card in your Mac Pro will work fine.

What's more, the PC Radeon 58xx and 68xx cards work in OS X too, out of the box.

I would recommend one of Radeon 5850, 5870, 6850 or 6870 if you want Mac compatibility, or any good graphics card within your budget if you only want to game in Windows.


How do I remove a stuck Mini CD from the SuperDrive on a Macbook Pro?

Do not stick anything else in the slot. Really.

The inject / eject mechanism is keyed for a full sized disc and you don't want to wedge it in the wrong direction or retract that delicate part any further by fishing around inside the narrow slot. There is no eject button so you will need either luck or finesse and skill to get the CD out.

Power down the Mac and hold it firmly with the Apple logo facing you at chest height with the CD slot pointing to your lap. Gently rock and shake it to see if the CD is loose and encourage it to peek out the felt skirt that is inside the unibody enclosure.

Your Mac when powered off is very strong and you gently start it down and then quite forcefully yank it back up vertically. One or two shakes is all it takes to get the mini CD poking out just a bit. At that point, the felt will hold it and you can return the Mac to a level table and use tweezers or needle nose pliers or nimble fingers to remove the CD.

If you can't get it out - take it in for service. Unless you work on these regularly, you don't know which model superdrive is in your Mac and how hard, deep, gentle you can be with tools to help dislodge the CD. Also, if you are comfortable popping the back off your Mac - you could use iFixit to get to the drive itself and the CD will likely fall out once you have that component out of the Mac and away from the felt skirt.

Again, have a good firm grip - if you are so nervous that your palms are sweaty, that's your signal to see about getting a technician to help or waiting a bit to convince yourself you can shake it loose. These computers are made to endure UPS and FedEx shipping, packing in luggage in a bumpy car and your shaking should be on that level of violence and no more. If it's lodged behind the eject mechanism, you'll need someone to get inside and clear things in most cases.


Speak text doesn’t work in Messages app on iOS

I went into the accessibility settings within the settings in iOS. Under speak selection, I turned the feature off and then turned it back on. And now it works. You might give that a try:

Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > ...

Turn off “Speak Selection”, and turn it back on.

That seemed to do the trick.


How to configure mobile Safari to show closed captions on videos in webpage

First you need to understand that there are a couple of ways that Closed Captioning can be added to a video. If you are looking at iOS specifically, then the video must conform to the CEA-608 encoding standard, and needs to be either a HTTP Live Stream (HLS) or MP4 video. Other video formats WON’T work on iOS as an embedded video if you need CC playback.

If the video meets one of those to standards, then it’s about the playback setting that are set for the HTML5 web page.

If you are looking to embed a YouTube video on your page. You need to verify that the video has an existing Closed Caption track (not one of the on the fly automatically translated ones).

Below is an example of a web page that should play back a movie trailer for “The Martian” that has had a Closed Caption track created for it.

I have verified this page works on my desktop Mac with Safari and Chrome, a Windows 7 laptop with Chrome, an iPhone 6 with iOS 9.2, and an iPad Air with iOS 8.4.1.

<!DOCTYPE html>

The key code bit for YouTube videos is the &cc_load_policy=1 you already have found.

But if the video you have linked to does not meet the original video specs, then you will never see CC text in iOS. The native YouTube player will play back videos not in the CAE-608 standard, but iOS through a web player will not.

If you need to do this for your own videos, then you need to make sure your encode creates a CEA-608 embedded CC track.

I hope this helps.


Identify square icon with filled triangle up icon in iOS status bar

The icon represents AirPlay, Apple's technology that lets you mirror screen content from one device to another.

The icon indicates an active AirPlay session where your iPhone screen is mirrored on an AirPlay compatible device (Apple TV for e.g.).

You can learn more about AirPlay in the Apple Support article:

How to AirPlay video and mirror your device's screen to Apple TV

Turning off the AirPlay session will remove the icon from the Status bar.


I can't use Mail.app in El Capitan to encrypt email with a self-signed certificate

First, to get the certificate to show up in the TLS section of the account, you need to import the cert into your keychain in P12 format. This is important because if you only import the cert (.crt), then that is only the public-facing portion of the identity (i.e. the public key). When you import the cert as a .p12, you are importing both the .crt and the private key associated with it. Now, keychain recognizes this as YOUR identity and will let you select it in mail as the source of encryption and signing. Also be sure that the certificate you are using has the correct authority to encrypt and sign email. You can verify this by checking for the presence of "email protection" under extended key usage and "Digital signature" and "key encipherment" under Key usage. Without these, you will likely have similar problems.

Similarly, be sure the .crt of the person you are encrypting is in your keychain, or you won't be able to encrypt TO them.


How can i retrieve all my contacts from iCloud to a new iPhone - I have no back up on a PC

If your contacts were being synced to iCloud (and if you set up a new iCloud account, I am pretty sure this is on by default), all you have to do is set up the iCloud account on the repaired phone.

This is separate than the backup to iCloud too. If that was setup, it may also contain contacts on a restore, but they should have been backed up to iCloud with the contact sync feature that is part of iCloud.


About This Mac Shows 43 GB of Backups, Disk Inventory X Shows 0 GB, Need to delete Backups

You may notice a difference in available space statistics between Disk Utility, Finder, and Get Info inspectors. This is expected and can be safely ignored. The Finder displays the available space on the disk without accounting for the local snapshots, because local snapshots will surrender their disk space if needed.

This also applies to Disk Inventory X. Local snapshots are hidden from view and you don't need to think about them. They will be deleted automatically when disk space drops below a certain percentage (20%, I believe).

You can enter Time Machine and remove the snapshots from there but you should not do this. They don't really take any space, since they give it up immediately when needed, and backups are a good thing.

More information: http://pondini.org/TM/30.html


Cannot ping localhost after migrating to new Mac

Your /etc/hosts file is corrupt; for some reason it has unicode LINE SEPARATOR characters added to several lines (the "M-bM-^@M-(" thing in LC_ALL=C cat -vet's output), including one of those for localhost. macOS's resolver will treat that weird character as part of the hostname, and so if you somehow manage to ping localhost<LINE SEPARATOR>, it'll resolve to 127.0.0.1 just fine. Plain localhost? Not so much.

I don't know how those weird characters would've gotten added; did you try to edit the file with some sophisticated editor that thought it would be a good idea to use the very latest trendy formatting characters, rather than just sticking with what'll work? If so, don't use that editor for unix-style config files (or scripts, or...). I recommend BBEdit instead; even if you don't buy it, it'll let you do the basic stuff in its free demo mode.

As for how to fix it... Well, first make a backup copy in case this goes sideways and messes things up even more than they are now. Then run the command:

sudo perl -pi -e 's/[^[:ascii:]]//g' /etc/hosts

That should purge all the weird unicode characters out of the file. Then try the dscacheutil command again; you should get something like this:

$ dscacheutil -q host -a name localhost
name: localhost
ipv6_address: ::1
ipv6_address: fe80:1::1

name: localhost
ip_address: 127.0.0.1

P.s. for a explanation why someone thought LINE SEPARATOR was a good idea, see the ever-relevant XKCD and Jeff Atwood's rant about "The Great Newline Schism".


Without going into the technical details, iOS ships in a deactivated state and needs to contact an activation server to determine the carrier and locking status each time the device is restored.

iTunes performs the unlocking of all phones less than iOS 5. With iOS5, the device can self activate or activate through iTunes.

When a device is sold, it enters the database as an unlocked device or a locked device. You need the entity that has a lock on your device to update this database. It doesn't really matter if they type it into their system or pass a message to Apple that the device should now be unlocked, but iOS doesn't seem to have a place to enter a unlock code for DIY unlocking and instead depends on the activation process to determine GSM lock status.

I haven't seen it documented anywhere, but my presumption is that Apple operates the service that determines which phone on a serial number / IMEI basis should be locked or unlocked. Given the millions of devices this system is surely automated and authority to make changes to the database is delegated through to the carriers to handle their own unlock requests.

Even here in the US where our Library of Congress has stated for the record that consumers are allowed by law to unlock their devices in certain circumstances, I have yet to see a documented case where someone actually got AT&T to perform a true unlock as described above.


open -na "Google Chrome" --args --new-window "https://georgegarside.com"

-n opens a new instance of an application. Google Chrome detects this and remedies the situation by closing the new instance and passing the tab’s location to the first instance, but this is necessary to force arguments to be read.
--args indicates what's to follow are arguments to be passed to Google Chrome, not open.
--new-window is a Google Chrome argument to force a new window to be created.


