Will running graphics/hardware intesive programs lower the "life span" of an iMac?

Mac hardware is designed to handle its maximum load without being compromised, so theoretically the answer is no.

In practice, as everything electronics or mechanical, if you push towards its limits you machine, every parts of its is subjected to major load and stress.
Wide variation in temperature can provide degradation to silicon properties and may cause failure or T-junction breakages if the hardware temperature watcher doesn't switch off CPU in time. The same is true for GPU.
From the point of view of HDD and SSD, they have a limited number of writes, and they are very sensible to temperature variation. In fact if you expose for long periods an SSD to temperature higher than 50 degrees, this can half is life.
Moreover, the more energy you hardware require the more fast you battery will drain, and the more often you have to reload the battery. Here you are contributing to increment the battery load cycles. Batteries have a limited lifetime before they lose their load capacity (it's around 900 cycles).


Where is Active Directory configuration information stored?

The config info for the Active Directory connector is all in /Library/Preferences/DirectoryService, in a bunch of files with names starting with "ActiveDirectory".  The one with the bind info has file permissions set so only root can read it.  There's also some related info in other files (e.g. that the AD connector is enabled, and its inclusion in the search policies), but most of it's right there.


Is it possible to list running processes that are not signed or notarized?

You will need to write a short script to gather this information.
Obtaining a list of processes is possible with ps and code signatures of processes can be checked with codesign.
codesign
The codesign command can be passed process identifiers, pid. To verify the signatures of two running processes call:
/usr/bin/codesign -d -vvvv 279 422

The flags are:

-d for validation
-vvvv to increased verbosity
279 the first process identifier to check
422 the second process identifier to check


Why does the Mac App Store show an "error" for a missing product?

If you disconnect all network cables and turn off WiFi, you should be able to reboot and have the download fail. At that point, deleting the file should be the permanent solution.

Once that's sorted, you'll have better luck hiding that purchase to avoid a re-download attempt.


Can two apps in one iPhone can be connected to same peripheral?

The Bluetooth connection is established between the phone and the device - the device does not exclusively connect to an individual application.

To answer the question a Bluetooth device can be used with multiple apps that are designed to work with it. For example, a Bluetooth speaker works with the Music app, it also works with YouTube etc.

Your device may have limitations that I am not aware of but without more information I can only tell you know Bluetooth works


iterm2 first tab transparency differs from default

In my case this was due to HotKey windows was created after pressing hotkey, but after CMD+T new tab was created with Default profile. So you can either set HotKey as default or rework your shortcuts. You can experience with this by clicking right mouse button -> New Window/New Tab and then Default /HotKey Window profile. After you will define what you would expect here it should be easier to configure


MacBook Pro 2019 reset to factory: Mojave or Catalina?

See Apple's documentation on Recovery Mode on ways to reinstall macOS and/or erase the disk. A simple reinstallation should not impact installed applications or user data, but as usual making a backup before is recommended. Also, downgrading from Catalina to Mojave always require changes in the disk format/partitions so you must make a backup before.
Which version of macOS is installed during Recovery can be partially influenced by the way Recovery Mode is launched (see https://support.apple.com/kb/HT204904):

Cmd-R reinstalls the same version as currently installed
Opt-Cmd-R installs the newest version available
Shift-Opt-Cmd-R installs the version the Mac shipped with (or the oldest one still available if the shipped version isn't available any longer)

If you clean install macOS, you will "wipe out" any FileVault encryption so whether you have the key or not is rendered moot.  The boot firmware password, however, is not affected.


How can I access my GMail contact groups from my iOS 7 device?

As far as I know the (becoming deprecated) exchange-based sync that gmail used never did it.  And the newer carddav sync doesn't support it "yet". I believe the spec they wrote for the protocol does provide the means for contact groups, but google simply has not implemented everything yet.

Google  does provide such features in their APIs which is a long way of saying you can find a few third-party solutions at the AppStore for the time-being that will sync your gmail groups bi-directionally.  Not sure if there are any free ones and haven't tried any to recommend, unfortunately.


Batch-remove mkv titles only, no re-encode

I was a bit unsure about trying a Java GUI app add-on for this, but I got it going reasonably easily.

Linked from MKVToolNix's GUIs and batch operations page I found JMkvpropedit

I couldn't initially persuade it to see the mkvpropedit binary inside MKVToolNix, either from its own file-picker dialog, drag & drop or even editing the file path [it won't edit or paste], so like a true newbie, I just copied it out of the app's 'Show Contents' into my Apps folder - tadaah! Now it can find it & use it.

After that it was simple.
Drag set of files onto the Input tab.
On the General tab, check Title & add {file_name}
Click Process files.
Done in seconds.


