How can I delete pictures on my iPad mini without them being deleted on my other devices as well?

Unfortunately, you can not. Because you have iCloud Photo Library turned on, all of your devices' camera rolls are identical. Apple's thing about iCloud Photo Library is that everything is perfectly in sync, there's no photo you have on one device and not the other.

You could consider turning iCloud Photo Library off and deleting all the stored photos (in Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage > iCloud Photo Library, then select Disable and Delete) but that will cause problems potentially including a loss of photos. Be sure to back up all of your photos to Google Photos/a hard drive before attempting to turn off iCloud Photo Library.

Freeing up space

My guess is that you want to delete photos from your iPad Mini to free up storage space on your iPad. You can go about this even without deleting your iCloud Photo Library.

Turning off iCloud Photo Library on only your iPad Mini:

From Apple:

  You can turn off iCloud Photo Library on a single device when you follow these steps:
  On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > iCloud > Photos and turn off iCloud Photo Library.

This will delete your photos from your iPad but not your iPhone or iCloud account.

Then, you can back up your photos with Google Photos: download the Google Photos app on your iPhone, let it back up all of your photos from your iPhone (this won't eat into your Google Drive storage space at all and is totally free), then download the Google Photos app to your iPad. Now, you can view all of your iPhone's photos right on your iPad and they won't eat into your iPad's storage space.


How to pack MagSafe cable to prevent its breaking?

One method I use on all my power adaptors is to loop the cable and secure it with a piece of Velcro. I will generally either keep folding the cable in half until it is a bit longer than fist size, or just loop it back and forth in a “S” pattern that is about fist size. I do NOT loop it in a circle.

I find these methods keep the cord safe and tangle free, allow quick deployment, and don’t put pressure where the cable comes out of the adaptor. I have never suffered from frayed cables using this method.  If you don’t have a Velcro strap, a rubber band will work.

Here's a photo of 2010 adapter that has been deployed around the world. Dirty, but fully functional, and no frays!


If one forgets their iPhone Lockscreen password, how would they go about getting it back?

Unfortunately there is no simple way of resetting the passcode without resetting the device itself.
The following knowledgebase article: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212 explains how you can reset the passcode by restoring the device from a recent backup. Even if the device is locked it will still sync with iTunes which allows you to restore the device which will delete all the data on the device.


Incoming cellular calls ring on all my iOS devices

To disable on specific iDevices, go to Settings > FaceTime > iPhone Cellular Calls & switch off.

On a Mac, launch Facetime, then Preferences > iPhone Cellular Calls - uncheck.


As Guy mentioned, ColorSync Utility is what your looking for. For me the standard compression was also too little resolution & too lossy compression. So I created a new filter in ColorSync - which then becomes available in e.g. Preview: Resolution 200 dpi, jpeg quality ~75%

Step 1: Open ColorSync Utility & create the new filter such as below

The above settings give me files with acceptable size and decent quality (e.g. for sending by e-mail)

Step 2: Open the PDF in Preview, then choose File > Export, Click the Quartz Filter pop-up menu, then choose the relevant filter ("Reduce File Size 200dpi" in this case)

Edit 2011-12-18: Seems for Lion it's not that straight forward regarding Preview integration. See here:

  Just copy your filter from /Users/YourName/Library/Filters/ to /Library/PDF Services/ and the customized profile will be back in preview.


Unchecking the second item can help temporarily. When it's off, opening an app should give it focus on the current space, sometimes new windows open too, afaik.


You can not view a list of wifi networks you have connected to on an iPhone.

The closest thing to this is that if:

Your iPhone uses the iCloud keychain.
You have a mac that uses the same AppleID and also uses the iCloud keychain.

Then both of your devices will share the list of known networks and passwords. However you can 'forget' any wifi network which will delete it from the list and you can not know which of the networks was accessed when or from which of the devices.

If you delete your call history then it is deleted forever. This goes the same for Whatsapp or facetime.

If you have old complete backups of the phone made after the calls were made but after they were deleted then you can use that to get the history.


How do I stop automatic Bluetooth streaming?

Turn off bluetooth on the phone.
Unpair the phone from the truck.

When you pair your device, the truck is seen as a remote control in addition to all the other functions so if the truck wants to play, the phone is right to start playing. There is no switch to disable one remote some of the time in iOS or to edit the capabilities of a paired device.

You might need to go to the ford dealer and see if they have a firmware update for your truck :-) Seriously - they either need to disable or let you better control the situation where the "remote" asks the phone to play music.


iTunes Connect: No options when trying to add IAP

I was having this same problem. After contacting Apple Support it turned out the problem was I did not have the Paid Apps contract in effect on my account. To put the contract into effect:

Log onto iTunes Connect with an account with Admin or Legal roles.
On the dashboard select Agreements, Tax and Banking.
Click request button next to the Paid Applications Contract.


Self-Renewing 'Automation' virus redirects Safari and Chrome through ads to bing. Renews through a memory alert

I wouldn't disable SIP if you have active malware on your system. If you have another Mac you can use or borrow, I'd boot your Mac into Target Disk Mode, connect it to the other Mac with a Thunderbolt cable, and then run both Avira and Malwarebytes on it from the other Mac. This allows the antimalware software to ignore any SIP protection on the TDM'd Mac and perform a full clean.

If you can't use another Mac, then install a bootable copy of macOS onto an external drive, boot from that, and do the same.

If you can't do either, boot into Safe Mode, run Avira, and then if it finds something, let it clean it and then reboot again into Safe Mode. Now run Malwarebytes and do the same. Always reboot after a pass where it found something, because whatever it is that it found may be preventing you from finding anything further until you reboot with it gone.


What's the best text editor for use with large files?

I'm using HexFiend to work with a 60 GB text file and it works great (apparently it can handle files as large as 118 GB).


A unix-ish package manager is clearly the way to go. I have moved from fink and Macports to homebrew, which has a recipe for cvs:

brew install cvs

For historical completeness, you formerly had to use the
 (slightly hard to find) recipe for cvs: brew install homebrew/dupes/cvs.

After only very minimal testing, it seems to work.


Command key + up/down arrow should get you to the top or bottom of a page.


Why is this message “Good Morning/Evening” on the handoff section of the app switcher?

How to remove the annoying app "good morning/afternoon" banner in the app switching screen.
(For Apple devices on IOS 10 + )

In lockscreen, swipe right.
Scroll all the way down to where it says "edit" and tap that.
You'll see the widget menu, find "Siri App Suggestions" and click the red button and remove.
Ta-da! Good bye annoying banners!


How to install and use GNU Grep in macOS

GNU grep is not part of coreutils. To install, run

brew install grep

As with coreutils, this doesn't automatically replace the existing grep

==> Caveats
All commands have been installed with the prefix "g".
If you need to use these commands with their normal names, you
can add a "gnubin" directory to your PATH from your bashrc like:
  PATH="/usr/local/opt/grep/libexec/gnubin:$PATH"

So after installing you can either use ggrep, gegrep and gfgrep; or extend PATH as shown above to use grep etc. The second option may confuse some macOS specific scripts though in case the options differ.


Purchased music keeps appearing (iPhone 5, iOS 7.1)

Any songs I had in a playlist called "purchased" kept reappearing (Even after I deleted all music from the usage setting). Once I deleted that playlist they did not.


Provisional Enrollment Failed. [MCCloudConfigErrorDomain - 0x80EF (33007)]

First, try using a wired internet connection or try disabling "Add to Device Enrollment Program"

Enable "Supervised devices"


how can I add command line parameters to an application shortcut

It will launch faster if you cut out Automator and just do it with Applescript (and then save that applescript as an application bundle).

Here's an example:

do shell script "open /Applications/Chromium.app --args --enable-expose-for-tabs"


Mid-2007 MacBook (MacBook2,1) - Software Restore disks

The last version of OS X compatible with your Mac is OS X Lion 10.7.5. I assume that you have not purchased Lion from the Apple App Store and therefore can not download a copy. The path to store the Mac from scratch would be as follows.

Install OS X Snow Leopard 10.6. AFAIK, Apple no longer sells this DVD. You can try to purchase a used copy. A free ISO can be downloaded from the internet. You can then either burn to a DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive installer.
Upgrade to OS X 10.6.8. This is a free download from Apple. I should point out you probably will not be able to download this update from a OS X 10.6 install. In other words, the version of Safari is to old. You should attempt to download to a flash drive in advance or use another machine to download to a flash drive.
Upgrade to OS X 10.7. This is available from Apple for 20 USD. This purchase is for a download of the software to upgrade from Snow Leopard.
Upgrade to OS X 10.7.5. This is a free download from Apple.

Because of the age of the Mac, you should consider abandoning OS X altogether in favor of version of Linux. What would be available for your Mac depends on the amount of RAM installed.
Debian with desktop has a 512 MB minimum and recommends 2 GB or RAM.
Xubuntu with desktop has a has a 512 MB minimum and recommends 2 GB or RAM.
The current Debian ISO can be downloaded from here.
Ubuntu is a popular Linux. However installing requires 4 GB of RAM. Xubuntu is basically the same, but with a Desktop interface that requires less RAM.
Note: Due to the age of your Mac, Linux probably should be installed to BIOS boot. I have installed both Debian and Xubuntu on a 2007 iMac with 4 GB of RAM.
I assume you have the memory split as 1 GB + 512 MB. The maximum memory is 3 GB. You could upgrade by replacing the 512 MB with either 1 GB or 2 GB. OWC seems to still sell memory for your model.
You probably could install 32 bit Windows 10. The 64 bit version would require a memory upgrade to at least 2 GB. The drivers can be downloaded from this Apple website. I was able to install 64 bit Windows 10 on a 2007 iMac using the 32 bit Windows 7 drivers. You can download and try Windows 10 without a purchase, but to keep using requires purchasing a license. IMO, Windows probably would run to slow to justify the purchase of a license.

If you attempt to install a current release of either Linux or Windows 10, you should expect to run into unforeseen problems which may be solved by posting a new question.