Does a Mini-DVI to DVI cable exist that's more than 6 inches long?

I think the idea would be to use the Mini-DVI to DVI adapter at one end of a DVI to DVI cable.
The specs should be checked for maximum workable length (example)


To make a signature with images go to Preferences under the Mail menu and click on signatures. You should get a panel that looks like the image below. In the area on the right, right-click and select Import Image. You can select the image you want in your signature.

You can also open an image you want to display. Select all and copy the image. You can then go to the panel shown below and paste into the area on the right.

To solve your problem about images not appearing you can try, instead of loading image into your message, the same method as above. Open the image and copy it, then paste it into your email.


Alternative Large Cursors and show tooltips

You can make custom cursors with a graphics program and apply them using Pinpoint. Here's the relevant video on how it's done.


iOS 8 Health app stats resetting each day

This is a total speculation but I think this might be because the data you are viewing is generated by the M8 co-processor and it only stores data for a relatively short space of time. The idea being that other apps are meant to take the data from the co-processor and store it, and the M7/M8 co-processors themselves just have a little memory to cover periods when the device is turned off.

My guess is that if you install another app that tracks movement (once you have installed 8.0.1, when it is safe to install), then they'll take over the role of storing and supplying data to the Health app.


How can a new iPhone know the names of people in my photos?

The name data comes down from iCloud document and key-value-store sync. Even if you don’t use iCloud to store photos, metadata about photos does sync by default. This is similar how to small settings sync between devices. Apple could handle it like screen time where you explicitly opt in or out of this per device, but as of Big Sur and iOS 14 there is no granular opt in or out for this.
Apple doesn’t generate the names, you do on your phone or the iPad / web / macOS version of photos app and then Apple remembers it in your encrypted data store. The “identities” are all machine generated and one “person” can match several machine “matches” in practice.
Until you tell your device to forget that name or that face, that label is attached to the “identity” in the synced data store attached to your iCloud storage bucket.


You can inspect network packets with WireShark.

This software capture all packets through a network interface, although you can select only the protocol you want by applying a filter in its settings.


Where can I purchase repair parts for Apple products?

iFixit has manuals online as well as the parts needed. I've bought and replaced a number of parts from them and their instructions are top notch.

eBay sometimes, but, as you know, that's your own risk.


Where do applications store local settings?

Applications store their data in any or all of the following locations:

 ~/<individual application folders>
 ~/Documents/<individual application folders>
 ~/Library/<individual application folders>
 ~/Library/Caches/*/<individual application folders>
 ~/Library/Preferences/*/<individual application folders>
 ~/Library/Application\ Support/<individual application folders>
 /Library/<individual application folders>
 /Library/Caches/*/<individual application folders>
 /Library/Preferences/*/<individual application folders>
 /Library/Application\ Support/<individual application folders>
 /private/tmp/<esoterically named folders>
 /private/var/tmp/*/<esoterically named folders>
 /private/var/db/receipts/

Also, it is not unheard of for an application to store data within its own application folder structure.

Please note that Time Machine does not backup everything. It will automatically exclude such things as iOS device backups among other items such as caches, logs, and what's in the Trash. You can view what is excluded by Time Machine automatically with this command:

 cat /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/StdExclusions.plist


Is it possible to detect any certificates not packaged by Apple?

Chances are you installed the certificate that was required by your employers network.  For example at my work place we have 802.1x authentication on our Wifi, basically users log in with their normal username and passwords instead of a pre-shared Wifi key.  When they log in they must accept a certificate from our servers.

This doesn't necessarily mean that your employer can see your encrypted traffic, however it is very possible.  It depends what kind of infrastructure your employer has, i.e. do they have a system that does SSL inspection?  You won't know unless someone in IT tells you.

You can view the installed certificates through Keychain Access (Finder --> Utilities --> Keychain Access).  For my 802.1x Wifi there is a certificate in the 'Certificates' section at the very bottom of the left column (not the My Certificates).

Never-the-less you will be able to see all installed Certificated here.


I had the same problem.. I really don't know how I fixed it because it was with iOS 9 public beta. I'm on iOS now, and here is the exact link for the beta profile. Also, just make sure you are enrolled in the program with apple or you won't be able to use feedback assistant.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B92o0HIZOVnQcWNZYXc1WktsNWM


Benefits of using MacBook Pro with discrete graphics

You already have the answer to your question.

As far as I see it, the dGPU will be only beneficial for demanding games, heavy 3D work...

If you're planning on using Solidworks, Maya, Lightwave, or any 3d creation or CAD application get the Iris pro one. It is significantly faster for those tasks and not that far behind the GT650M-750M for gaming

The iGPU, will reduces the complexity of your system. Eliminates the graphics mode switching. Less power consumption, prolongs the battery life.

On the math side:
 $2300 vs $2650 is 8.6% or $350.

What can you do with $350?

Buy some software (Games) you always wanted.

Buy USB stick, or External Drive for back ups.

Keep it for rainy days :)

On the other side:

The $350 is not for the GeForce GT650M alone. Check the system specs in more details to find the differences you care about.

My vote would be for the iGPU since it comes with newer model that brings other engineering improvements with it.


How can I check how often I have used my new MacBook?

In the Utilities folder in Applications is the console tool. It serves the same purpose as Event Viewer on windows and you’ll have the same needle in the haystack experience on macOS as someone is in Event Viewer the first time they launch either.

Since macOS is Unix, you might get all the details you need from the command-line.

last

That command reads the wtmp file which you can read up about online here and elsewhere for what a console log in is. The pmset command is also useful if you like to look for sleep/wake events which aren’t the same as logging in.

Welcome to mac and happy learning!


How to disable App from launching at startup (not in Login Items, ~/Lib/LaunchAgents, /Lib/LaunchAgents)

I solved it by disabling add Zoom to macOS menu bar in Zoom's settings.
The question now is why do apps have the right to launch themselves even when I didn't let them via any of the settings. Or why does adding to a menubar launch the app.


What is the typical CPU utilization of idle iMac?

A new Mac may use a considerable amount of resources building the database for Spotlight. This may take several hours. but on a new machine, without a lot on it, maybe as low as 30 minutes.  If you see a lot of resources being used I'd be concerned. My older iMac is currently just sitting here doing nothing but I have 7 web pages open. Activity monitor says the System is being used 6% of the time, user uses about 20% of the time and its ldle the remaining 74% of the time. Is this consistent with what you are seeing?  These values are given on the CPU page to the right of the CPU Load plot.

Even when you are doing nothing, many processes are running in the background as you can tell by the amount of processes listed when you use activity monitor.


Restrict OSX applications from using the network

You might be interested in TCPblock app.

  TCPBlock is a lightweight and fast application firewall for Mac OS X
  10.6 or later developed by delantis.com. The Mac OS X firewall protects you from connections that come from outside of your computer.
  But what about the software from your computer that opens new
  connections to the internet? With TCPBlock you can prevent selected
  applications on your computer from opening connections to the network.
  TCPBlock is implemented as a loadable kernel module which contains all
  the blocking logic. You can configure it in the System Preferences
  TCPBlock preference pane or with the tcpblock command line utility.
  All the configuration changes are made persistent in a configuration
  file on the hard disk. At system boot time the TCPBlock kernel
  extension reads its configuration from disk and is ready to go.


Using osadecompile to get plain text AppleScript runs certain actions from the script

I am not sure what the technical reason for this is, but accessing the AppleScript dictionary of some applications seems to require opening them. When I try opening the AppleScript dictionary of Firefox through Script Editor, Firefox will also be opened. When I try opening the dictionary of Keynote v5.3 (iWork'09 version), the app is opened, while when I try this with Keynote v7.0.5, the app is not opened. As Script Editor exhibits the same behavior, I am not sure there's any way to avoid this with osadecompile.

I did not read the Apple Developer documentation on AppleScript in detail, but I noticed this sentence which also suggests some applications need to be opened to access their AppleScript dictionary while some don’t:

  An aete is useful in 10.4 and earlier, in both Carbon and Cocoa applications, to provide a dictionary that scripting languages can use without launching the application.