What is the best way to use two 27" monitors on your desk?

You don't say what you'll be using them for.  I'm (among other things) a programmer, and for me being able to see a tall vertical area in my text editor is of primary importance.  Thus, given 2 widescreen monitors, I'd set them up vertically, next to each other.

I'm not unique here: when I visited Google, most of the programmers I saw had this layout too.

I would think this could help with your neck problem, since it makes the display area closer to a square, and not a really wide rectangle.  Alternatively, you could keep them horizontal, and stack one right above the other.  Depends on the shape of the things you're going to be looking at most, I guess!


Technically, all you need to hook up is the LCD/digitizer and battery and you should be able to test.

That said, I don't know how you're going to test it without actually reassembling it because the connectors are so short.  Since you have to reassemble it, do it completely because one of two things will happen:

it will work which means you don't want to disassemble it again to connect the remaining components.
it won't work in which case you must disassemble it again to return it to the seller.

Taking shortcuts in this type of work always leads to a more expensive fix than you originally hoped/planned for.


How to remove right side space in TextWrangler?

Text Wrap

You can enable Text Wrap to have the text soft wrap and avoid the horizontal scroll bar. Use the menu item:

View (menu) > Text Display > Soft Wrap Text

See Ryan Rampersad's Text Wrapping in TextWrangler for more details about this feature.


Take a look at this: http://iterm.sourceforge.net/scripting.shtml
as mentioned in this solution: https://superuser.com/questions/455915/mac-os-how-can-i-launch-the-iterm-terminal-with-a-specific-profile-from-autom

It is not just creating the shortcut, you need to tell iTerm to actually "open a new terminal". Otherwise, the best you can get is to have the last active terminal to pop-up and get into focus.


All volumes on internal or external hard disks/thumb drives/DVDs etc. are mounted to the directory /Volumes by default. The boot volume itself is linked as a soft link here.

Example:

user$ cd /Volumes/
...
dr-xr-xr-x   2 user      admin  -     12936 23 Nov 16:45 Audio-CD
drwxrwx---  14 user      admin  -       544 27 Okt 09:43 ExternalDrive
lrwxr-xr-x   1 root      admin  -         1 23 Nov 07:59 MacintoshHD -> /
drwx------   1 user      staff  -       296 21 Nov 07:56 NetworkShare
drwxrwx---  14 user      admin  -       544 14 Okt 16:22 ThumbDrive
...

To access your thumb drive you have to enter cd /Volumes/name_of_thumb_drive.


Is "/private" just an ordinary directory or does it have special properties

There is no magic at works here, this will just create a user-writable directory to store the module in. You can‘t copy it into /usr/libexec/apache2 as this is protected by SIP.

Using /private like this seems kind of odd though. I would probably create /usr/local/libexec/apache2 and install the module there. You just need to be careful to adapt all references to it as well.


why does my ipad not sort series properly

iFlicks 2 is a great app to manage video files in iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iflicks-2/id731062389?mt=12


Can I use FaceTime video with an MacBook and email address only?

You need to add your email account in your Macbook's FaceTime app and then get it verified from the verification email that you will receive.


Reclaiming space used by deleted partition

The Terminal application command is given below. You can enter this command while booted to macOS.

sudo  diskutil  apfs  resizeContainer  disk0s2  0

This command has been known to fail if there is something wrong with your macOS APFS partition. Backing up important data is always a good idea.

The current version of the Disk Utility application assumes there will never be free space on a drive. When the Disk Utility removes a partition, the utility also returns the free space to another partition. Often, when one tries to do this with the diskutil command, two separate commands must be entered. The first command creates the free space and the second command adds the free space to a partition. You preformed the first part using live CD. The second command was given as my answer.


Transferring PDFs from iBooks to your laptop/desktop

Grab a copy of iExplorer (freeware), connect your phone, open iExplorer, select your device, and navigate to Media > Books. All your PDFs should be there.
However they all have cryptic names and there's no QuickLook in iExplorer, so you need to copy them all and then look which ones you need.


Is it possible to use MacBook as a display for Mac Pro?

You can use some computers that have a Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt port as an external display.

You can view the contents of your Mac on the display of another Mac using Target Display Mode, a feature in OS X. Target Display Mode lets you use a Mac as the external display for another “primary” Mac. In some cases, you can also use Target Display Mode to play the sound from your primary Mac on the speakers of the external Mac. For example, a MacBook Pro could use a 27-inch iMac as the display and play its audio on the iMac as well.

After connecting the computers and turning on Target Display Mode, the external display Mac acts like any other external display. Apps that were open on the external display Mac remain open even though you can’t see their windows.

Display the contents of your Mac on an iMac with Thunderbolt

If you have an iMac with Thunderbolt, any other Mac with Thunderbolt can use it as a display. The iMac will play both the video and audio from the other Mac.