How to find the PID(s) of a hung app in macOS from the shell (Terminal)?

This is actually not straightforward to do, but other people have run into this and written codes you could use. See here.


I suspect DSMOS is corrupt.

DSMOS stands for Don't Steal Mac OS and is a kernel extension (kext) that's highly encrypted.  If that get's corrupt, there's pretty much no way to recover - you need to do a fresh install.

Solution

Do a clean install of Sierra then, using Migration Assistant move your data and programs over.  It sounds like you are doing a full recovery - don't do this.  Use Migration Assistant.


Editor or notes application with Markdown support?

nvALT does the trick.  I prefer the plain Notational Velocity myself, but Markdown fans seem to really like the nvALT fork.


Simplest way to capture "keystroke representation" to clipboard

I wrote a tiny program for you. It'll type out any key combination you type, so after you start it, switch to Word with your mouse. You can exit it at any time with the escape key. I can share the source code if you want, there's not much of it: keystroke_grabber

If you want to make it easy to start, you'll have to drag it into the bottom right of the Dock where the trash can is, because it's not "Appy" enough to earn a space with the big boys (other apps).


MacOS underestimates battery life on replacement battery

I'd do a NVRAM and SMC reset (in that order). Before following the steps below, ensure you have no external hardware connected and that you're using the built-in keyboard.

Reset the NVRAM

Reset the NVRAM on your MBP as follows:

Shut down your machine. That is, a full shut down, not just logging out.
Press the power button and then press the commandoptionpr keys. You have to make sure you press these keys before the gray screen appears or it won’t work.
Hold those keys down until your MBP reboots again and you here the startup chime.
Let go of the keys and let your MBP reboot normally.

Note: When you log back in you may need to readjust some of your system preferences (e.g. speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, time zone information, etc).

Reset the SMC

There's a couple of ways you can reset the SMC on your MBP, however I prefer the following steps:

Shut down your MBP
Keep the power cable plugged in
Press at the same time shiftoptioncontrol (on the left side of the keyboard) and the power button
Let go
Turn your computer back on with the power button

After resetting both the NVRAM and SMC, use your computer to determine how well macOS is reporting the remaining battery life.

Battery Condition

To view what macOS has determined as the battery's condition, hold down the Option key and click on the battery icon in the menu bar. You'll now see the condition reported at the top of the drop-down menu that appears.

coconutBattery

If you haven't already, I recommend you download and install coconutBattery 1. It provides a whole heap of information that you'll find useful!

1 Note: I am not affiliated with coconutBattery in any way.


"Cannot Verify Server Identity" - Cannot find source

Look in the settings app, delete all profiles you don’t know you need and maybe the rest.

Also, VPN profiles could be implicated and for an edge case, look to any iCloud keychains on macOS.

I would make a back up as well in case you end up erasing the contents and settings and restoring from backup after being sure it’s not coming from your network with a clean iOS device that joins your network.


Accessing URL from Chrome and Safari goes well but terminal encounters `curl: (52) Empty reply from server`, what do I do?

The content you get from a server doesn't just depend on the URL. It can depend on the request method, the language preferences, user agent, cookies, etc.
You can ask your browser exactly what it sends to the server. Chrome, Firefox and Safari all have a command in their developer tools which copies something to the clipboard that you can paste in a shell window. In Safari, enable developer tools and open the Web Inspector on the current page. In Chrome or Firefox, press F12. In any of these browsers, in the developer tools, go to the Network tab, reload the page, select the first location and “Copy as cURL” from the context menu (it may be in a “Copy” submenu). Then paste the command in a terminal. The command will have the form
curl -X GET -H … http://192.168.31.37:5000/aa

Your curl command doesn't specify a method, so it's a GET by default. The form specifies a POST. So if you're trying to simulate entering the form, you'll need to pass -X POST to curl, and of course to pass the form data. To see what the browser sends with the form, open the developer tools' and switch to the ”Network“ tab before submitting the form, then use the “copy as cURL” command from the form URL.


How to change the order of the virtual desktops

This occurs when the Mac fails to recognise the displays correctly. At reconnect, it 'forgets' what physical order you had them in.
One of the users on Ask Different made an app to keep a tighter hold on this - which I'm afraid I've been unable to track down. I hope they find this question & leave us a link to their app again.
In the meantime, a workaround would be to re-arrange your display order in System Pref > Displays > Arrangement.
You can drag individual displays into whichever order you would prefer.
If you click & hold any display it will highlight in red - on the control panel & also right round the display that is referenced, so you can easily tell which is which. The primary display is the one with the menu bar [which can also be moved, if needed]
Image showing 3 monitors, centre highlighted, primary assigned to left-most.

If your Mac is suffering from this 'forgetfulness' you may need to re-do this each time you change your connected monitors [hence the need for the app mentioned above.]
I'm assuming this is not actually the same as How to prevent Mac from changing the order of Desktops/Spaces which is actually a different issue with a simple fix in prefs.


Attach 15-inch Macbook pro screen (with broken logic board) to 21-inch iMac (with broken screen)?

No. The internal connectors are incompatible between the two; different size and different pin-outs. And there is no functional way to route the display signal through the mini Displayport from one to the other.


You can check there is any issue with the hardware components which are connected to the touch bar by using fn key. Soon after you hit the key that should display in the touch bar. In that case you can decide this issue is either software or hardware issue.


Sparsebundle backups displayed as folders with cryptic name on network drive

It seems to be an issue related to AFP/SMB and invalid SMB characters. My two sparsebundles have an asterisk in them, resulting from the computer name. An asterisk seems to be an invalid character in SMB. Everything was fine until the El Capitan update. It seems in this update something changed with the AFP/SMB handling on OSX. I had to disable SMB on my NAS (Synology) to force AFP and to have the proper names displayed.


Why does .2.2.2 in Spotlight equal 0.0016?

It's supposed to be multiplication, which in scientific notation is signified by placing the operands adjacent to one another (operators such as "*" or "x" are optional). I say supposed to be multiplication because .2 times .2 times .2 equals .008, not .0016 as presented in your question. I suspect you didn't gather the entire string for your title, and another .2 was present.

Your screen shot, on the other hand, correctly gives 0.000064 as the result of .2 * .2 * .2 * .2 * .2 * .2. Since that operation is the same as asking for .2 to the sixth power, entering ".2^6" into spotlight will return the same answer.


Open Mail Attachment with Unix-standard programs

You cannot as the process is controlled by LaunchServices

When an application e.g. Mail.app wants to open a document it launches (or relaunches) the application that reads it and sends information to the document by Apple Events as described in Open Operations

thus the handlers have to recognise these Apple Events which are managed by the Cocoa or Carbon libraries.

So to use emacs, vi etc you need to use one wrapped up as an app e.g. Aquamacs, Cocoa or Carbon version of emacs, MacVim etc.

Another way of thinking about this is if there is no terminal open how woul the Unix command write to the GUI?


Apple keeps asking me to accept the new iCloud terms and conditions

You could call apple care to turn off icloud for you. This would take a couple of hours to accomplish so I suggest you accept the  T&C and than log out from icloud via 'settings > icloud' like @Buscar said.


Photos app - when I share a video to iCloud Photo Sharing - why does it get reduced from 1080 to 720?

It's a limitation of iCloud Photo Sharing itself:

  iCloud Photo Sharing supports HEVC, MP4, and QuickTime video file types, and H.264 and MPEG-4 Video file formats. Videos can be up to five minutes in length and are delivered at up to 720p resolution.

Unfortunately, there really isn't any way around this right now.

source:  https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202786


Macbook Pro main volume not accessible - filesystem type FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFFFFFF

You have hybrid partitioning. The question you have linked to does not. An indicator of hybrid partitioning is the output of the following warning message from the gpt command.
Suspicious MBR at sector 0

When a GUID partitioning is being used, there are two tables. The first is the MBR (Master Boot Record) partition table located at sector 0. This is followed by the GPT (GUID Partition Table) which occupies several sectors. When hybrid partition is being used, one or more entries in the GPT are duplicated in the MBR partition table. The gpt remove command can only remove a duplicate entry from the GPT. This means the other duplicate in the MBR partition table remains. The gpt add command will not add an entry to the GPT, if this entry overlaps an entry in the GPT or the MBR partition table. In your case, the duplicate entry in the MBR partition table was indicated by the following line output from the gpt -r show disk0 command.
     409640 1318255112      2  MBR part 218

Hybrid partitioning is required, if you need to BIOS boot an operating system on an older Macs that has a BIOS. For example, older Macs may need to BIOS boot certain versions of Windows. Below are answers which depend on whether Windows is installed.

Note: Since you will be booting to macOS Recovery from a flash drive, you probably can omit sudo from the commands given below. With older versions of macOS and OS X, the -f option for the gpt command may not be available. If the -f option is omitted, then you may need to enter the command diskutil unmountdisk disk0 before entering the gpt command.

Answer When Windows Is Not Installed
Since you only have macOS installed, you do not need hybrid partitioning. Below are the steps you can take to remove hybrid partitioning from disk0.
Enter the following command to edit the MBR partition table.
sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0

When using the above command, the following warning messages can be ignored.
fdisk: could not open MBR file /usr/standalone/i386/boot0: No such file or directory
Device could not be accessed exclusively.
A reboot will be needed for changes to take effect.