Potential virus as Excel macro, opened on iOS

Macros do not run on iOS. iOS opens such files using Preview, which renders entirely differently to an actual copy of Excel. Furthermore, even if you open the file in the Excel app on iOS, macros are still unavailable.


iTunes 10.7: Does listening to songs change their mp3-files?

My Setup: Crashplan, OS X 10.8.2, iTunes 10.7 (21)

I am unable to replicate the same issue on my system, and haven't noticed any excess changes or uploads to crashplan on my filesystem after playing music. To be sure it wasn't happening in the background, I ran a checksum on one of my audio files, played the complete song in iTunes, and re-ran the checksum. If something in the file itself had changed, the checksum would be different.

Here are the results:

Big-iMac:Abbey Road dave$ openssl sha1 17\ Her\ Majesty.m4a
SHA1(17 Her Majesty.m4a)= 3aea5150d7b1d21846b6502bac7ccacca44ff0fa
Big-iMac:Abbey Road dave$ openssl sha1 17\ Her\ Majesty.m4a
SHA1(17 Her Majesty.m4a)= 3aea5150d7b1d21846b6502bac7ccacca44ff0fa

As you can see, the checksum matches the second time after playing the song through iTunes. Most of my collection is ripped into ALAC (m4a), so I thought I'd test a standard mp3 file as well:

Big-iMac:One More Night in New York City dave$ openssl sha1 2-21\ The\ End.mp3
SHA1(2-21 The End.mp3)= a223d6fb542bee5191794d0a74f971da19fb9afc
Big-iMac:One More Night in New York City dave$ openssl sha1 2-21\ The\ End.mp3
SHA1(2-21 The End.mp3)= a223d6fb542bee5191794d0a74f971da19fb9afc

This too produced the same checksum before and after playing the song in iTunes. All of the metadata about your library (play count, etc.) is stored in the iTunes Music Library.xml file, not in the mp3 itself so I wouldn't expect individual songs to change. However, it's quite possible that the iTunes Music Library file will need to be re-uploaded since it changes frequently.


Does a first generation iPod touch have the ability to download apps and use emojis?

Yes, the App Store exists as that was introduced with iPhone OS 2.0, however most apps on the store do not support iPhone OS 3.1.3 (the last version available for the 1st generation iPod touch).

Emojis can be activated through 'emoji hack' apps on the App Store.


Can I control the shutter speed of a photo from an iPod Touch 4th gen?

You can tap on an area of the picture you are taking to adjust the image settings (including the exposure) to that area of the image.


automatically change keyboard shortcuts when keyboard layout changes

Updated Answer
The purpose of this update is to provide a fully automated solution to the changing of the keyboard shortcut used for System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Keyboard > Move focus to next window when the user switches between English and Spanish - ISO on the Input menu of the menu bar and between the use of the built-in US English keyboard and the attached Bluetooth keyboard with a Spanish - ISO layout.
There was a time when one could use PlistBuddy and or defaults in Mac OS X/OS X to modify an entry in the com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist file to accomplish this task and it would just automatically update, however, the update is no longer possible in macOS without rebooting. As a result, this will be accomplished by using AppleScript run by osascript as a Launch Agent and UI Scripting of the keyboard shortcut for System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Keyboard > Move focus to next window, while not having to reboot.
The example AppleScript code, shown further below, was tested and worked for me without issues as is under macOS Catalina 10.15.7 and macOS Big Sur 11.2.2 as a shell script using a #!/usr/bin/osascript shebang, and a Launch Agent that watches for changes to the com.apple.HIToolbox.plist file and changes to the value of its AppleCurrentKeyboardLayoutInputSourceID key.  It also checks the value of parameters of the AppleSymbolicHotKeys for the target keyboard shortcut, (27 in this use case), in the com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist file to ensure the changes to the com.apple.HIToolbox.plist file only trigger when changing of the target keyboard shortcut because the keyboard input method has changed.
The following steps are necessary to implement this solution and once completed, it is fully automatic thereafter, until the Launch Agent is stopped, unloaded and removed when no longer needed/wanted.

Create the shell script:
Hint: Copy and paste the shell commands from here to Terminal, and use the same window until completely finished.
In Terminal, assuming the pwd is your Home directory:
touch changeKSforMFTNW; open -e changeKSforMFTNW; chmod +x changeKSforMFTNW

Copy and paste the example AppleScript code, shown further below, into the opened changeKSforMFTNW document and then save and close the document.
Back in Terminal:
[ ! -d '/usr/local/bin/' ] && sudo mkdir /usr/local/bin/
sudo mv -v changeKSforMFTNW /usr/local/bin/
sudo -k

Create the Launch Agent:
With the shell script taken care of, create the Launch Agent in Terminal, assuming the pwd is your Home directory:
cd Library
[ ! -d 'LaunchAgents' ] && mkdir LaunchAgents
cd LaunchAgents
touch com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist
open -e com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist

Copy and paste the example XML Plist code, shown further below, into the opened com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist document and change you in the value for WatchPaths to your Home directory, then save and close the document.
With the the com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist file set up and before loading it as the Launch Agent, osascript needs to be added to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility. To do this, in Terminal run open /usr/bin, and in the Finder window that opens to /usr/bin locate the osascript file so it can be dragged and dropped in the next step.
Open System Preferences to Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility and click the Lock, enter your (Admin) credentials and then drag and drop osascript onto the list on the right side of Accessibility and ensure it is checked. You can then close System Preferences.
NOTE: Make sure you do this before loading the Launch Agent.

Loading the Launch Agent:
Back in Terminal:
launchctl load com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist

This loads the Launch Agent and the first time you select the target language from the Input menu on the menu bar that is not currently selected, if System Events under osascript System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation is unchecked or not there, a dialog box, e.g. '"osascript" wants access to control "System Events". Allowing control will provide access to documents and data in "System Events" and to perform actions within that app.', will appear and you need to click the OK button.
Note that if you were presented with the aforementioned dialog box, the shell script will fail this first time because of the dialog box, but just select again the target language that is not currently selected from the Input menu on the menu bar and it should work this time.
NOTE: Because this is using UI Scripting, once you have selected a target from Input menu on the menu bar you will need to allow the UI Scripting to complete uninterrupted!
I found in testing that in normal switching between English and Spanish - ISO on the Input menu of the menu bar that the UI Scripting would take place almost immediately and take two or three seconds to complete. Time may vary base on speed of the system, what other process are running and if any are CPU intensive at the time.

Example AppleScript code:
#!/usr/bin/osascript

--  # Flush cache on the 'com.apple.HIToolbox.plist' file.
--  # Flush cache on the 'com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist' file.
--  #
--  # The next three lines of code are commented out (with a # character)
--  # and I found them not to be necessary, but have left them in if timing
--  # debugging becomes necessary if the cache does need to be flushed.

# do shell script "defaults read com.apple.HIToolbox.plist 'foobar'; exit 0"
# do shell script "defaults read com.apple.symbolichotkeys 'foobar'; exit 0"
# delay 0.5

--  # Get the fully qualified POSIX pathname of the target .plist file.

set thePropertyListFilePath to POSIX path of ¬
    (path to preferences from user domain) & ¬
    "com.apple.HIToolbox.plist"

--  # See which keyboard layout is the current one.

tell application "System Events" to ¬
    tell property list file thePropertyListFilePath to ¬
        set theCurrentKeyboardLayout to value of ¬
            property list item "AppleCurrentKeyboardLayoutInputSourceID"

--  # Get the value of the parameters of the AppleSymbolicHotKeys for the
--  # target keyboard shortcut as an aggregated numeric string to be used
--  # to stop the script from processing all of its code if the watched .plist
--  # changes for other than to the currently selected keyboard layout.

set shellCMD to ¬
    {"/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c ", ¬
        "'Print :AppleSymbolicHotKeys:27:value:parameters' ", ¬
        "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.apple.symbolichotkeys.plist | ", ¬
        "awk '/[0-9]/{sub(/[ ]+/, \"\"); printf( \"%s\", $0 );}'"} ¬
        as string

set ksNumericValue to do shell script shellCMD

if (ksNumericValue is "96501048576") and ¬
    (theCurrentKeyboardLayout is "com.apple.keylayout.US") then
    return
else if (ksNumericValue is "186101048576") and ¬
    (theCurrentKeyboardLayout is "com.apple.keylayout.Spanish-ISO") then
    return
end if