Connect the Thunderbolt cable to the Thunderbolt ports  on each computer.
Make sure both Mac computers are turned on and awake.
Press Command (⌘)-F2 on the keyboard of the external display Mac.
If you want the external display Mac to play audio as well as video from the primary Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sound, then click Output.

Then select the external display Mac in the list of devices.

Display the contents of your Mac on a 27-inch iMac with a Mini DisplayPort

If you have a 27-inch iMac with a Mini DisplayPort , any other Mac with a Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt port  can use it as a display. Make sure you have a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable.

If the primary Mac has a Thunderbolt port, it can play its audio and video on the iMac. If the primary Mac has a Mini DisplayPort, the iMac may be able to play its audio. To see if it can, go to the primary Mac, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click System Report, then select Audio in the Hardware category. A list of your computer’s audio devices appears. If HDMI Output or HDMI/DisplayPort output is listed, your computer’s Mini DisplayPort can send audio. Make sure you use a Mini DisplayPort cable that carries both audio and video.

Connect the Mini DisplayPort cable to the ports on each computer.
Make sure both computers are turned on and awake.
Press Command (⌘)-F2 on the iMac.
If you want the external display Mac to play audio as well as video from the primary Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sound, then click Output.

Then select the iMac in the list of devices.

Also you could enable Screen Sharing on the MacPro and connect to it from the MacBook

or

Check out https://symless.com/synergy


Which application can be recommended to save a whole site recursively off line?

SiteSucker is a great tool for this. They have both a Mac version, and a iOS version. I have used the Mac client a while ago.

If you want to do this on the computer, 'wget' is a great tool, and the -m flag will help you mirror the site to a local directory. You may have to install wget through homebrew or another similar tool.


Is an app on Mac able to know my serial number

iOS apps that run on the device itself are sandboxed. Software running on an external device is not nearly as limited since it has more direct access to the device.

The reason you can't directly see folders on the device when you connect it to a computer is software - the drivers that let the computer OS recognize the device are set up to not show it as a removable storage device in Finder.

No, you did not jailbreak your phone.

Anyone who has physical access to your Mac can obtain the serial number (as can any application running on it). The appearance of the serial number in a log just means it was logged to your computer. It doesn't actually tell you anything about what was done with it. The serial number is not private information, anyway.


Filemaker is only a database app, and a pretty hefty one at that. So it will only take the place of one of AppleWorks' modules.

Do you use the drawing and writing component too? There are a number of apps that will open these files but it will depend on your needs. A search on MacInTouch.com for appleworks should turn up a whole bunch of helpful information on converting your files and replacement programs. It is not strictly a forum like Stack Exchange but you can ask relevant questions, but they are heavily moderated.


Extract zip file to different location without Terminal

Try throwing your terminal script into automators run shell script and saving as a service, then you just right click on the file and select the new service and it'll extract to your chosen destination.

there are a few other answers here
https://discussions.apple.com/message/17831395#17831395

I also found a very interesting tool today called Keka, which is fantastic for creating seperate zip files from one large folder. It has an option to save to a new folder, perhaps this could help.


How can I change x11 window size programatically?

You can install Homebrew and use it to install wmctrl using the following command:

  brew install wmctrl

Then run wmctrl like this:

wmctrl -l

It should give you a list of all the available windows on screen. Take the ID for the game window and run:

wmctrl -i -r windowid -e 0,0,0,1600,1200

where windowid should be replaced with the ID of that window.

Note: I don't think your mission is likely to succeed, as most programs that do not offer resize handles are not able to handle resizing their windows at all. You'll probably end up with the contents being the same size as always, and then just a white/black color for the rest of the enlarged window. But it is worth a try!


Can't launch an app after creation by Platypus. Error: ....app/Contents/Resources/script: is a directory

The issue was with the name of the directories and app that are separated by spaces.

  Reader Plat/Start Irule Client

For some reasons removing spaces solve the issue.


It sounds like the FileVault encrypted drive is allowing the old password (first login) to unlock the drive. But, instead of automatically logging in as the same user, the password reset is causing the second login.

You will need to login to an local admin user and remove the user's ability to decrypt the drive on the command line...

sudo fdesetup remove -user username

Then add the user back in using...

sudo fdesetup add -usertoadd username

Or, with macOS High Sierra, you can use the "Enable Users" button located in System Preferences -> Security -> FileVault.

I do not know if this is normal after a password reset, but you may want to confirm that your password reset procedure is correct.


Where is the "Home Computer" information that prevents syncing with other libraries stored on an iPod Classic?