This is an interactive command. Below are the values to enter into this command.  A blank line indicates you are to accept the default values by pressing the return key. If you make a mistake, you can press the control+C key combination to exit fdisk without saving any changes.
auto hfs
edit 1
0
edit 1
ee

1

quit
yes

When finish, the sudo fdisk /dev/disk0 should produce the following output
Disk: /dev/disk0    geometry: 91201/255/63 [1465149168 sectors]
Signature: 0xAA55
         Starting       Ending
 #: id  cyl  hd sec -  cyl  hd sec [     start -       size]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1: EE    0   0   2 - 1023 254  63 [         1 - 1465149167] <Unknown ID>
 2: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 3: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused
 4: 00    0   0   0 -    0   0   0 [         0 -          0] unused

After removing the hybrid partitioning, you should be able to enter one of the next three commands to add back in the macOS partition.
Below is the first possible command for adding the macOS partition back into the GPT. If you are using Core Storage, encryption or APFS, then skip this command.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t hfs disk0

If you are not using APFS and you are using encryption and/or Core Storage, then you should use command given below.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC disk0

If you are using APFS, then you should substitute the command given below.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t apfs disk0

Answer When Windows Is Installed
2011 model Macs require Windows to be installed to BIOS boot. This means you need to keep hybrid partitioning. In this case, the instructions below will remove the duplicate entry from the MBR partition table, then add this entry back into both the GPT and MBR partition table.
The command given below removes the duplicate entry from the MBR partition table.
sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0

This is an interactive command. Below are the values to enter into this command.  If you make a mistake, you can press the control+C key combination to exit fdisk without saving any changes.
edit 2
0
quit
yes

You should be able to enter one of the next three commands to add back in the macOS partition.
Below is the first possible command for adding the macOS partition back into the GPT. If you are using Core Storage, encryption or APFS, then skip this command.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t hfs disk0

If you are not using APFS and you are using encryption and/or Core Storage, then you should use command given below.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t 53746F72-6167-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC disk0

If you are using APFS, then you should substitute the command given below.
sudo gpt -f add -i 2 -b 409640 -s 1318255112 -t apfs disk0

Below adds the duplicate back into the MBR partition table.
sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0

The interactive entries for the above command are given below.
edit 2
af
n
409640
1318255112
quit
yes

Fixing the macOS Boot Partition
The partition with an index of 3 has a GPT partition type of 48465300-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC. This should be 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC. You need to change this the same way you did for the partition with an index of 2.
The remove command is given below.
sudo gpt -f remove -i 3 disk0

The add command is given below.
sudo gpt -f add -i 3 -b 1318664752 -s 1269536 -t 426F6F74-0000-11AA-AA11-00306543ECAC disk0


What are the advantages and or disadvantages of calling Handlers from a Library Script with “use Statements“ vs. the “Load Script” command?

I have added a “script logger” to the beginning of every one of my scripts, which basically writes to file…. The script name and the time and date it was last run.

All of the commands for the logging, reside in a script object located in a separate file “Jimz_Handlerz.scptd” used as a script library which is located in my script libraries folder.

This following code, which is located in the file “Jimz_Handlerz.scptd”, is the script object which handles the logging

script scriptRunLog2
    try
        writeToFile()
    end try

    on writeToFile()
        set currentDate to (current date) as string
        -- The "." At The Beginning Of The Filename In The Next Line
        -- Makes That File A "Hidden" File
        set theFile to (path to desktop as text) & ".script_run_log.txt"
        set theFile to POSIX path of theFile
        set myName to name of (info for (path to me))
        set theText to myName & " was last run on " & currentDate
        try
            set writeToFile to open for access theFile with write permission
            write theText & linefeed to writeToFile as text starting at eof
            close access theFile
        on error errMsg number errNum
            close access theFile
            set writeToFile to open for access theFile with write permission
            write theText & linefeed to writeToFile starting at eof
            close access theFile
        end try
    end writeToFile
end script

There are two ways of which I can run the commands within that script object, from any other script file.

OPTION 1  Using the "load script" option inserted at the top of any other script file

property theLibrary : (path to home folder as text) & "Library:Script Libraries:Jimz_Handlerz.scptd"
property jimzHandlerz : load script alias theLibrary
run jimzHandlerz's scriptRunLog2

OPTION 2  Using the "use" option inserted at the top of any other script file.  Because "Jimz_Handlerz.scptd" is located in my script libraries folder, I do not need to define its location

use jimzHandlerz : script "Jimz_Handlerz.scptd"
run jimzHandlerz's scriptRunLog2

In regards to the question in my original post…

if I use option 1, the script logger will log which script I ran along with the time and date.

However, if I use option 2,  the script logger will log "Jimz_Handlerz.scptd" as the script running the code.

In short, in this scenario, it would be best to use option 1


Can a Mac with Thunderbolt effectively use a PCI Graphics Card using an external cage?

Unfortunately, there isn't currently a graphics card on the market that has a Thunderbolt-aware driver.  Without that, the solution isn't going to work.  All of the manufacturers of such enclosures have stated that there is significant demand for exactly what you're inquiring about here, and you might be best served to join some of their mailing lists to keep up with changes, i.e. cards that become compatible.  Magma for instance, has a list of "coming soon" cards on their site for their particular enclosure, but not a single graphics card.  Yet.

Don't also forget - Thunderbolt in its current state has a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 10Gbps (that's gigabits), or 1.25 gigabytes, per second and is made up of a DisplayPort signal coupled with PCIe 2.0 x4.

As you may be aware, most high end graphics cards on the market are PCI 2.0 (or even 3.0 now) and run best with an x8 slot or ideally, x16.  That kind of bandwidth — from 4GB/s on PCIe 2.0 x8 to 16GB/s on PCIe 3.0 x16 — is way over the ability of Thunderbolt.

So, even if there is eventually a card that would work, with a Thunderbolt-enabled driver that was available for your Mac - you won't likely get much more performance out of it that you couldn't get out of, say, the GeForce 650M chip in the current 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (mid-2012).

For practicality's sake, I'd suggest thinking about how if your current laptop's graphics capabilities don't suit your needs, perhaps you might consider upgrading.  It will be likely be a long time before there's a card that will run in the configuration you are contemplating.


How can I use the screen of a broken MacBook?

Imagine building yourself a monitor, and the only part you have is the screen display itself. No input port, controller circuitry, nor power supply.
There are not going to be easy steps that you can follow unless you can determine the OEM of the panel and dig up a kit and guide to provide a display assembly that drives that LCD panel.

Use MacBook Pro LCD Screen as a standalone monitor
Can my Macbook Pro's display receive inputs from other sources?


How painful is it to use multiple Apple IDs with the MAS?

Not really, I personally used multiple account. You see update notifications for both accounts; however, to perform the updates for apps purchased with another account you have to manually log out and log into the other account.


Accidentally changed owner of /var system folder recursively to myself

Since the system isn't bootable (in the normal sense), one easy way forward is to boot to Recovery HD and re-install the OS. There are thousands of files in /private/var that should be owned by root:wheel, _softwareupdate:_softwareupdate, myusername:staff, and hundreds root:admin so carpet bombing one ownership across the directories might lead to even worse breakage.

A reinstallation won't delete anything in the user and application folders but it also may or may not work - depending on if it moves aside /private and makes a new one or if it runs the equivalent of sudo /usr/libexec/repair_packages --repair --standard-pkgs --volume / which is a way to "repair permissions" on El Capitan if you managed to get things running again. If you have a recent backup, you could always just erase and reinstall from that.

I would try this as a first step to see if your system is salvageable. The repair_packages tool will run in single user mode, so that might be a nice thing to try after mounting / as read write (the syntax is provided when you boot). That tool used to be something you could run from Disk Utility, but now it's a command line tool for more specialized use apparently.


“Sign in to download from the App Store” dialog does not allow paste

You can use Keyboard Maestro with a macro such as this which takes the current clipboard and inserts its contents by typing it rather than pasting, allowing the clipboard to be entered into fields where pasting is forbidden.

Also, for what it's worth, OS X 10.10 Yosemite does let you paste into the aforementioned field and I believe so does 10.9 Mavericks.


Mac OS X 10.10.3 running out of disk space after sleep / Potential memory leak?

The purpose of the sleepimage is to store the contents of RAM if your Macbook's battery is low and is about to turn off completely (what Apple call "hibernate"). As such it can be equal in size to the amount of RAM in your Mac. So on your Macbook with 16GB of RAM it could be 16GB in size, which would go a long way to explaining how your Mac with 20GB of free space could quickly fill up. You can check the size of the sleepimage by typing ls -lh /private/var/vm/sleepimage in the Terminal. You can also delete it at any time with sudo rm /private/var/vm/sleepimage as your Mac will just recreate it as needed.

About your Safari use... "a dozen windows open with 1 to 25 tabs in each"...

Have you heard the famous joke about the guy who goes to his Doctor and says "My arm really hurts when I do this" and his Doctor says "Well, don't do that."?

There is another slightly less famous joke about a guy who goes to his Apple Genius and says "My Mac really hurts when I open over a hundred tabs in Safari." and his Apple Genius says "Well don't open over a hundred tabs in Safari."

I might have made that last one up, but it sounds like good advice. You might want to get into the habit of closing tabs and using a bookmarking service like Pinboard or Instapaper.

If you have 16GB of RAM and the most commonly used applications on your Macbook are Safari and Mail, your Mac shouldn't be using a significant amount of swap files. Unless of course you have 100+ tabs open in Safari. You can check the amount and size of swapfiles on your Macbook with ls -lh /private/var/vm/ in a Terminal window. Note that they are in the same place as the sleepimage, but you can't delete them. If you reboot your Macbook it should clear them up itself.

Something else to try is running Etrecheck on your Macbook. It will identify a lot of the third-party extensions/plugins on your Mac, including Internet plugins. I'd start with removing the ones you no longer need or don't recognise.


How to prevent the dialog that shows the available wireless networks to show twice?

Open System Preferences, go to networks, select Airport and make sure the "Ask to join new networks" check is not selected.

This will suppress the dialog all the time as there isn't an easy way to have it suppress a second dialog in a timeframe or after a disconnect event.


Can you mirror an iPad to a TV via HDMI adapter while iPad is locked?

In the settings screen within the "General" tab is an "Lock/Unlock" Boolean that controls whether the device sleeps when the screen cover is closed. Turning this off will maintain the screen contents when the iPad is locked or smart cover closed, but it means the device screen is on until the auto sleep timer triggers.


How do I silently start up my MacBook Air?

Plugging in headphones used to be the quick and dirty way to assure silence (back in the PPC hardware days).