--  # Check to see if System Preferences is
--  # running and if yes, then close it.
--  #
--  # This is done so the script will not fail
--  # if it is running and a modal sheet is
--  # showing, hence the use of 'killall'
--  # as 'quit' fails when done so, if it is.
--  #
--  # This is also done to allow default behaviors
--  # to be predictable from a clean occurrence.

if running of application "System Preferences" then
    try
        tell application "System Preferences" to quit
    on error
        do shell script "killall 'System Preferences'"
    end try
    delay 0.1
end if

--  # Make sure System Preferences is not running before
--  # opening it again. Otherwise there can be an issue
--  # when trying to reopen it while it is actually closing.

repeat while running of application "System Preferences" is true
    delay 0.1
end repeat

--  # Open System Preferences to the Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane.
--  #
--  # This UI Script needs it to be visible, hence the activate command.

tell application "System Preferences"
    activate
    reveal anchor "shortcutsTab" of ¬
        pane id "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
end tell

--  # System Events does the navigating around the
--  # Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane and changes
--  # the value of the target keyboard shortcut.

tell application "System Events"

    --  # Make sure the UI is ready to be navigated.

    repeat until (exists checkbox 1 of ¬
        tab group 1 of ¬
        window 1 of ¬
        process "System Preferences")
        delay 0.05
    end repeat

    --  # Press the Tab key twice.

    repeat 2 times
        key code 48
        delay 0.1
    end repeat

    --  # Select 'Keyboard' from the list on the left.
    --  # This is wrapped in a try statement to get
    --  # past a bug in how the select command is
    --  # interpreted and is silently eaten.

    try
        select (every row of ¬
            table 1 of ¬
            scroll area 1 of ¬
            splitter group 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" whose ¬
            value of static text 1 = "Keyboard")
    end try

    --  # Select 'Move focus to next window' from the
    --  # list on the right. This is wrapped in a try
    --  # statement to get past a bug in how the select
    --  # command is interpreted and is silently eaten.

    try
        select (every row of ¬
            outline 1 of ¬
            scroll area 2 of ¬
            splitter group 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" whose ¬
            value of static text 1 of ¬
            UI element 2 is "Move focus to next window")
    end try

    --  # By default, when System Preferences opens, focus is in
    --  # the Search text box, and depending on whether or not the
    --  # 'Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls'
    --  # is checked, it makes a difference when 'UI Scripting' is
    --  # being used. Set a flag so as to handle the differences.

    set isChecked to ¬
        the value of ¬
            checkbox 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" as boolean

    --  # Based on the state of the target check box,
    --  # press the Tab key the necessary times to
    --  # navigate to and or open the text field for
    --  # input of the target keyboard shortcut.

    if isChecked then
        delay 0.1
        repeat 3 times
            key code 48 --  # Tab key.
            delay 0.1
        end repeat
    else
        key code 48 --  # Tab key.
        delay 0.01
    end if

    --  # Toggle the value of the target keyboard shortcut.

    if theCurrentKeyboardLayout is "com.apple.keylayout.US" then
        key code 50 using command down --   # ⌘` keys
    else if theCurrentKeyboardLayout is "com.apple.keylayout.Spanish-ISO" then
        key code 10 using command down --   # ⌘º keys
    end if

    delay 0.5

end tell

tell application "System Preferences" to quit

Because of the comments and coding style the script is very long. It ends with tell application "System Preferences" to quit, so make sure you highlight all of it when copying and pasting to Script Editor for testing and or into the ** changeKSforMFTNW** shell script for production purposes.

Example XML Plist code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/usr/local/bin/changeKSforMFTNW</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <false/>
    <key>WatchPaths</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Users/you/Library/Preferences/com.apple.HIToolbox.plist</string>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Notes:

Be sure to change you in <string>/Users/you/Library/Preferences/com.apple.HIToolbox.plist</string> in the XML Plist file used for the Launch Agent to the name of you Home folder.

Sans the code changes to target the correct key code and fully automating the solution, the conditions mentioned in the original answer, listed below, still apply as applicable.

The naming convention for the shell script e.g. changeKSforMFTNW stands for, change keyboard shortcut for move focus to next window and applies to that portion of the com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist file too. Obviously for testing purposes I need to use something. However, change the naming convention as you desire.

Some of the shell commands that are formatted as a compound command are done so because in a clean install of macOS the bin directory in /usr/local does not exist even though /usr/local/bin is in the PATH (and path in a zsh shell). As well as the LaunchAgents directory in $HOME/Library. (mkdir -p could be used in lieu of the [ ... ] | && paradigm.)

When using Launch Agents and Launch Daemons, I highly recommend reading the manual pages for launchctl, launchd.plist and launchd. You can read the manual page for command in Terminal by typing command and then right-click on it and select: Open man Page

Reverting Changes
To completely undo the changes made by this, in Terminal:
cd ~/Library/LaunchAgents
launchctl stop com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist
launchctl unload com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist
rm com.my.change.KS.for.MFTNW.plist
cd /usr/local/bin
sudo rm changeKSforMFTNW

In System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility uncheck and remove osascript if not being used otherwise.
In System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Automation uncheck System Events under osascript if not being used otherwise.

Original Answer
Note: The original answer is beening kept as part of the overall answer as the example AppleScript code used as the proof of concept has value for someone else wanting this solution for different keyboard input other then the two languages beening used by the OP.
Whenever I have have to do something repetitiously I automate it in some manner so as to not have to manually take all the steps necessary to accomplish the task.
In this particular case, as much as I do not like to use UI Scripting, nonetheless, I'll do it when it is the easiest way I know, with all things considered.
Presented as a proof of concept, the example AppleScript code shown below was tested and worked for me without issues as is under macOS Catalina 10.15.7 in Script Editor, under the following conditions:

System Preferences > Language & Region:

Preferred languages:
English
English (US) — Primary

System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility

[√] Script Editor

System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Keyboard

[ ] Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls
[√] Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls

Allowed the script to run uninterrupted and not taking focus away from System Preferences, as is necessary in this use case in order to use UI Scripting to set the keyboard shortcut.
Changes may be needed to the code in general when run on other versions of macOS and or different Language settings, and was only tested under the aforementioned conditions and the condition expressed in the next paragraph.

I also tested the example AppleScript code saved as an AppleScript application, noting that the application needs to be added to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility and clicking the OK button on the, e.g., '“Toggle ⌘` - ⌘=“ wants access to control “System Events“. Allowing control will provide access to documents and data in “System Events“, and to perform actions within that app.' dialog box. (Obviously the name of the application will be whatever it was named. I used Toggle ⌘` - ⌘= for testing purposes.)
Although it was not tested in the following manner, nonetheless, the example AppleScript code should also be able to be used in a Run AppleScript action in an Automator Service/Quick Action, or a third-party automation type application that can make use of AppleScript.
The example AppleScript code toggles the value of the keyboard shortcut for: System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Keyboard > Move focus to next window
For this proof of concept it toggles between ⌘` and ⌘=, and ⌘= is not really meant to be used, it strictly a placeholder for whatever the key code value of º is, which you'll have to determine.
I determine the value of key codes using a free third-party utility named Key Codes, by Many Tricks, and is available for download from the developers web site, or the Mac AppStore. (I am not affiliated with the developer of Key Codes, just a satisfied user.)
I have also commented the code so you may have an understanding of what it's doing, and it is near the very bottom of the code where you need to change:
key code 24 using command down --   # {"⌘="}

To:
key code ? using command down --    # {"⌘º"}

Where ? is the value for Key Code: in the Key Codes application when the º key is pressed.
Or possibly1 use the keystroke command, e.g.:
keystroke "º" using command down -- # {"⌘º"}

1 Without a Spanish keyboard I cannot effectively test the the keystroke command.

Example AppleScript code:
--  # Check to see if System Preferences is
--  # running and if yes, then close it.
--  #
--  # This is done so the script will not fail
--  # if it is running and a modal sheet is
--  # showing, hence the use of 'killall'
--  # as 'quit' fails when done so, if it is.
--  #
--  # This is also done to allow default behaviors
--  # to be predictable from a clean occurrence.