I've been able to do this successfully suing rsync to copy my ~/Music/iTunes/ directory from my "Home Computer" to other computers. I don't remember exactly where the magic is, but it is within iTune's metadata.

Once you sync the first time you don't ever need to sync again. The libraries can diverge after that and your iPod will still consider them both to be the same library.


Why is the audio of my MacBook is becoming scratchy?

A vacuum cleaner can damage the small cones attached to the magnetic cone of a dynamic speaker, like in your MacBook Pro.  Similarly, a can of compressed air can damage the diaphragm.  One reason for buzzy, distorted sound is damage to these speaker components.

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/MacBook-Pro-15%22-Retina-Mid-2014

The above iFixit website (with whom I have no affiliation) describes how to tear down your Macbook Pro to see if your speakers are damaged.  They also sell replacement speakers.


Allow ssh-keygen-wrapper to access "System Events" for all users in the same computer

You should permit your AppleScript to access System Events from system preferences,
System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility.

Click on the + icon under that panel and add your AppleScript.

If that not works, try adding it under Full Disk Access which you can select from the left pane.


VPN connection in OSX fails after a certain amount of reconnects

This is actually a bug in Mac OS X, all Cisco IPSec connections have a timeout (hard limit of the lifetime) of 3600 second (60 minutes) because of the soft and hard limit of IPSec connections it is most of the time around 45 to 50 minutes.

You can check the files (with an active IPSec connection) in

/var/run/racoon/

for the limits. On a Terminal type

sudo more /var/run/racoon/*.conf

and you can see the content of the config file for the active IPSec connection, all lifetime values are 3600 seconds

lifetime time 3600 sec

The bug exists since a long time and is still present for example in Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9.1). There is a workaround (more or less) for this check

Workaround

or

Apple Diskussion #2163407

or

Apple Diskussion #2743319

For Witopia it is easier to use the Mac OS X Client from Witopia

Witopia Client


Enable mirroring on iPhone 4 (over-the-air)

There's nothing that does exactly what you're asking for. However, this should be similar. I've stumbled upon it in Cydia a few times, but never bothered to try it, because AirPlay just never appealed to me. It's not explicitly AirPlay Mirroring, but it does the same thing. There's also a package called Display Mirroring and DisplayOut found in Cydia, and they enable mirroring, but it's not over-the-air (you have to use a VGA adapter). There's also another Cydia package called AirServer, and it allows your iOS device to receive media from your Mac or another iOS device through AirPlay.


Move your desktop to the Data partition.
Symlink your ~/Desktop to this new desktop folder.

ln -s /Volumes/Data/Desktop ~/Desktop


What's the meaning of "These photos will also be deleted from Photo Stream on all your devices"?

I suggest that you have a separate folder on an external drive for all photos as a backup.

I do this and even if I make a mistake between any device and iCloud I still have the originals.

When it warns you that the photos will be removed across all devices then it is best to believe it and make sure.


Is there a way to rename my subscriptions in Reeder?

It is not possible to manage the feeds inside Reeder.app. Nevertheless it will synchronize all changes made to feeds within Google Reader. So if you want to rename a feed, open the webpage of Google Reader and go to the preferences.

In the prefs, choose the Abonnements tab (at least this is the German headline) and rename the feed.

If you now head back to the Reeder.app and synchronize your feeds the changes will be reflected and the feed will be renamed.

Please remember that this workaround will only work until July 1, because Google is shutting down the Reader service.


What does "Increase Contrast" option change?

I can't comment specifically on the Contrast setting, however there are various defaults you can enable from the terminal that will speed things up - specifically window "show" delays.

Browse some of these scripts:

https://gist.github.com/brandonb927/3195465
https://gist.github.com/maxfenton/c5a316f4254d27b18cf3

You will find various commands to reduce the delay between showing windows,

Example:

To speed up mission control you could do:

defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.1
killall Dock

This will reduce the animation delay to .1 second before showing mission control

Its possible some of these settings get tweaked when you go into enhanced contrast mode.


Starting `pf` Firewall at System Startup

You shouldn't have to create your own plist to enable the pf firewall on boot especially since you're using the default rule set.  You just need to enable it.  This will launch at the "correct time" when all of your interfaces are configured and up.
Step 1:  Edit the Apple supplied plist
The file you're looking for is  /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.pfctl.plist.
Change the Disabled key from "true" to "false".  Here's what it should look like:
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Disabled</key>
    <false/>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.apple.pfctl</string>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>/var/run</string>
    <key>Program</key>
    <string>/sbin/pfctl</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>pfctl</string>
        <string>-f</string>
        <string>/etc/pf.conf</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
</dict>
</plist>

Step 2:  Load (or reload) the plist with launchctl
% sudo launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.pfctl.plist

Step 3:  Firewall should be enabled upon boot.