Now, the self test startup chime still uses the internal speaker whether or not the headphone jack is in use, but the below trick will work on older macs. It is of use with new macs as long as you don't set your mac to reboot automatically and you don't forget about the current behavior and reboot it yourself.

I have a snipped nub of a headphone jack that I use when I am in a place where noise is prohibited no matter what the software decides.

You can get a plug without any cord for less than $5 at a store such as Radio Shack if you don't have headphones you can sacrifice or the cut cord doesn't please you.

It's simply not possible to change the NVRAM mute/volume setting after the mac is shut down (or sleeping) so even if you prepare properly, sound will be made if things don't go as planned on the shutdown.


Is there a way to use a Finder hot key to open a folder in TextMate?

I think that's a bug with Finder. Services that receive folders as input don't seem to be listed in the Services menu when folders are selected (but it only applies to column view; they are listed in other view modes).

In any case, one alternative would be to just use an AppleScript without wrapping it as a service. You can give it an app-specific shortcut with FastScripts.

try
    tell application "Finder"
        open (get selection) using path to application "TextMate"
    end tell
end try


What causes the repeated popup? after installing yosemite

There is a stub executable for Java. This is what it looks like.

It exists to get you to install a specific version of the framework since Apple doesn't bundle it with their computer.

Think of this as an "install flash player" message, but for the operating system as opposed to a browser plug in.

No bug, this is how things are designed. If you see it more than once, then you either are calling programs that want you to install Java or you didn't install the tool completely.

See http://www.java.com/en/download/help/mac_10_10.xml and the general Mac FAQ at the bottom of the page from the link above.


Mouse settings don't retain in Logitech options

For me it happened a single time and I just put the macbook to sleep and wake it up again. The options setting come back!

[Update] Today it happens again and the sleep-and-wake-up doesn't work this time. I switched off the mouse and switched on again, and the options are back!


Can I delete all the iOS apps on my Mac and still do full phone backups?

You're correct. Since iOS 9, the "usual" way that iOS apps are reinstalled after restoring an iTunes backup is by downloading them again from the App Store after you finish the setup process signing in with your Apple ID.

Note: Having the apps stored in iTunes is a must if there's an app you want to keep installing on devices, but isn't on the app store anymore (think Flappy Bird). The library in iTunes is the only way to get it then. I don't worry about this personally, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention it.

The "by the book" way to delete them is in iTunes Library > Apps. You can select multiple with Shift + click or  Command + click, and then right-click and select Delete from Library. Then select to Move Files to Trash.

You can definitely delete all of the apps in the iTunes Library and still do full backups and restores.

The apps themselves are not in the backup, only notes about what apps were installed (so it can be re-downloaded from the App Store), and the data stored for those apps.


PC user wants Windows/Linux key mappings

There are few 3d party application that can remap the keyboard to your liking.

An example is the Karabiner.

More simpler is if you just want to remap the control keys.

That can be done in the system preferences- Keyboard.


The method you described involves installing a third party ln command that allows you to ask the kernel to create a hard-link for a directory.

The ln command from coreutils ends up executing the linkat() function in the Darwin kernel, where the source code includes the following comment:

/*
 * Normally, linking to directories is not supported.
 * However, some file systems may have limited support.
 */

It is therefore generally not recommended to create hard-links to directories.

In regards to upgrading to High Sierra, your system will usually have its file system converted from HFS+ (which supports these hard-links in some cases) to APFS (which do not supports directory hard links). Therefore you will not have hard-links after conversion.

See the documentation from Apple on the subject here:

https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/APFS_Guide/FAQ/FAQ.html

Especially the following paragraph:

  Directory hard links are not supported by Apple File System. All directory hard links are converted to symbolic links or aliases when you convert from HFS+ to APFS volume formats on macOS.

The conversion program is supposed to convert these hard-links into symbolic links (soft links). The symbolic links points to new entries created in /.HFS+ Private Directory Data/.

However it seems that there might be a bug involving the conversion since you've experienced loss of files. This might be due to the fact that hard linked directories are seldomly used, and cannot be created with the standard Apple supplied tools.

Therefore I think you should file a bug report with Apple using Radar.


Extensions can be loaded into PHP two ways. Either statically at compile time, or dynamically at run time.

Statically loaded extensions are included in the PHP binary at compile time, and does not require an extension= line in php.ini to load it.

Dynamically loaded extensions are not included in the PHP binary, but are saved as dynamic link libraries (.so files on OS X). They require a extension= line in php.ini to load it at run time.

The short answer to your question: Your cURL extension is statically compiled with the PHP executable, therefore it works even though you haven't got a extension=php_curl.so line in php.ini.


There's more memory available there than you think. "Inactive" memory is memory that has been used, and is essentially keeping its old data so that it can be swiftly grabbed again if needs be. However, if your computer needs the memory for some new process, that memory is capable of being used - the old data is dropped out, and new data is put in.

As others have said, you also need to show all processes for a full idea of what's going on with your memory. But you're not nearly as tapped out as it first appears.


What's the "built-in" firewall in OS X 10.9?

The firewall in OS X 10.9 is now "pf".

It is controlled by the tool pfctl which can also give you a lot of status about the firewall itself. Try sudo pfctl -s all and you will get a huge dump of info. If you want a lot of information you can add one or two -v to the front of the options for even more info - sudo pfctl -v -v -s all


Can you apply jailbreak tweaks to a non-jailbroken device using a file browser such as Phone Disk?

It depends.

There are some hacks, such as a hidden panorama mode, which reportedly work without a jailbreak. The App to use on your Mac or PC to make the necessary changes to tweak your iPhone is called iBackupBot. I'll bet if you dig around those files, you may find more cool things.

Remember, a jailbreak consists of a firmware image which has been modified, presumably at the binary level. (Odds are that jail breakers don't have access to iOS's actual source code. So, they'd use tools like binary/hex editors.) Hacks that require binary changes can't be used without changing the code that the phone executes. Changing the binary code is the essence of a jailbreak.

However, sometimes, as in the case of the hidden panorama mode mentioned above, apps (or even parts of iOS, more below) will read "settings" or "preferences" from external files. In those cases, simply supplying another value by editing property-list files may cause the app to act differently.

Apps that tap into the Settings app to store their settings write those settings to the phone's persistent storage as property-lists, which are simply a special form of XML.

In the panorama mode example, the Camera app looks inside the relevant property-list file to check for a "flag" or a switch which will turn panorama mode on or off. There just isn't any user interface for turning the mode on or off. (For clarity's sake: The XML to turn panorama on is not in the same place that most settings are.)

Using the tool mentioned in the article, I've noticed that technically, which icons are shown on SpringBoard is also editable. There are tens of property-list files which configure the system, you just need to have access to them and know what values might be useful.

iOS uses a lot of "Property Lists" and XML, and knowing what does what can yield interesting results. Just bear in mind that most of the "useful" hacks are either available via Settings, or only via a binary jailbreak.


MacBooks with replaceable RAM use typical DDR3 like any other PC laptop.

From http://support.apple.com/kb/SP644:

  1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB

The RAM you linked to:

  DDR3 SDRAM
  Memory Speed 1333 MHz ( PC3-10600 )

I cannot guarantee that your MacBook will be able to address all 16GB, since the technical specifications claim the maximum supported amount is 8GB. However, I've seen several cases in which the upper bound Apple lists as "supported" is incorrect, so it's worth a shot. Make sure the RAM you buy has a decent return policy, in case your MacBook can't use more than 8GB as per the technical specifications.


Battery Charging spec
BC 1.2 is an abbreviation for (USB) Battery Charging (revision) 1.2. I'm no USB specs specialist so I can link some abstracts/files only:

USB Battery Charging (Wikipedia)
USB Battery Charging Revision 1.2 (PDF)
Overview of USB Battery Charging Revision 1.2 and the Important Role of Adapter Emulators
Overview of USB Battery Charging Revision 1.2 and the Important Role of Charger Detectors

Basically it's a USB 3.0 port with some extra features to detect devices that can make use of charge currents beyond the standard 900mA.


Can I restore my iOS 5.1.1 iPod Touch from a backup from an iOS 7 iPhone?

Nope, the iOS 7 backup can't be restored to the iOS 5 device through iCloud.

iCloud Backup will backup almost everything on the device including the contents of /var/mobile which therefore includes your messages as well as other data. There is never any 'Messages' option in iCloud Backup, but if the backup was successful then it has been backed up.


13'' Mid-2012 Pro, can I use FireWire to VGA for a triple screen setup?

As far as I know such device simply don't exist.


Apple Hardware Test doesn't run with original disk

There could be a whole range of reasons you're unable to get this to work (e.g. problems with your optical drive; a problem with your disks, etc), so it may be worth downloading AHT directly from Apple and running it from a USB.

The version of Apple Hardware Test (AHT) that shipped with your MBP should be AHT 3A171. You can download it directly from Apple here.
Create a bootable USB flash drive by using Disk Utility's Erase function. Make sure you choose OS X Extended for the format and the GUID Partition Map for the scheme.
Now have a good read of the Run AHT from bootable USB stick section on this github page, as this provides the instructions for copying the AHT onto your USB drive and blessing it so it can boot your MBP.

NOTE: By following steps 1 and 2 above you have already done the first and third bullet points on the github page.

Let me know how you go.


iOS and macOS cache maps as you browse, so the first step is to visit all the places at the scales you wish so your system has a chance to cache the content.

I’m not aware of a way to force or pin these, so you might need a dedicated map if you have to be sure you have a complete offline map data.


Do I have a virus, a back door? Am I hacked?

I don't know who you are, but chances are, you're aren't relevant enough to warrant hardware tapping.
Macs don't really get viruses. There are some trojans (malware in disguise as user software), but they require the user to manually input their administrative password. If you're suspect your infected, try a virus scanner like ClamXAV, but I doubt you'll find anything. Apple does a really good job at keep up to date against malware. DO NOT install any sort of on demand virus software. Generally Mac anti-virus programs don't actually protect from Mac viruses; they're meant to prevent Macs for being a vector for Windows viruses. As a Mac user, it's very easy to download a file infected with a Windows virus, and unknowingly pass it on to a Windows user.
A much more likely explanation is some sort of system related issue. Can you please keep Activity monitor open, and enable its dock icon CPU viewer from this menu:

Keep an eye on the CPU levels, perhaps you'll find a runaway process that's using your system resources.