if running of application "System Preferences" then
    try
        tell application "System Preferences" to quit
    on error
        do shell script "killall 'System Preferences'"
    end try
    delay 0.1
end if

--  # Make sure System Preferences is not running before
--  # opening it again. Otherwise there can be an issue
--  # when trying to reopen it while it is actually closing.

repeat while running of application "System Preferences" is true
    delay 0.1
end repeat

--  # Open System Preferences to the Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane.
--  #
--  # This UI Script needs it to be visible, hence the activate command.

tell application "System Preferences"
    activate
    reveal anchor "shortcutsTab" of ¬
        pane id "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
end tell

--  # System Events does the navigating around the
--  # Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane and changes
--  # the value of the target keyboard shortcut.

tell application "System Events"

    --  # Make sure the UI is ready to be navigated.

    repeat until (exists checkbox 1 of ¬
        tab group 1 of ¬
        window 1 of ¬
        process "System Preferences")
        delay 0.1
    end repeat

    --  # Press the Tab key twice.

    repeat 2 times
        key code 48
        delay 0.1
    end repeat

    --  # Select 'Keyboard' from the list on the left.
    --  # This is wrapped in a try statement to get
    --  # past a bug in how the select command is
    --  # interpreted and is silently eaten.

    try
        select (every row of ¬
            table 1 of ¬
            scroll area 1 of ¬
            splitter group 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" whose ¬
            value of static text 1 = "Keyboard")
    end try

    --  # Select 'Move focus to next window' from the
    --  # list on the right. This is wrapped in a try
    --  # statement to get past a bug in how the select
    --  # command is interpreted and is silently eaten.

    try
        select (every row of ¬
            outline 1 of ¬
            scroll area 2 of ¬
            splitter group 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" whose ¬
            value of static text 1 of ¬
            UI element 2 is "Move focus to next window")
    end try

    --  # By default, when System Preferences opens, focus is in
    --  # the Search text box, and depending on whether or not the
    --  # 'Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls'
    --  # is checked, it makes a difference when 'UI Scripting' is
    --  # being used. Set a flag so as to handle the differences.

    set isChecked to ¬
        the value of ¬
            checkbox 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" as boolean

    --  # Based on the state of the target check box,
    --  # press the Tab key the necessary times to
    --  # navigate to and or open the text field for
    --  # input of the target keyboard shortcut.

    if isChecked then
        delay 0.1
        repeat 3 times
            key code 48 --  # Tab key.
            delay 0.1
        end repeat
    else
        key code 48 --  # Tab key.
        delay 0.01
    end if

    --  # Toggle the value of the target keyboard shortcut.

    if the value of ¬
        text field 1 of ¬
        UI element 2 of ¬
        (every row of ¬
            outline 1 of ¬
            scroll area 2 of ¬
            splitter group 1 of ¬
            tab group 1 of ¬
            window 1 of ¬
            process "System Preferences" whose ¬
            value of ¬
            static text 1 of ¬
            UI element 2 ¬
                is "Move focus to next window") ¬
            is {"⌘`"} then

        key code 24 using command down --   # ⌘= keys
    else
        key code 50 using command down --   # ⌘` keys
    end if

    delay 0.5

end tell

tell application "System Preferences" to quit

Because of the comments and coding style the script is very long. It ends with tell application "System Preferences" to quit, so make sure you highlight all of it when copying and pasting to Script Editor for testing.

Note: The example AppleScript code is just that and sans any included error handling does not contain any additional  error handling as may be appropriate. The onus is upon the user to add any error handling as may be appropriate, needed or wanted. Have a look at the try statement and error statement in the AppleScript Language Guide. See also, Working with Errors. Additionally, the use of the delay command may be necessary between events where appropriate, e.g. delay 0.5, with the value of the delay set appropriately.


Unable to remove default shortcut for iCloud Drive from MacOS Catalina

com.developer.finder is wrong.
com.apple.finder is more likely, but the shortcut is available in file dialogs, so may not be under the purview of the Finder.
First off, I'd try changing the shortcut to something else. Either do it in System Preferences, or try adapting your command from nil to -string "@$^~i"
(@ is Command; $ is shift, ^ is ctrl, ~ is alt.)
Next, you could try adding it to the user Global preferences.
defaults write -g NSUserKeyEquivalents -dict-add "iCloud Drive" -string "@$^~i"

However, it's equally possible that some key commands are hardwired and cannot be changed.


Macbook pro Mid-2012 not booting on battery. Not responding to power button

If it doesn’t boot with the battery connected it could be because...

the  battery is acting as a drain because it’s losing charge faster than the charger can charge it
There is an issue with the battery charging circuitry not switching between the mains and battery power correctly

This one is easy to test; simply get a new battery. If the problem remains, it’s the Mac itself.

As for the keyboard, you likely need a new one. Simply plug in a USB keyboard and if it works properly, you’ll need a new top case assembly. If it doesn’t, the logic board (USB bus) is dead/dying.

Given the age of this particular Mac and it’s problems, if you can source good used parts inexpensively, you might get some life out of it, but likely it’s time for a new(er) one.


Same external hard drive for time machine and storage

Yes, That is exactly what I have done.

The important thing to be aware of is that Time Machine will try to manage itself using all of the volume it is on.

What you need to do is decide how large a TM you need to hold your data together with old versions of it. Then partition the disk using Disk Utility so the TM is on one partition and the movies etc are on the other.


Installing Windows 10 on iMac 27" (2017) Mojave, 3TB

If the second partition on HDD is for Mac data, you could attempt to install Windows 10 by allocating the entire HDD to Windows. After you have finished installing Windows, you could then shrink the Windows volume and create a partition for the Mac data.


Change default content's language in MacOS Apple TV app

I also had this problem with my German macOS. I found the solution: you can set the language of each Mac app separately.

Go to your macOS Settings -> Language & Region
Go to tab "Apps"
Click on "+" and add the "TV" app with language set to English

Now English is the default audio language for everything you play in the Apple TV app.


How do I stop people reading my iMessages as they come in?

If you mean from the Lock Screen or Notifications Centre, then
Settings > Notifications > Messages
switch off Lock Screen &/or Notification Centre

.. or if you simply want the content of the messages disabled, lower down the screen [out of sight on this image] uncheck Show Previews - though that will show who sent a message, but not the content.


macOS Catalina: "App is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the trash."

Here's the solution. Open Terminal and run:
sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Coherence\ Pro.app

If the path to the program is different, then obviously change it so that it's pointing to your app. For me, I've had several apps not working after the update to macOS Catalina. This takes care of that problem though.


Iphone 4 Screen not working - animating non-stop.

That looks like a hardware fault. Sorry but you'll need to take it to an Apple Store or somewhere similar to be repaired or replaced.


Why "Documents & Data" is consuming so much space in iPhone?

Well it is normal. You can refer to this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201656

If storage amounts on an iOS device differ from what you see reported in iTunes

  Since iTunes categorizes cached files as Other, reported usage for
  Music or Videos might differ. To view usage on your iOS device, go to
  Settings > General > Usage > Manage Storage.


From Wikipedia:

LED Flash (Illumination)

  Although they are not yet at the power levels to replace xenon flash devices in still cameras, LEDs (specifically, high current flash LEDs) have recently been used as flash sources in camera phones. LEDs are expected to approach the power levels of xenon in the near future and may replace built-in xenon flashes in still cameras. The major advantages of LEDs over xenon include low voltage operation, higher efficiency and extreme miniaturization.

So, now that we know that we have a LED (Light Emitting Diode) in there, let’s see how much should that live (according the the super-experts @ wikipedia):

LED Lifetime and Failure (read all that for more info)

Short answer:

  "Typical lifetimes quoted are 25,000 to 100,000 hours but heat and current settings can extend or shorten this time significantly.”

Now do you think your iPhone will last 25,000 hours (worst case scenario for the LED)? That’s a little bit less than three years. It’s certainly possible for an iPhone to last much more than that (I still use a 1s-gen iPhone), however, I highly doubt that you’re going to use it with the flash ON, for three years, non-stop. :)


Can't remove "Install macOS High Sierra.app"

I was experiencing this problem after downloading High Sierra to fix a friend's Mac. I found Rick's solution worked for me, but I've added a few more steps.