My recommendation...
You should not expose the Mac (or any server) directly to the Internet but instead, it should be behind a firewall box/appliance!
Don't get me wrong - I am a huge fan of pf.  You should still enable the pf firewall on the Mac.   However, if what you're saying is correct that even for a couple seconds you get slammed with DDoS attacks, the (Mac) server shouldn't be dealing with them; your firewall should.  In fact, you should have a proper pfSense firewall in front of this server.  By having a separate firewall, the Mac will always be protected regardless of its status (i.e. an inadvertent rule change mistakenly opens it up).
You also gain the advantage of being able to run packages like pfBlocker-NG on the appliance (will drop connections from known bad actors based on black/white lists) giving you a higher level of protection.  Having it on the appliance frees up your Mac from having to handle those processes.


Easiest way to delete NON-Album photos from iphone camera roll

Click Select from the right upper corner, select the photos you want deleted and click delete.


Mavericks clean install with restoration from Time Machine

Your point about the restore from Time Machine leveling the effect of the clean install is correct. Unless you restrict yourself to just copying data files alone from a backup, while excluding custom application installs, application settings and system settings, a clean install would only mean spending more time with no apparent benefit.

As I mentioned in this answer to Is it better to upgrade to Mavericks or to perform a clean install?, a clean install is a tedious process that's better done only if you're having some issues in the system that you're unable to trace and resolve through other means.

Discounting bugs in OS X Mavericks itself, you would not notice any stability issues by going the upgrade path.

As a historical note, Apple used to provide an "Archive and upgrade" process long ago where the previous OS would be archived during the upgrade (this was during the time of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and before) and then moved to a straightforward upgrade process that has worked well for several years now.


How do I change some text in an OmniGraffle document via AppleScript without changing the text's styling?

To not change the color, font size and other styling attributes : You must use classes in Text Suite or in Extended Text Suite.

Like this :

tell application "OmniGraffle Professional 4"
   set someGraph to solid 1 of canvas 1 of document 1

  --set word 1 of text of someGraph to "Hello"
  --set characters 1 thru 4 of text of someGraph to "Hello"
  --set attribute run 1 of text of someGraph to "Hello"
  set paragraph 1 of text of someGraph to "Hello World"
end tell


iOS Shortcut to shuffle-play all songs by a specific artist in my library

Shuffle By Artist
Find All Music where Artist contains Ask Each Time (or other equivalent artist condition’. Sort by Random. Play Music.


Is there a tool that identifies which NSControl is under the cursor?

You can use a usability tool from Apple to see the structure of most user interfaces; try the Apple developer tool Accessibility Inspector. I believe it will do what you need.

The latest Xcode download may not include this tool as standard. You may need to download an additional package to find this tool.


What are all the dictation commands in iOS? (iOS 10)

One command that isn't on the list yet:

• "quote" will give you a space then "
• "end quote" will give you a " then space

In other words, say quote at the beginning of a quote and the following text will follow the "like this with no space, and saying end quote will put the quote marks right after the word like this" with no space before the quote. Saying quote again at the end will put a space before it like "this and put it in the wrong spot.


Receiving txt messages on two apple devices

Are you sharing one iCloud account? You can set separate apple accounts for iCloud and applications. My spouse and I use the same account to purchase apps (so that we don't have to buy apps twice to each have a copy), the same account for music (so that if I buy a song, she gets it too), but separate iCloud accounts to make sure we each only receive messages intended for us. Check your settings and see. AppleIDs are free, if you are not using your own for your devices iCloud, you ought to do so.


Mac App Store Download does not start on fresh installed Lion

Try resetting the Mac App Store.

Enable the debug menu and restart the Mac App Store.

defaults write com.apple.appstore ShowDebugMenu -bool true

Choose the Reset Application option.


Windows 7 reports mDNSResponse.exe caused a problem with Bonjour

I cleared the problem on my system by reinstalling Bonjour.


What does the "aapl,panic-info" output from "nvram -p" mean?

The line panic-info is the details of the last kernel panic registered and stored by the system.  If you do a PRAM (or NVRAM) reset, those details will be removed.

For example, I just ran nvram -p and I had no panic-info line because I did a PRAM reset since my last kernel panic.  I can't even remember the last time I had a kernel panic.

Hope that clears it up for you.


iPhoto '11 vs. iPhoto '09 keyboard shortcuts

After fiddling around a bit, it seems that ⌘+← works.


What causes iPhone low battery crashes? Is there a software fix?

If your phone shuts down with more than 10% charge remaining on the estimate, then you have a voltage / capacity issue in the battery and should have the device tested with Apple diagnostics to check the health of the battery. Think of a small town with a medium sized reservoir and a small water tower. The reservoir level can have water, but if it’s not pressurized (voltage) in the tower, the system can ask for more water (current) than the tower can supply. For a shower, the water just stops, but for an iPhone, it shuts off when the voltage drops too quickly.