In short, you can't stop the download once the OS has been told to download it.

First of all, I highly suggest you update to the latest iOS version because developers are constantly dropping support for older iOS. As for how to stop auto updates, after 45 minutes of searching, I think I found a solution. Doing this will also disable automatic downloads.

Here is what you (or others in your situation) can do:
Navigate to General > Store on your iPad. Next, turn on the switch that is labeled "Use cellular data". That will help most, but in your case, you mentioned turning off WiFi - so if you are concerned about that bandwidth, you'll have to keep networking off until you get to a network where bandwidth or cost for traffic isn't an issue.

This doesn't actually stop the download permanently, but will tell the OS to not burn your data plan and wait to complete the download over WiFi. Now, your phone will retain that downloaded OS image until such time as you erase the device and restore from a backup (where the download is not backed up and will be lost) or apply the update.


I have found the solution. Private mode was turned on in Safari. When I turn it off, the browser redirect works and opens the page in the target app. When it private mode there is no pop for "Open in app".


Preventing safari from opening Preview for images

In the general pane of the preferences, uncheck the 'Open "safe" files after downloading'. I have mine unchecked and Safari doesn't open the file downloaded in your example link.


You can find the Auto-Lock option by following these steps:

Settings
Display & Brightness
Auto-Lock

Here you'll have the option to change your phone to Auto-Lock from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. You can also choose Never to stop Auto-Lock from happening. If you use Low Power Mode, Auto-Lock will be automatically set to 30 seconds.


There does not seem to be a way to specify a device for a given drive. Your best bet might be to not auto-mount, then use a LaunchAgent to mount them in the order you want with a pause between each mount, and see if it works that way. This method might get messed up if you have a USB key or something else that auto-mounts available to the system when you boot.


Why does my iCloud tabs on Mac OS X not work?

Sign out and sign back into iCloud on your Mac.

There was also a bug that if you had iCloud drive turned off for safari, your tabs wouldn't sync. So I would make sure that Safari is checked under iCloud Drive as well as iCloud settings.


How do I tell Safari not to change the active tab on the error console when I reload a page?

Close the Resources tab then it always stays on the tab where you are on every reload


How to fix a situation where a new iPad 2 causes other macs to disconnect from Wi-Fi?

After testing one router configuration at a time, I finally fixed it. I had to change the wireless access point frequency from 5Ghz to 2.4Ghz. The option is called "802.11 Band" in the web interface. I hope that nobody else has to go through this.


iOS located photos without Wi-Fi/cell network

The iPhone has GPS. This doesn't require Wi-Fi or cellular towers and isn't disabled when you turn on Airplane mode.


How to remove a partition with terminal?

The command
sudo  diskutil  eraseVolume  jhfs+  MyVolume  disk0s4

should make the partition visible in the Disk Utility application. This command will erase the contents partition 4. You should probably quit the Disk Utility application before entering this command.
Once disk0s4 becomes visible in the Disk Utility application, you can remove the partition and reclaim the space.


I ran into the same mysterious problem. Easiest answer I have found that worked for me: simply delete the offending empty .mov file(s) directly from your iPhone's Photos app (select and trash). They will then magically disappear from Image Capture and Photos on your Mac.


OS X 10.10.5 - root user suddenly activated

The "Shared" folder is - depending on your system - automatically created or created by the system after establishing a second user account on your Mac (in your case probably the test user). Its purpose is the sharing of files between several user accounts.

Those files (and folders) may be personal data, Application Support files for all users or registration/licensing data.

Therefore the read and write bits are set for all users (BTW t is a sticky bit):

drwxrwxrwt   9 root   wheel    306B 16 Aug 22:30 Shared

The user folder of the root account is /var/root and contains the same default folders as a normal account.

After enabling the root user, the "new" user "Others" will be displayed in the login screen. This was done a "few months ago" as mentioned in your first EDIT section. There is no relation to the Update 10.10.5. You probably have done it yourself in the past or someone else who has admin access to your Mac.

The reason to be able to use your standard password with su is the identity of your password and the root password. If you change the password for root, you would have to enter this instead. If you then would like to su your admin user without knowing the root password, you would have to enter sudo su and your admin's password.


The file command in the Terminal also gives you some information:

% file foo.png
foo.png: PNG image data, 612 x 792, 8-bit/color RGB, non-interlaced


Is it possible to find out whether iPhone has MLC or TLC NAND by serial or batch number?

You can't figure out the type of NAND from the serial number.
However, Apple is dropping TLC NAND, so it most likely has MLC NAND (however, I can't tell you for sure without you buying it.)


MacBook Pro 2017 without Touchbar Not Charging

However, if the laptop is asleep the system stops charging. It only seems to charge asleep when the charger is directly connected to the computer.

You've narrowed down the problem to the "splitter."

If it charges when directly connected, but not when going through the splitter, your MacBook is not the cause of the problem.  If you were to bring it into any Apple store or repair shop, the first thing they would do is hook up a known good working charger to your MBP.  If it charges while sleeping, you'd be told that your MBP is working correctly; which it is.

What to do?

That vintage MacBook Pro has two Thunderbolt 3 ports so...

Return the "splitter."
Try not to use HDMI (it's very flaky, IMO).  Use DisplayPort instead. Thunderbolt 3 natively outputs DP; it will have to convert the signals to give you HDMI.
Use a "proper" (meaning an active adapter) USB-C Hub with Power Delivery and 4K support if you must use HDMI.
Because you only have 2 TB ports, I would spring for a Thunderbolt 3 dock instead.  This way you'll have ample room for growth should you want a second monitor or additional USB ports.

(Standard disclaimer follows)

Of course, if you're not comfortable that your MacBook Pro doesn't charge with the splitter you've chosen, by all means, return the Mac.  If your splitter continues to exhibit the same behavior, you'll have proof positive that the splitter is the issue.


Hmm, not sure, and don't quote me on this, but I don't believe the pin configuration has changed for the dock connector. Are you getting the yellow warning sign and the 'this accessory is not compatible' message on your iPhone? I found that a lot of accessories I had used with my iPod Nano and 3GS don't work with my friends 4's and 4s'.

Is the accessory one of those FM transmitters, or a direct cable link to the stereo? If it is the latter, and the radio has an 'Aux in,' you can connect up a jack to jack cable from the headphone port to your stereo. If it is the former, you may have to buy a new unit, as newer Apple devices are just not compatible with some accessories unfortunately! Griffin make a good one I believe.

Hope this helps!


Extract Chrome browser bookmarks in Mavericks, as Chrome is EOL

Just to be clear... When you say "I had html links saved within the Chrome browser.", by that do you mean that you had bookmarked various web pages by using the Chrome > Bookmarks > Bookmark This Page...  or Bookmark All Tabs...? If yes, then the file you want is the

/Users/$USER/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Bookmarks

file, and I believe it's in JSON format.

However, you'll need to use the Bookmark Manager in Firefox to import the data.

In Firefox, click Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks or just press: Shift-Command-B

From the Library window that opens, in the Toolbar, the last icon on the right click and select: Import Data from Another Browser...

Then walk through the Import Wizard making the appropriate selections along the way.


Use a Run Shell Script action.

Select the /bin/sh shell and select pass input as argument

Add the code

for f in "$@"
do
    rm -rf "$f"
done

I would also suggestion using a Ask for confirmation action before running the script. You know for safety, since rm has no way back.


Macbook Pro doesn't react to any key combinaton at start up

This occurs when there is no information on any hard drive that the computer can process. This means that at some point you likely accidentally deleted the recovery partition of your hard drive. There is no regular recovery partition so the computer has no idea what to do.

You need to have a bootable USB drive to do anything with that computer besides use it as a very expensive paperweight. Find a USB drive and someone with a Mac and make yourself an OS X (or MacOS) install disk. Then boot from that drive (by holding down Option during boot). Then wipe your internal drive and install the OS (which will automatically install a recovery partition).


how to delete files from iTunes without Time Machine deleting from external hard drive

No - when you delete a file on your mac Time Machine explicitly keeps all copies of that file that have been backed up previously.

The only caution is now you have all those copies on one drive (presumably) and it is one mistake / error away from being lost.

Also, if when your backup drive fills, Time Machine will start deleting from the oldest backup to make room for the estimated space needed for the current backup. Normally you won't lose all backups and all copies, but it is possible even if you have the "warn me after deleting backups" selected. In cases where new drives are added or there is an error / corruption to a file system causing a lot of data to get newly backed up, I have seen all but the most recent backup get deleted before you, the user is notified of the deletion.

You can prevent this one copy deletion by periodically cloning your backup volume or otherwise archiving a copy of your machine separately than the normal Time Machine process to ensure you always have more than one backup copy of a file that you have now deleted on your main iTunes library.


I created free space and I don't know to recover it

Basically you need to enter the following commands in a Terminal application window. The first command removes the OSXRESERVED partition. This partition is for the Windows installation files. The second command expands the disk1 container to consumer the missing free space.

sudo  diskutil  erasevolume  free  none  disk0s3
sudo  diskutil  apfs  resizecontainer  disk0s2  0


You can create soft links (a.k.a. symbolic links or symlinks) from the terminal, the same way as in any other Unix system.

I'm not familiar with Dropbox so I'll make up an example assuming that there is a folder Dropbox in your home directory:

cd ~
ln -s ~/Dropbox/aFolder Desktop/aFolder

Note that ln takes the link to create as its second argument; think of it like cp.

Also, a warning: if you create a soft link with a relative path, for example

cd ~/Desktop
ln -s ../Dropbox/aFolder aFolder

then the link will be relative to its location at the moment, not to the current directory when you created it! So, for example, if you moved it into ~/Desktop/Folders then it would be pointing at ~/Desktop/Dropbox instead of ~/Dropbox.