Click the  symbol in the Menu bar.
Click Restart….
Hold down Command + R to boot into Recovery Mode.
Click Utilities.
Select Terminal.
Type csrutil disable. This will disable SIP.
Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.
Click the  symbol in the Menu bar.
Click Restart….

Extra Steps

Log in / boot up the Mac.
Empty Trash.

I also found that somehow Previous System folder appeared under the Mac HD. So I also trashed that (which wouldn't trash previously).

I then rebooted the Mac a few times to check that everything was working fine. Then rebooted into recovery mode.

Hold down Command + R to reboot into Recovery Mode.
Click Utilities.
Select Terminal.
Type csrutil enable. This will enable SIP.
Press Return or Enter on your keyboard.
Click the  symbol in the Menu bar.
Click Restart….


How to use Spyder keyboard shortcuts with Mac OS

nohillside gave me a good hint and deserves credit for this answer.  On a Mac when using F functions shortcuts where two different items are on that key, you have to use the "fn" key first at the left-hand bottom of your Apple keyboard.  If the the F function key has only one item, then you can use it directly without the "fn" in front.
Thus, on my own Apple keyboard (and I suspect yours is the same), you don't have to hit fn before F5 or F6.  But, you have to use fn in front of all the others.
Attempting to resolve this issue through the Preference -> Keyboard path just did not work at all for me, no matter what I tried.  And, I tried a lot of different things.
nohillside had uncovered another way to attempt to resolve this issue from a GitHub reference.  It seemed incredibly complicated and very invasive suggesting you modify numerous of your Python packages.  That seemed somewhat dangerous.  And, I am just sticking to the fn solution when typing F9.  That's easy enough, and not that tasking.


Problem changing desktop background in Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Try deleting /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist

Then, empty your trash and reboot.  This file stores the preferences for desktop wallpaper and deleting it will give you a clean slate.  Your system should default to the standard Mountain Lion wallpaper.


If I buy an iPad 3 on Verizon, can I use my existing SIM?

The answer is YES. I purchased a Verizon iPad 3 from someone on craigslist, I then tried cutting the sim card from my Android 4G LTE phone ... fail. I bought a new sim card and ordered a Noosy from Amazon, cut the new micro-sim and VOILA, it worked! Unlimited data on my iPad 3 :)

You can see how i did it here:
http://inboxi.us/ipad


How can I download iTunes U videos faster?

I had the same issue. If u use Wi-Fi for Internet access, try using a different Wi-Fi network when downloading or restart your Wi-Fi router. Try using an ethernet cable for wired Internet access instead of using Wi-Fi.
Also check for updates for your computer or for any security software you may have.


How do I find out of my OS X 10.9.4 is 32 bit or 64 bit?

I do not believe that Mavericks shipped with a 32-bit version. You are probably running 64-bit OS X.

All of the Core i3, i5, and i7 Mac computers have 64-bit processors.

Apple Support document

To determine if you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of OS X, open a Terminal and type:

uname -a

On a 64-bit OS, the output will end with RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64. On a 32-bit OS, the output will end with RELEASE_I386 i386.

OSXDaily article


How do I send text messages from an iMac OSX El Capitan to an Android phone?

iMessage uses a connected iPhone to send text messages from your Mac to anyone, including Android. Unfortunately you're using an Android phone so you're going to need a third party app.


Today, it means the Apple server is overwhelmed.  Try again tomorrow.


I faced this problem before. You can try to use this trick:

Go to Settings ~> Message and Turn Off iMessage + Facetime.
Turn on the Airplane Mode.
Turn on Wi-Fi.
Turn on iMessage like the first step. The system will ask you for your Apple ID If it is not added yet.
Turn Off the Air Plane Mode.
iMessage should work properly now.

Source.


My MacBook Pro makes three beeps during updating

Three successive tones, then a five-second pause (repeating): RAM doesn't pass a data integrity check. If you recently replaced or upgraded your computer's RAM, check to see if it was installed properly.

Three long tones, three short tones, three long tones: EFI ROM corruption is detected, and your Mac is in EFI ROM recovery mode. Newer computers automatically recover from a corrupted ROM; when this occurs, a progress bar appears on the screen during ROM recovery mode. Don't disturb your Mac while the ROM recovery takes place. When recovery is complete, your Mac restarts.

From Apple Support.


iTunes automatically pauses when VLC plays a file

After a long search, I have realized that the setting to pause iTunes is not in iTunes, but it is on VLC. So it is not iTunes pausing the music because it detects another media player, but it is VLC which is pausing iTunes when playing files.

To disable this, just open the preferences of VLC and click on the following items:

Show All -> Interface -> Main interfaces -> macosx

After that, on the Control external music players field, you can select among Do nothing, Pause iTunes and Spotify and Pause and resume iTunes and Spotify. I selected the first option :-)

I share this knowledge here in Q&A style in case someone else was struggling with this.


Safari extension or other means of automatically removing overlay dialogs on web pages?

Have you tried Adblock Plus?

Blocks banners, pop-ups and video ads - even on Facebook and YouTube
Unobtrusive ads aren't being blocked in order to support websites (configurable)
It's free!


Is it worth unsplitting my fusion drive?

What are the drawbacks/benefits of having a split fusion drive?

I think the first thing is to define what the purpose of a fusion drive is.  A fusion drive was created to so you could get the performance benefits of an SSD while simultaneously getting the value of and capacity of a spinning magnetic drive.
“Fused together” you get a single virtual drive out of two very different physical drives - a small, but fast solid state drive and a slow, but large magnetic drive.  Compared to a single solid state drive, it’s nowhere as fast but then again it’s nowhere as slow as a magnetic drive, but it is convenient because it manages where data resides - commonly used files are stored on the SSD and less commonly used files on the magnetic one.
Splitting it, you end up manually managing what goes where, but now the SSD is unburdened by the slowness of the spinning media.  You will get a speed increase of the files you put on it.  As far as files you “archive away,” they get to reside on the slower magnetic one, but since they’re rarely accessed, speed is not of a concern.
This has been tried countless times before Fusion dives existed.  Everyone that I have known that tried to install an OS on a smaller, faster drive and the data, home directories, and applications stored on a larger, slower drive have abandoned this because it ended up being a royal PITA.
Go "All In"
IMO, “messing around with it” is a waste of time because you end up with less than what you started with.  If you’re going undertake reconfiguring your fusion drive, go “all in”. Open the iMac and swap out the spinning media for an SSD.  If you really want to step things up, change out that smaller PCIe SSD for a larger one as well.  Depending on your budget, you could have an 8TB (or more) Fusion drive; or you could have a super fast 4TB drive in RAID 0; or a data secure RAID 1 - all software RAID of course.  You could also have a super fast, internal Time Machine backup drive.  Now, you've got options.
TL;DR
Unless you're going to open up your iMac and make a significant change like swapping out the 3.5" HDD for an SSD, there's no benefit to tweaking around with your existing Fusion Drive because in it's factory default configuration, you're going to get the best performance in terms of speed and usage as well as value for the money possible.


Unable to increase Macintosh HD partition size with data in a subsequent partition

It appears you have space to image the entire DISK0S4 partition to a compressed img file that would be stored on Macintosh HD.

From there you will be free to delete the partition, upsize Macintosh HD on the fly, and then make a new DISK0S4 FAT.

To start, just select the DISK0S4 and then go to the menu:

New ▶ Disk Image from "DISK0S4"...

You'll want to mount and verify the image well before erasing anything. Also consider it will be at least twice as slow to move data from one part of the drive to another if you have a HDD with physical heads that have to move. Dumping that partition to an external drive is far faster - you can still use Disk Utility to compress the image to save space and time since the CPU can usually out compress any external disk at less that 25% usage - the bottleneck is the write speed of the drive.


An app that shows a cleaning... label under the icon means that it is currently deleting local data such as cache and temporary files associated with the app.

This process usually takes place when your device is low in memory or just before an iCloud Backup begins. Its purpose is to free up some space.

However, I never saw this while deleting an app, it may be either a bug or a new feature that warn the user that both the app and its data is being removed from the device.

Sources : iMore, Cult Of Mac, iPhone FAQ


Factory Reset MacBook Air makes it better?

You can reinstall macOS without resetting

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


Jaibroken iPhone sms.db file not updating right away (sms.db-wal)

Whenever connection to sms.db closes all data from sms.db-wal are synced to sms.db.