The diagnostics read the low battery logs and compare them with thousands of other logs and Apple engineering standards to tell if your battery needs to be replaced.

Technically, those log files are total benefit with no downside. Your phone is out of juice and will shut down anyway. The OS is logging the data so you can take action on it if you choose. They don't cause anything other than logging what led up to the low power condition.

I watch my LowBatteryLog-YYYY-MM-DD-hhmmss.plist log files quite regularly to know when to seek service for my battery.

Technically, the lithium polymer cells can exhibit voltage drops when they are out of specification but not yet failing or in a state where they should be shut off and not used again.

Looking more deeply into your two posted logs, I would focus on these lines primarily:

Awake Time: 03:45:27 (13526)
Standby Time: 04:55:29 (17729)
Partial Charge: 0
Capacity: 0
Voltage: 3469 mV

When Partial Charge is 1 - that means that you plugged it in and the device received a charge between when it was full and first removed from power and it eventually shut itself off due to low power detection. In those cases, I really only focus on the Voltage - knowing when the device decided to preserve the remaining voltage for standby and battery protection.

The log above shows a very short awake time and indicates a likelihood that the battery isn't providing the correct duration and amount of power. Even if the CPU is full use, all radios are on, speaker cranking, brightness max - I expect 4 to 5 hours on most devices.

Unless that 3h45m run was a rare occurrence, my estimate is you need a hardware repair as sleeping more often will allow the sleep time to increase, but never increase the active time.

For newer iOS hardware (think iPhone 5 to 10) the voltage to available current to available capacity can also be due to aging, power management software or hardware issues.

Why does my iPhone power off when the battery is down to 30%?


Open Terminal.
Go to Terminal → Preferences….

Select the Settings tab, then your profile, and choose the Shell tab.
Set When the shell exits to Close if the shell exited cleanly.


contact info sent on a text that is now blocked

As long as your device received the info before the block happened, then the answer is yes.


How do I use the MacPorts version of nano as my default text editor?

You can either rename or completely remove /usr/bin/nano, then:

ln -s /opt/local/bin/nano /usr/bin/nano

The above command creates a symbolic link from /usr/bin/nano to /opt/local/bin/nano


iPod: how to solve: sceen shows lines only (nano 2nd gen)

Eventually, Apple Community Specialists recommended that I contact Apple Support. They said this is definitely a display fault and it needs exchanging; however Apple only provides support for devices for about five years and they have no spare parts available as of today (2016), thus recommending me to source spare parts from vintage devices.

UPDATE: I've purchased a replacement display from Hong Kong via eBay and implemented it following this guide: https://de.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod+Nano+2nd+Generation+Display+Replacement/421 (works, but new display has no backlight) - when attempting to slide the board back into the housing, it didn't fit - only after I widened the case with a spudger. Seems like it once had gotten crushed, causing an issue with the display connector. I've later re-implemented the original display - works as well.


I would be extremely hesitant to remove any system files on your Mac, especially since you're not even sure what many of them are. While it is possible to do what you want, I have seen many examples of people doing this and having unintended consequences.

If you're convinced that your system is taking a lot more space than necessary, then the best option to ensure you don't run into problems is to follow these steps:

Make a full Time Machine backup
Do an erase of the drive to cleanly re-install just macOS
Migrate across all the data etc you still want from your Time Machine backup


To me this sounds like Safari is just prompting you with a URL, either from your visited history or from popular web page URLs.

And, as it's doing this, if you press enter it's reading that as you accepting its suggestion, in which case it populates the address bar with that URL and takes you to that page.

However, on other occasions, you've typed enough of the URL for Safari to know you're entering something different, or you've typed the whole URL in which case pressing enter is telling Safari to visit the URL you've manually entered.

If this is the case, then it's not a bug, it's just that you need to get used to this behaviour. Evenso, I think we all get caught out sometimes, especially if we press enter at the wrong moment.

You can test for this by entering a URL slowly and watching the address bar  - you'll see that it's suggesting a full URL path beyond the cursor and this suggested path will change depending on what you type, but if you press enter at any point Safari will interpret that as you wanting to go to the suggested path.


How to pass a file set as a variable from AppleScript to a Bash shell script

The first problem with the first script is you aren't using the set myFile variable.