Macbook Pro 5,1 will only boot after multiple SMC resets

I’ve seen this before and it could be one of two things (generally speaking):

failing power supply
failing/failed SMC chip

When I mention "power supply" it can mean either the physical power supply like that in a Mac Pro (workstation) or the circuitry on the logic board of a MacBook (laptop) that manages where the current is sourced from - battery or external adapter.  There's power that goes to the SMC so that it can handle how and where power is distributed throughout the logic board.

It wouldn’t be a battery because when power is removed from an SMC chip, it actually resets.  So, resetting an already reset SMC wouldn’t do anything as you’ve demonstrated with the other numerous resets. However, what we have to remember is that when an SMC reset occurs, the whole system is being reset (warm power cycle).

The power supply (circuitry) could be failing in that not enough current is getting to the correct power rails until finally there’s enough capacity to get it to work; there could be dry solder contracts on any of the SMC components including the chip itself; or it could just be dying.

The least expensive DIY test you could do would be to replace the power supply with a known good one (if on a workstation), next followed by a replacement of the logic board.  Unfortunately, to get a proof positive diagnosis, you’d need high level told like an oscilloscope to accurately measure the power going to the individual power rails.

Ultimately, you'll need to send it in for service because there's nothing more that can be done from a DIY perspective.


OSX native equivalent to jdownload (app to download files from various sites, streaming, etc.)

Progressive uploader can do megaupload and the like but I don't think it does youtube.


Where are Google Chrome bookmarks stored in macOS for multiple profiles?

As you've stated, the default location is found within:

Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default

However, when you create additional profiles, the name Chrome uses on the associated profile folder is a generic numbered name (e.g. Profile 2, Profile 3 and so on)

The best way to find the folder path for a particular user is to:

Within Chrome switch to the other profile
Chrome will open a new window using the profile you just selected
Now in the URL/address bar enter the following: chrome://version
Press Enter
The browser window will now provide a whole range of data
Look for the Profile Path entry
This will show you the exact file path location of the profile you selected at Step 1
Now you can use that path to find all the data associated with that profile


Why does Snow Leopard free so much hard disk space?

John Siracusa’s review of Mac OS X 10.6 lists several space freeing features (on page 3). The biggest contributors are “install on demand components”, dropping support for PowerPC processors, and “HFS+ compression”.

The Rosetta PowerPC binary translator software and the bulk of the printer drivers and are not installed by default.

They can be installed from DVD or downloaded when they are needed.
The system-installed programs have dropped support for PowerPC processors.

At least one architecture was eliminated from every program on the system (32-bit PPC). Some of them dropped two architectures (32- and 64-bit PPC). This means that most Snow Leopard executables only store code for half the number of ISAs as the equivalent Leopard binaries. The different ISAs take different amounts of binary code to represent the same high-level program, so this does not always mean a 50% space savings for each binary. Nevertheless, “50% byte savings for each executable” is a fairly accurate estimate.
Many of the Snow Leopard files are also transparently compressed.

Limited access to HFS+ compression is provided in through the
ditto(1) and
afscexpand(1) commands. Some third part tools provide ways to identify or find such compressed files, but this is generally not a “user level” feature.

The review also mentions the change to powers-of-ten for reporting large byte sizes (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 (10^9) bytes instead of 1,073,741,824 (2^30) bytes) in the “A gigabyte by any other name” sidebar.


The battery status of Poor indicates that something isn’t lining up in how the measurement circuit sees the voltage profile change.

The mAh are all estimates / derived / statistical numbers and the only thing the system can really measure directly are voltage - current in - current out and estimated wattage of the CPU. When those 4 values are not aligned or our of what the “model” predicts - you get a Poor / Check Battery / Replace Battery status.

If I didn’t see the “poor” I would say you probably are fine. Also, if you get no charge when there should be charge - examine the pins and cords and cables that are external and then seek service. Make sure you have a great backup in case you can’t turn on the Mac again. Also, once you’re backed up, you might reset the SMC one time (or once every 3 months) if you haven’t recently. The SMC measures and integrates the voltage / time measurements to derive the mAh so it can get stuck and need a restart on occasion or when you see something amiss like you see now.

If none of these work, there's a hardware failure that could be a cable disconnected or a part or two that need to be swapped.


Benefit of using MacPorts coreutils instead of stock OS X?

The obvious benefit is to recompile the tools with optional features that Apple chose to not enable when they compiled the tools. Also, you can get newer options / patches / bug-fixes if you don't mind the duplication and the fact that sometimes you also get new bugs with the newer code as well.

The downside is that tools like tar and zip know about Mac OS X metadata that the MacPorts versions probably do not.


What is the difference between a iTunes ID and an Apple ID?

There is no difference, Apple ID is the more general term and the one more commonly used nowadays.


How can I make my macbook pro liquid proof?

I think you are going about this the wrong way.  You are looking defensively when you should be on offense.

Consider getting something like a privacy shield to place around the urinator:

Another alternative might be to simply bring physical pain into the mix.  Wounding the urinator that sprays wildly towards you and the Macbook might make the urinator realize that control is important.

Again, think offense...not defense.


The command you're using, "on adding folder item", is specific to folder actions, so it won't work in a non-folder action script. I agree with the others that a folder action is the best way to handle it, but if you really want to do it without, you can create a stay open application that queries the contents of the folder and compares it to the last time it ran, and displays the different files. Change the runInterval property to run at your preferred frequency.

Note: For simplicity, I only wrote it to check for files added to the spool folder. You can tweak it to also check for removed files by duplicating the second section in the code below, and looping through spoolFiles and seeing if they are in currentFiles.

AppleScript Code, as a stay-open application, below:

property spoolFiles : {}
property currentFiles : {}
property runInterval : 5 -- interval is in seconds
global folderSpool

on idle
    tell application "Finder"
        set folderSpool to folder "Spool" of desktop
        if (count of spoolFiles) is 0 then set spoolFiles to name of every file of folderSpool
        set currentFiles to name of every file of folderSpool
    end tell

    set changedFiles to {}--Reverse and repeat this section to check for missing files
    repeat with i from 1 to count of currentFiles
        if currentFiles's item i is not in spoolFiles then
            set changedFiles's end to currentFiles's item i
        end if
    end repeat

    repeat with each_file in changedFiles
        set theDialogText to "File is: " & (each_file) & "."
        display dialog theDialogText
    end repeat
    set spoolFiles to currentFiles --important to update the spoolFiles so only new files will get displayed going forward.
    return runInterval
end idle


Install FFmpeg, e.g., using Homebrew:

brew install ffmpeg

FFmpeg is high-quality software for converting video and audio files between different formats.  It does require installing separate software, though.


Updating to macOS Sierra from OS X 10.6.8

You can install El Capitan from the App Store (even on 10.6.8) for free, and then update to Sierra after completion.


How to show NumPad on the Keyboard Viewer

The can be done via a custom panel in the Accessibility keyboard.


Does a slow Time Machine disk affect general Mac performance?

I don't see why one would have anything to do with the other. Drives are not being constantly read from and written to unless something needs to do that. You can play a video game and once it's in RAM it'll stop reading the hard drive in many cases. A large movie on the other hand will constantly read from the hard drive. But even still, Time Machine and your external drive are separate from the other stuff your computer does. While yes, it'll take longer to backup and restore from it, that's the extent of the slowness you'll have from it.


Cronjob macOS does not work if set with a bash external script

There is no need to check whether there currently is a crontab installed or not. Just run
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo '@reboot bash /Users/user/myscript.sh') | crontab -

to add the @reboot line to your crontab (or create a new one).


Why does Python's readline.read_history_file not work from a script, but work interactively?

No sure if you've sorted this out.
Just ran into it myself. I can get around this my making the python history file visable.

eg: > cp .pyhistory -> pyhistory


Shared iCloud Account and Photo Stream, but no longer want to share iCloud accounts

There doesn't seem to be a way to retain the Photo Stream functionality –automatic sharing of every photo taken or saved in both your devices– once you stop sharing the same Apple ID.

You can enable Family Sharing and iCloud Photo Sharing, then manually share the pictures you choose to the "Family" album, which is created in the process.

You can achieve the same functionality –just the pictures being shared– with iCloud Photo Sharing alone and a shared album.

This question and answers may be of help: How can I share Photos across multiple users on Apple Photos, without paying for iCloud?

Backing up to the same computer it's a little more convoluted, and it's described in extenso in this article at the support site on Apple; the routes described are:

Create multiple user accounts on the computer that will hold the backups.
Sync different playlists to different devices (not sure this is helpful in this situation).
Create a separate iTunes library for each device.

You will want to exercise extra caution on choosing what to sync, to avoid mixing or overwriting each other information (I'm thinking on the options to sync contacts, calendars, email, etc.).

After separating the two accounts, you can regain access to bought music and apps if you set up Family Sharing.


Does Evernote on the iPad have undo functionality?

As with the iPhone, if you shake the iPad vigorously, you get offered the choice of:

Undo
Cancel

For me, this doesn't feel at all natural on the iPad, and I imagine that's why some iPad applications (e.g. Textastic) provide their own Undo/Redo buttons.

Edit

Thanks to @Lizzan for also pointing out in the comments:

  There's also an Undo button in the bottom left on the numerical keyboard - makes a bit more sense than shaking the iPad.


Is it possible to only sync favorite photos/videos to iCloud from my iPhone?

No, but it's possible using Apple's iCloud Drive.
With iCloud Drive, you can safely store all your presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images and any other kind of document in iCloud — and access them from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC.
Following are the steps to upload your favourite pics on iCloud:
Step 1: Open your favourite photo from photos app which you would like to upload on iCloud.
Step 2: After opening it, go to options

Step 3: Select Add to iCloud Drive option

Step 4: Select iCloud drive from the list. If you want to save your photo inside a folder present in the iCloud drive, choose that. For example, here if I want to save the photo in AI T2 folder I can choose that by tapping on it.