Easiest workaround is to copy all 3files
sms.db, sms.db-wal and sms.db-sch into "desired folder" an run any kind of action with sqlite3 command (output it into /dev/null) after this session closes data are synced into sms.db


A sleep button shows up on my Mac recently, how to get rid of it?

You seem to have enabled the Dictation or Voice Control features.

You can disable it again by opening System Preferences > Keyboard. Select the "Dictation" tab, and ensure it is set to "Off".

Then open System Preferences > Accessibility. Select "Voice Control" (or "VoiceOver" in earlier versions) in the list on the left, and ensure that "Enable VoiceOver" is not selected.


What is the Sixth Step of MacBook Repair?

Take it to Apple and ask them to fix it under warranty.  If you have made a clean install, and can still demonstrate the problem, you almost certainly have some sort of hardware issue.

If you did a reinstall, then added something that has a kext, that might be responsible, though, so in the (unlikely) event, reinstall, don't install that, and see if that fixes the problem.


`AppleCamera` used by Google Chrome even with all extensions+apps disabled/tabs closed

You have presumed too much from the software's name. The CoreMediaIO Device Abstraction Layer (DAL) Apple.Camera.plugin does not control the camera, and wouldn't know how to control it even if you gave it permission. It has one job: to manage video (and muxed) streams from video devices that are already streaming. With no hardware driver running in the kernel, there can be no power sent to the camera--no kext, no power, no picture: Apple Documentation

So, why is it running? It helps avoid a little wait time when it is called into actual use. It's been there for well over ten years, and if AppleCamera.plugin was a vector for intrusion, we'd have heard much sooner.


Not to my knowledge, but ⇧⌘N creates a new folder in the same manner.


Is it possible to bind mouse 4 btn to a specific key on the keyboard on MacOS?

Steermouse is another way to enjoy this functionality.


Snow Leopard running Fusion has virtual ports invisible to wireshark

Well, the VMWare people said that those interfaces are invisible to wireshark and a special tool, VMWare-sniffer, can be used.

And btw, 172.xxx.xxx.xxx are non-routable addresses so clearly I had a buffer overflow in my brain.

As for the .2, that's just the way VMWare set it up.


Can you tunnel iPhone internet traffic through a local proxy on a Mac computer?

You may want a second network adapter, but first try adding a second WiFi connection in the network preference pane.

You could pick a static IP address that is valid, but outside the DHCP's range (or reserved and not assigned via DHCP). Then your iPhone could proxy against the static IP and set up IP forwarding from the command line.

It would be easier to have a second interface and let the Mac software handle the routing for you. Also, be aware that firewalls should be off or configured to allow inbound traffic from the iPhone.


I had this issue this morning. I had to force quit iTunes, unplug my iPhone, reboot it, then reconnect it and sync the playlists that wouldn't sync earlier. It seemed to work, as I now have those playlists. I think iTunes experienced a technical issue somehow with its encoding process.


All Apple USB-C chargers support USB-PD, the power delivery specification to select a safe voltage for the connected device.  The voltages supplied are 5V, 9V, 20V, and sometimes something in the middle somewhere like 14.5V.  The current supplied at each voltage will be somewhere between 2 an 3 amps at the lower voltages, the higher voltages come with higher current from 3 to 5 amps.
Here's some educated guesses and close approximations at what volts and amps the different Apple, and non-Apple, USB-C/USB-PD power supplies will provide.
12 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps
18 or 20 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps, 9 volt @ 2.x amps
27 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps, 9 volt @ 3 amps
29 or 30 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps, 9 volt @ 3 amps, 15.2 volt @ 1.x amps, 20.4 volt @ 1.x amps
45 to 61 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps, 9 volt @ 3 amps, 15.2 volt @ 3 amps, 20.4 volts @ 2.x amps
82 to 96 watts: 5 volt @ 2.4 amps, 9 volt @ 3 amps, 15.2 volt @ 3 amps, 20.4 volts @ 4.x amps
The older iPhone might not know about USB-C but the charger knows that it will provide only 5 volts unless the iPhone asks for more.  Newer phones and laptops will ask for more, up to the maximum power it can take or the maximum the power supply can provide.
A pattern you may notice is that they wanted to keep the current between 2 and 3 amps, if more power was needed then step up the voltage first, and exceed 3 amps only once 20 volts is reached.  This was to keep cable costs low since a 5 amp cable had to use more material and be built to handle more heat.  There was also a preference for lower voltages as that kept the material costs low as well.


removing authorization access to addressbook and calendar

You can choose which apps can access Contact & Calendar data from
System Prefs > Security & Privacy > Privacy

Check or uncheck each app


How to change default app to open magnet:// link without using a third-party UI app?

I found one solution after posting the question. A command line tool duti has a live github repo and can be installed easily with:

brew install duti

And then, check the current magnet:// link setup:

$ duti -d magnet
com.bittorrent.uTorrent

Change and set another default app with the following cmd:

$ duti -s com.foo.foo magnet

That's all.

MORE:

To get a bundle_id of the app, there are two ways:

If you know the app is a default app for an extension, you can do something like

$ duti -x html
Google Chrome.app
/Applications/Google Chrome.app
com.google.Chrome

If you know the app name, you can do something like

$ osascript -e 'id of app "Google Chrome"'
com.google.Chrome


Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 include a built-in VNC server. This server will likely work better than the VINE edition while viewing the Login Window.

You can enable the built-in VNC server through the System Preferences > Sharing settings.


Apple OS X Yosemite Email Viewing Preferences

I do not have Yosemite to confirm but found this:

10.10.2 Update

  The button to show or hide headers when composing mail messages has moved to the toolbar of the composition window.


Re-applying ComboUpdate to Sierra after later SecurityUpdates are installed

You could try using macOS Recovery. Simply hold ⌘ cmd-R during startup and follow the prompts to reinstall macOS.

This will reinstall the current version of macOS installed on your Mac. You can then check whether to reapply any supplemental updates.


Without considerably more information, it's impossible to pinpoint the cause.

However, PhotoBooth is an Apple-supplied app that comes with the OS, so it should not crash under normal conditions. The likelihood is that you've got something installed which is causing both these apps to crash.

I would recommend using EtreCheck, which is an excellent app that gives you a report of the 'state' of your system. It highlights third-party additions that are potential sources of problems, particularly if they are old and no longer compatible with a new OS.

You can upload the contents of the report here (or somewhere list Pastebin) if you need more help.


El Capitan, make check, DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

It seems like DYLD_* only gets stripped out for “protected” binaries (I’m not sure exactly what that means, but apparently anything in /bin and /usr/bin for starters) However, if you copy /usr/bin/env to somewhere else, it gets to keep its DYLD_* stuff:

$ cp /usr/bin/env ~/Desktop; (DYLD_FOO=bar ~/Desktop/env)|grep DY
dyld: warning, unknown environment variable: DYLD_FOO
DYLD_FOO=bar

I think make always runs commands via /bin/sh, so you can’t set “dangerous” variables in the makefile and have them affect the commands, but maybe you could move the test into a shell script, set the environment variables inside the script, and then invoke the script from make. Though obviously, this won’t help you if the tests, in turn, rely on shell scripts (or if the things tested are shell scripts!) because then they’re going to invoke /bin/sh and lose the variables again...


You'll need to take your iPhone along with the sales receipt to an Apple store.


iMazing works with iOS 11 and allows you to slim down encrypted backups. You

  With iMazing, your backups become fully editable, even if they are
  encrypted.

  Advanced users enjoy a complete toolbox for browsing and editing
  backups.

  Browse the file system of iTunes and iMazing backups
  Extract any file or folder
  Edit backup files, or add files to backups
  Encrypted backups are fully supported (password required!)

I have used iMazing in the past and for full and partial restores of iPhones and iPads.


Can I disable the trackpad on a MacBook Pro?

You should be able to do this by unloading the kernel extension (kext) that controls the trackpad from the command line.

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleUSBTopCase.kext/Contents/PlugIns/AppleUSBTrackpad.kext to disable it. Change kextunload to kextload to re-enable it.

When I tested this, it complained that it couldn't unload the kext, but it appeared to disable the trackpad (and it didn't show in System Prefs) despite the warnings.