Here's a general guide to getting help:

Open Script editor - use the help menu to launch the AppleScript Language Guide and search for the command you have. In this case "do shell script"

That takes you to: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/content/documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/MacAutomationScriptingGuide/CallCommandLineUtilities.html

The example there shows how to set a variable for a host name and then call ping:

set theHostName to "www.apple.com"
do shell script "ping -c1 " & theHostName

So, in your case you'll need:

do shell script "/path/to/script.sh"  & myFile

At that point, you'll likely run into path issues so running small snippets of code in the editor, looking at the result and iterating should get you to solutions as inevitable errors in path, parsing, logic crop up. I left a typo in the second "do shell script" example above - pay attention to spaces and quotes :-)


UNKNOWN NAME Showing up instead of actual phone number

The cell phone carrier sends this information, so I would do in order:

check for carrier setting update
Check for iOS update
Test with a couple numbers (delete the number from contacts if needed)
If it’s systematic, restart the device and update it.
If it’s not systematic, call your carrier for support.

In the end, carrier support may be needed to validate why this happens if it’s not a simple need to update or restart and retest.


The iPad charger is 10 W and the MacBook charger is 29 W, so you would really be limping along from a power source that's not sufficient. I haven't tested, but my guess is the MacBook won't even try to charge from that small power source.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201700

The second hurdle you will face is that you'll need a charging cable to go from the iPad charger's USB A port to the USB C port. This basically will connect the 4 wires the iPad charger uses to the 24 pins that the MacBook expects.

I wouldn't count on this doing anything and instead look for an Apple Adapter or third party adapter that adheres to the USB Power Delivery specification - Apple specifically lists that this is supported by the MacBook.


System Preferences -> Network -> Pick your Adapter -> Advanced -> TCP/IP Tab :)

See screenshot here:

Your computer's IP is marked "IPv4 Address" (192.168.1.74) and your router's IP is marked "Router" (i.e. 192.168.1.1 in my case).


How do I encrypt an external drive with FileVault 2 in OSX Yosemite

I understand that you're running into issues, so this is going to be more for others looking for info on this topic. Encrypting non-boot volumes should be a relatively easy process in OS X 10.8.x and later.

To encrypt a non-boot volume:

Right-click on the volume you want to encrypt
Select the Encrypt… command

When prompted, enter a password and (optionally) a password hint.

The drive will momentarily disappear from the desktop (to initialize the encryption) then re-appear.


Flashing folder at start up, all recommended troubleshooting has failed

Hate to say it, buddy, but if disk0 and base system are all you got, and if base system is part of disk0, your MacBook Pro isn't seeing your hard drive. Reset the SMC if you can (Shift+Control+Option+Power while plugged in, then press power again after releasing all keys.) But if that doesn't work, it's either the SATA controller, the connection to the drive, or the drive. At that point, it's a store visit.


Goto PyCharm > Preferences (COMMAND+,) > Project > Python Interpreter.
There should be a dropdown to select the required version of Python interpreter. Select your version of Python interpreter from the dropdown. If the required option does not exist, click show all and select your required version (Check to see the exact path of the python interpreter).


Data storage location? Difference between server and physical device

On OS X, Dropbox and iCloud keep local copies of all the files you have stored on them. The reasoning being that Macs usually don't want for space like iOS devices do. On iOS, Dropbox doesn't store the files locally until you try to do something with one, at which point it's downloaded. iCloud handling depends on the application. I know for some applications, the files are kept locally. Pages for example will download all available documents, seeing as how text files are typically not that large. I'm not certain about the rest.


How to play iPhone music from within Catalina?

Your question is a bit unclear but if you want to use your iPhone as an audio input and play music from iPhone using the speaker of MBP then do the following steps:

Before following the instructions, make sure you’ve got a Lightning USB cable handy (the same one you use to charge your device). You’ll need it to complete the setup process. When you’re ready, follow the step-by-step guide below:

Connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable.
On your Mac, open Audio Midi Setup. You’ll find it in Applications > Utilities.
If you don’t see your iPhone listed in the left-hand panel, go to Window > Show iOS Device Browser.
Locate your iPhone in the list of devices and highlight it.
Click on Enable. Your phone will now appear as an input device.

No further steps are required. Any audio you play on your phone (again, except phone calls) will be reproduced on your Mac.

However, to justify my answer (if it doesn't suit your question), iTunes still exists in Mojave. You can sync all your music and can clearly play everything from MBP directly.


I spoke to the customer support again. This time an attentive guy there was able to point out the issue that is happening with my account.

Apparently Apple has put some restriction on new iCloud email accounts and they cannot be used as primary Apple ID for first 30 days.

They have added the following note in the documentation page as well but it is written in fine text so it goes unnoticed. One has to pay attention to notice it. It says:

"If you try to change your Apple ID to an @icloud.com email address created within the last 30 days, you might be asked to try again later."

I made my @icloud address 2 days back, so I guess in my case I have wait for 28 more days after which I hope I will be able to change my primary Apple ID address. Let's see.