Here's the pic after upload:

NOTE
Make sure you have iCloud Drive app on your iPhone. If you don't have it then go to the App Store and search for iCloud Drive. Since, you are on iOS 10 you can download Apple's builtin apps from App Store (and delete them too). If this doesn't work, Go to Settings -> iCloud -> iCloud Drive -> Switch Show on Home Screen to On.
Here's the iCloud Drive app on the homescreen.


Another shot in the dark...but this page suggests downgrading to Perian 1.2.2 on Lion (see "Solution 1").

  The latest version 1.2.3 of Perian doesn't work on Mac OS X Lion. So if you have a Mac running Mac OS X 10.7, say, Lion, you have to downgrade the previous version, say 1.2.2. The version of 1.2.3 of Perian does not support QuickTime 10 in Lion and  fails to fix the loss of audio after one second in xvid files with ac3. So if you have a Mac with Lion, converting video to QuickTime is highly recommended.

However, that particular page is all about how to play AVI files with Quicktime, so it may not work, but might be worth a try?


Removing or transferring iOS app license

You may be confusing the limit of 5 devices that can automatically download new purchases with the ability to sign in and download a past purchase.

You can simply sign in to the App Store on the new device, navigate to purchases and re-download TomTom.

The current terms of service do not limit personal use of apps on multiple devices. You should read the license if you are using the software commercially where the terms specify one license per device or one license per person, but the enforcement is social and not technical. The store doesn't ask when you sign in whether you are licensing something personally or professionally.


How to create a custom readable symlink out of a sandboxed container?

Unlikely to be Possible

I suspect that if this were possible with a symlink, Apple would consider it a serious security flaw.

That said, see Why is the symlink I created inside an application container to allow for external storage not working? for possible solutions.

Sandboxed applications can only read the contents their containers, some global locations, and the locations explicitly granted to them by the user – via the Powerbox mechanism.

See Powerbox and File System Access Outside of Your Container:

  Your sandboxed app can access file system locations outside of its container in the following three ways:

  At the specific direction of the user
  By using entitlements for specific file-system locations (described in > - Entitlements and System Resource Access)
  When the file system location is in certain directories that are world readable

Given the list above, you may be able to extend the entitlements for the application to include your specific location and then resign the application.

Bypass the Problem

Alternatively, consider stripping the application of its sandboxing entitlement. You could try ad-hoc resigning the application and omit the entitlements entirely.


MacOS Sierra Keyboard layout changes to Windows keyboard layout in Microsoft Remote Desktop

There are currently two versions of RDC available; release 8.0.xx & beta 8.2.xx - If one doesn't behave as you'd expect, I'd try the other.

Beta from Microsoft Technet blog

More specifically, the Release version has always made you switch to using Windows standard  Ctrl ⌃   C   X   V  etc
The Beta allows you to use  Cmd ⌘    C   X   V  & even though still a beta, is actually better in many respects.


The only true lossless rotation for images would be a file format that allows you to save the image in its original format, and then specify what angle it will be rotated to when displayed on screen.

One program which can do this is InkScape. It will allow you to import (and embed) an image, and then rotate it. You can then rotate the image to any angle, as many times as you like without causing any loss of quality.


Internal Mic stopped recording voice, but hears case/keyboard touching

my microphone is working on the side from your laptop use a needle to pinch and clean out the hole from the microphone


How can I track/login to stolen MacBook Pro

No

Unfortunately, There is no way to track it to an accurate location without Find My iPhone enabled. If your able to get the devices serial number your best bet would be to file a police report at your local police station.

If it was stolen back in January odds are it has already been erased and/or resold. So even if there would’ve been a way to track it, you wouldn’t be able to anymore.

Edit 1

If you enable 2 step verification, if the thief tries to log into you Apple ID on the stolen computer, it will show on your other devices an authentication code for that devices, aswell as the location of the device that is requesting permission.

So if the thief tries to log into your Apple ID and you have Two Step Verification enable, it will show you the stolen devices location.

Apple cannot track your device as it would most likely violate some privacy policy, though if you give them your consent they might be able to track your device. I would suggest you contact them and see what they can do.


Make gmail in chrome the default email application for Yosemite

To Set default protocol handler in your chrome browser, visit any web app or website which support protocol handlers (For ex: Gmail for mailto:, Google Calendar for webcal: ) and you’ll see Protocol handler icon <<>> on right side of your address bar, click that icon to set default handler.

http://www.ashout.com/complete-guide-to-google-chrome-handlers/


How to update Python on a Mac with Unix commands

So your Mac is still looking for an old version of Python. You need to inform it that there is in fact a new version and where it can find it. To do this, you need to update the PATH to Python.

This can be done in your .bash_profile file.

# Setting PATH for Python 3.3.2.
# The original version is saved in .profile.pysave.
PATH="/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.3.2/bin:${PATH}"
export PATH

After you update the .bash_profile file Terminal should run the new version of Python, when you ask for it.


How to connect to modem setup as bridge through Airport Extreme?

The problem isn't just that you have two devices using the same 192.168.1.1 IP address, but also that two network segments are using the same subnet (the first 3 parts of the IP, 192.168.1.x). If you're on the AirPort's LAN at 192.168.1.123 and you try to talk to the modem at 192.168.1.1, the network sees "192.168.1" and recognizes it as local traffic, meaning that it never goes out the WAN port where the modem is.

It's sort of like if I try to mail a letter to "123 Fake St, London". I mean the one in England, but there's a city called London right here in Ontario, so that's where the post office is going to send it.

Anyway, when you made your own subnetwork with NAT, you should have picked a new IP subnet to go with it. The AirPort utility calls this part of the IPv4 DHCP range, even though it affects more than DHCP. It's probably currently set to "192.168.1.100 to 200". Just change the third part to something else, like "192.168.0.100 to 200". This will move your entire LAN to the 192.168.0.x subnet, and the AirPort will take 192.168.0.1 for itself.


How to reset trackpad after pinch to zoom stops working

Go into the trackpad settings in System Preferences and uncheck every single checkbox in all the tabs (pinch to zoom etc. etc.) , wait 5 seconds and recheck all the box you use. (sometimes I switch apps before rechecking the checkboxes and with more than 5 seconds).

You can also try

pmset displaysleepnow; sleep 5; caffeinate -u -t 1

Your screen will turn off for 5 seconds and then turn back on.


How to enable Time Machine to backup the data ON an SD Card? (NOT backup TO an SD card)

Three things will need to come together for this to work:

The Filesystem on the SD card needs a .fseventsd hidden directory and the system to track all changes (which typically gets created automagically when you format the card as HFS+) I haven't seen anyone hack Time Machine to back up filesystems that don't register with Apple's file system events API.
Make a test backup once you've gotten the filesystem into one that Time Machine supports. You can then check if /Volumes/SD is included in the files for that backup by inspecting the preferences for that backup
If you need to manually include the system, you can add it by changing either the metadata flag that is causing the item to be skipped or by editing the system exclusion lists.

You will need to pick parts of these two questions and answers to find both the settings for a specific backup as well as where the various system exclusion rules are stored and configured.

On OS X, what files are excluded by rule from a Time Machine backup?
Where does Time Machine store its settings?

In short, it might be easier to use rsync or some other tool to copy the SD card contents to a drive that already is being backed up, but as long as you have total control over the drive and the system, you should be able to bend it to your will and get the SD card to be seen and backed up every time it's present and a backup happens.


How can I remove apps from my Default Browsers list and Safari's "Open Page With" menu?

Over time, when lots of applications have been installed on a Mac OS X machine, the "Open With..." contextual submenu for files has a tendency to grow to quite an uncomfortable length, especially on older machines, which require a long time to generate and draw it.

One method of shortening the menu is to simply trash the applications you don't use. However, there are many vital applications that are set to be able to open common file types, such as .txt, .avi and .jpg. For example, how often do you open a JPEG file using QuickTime player or Project Builder? but you wouldn't want to trash those apps, either. The following is a way to avoid having these apps clutter your "Open With..." submenu without deleting the apps themselves.

Control-click (or right-click) the app in question and select "Show Package Contents"

Open the Contents folder in the app bundle. There you'll find a file called Info.plist. This is an XML property list that stores all sorts of information about the app.

Open the file with your favourite text editor. I recommend Hydra, but TextEdit will do just fine.
Search for something that looks like the following:

<key>CFBundleTypeExtensions</key>
<array>
      <string>txt</string>
      <string>srt</string>
      <string>suffix1</string>
      <string>suffix2</string>
  ....

and so forth, with the suffices the app is able to open contained within the tags. Then you simply delete the suffix for items you don't want the app to open.

Save the file, and close it (or quit the editor).
This will prevent them from being listed in the "Open With..." menu. The application will still be able to open the relevant file types. However, you will no longer be able to drop files with the suffices in question onto the app directly.

Directly from Mac OS X Hints


Is there a way to view just symbolic links that I've created?

That is completely normal when you have chosen to sync your Desktop & Documents folders with iCloud Drive. It does not mean that those folders would be stored twice or take up twice the space in iCloud Drive.


How to delete all emails from inbox in iPad 8.1.3?

Since you can't perform this trick... if you're that desperate, you can update to iOS 9 Public Beta and this feature will become present.

Alternatively, you can jailbreak your iPad and get a tweak named All Mail Actions from the BigBoss repository in Cydia.

If you're not willing to do any of these, you're going to have to delete each and every email individually. There's no other way.


Continuing a "stopped" iCloud restore on iOS

iCloud could be slow in restoring especially if you have lots of app data and your WiFi is not Speedy Gonzalez. I have some bad experience restoring with iCloud as my Photos app and Spotify app are both more than 5 GB each.

There is absolutely no way to let iCloud take over from where it left. You need to do the restore anew.

I'd suggest, the next time backing up via iTunes or an alternative such as Copytrans Shelbee. The restore will go rather quicker as it is done over USB. The backup in iTunes is exactly the same as with iCloud (including app data).