Warning for Magic Trackpad Users: I don't have a Magic Trackpad, so I don't know whether this kext is responsible for that device or not. Careful testing this out, you may accidentally disable all your mouse inputs at once.

Edit: I did a little more digging, and there is a "AppleBluetoothMultitouch.kext", which sounds like it's responsible for the Magic Trackpad, so it's likely you can disable the internal trackpad independent of any external ones.


Charger will only charge for a few seconds before needing replugging

More than likely, you broke the lightning connector solder joints on its PCB

When you dropped your iPhone and bent your connector, you weakened the solder joints (yellow box).  When you bent it back, it probably broke the joint enough where it makes a very poor connection to no connection at all.

It's time for a new cable.


TimeMachine and an External HFS + NTFS HDD

Time Machine needs a mountable HFS+ partition; it couldn't care less how large that partition is relative to the overall size of the drive.

But I agree with Gio's comment; drives are cheap, so I'd suggest getting multiple drives.


PHP version shown in command line differs from phpinfo(); in localhost:8000

The new version of PHP needs to be in your $PATH and the path to the new version of php needs to be listed before /usr/bin. If the new version of php (the executable) is installed in /usr/local/bin/ you should be in good shape, otherwise you need to either  link the new php executable there (ln -s /path/to/newphp /usr/local/bin/php) or add it's location to your $PATH (export PATH=/path/to/newphp:"${PATH}") (<- add this to your ~/.bash_profile).

One other possibility to check... is the new version of php named php? It's possible that it will be named something like php5 or some such thing. If so you'll need to create a a link or use that name on the command line.


Acer H277H monitor is not charging 2016 MacBook when plugged in via USB-C. Is this possible?

This isn't a USB-C compliant monitor so it's not going to supply power.1  DVI, DP, and HDMI don't support power delivery.  Looking at the Tech Specs page for this monitor, it supports:

DVI
HDMI
VGA

To charge your MacBook and connect your external monitor, you need something like the Apple USB-C Multiport AV adapter.

So, you won't be able to charge your MacBook via this monitor because your monitor doesn't support power delivery, but you can have both your monitor and power adapter connected by using this adapter.

1 USB-C Power Delivery Specification.  http://www.usb.org/developers/powerdelivery/


Sharing local Apache vhost over lan without Hosts/DNS change?

When you turn on Web Sharing from the System Prefs there will be a LAN IP that will point to your local ~/Sites folder. All you would have to do is have those on the LAN point there browsers to http://myLANIP/~username/devsite where devsite is a folder inside of your ~/Sites folder.


Automator treating App Packages as folders

Try this AppleScript:

tell application "Finder" to get name of every file of folder (path to applications folder)

Carlos figured this part out himself:

set appsPath to (path to applications folder)
tell application "Finder"

set appList to name of every application file of entire contents of folder appsPath
    end tell


First, and most importantly: Use version control and push to a remote server at regular intervals.  There are multiple free options available, such as BitBucket.  You should never have put yourself in this situation.

As the www content in PhoneGap applications is interpreted at run time, you should be able to recover it from a device by syncing it to iTunes, then dragging the application out of iTunes as an ipa file.  The ipa file is just a zip file following some particular conventions, so rename it to .zip and decompress it to get the files in the application bundle.

And finally, because it's so important: Use version control and push to a remote server at regular intervals.  A programmer without version control is like a painter without overalls or a bicyclist without a helmet.


Turn off mail notifications when in mail (OS X El Capitan)

Go to System Preferences > Notifications and set Mail Alert Style to "none" and also uncheck notification center, badge app icon and sound options.
This would turn off all the notifications for the default mail client.


Mac iTunes requests update, but App store says no updates available

Since the apple advisor was able to perform the download at his end, but I was not able to at my end, my suspicion was that there was a problem with Apple's content distribution network.

This morning I tried again.  No joy.

On a hunch I tried logging in on a spare admin account.  No problem. connected to  the apple support site, and downloaded the update. Worked like a charm.

At this point it's not clear what happened, but with odd behaviour it does bring up one additional possibility to try:

Attempt the update as a different user.


From this webservice provided by Apple you can get some data about the phone with its serial number.

It doesn't give you the purchase date but you can infer it from warranty end.


launchctl error "nothing found to load" when run via cron

The problem is execution context and mach bootstrap in OS X (more info on Apple documentation worth reading). You need to simulate execution from proper context. In OS X it's done using launchctl bsexec command. From TheDarkKnight's answer to Starting/stopping a launchd agent for all users with GUI sessions you have:

  Unload Agents

#!/bin/bash
for id in `ps aux | grep -v grep | grep MyAgent | awk {'print $2'}`
do
    launchctl bsexec $id launchctl unload /Library/LaunchAgents/myAgent.plist
done

  Replace MyAgent with the name of your Launch Agent.

  Load Agents

#!/bin/bash
for pid_uid in $(ps -axo pid,uid,args | grep -i "[l]oginwindow.app" | awk '{print $1 "," $2}'); do

    pid=$(echo $pid_uid | cut -d, -f1)
    uid=$(echo $pid_uid | cut -d, -f2)

    launchctl bsexec "$pid" chroot -u "$uid" / launchctl load /Library/LaunchAgents/myAgent.plist
done

On OS X 10.11 and Later

From the comment by vrrathod about OS X 10.11, El Capitain, use:

launchctl bootstrap gui/$uid /Library/LaunchAgents/myAgent.plist


Using a Creative Live Chat Cam with Skype

Your Camera is a UVC -Universal Video Camera type.

In English that means you should just plug it in and it will work.

Following steps should do it:

Plug the camera in..

Open Skype

If Skype does not auto-identify the camera (asking you if you want to use it)

Go to the Skype Preferences

Go to the Audio Video

There you should be able to select the camera + Microphone + Speakers

You will see your self if all worked.


Internet Sharing abnormal password request

This seemed to have fixed itself over a period of time, that or a Repair HD permissions and a reboot fixed it, however that remains untested so I can't concur that it was the repair that fixed it.


What's the easiest way to copy the current URL in Fluid?

Developer of Fluid here.

Yes, there's a very easy way:

⌘ + L (That's "Command - L")

That will temporarily "show" the toolbar (if it was hidden), and select all the text in the URL location field. From there you can copy it, via ⌘ + C.

Then, to hide the toolbar, you can press:

⎋ esc (That's "Escape")

If the toolbar was previously hidden, this will hide the toolbar.


in order to install ElCapitan, you have to format to GUID Partition Table, and Mac OS Extended (journaled), nothing else.


What are the compression/resolution/bandwidth limitations of Airplay mirroring?

The Apple Developer documentation for AirPlay, specifically the HTTP Live Streaming section, has pretty detailed information about it. Depending on several factors, I summarize the following:

Resolution max. recommended high profile encoder settings, for a 16:9 aspect ratio over wifi:

Dimensions: 1920 x 1080
Total bitrate: 40000 kbps
Video bitrate: 39000 kbps
Keyframes: 90

Framerate A frame rate of 10 fps is recommended for video streams under 200 kbps. For video streams under 300 kbps, a frame rate of 12 to 15 fps is recommended. For all other streams, a frame rate of 29.97 is recommended.

There is tons of more info, but in short, the specs say: "Yes!" you can stream a 1080p movie through Airplay. And there are several examples of "Airplay-enabled-games", like first person shooters, that work just great.

However, the crucial factor will be your wifi network as this will determine your lag/delay and -probably- most limiting factors. So there will be a significant delay on any 802.11N based wifi network. And therefor, there will be lag with latency-sensitive audio/video interactive purposes, like games. For movies, it should be no problem though.

Summarizing: The limitations of wifi transfer speeds isn't near to your perfect world when connected through a cable.


iMessage on iPad: how do I know when the message is an sms or not?

all blue messages are iMessages,
all green messages are sms text messages,

later this month you'll be able to use your ipad to send text messages from your iphone... as of now, all ipads use iMessage only!


User account doesn't appear on first login screen

Have you turned on FileVault 2 encryption? If you have, you can enable your third account by doing the following:

Open System Preferences
Click on Privacy & Security.
Click on the FileVault tab.

There should be an Enable users... button showing in the FileVault preference pane. Click it and you should be given the opportunity to enable the third account by providing the account's password.

On restart, the third account should now appear at the login screen.