New macpro needs to connect with thunderbolt

Welcome to the forums!

The picture makes it out to look like it could be be both USB-C as thunderbolt would be square.

Here is a link where you can read on apple’s thunderbolt 3 and at the bottom of the article are easy to compare images of what many apple device adapters female ends look like. Go take a look on the site rather than uploading another clear image.


How can I receive FM radio broadcast signals on an iPhone 4?

The only iOS device that features a built-in FM tuner is the iPod nano, since the fifth generation (the tall "candy-bar" style before they shrunk to the square shape). The sixth generation (current, as of this writing) iPod nano still has the FM Tuner.

It is impossible to merely download an app on any iOS device (iPod touch / iPhone / iPad ) to accomplish this with any modern/iOS device because you have to have the physical radio that can tune FM/AM radio bands. Now, if they streamed to some network location which an app can easily access...

I would like to mention also that the Griffin and Belkin products in The Apple Store ARE NOT tuners. They are transmitters. They broadcast (short range) on FM frequencies, so you can tune in using your car stereo, or perhaps some kind of radio tuner alarm clock you may have in your house.

The iHome speaker does appear to do FM tuning, but that is likely not practical in the example you're asking about. Go with the iPod nano.


PPTP VPN not working on Yosemite 10.10.3 with OS X Server 4.1

Sorry for being untechnical, but I solved a VPN/Yosemite issue: After a smaller Upgrade my VPN still connected, but didn’t let anything thru. The Update somehow „unchecked“ System Preferences > Network > VPN(PPTP) > More…/Options > Connecting Option > Send all traffic through VPN Connection (third option in the first list in this dialog; I'm translating/guessing from the german version). Setting it back to let everything go through resolved all issues; Mail, afp, ftp, vnc came back just like that.


Can I turn off IPv4 and just use IPv6 on my iOS device?

169.254.199.45 belongs to Zeroconf. This does not necessarily mean, that any IPv4 outgoing connection can be made or will be made. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link-local_address and http://www.zeroconf.org/ (maintained by an Apple employee)


How to make the OSX text substitution available everywhere?

You could try any of these:

TextExpander
Atext
Typinator


How to use iPhone camera as MacBook Pro iSight?

There was once a project called iPhoneCam which allowed you to stream your iPhone video over WiFi to your Mac, but it seems like this project never got released.

However, there is an app called Peephole ($0,99) which, according to their support pages, will do the following:

  Peephole for the iPhone is a unique iPhone application that lets you
  use your iPhone as a wireless remote webcam

I haven't tested it myself, so I don't know for sure if it will work. But it should do the trick according to the developers.


How can I delete one of my devices from the "lists of known hosts (ECDSA)" after connecting to it with SSH?

You can delete a device entry by navigating to ~/.ssh/known_hosts and remove the respective line:

In the Finder hit cmdshiftG, enter ~/.ssh/ and hit Go. Open the file known_hosts with a text editor and remove the line with your device's host name or IP-address and the ecdsa key hint (e.g. ecdsa-sha2-nistp25).

Open Terminal and enter nano ~/.ssh/known_hosts. Move the cursor to the respective line and hit ctrlK to remove the line. To save the modified file and exit nano hit ctrlO and ctrlX

The known_hosts file looks like this:
ip-address (or host name) key_hint key

→  one line per ip-address/host!
Example:
host.example.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDWn...
192.168.0.7 ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDEIb...
192.168.2.7 ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDEIb...
host3 ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDWn...
github.com ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAQEAq2A7...
host2.example.com ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHA...

Opening the file in an editor like TextEdit the lines are probably wrapped:

To remove a host (in the example github.com), choose ip (or host name), key hint and key and delete it.
Editing ~/.ssh/known_hosts removes the host for the actual user only.


How do I whitelist a domain in iOS restrictions web filter?

According to Andreas, he recently tried it again and it works fine now. But here's a somehwhat comprehensive answer anyways:

There are two ways to whitelist a website:

From Safari: When you try to access a website and it gets blocked, tap "Allow Access" and then the restrictions passcode.
From Settings: Go to Settings > General > Restrictions > Enter the passcode. Then go to the Safari settings. There, add your website to "Always allow" list. In your case, adding "wikipedia.org" would be enough.

Unfortunately, there are no ways to add wildcards like "*.google.*", which is what I need and why I ended up here.

Note: If the website you are trying to whitelist is in the Never Allow list, then remove first from that list. Otherwise whatever you do, that website will still get blocked since the Never Allow list trumps the Always Allow list.

About Domains and Subdomains:
Domains trump subdomains. In other words, if apple.com is on the blacklist, all subdomains, like developer.apple.com for example, will also be blocked.

On the other hand, if developer.apple.com is on the blacklist, but not apple.com, then only the former will be blocked and the latter would still be accessible.


Syncing non-Amazon purchased eBooks between Kindle, iPad, and iPhone

You can do this depending on the file type. Install Amazon's Send to Kindle for Mac. It's a free app that lets you send your personal documents to your Kindle devices and Kindle iOS reading apps from your Mac.

You can send using drag and drop, or from the Finder, or from other Mac apps via the "Send to Kindle" option in the Print menu. You can also choose which devices and apps you want to send to.

The documents you send must be one of these file types:

Microsoft Word (.DOC, .DOCX)
PDF (.PDF)
TXT (.TXT)
RTF (.RTF)
JPEG (.JPEG, .JPG)
GIF (.GIF)
PNG (.PNG)
BMP (.BMP)
MOBI (.MOBI - used for eBooks)

If your file doesn't meet these requirements, you can always use a tool like Calibre to convert it to a compatible type.

When uploading .MOBI eBooks these need to be DRM free.

There's more info on using the app on Amazon's site.


An ipad app or setting that helps turn off wifi or turn on airplane mode on schedule?

No. Not unless you jailbreak your device.

There is obviously Do-Not-Disturb which disables alerts, but does not put the phone on Airplane mode or disable wifi.

Keep in mind that if you turn off wifi, or enable Airplane mode, that iCloud backups or iTunes backups won't work at that point.

So, in order to conserve battery overnight, you will need to manually enable Airplane mode, disable wifi, or, you could power the device off completely. Again, keep in mind, iCloud backups will not perform during this time.


After some searching the equivalent command using the defaults tool is

defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int 2

Anyone can verify this by toggling the values and then reading the key value. The default value has a value of 0 and switching it to all ui elements will turn it to a value of 2.


Highlighting in Preview not visible in other software

I am not quite sure why you have problem seeing in other apps highlighting (and other annotations) made in Preview, but just in case: after you've made all your annotations including highlights, press Cmd + S or File -> Save in Preview app. All your additions shall now be visible in any other apps.


Basically, your way of viewing the folders in the OS means that in the over-arching parent folder that you opened the finder window in will be the folder that it detects you to be in causing your CMD+V to paste into this folder.

Even if you've expanded sub-folders the OS has made it so that in this viewing format you haven't actually entered the folder so the paste still occurs in the highest parent folder.

Try opening the folder with a double click on the folder name or change your viewing format to columns so checking the contents of folders, like it seems like you want to, is easy but pasting to specific places becomes possible.


Files synced by Synk Pro have wrong owner on both synchronized Macs – how can I fix it?

The files appearing read-only to you is probably only because you are currently not their owner.
    What's likely happening is that the synced files retain the numeric owner-id from the source machine, and since that numeric uid in this particular case corresponds to the account macports on the target machine (in both transfer directions), macports has become the owner.

To verify that your account on each computer has the same numeric uid as the macports account has on the other machine, type the commands id -u and id -u macports in the Terminal in your account on both computers.

Fixing the cause of the problem

When information was submitted that the syncing is done using Synk Pro, I had a look at the Synk Pro web site and the app, and in the 'Advanced' settings I noticed the "Ownership:" option, which by default is set to "Copy If Possible".
    Since it looks like Synk Pro transfers files' numeric uid, and there's no option for mapping this uid to another uid/account on the target computer, the way to make synced files be owned by you is to change the "Ownership:" setting to "Ignore".

Fixing the files

To fix the permission problem for the already synced files, you only need to change the owner of the files to your own account. Since (in this case) all of your synced folders are within your Home folder /Users/youraccount, you can do this with the following command in the Terminal when logged in to an administrator account (you'll have to give sudo the password of the admin account):

sudo chown -R youraccount /Users/youraccount

using the actual account name (also known as short user name) of your own account in place of youraccount. The account name is the same as the name of your account's Home folder in the /Users folder.
    This will change all files and folders within the folder /Users/youraccount to be owned by youraccount (-R is for recursive), which should give you write-access to all of your files.

Since you earlier gave write-permission to 'everyone' for some files to be able to modify them, you may want to remove those permissions. This command:

sudo chmod -R u+w,go-w /Users/youraccount

ensures that the owner of your files, and no-one else, has write permission on them.

Type man chown and man chmod for more info about these commands.

Advice against using Finder to fix a folder's permissions

(I will update the below later)

Note: It is possible to change ownership and permissions of all files and folders in a folder tree using the Finder, by use of the controls at the very bottom of the Sharing & Permissions section of a Get Info window as shown in the picture in the question. One problem with this is that an account's home folder, and the standard subfolders therein, such as Library, Documents, Public and so forth, have special permissions (by use of ACLs) preventing them from being deleted among other things, and you don't want these special permissions to be removed or propagated to other folders and even files, so you should not use this unless you know very well what you are doing.


Headphones that look good on a desk next to a MacBook

Beats by Dr. Dre SOLO HD

They sounds amazing, looks nice and got a clean look. Here is a review.

Price: ~229.95 USD.


Open Terminal and run these commands: (Restart after)

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/*
 rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/*
 sudo rm -rf /Library/Caches/*
 sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Caches/*
 sudo rm -rf /var/folders/*
 atsutil databases -removeUser
 sudo atsutil databases -remove
 sudo atsutil server -shutdown
 sudo atsutil server -ping

Restart

Reset Standard fonts in Font Book

Open Font Book. File -> Restore Standard fonts. Restart.