My friend upgraded to a new phone, but it has less space than the old one

Mac or PC?

Because if you Sync'ed the phone with your computer it most likely copied the pictures to your My Pictures folder (PC) or into iPhoto (Mac). If you didn't sync the phone but just performed a backup then you will need one of the many utilities that let you browse/extract data from the backup.

I have not futzed with such a utility in many years I hear that iExplorer is a decent product.

It should allow you to do just what you want on a Mac or a PC.


How can I know what apps are on my phone but not in my iTunes library?

This does not tell you which items are causing the issue, but it resolves the issue by transferring whatever is needed.  In iTunes, go to the File menu, devices, transfer purchases from ....


How can I initiate OS X installation from a dmg in Windows on a Mac?

As far as I know, you can't "launch" the installation directly from Windows. From there, you have two choices :

Normally, you should have a recovery partition on your Mac. Boot on this one, you'll be able to repair or reinstall OS X.
Create a bootable USB stick with OS X on it to reinstall your main partition. There are lots of tutorials that show how to create a bootable OS X USB stick on Google, it's pretty easy to find.

Good luck


Can all Mac software update with one click?

No - there is no combined update process that works for all conceivable let alone all existing (or even popular) software.

But you can automate the Apple updates and use a third party app to automate the Mac App Store updates.

Can Mac App Store installs & upgrades be automated?

That way two pieces of automation can be chained together to meet your goals.

Diving deeper, there are all sorts of MDM / endpoint management suites like Munki and commercial ones like JAMF Pro that set up a framwork to automate this at scale remotely for an out of the box management toolchain when combined with Apple DEP.

You could go the managed route and have a script that pushes out updates for you like a school lab or corporation might choose to do.

One of the reasons why Apple has said it introduced the App Store model to OS X is to combat this level of complexity for many users - especially for those new to Mac. For apps that are distributed from the App Store and supplied as Apple products, there is in fact a one click Update button that works for both OS updates and App Store updates.

In your case, MS Office is not included in this easy deployment scenario (yet and perhaps ever) so the ease of updating App Store apps won't help you.


PAW may not be in your path. I would first type 'which PAW' and see if it returns with a path to PAW. If it does try using whole path to run PAW or at that directory structure to your path.

Ex. if 'which paw' returns /usr/bin/paw try /usr/bin/paw to run PAW.

Hope this helps.


So any suggestions as to why it might be happening? Is it overheating?

No, it's not overheating.  It's actually attempting to prevent an overheat condition.

Your MacBook Pro is doing two things to keep the CPU/GPU within operating temperature tolerances:

spinning up the fans, to cool the CPU
allocating CPU to lower the load demand

When you install software to override the SMC's control of the fans (cooling), you force the system to increase the CPU allocation to prevent additional load - it will become slower.

What you should do is

clean the dust from the fans
put in new, high quality thermal paste on the CPU heat sink

There are excellent videos on how to do this procedure on YouTube


iTunes shows App Updates Badge, but no updates are available

The common cause of this is when you have purchases in one library that belong to two Apple ID's. You will have to sign in to that second Apple ID to download those updates. This means iTunes is working as it was designed (although it is confusing since the Apple ID for each purchase is "hidden" in the info and not easily displayed.

A less common instance is when there is a problem with either the on line store or your local files that store the apps.

Here are two articles that will help if you simply have more than one account making purchases:

Which account did I use to make a specific purchase?
iOS: Changing the signed-in iTunes Store account


Single AD user cannot login to iMac, but others can

could there be a local user with the same name?  not sure this should cause a stoppage since you checked the home folder.

if you use something like

dscacheutil -q user

do you see a local account with that user name?


Your logic is not correct. For a while, there were people offering unlocking services for around US$170 who are believed to have bribed an employee of Apple or a mobile phone operator to unlock phones using the official channels, and those phones also didn't need to be jailbroken. There's no way I know of to distinguish one of those phones from a factory unlocked one.

Assuming it is a genuine factory unlock, there should be no problems -- I have a UK factory unlocked iPhone 4 and have upgraded the OS several times, though I've never tried to do so in another country.


Can i restore a back up of the user folder to a fresh install without issues?

How did you make a backup using Disk Utility? Did you mean you cloned your startup drive? If so, you did not just make a backup of your user folder you made a backup of your entire startup disk.

But to answer your original question...

The best way to do what your trying to do is to

Make a Time Machine Backup
Erase and Reinstall macOS
Use migration assistant to restore from a Time Machine backup where you can select what content (Your user folder) you would like to transfer

Note: Usually I would quote all this stuff but this is pretty standard information so I opted to just link it.


How to create a service that puts selected text into quotation marks?

One way is to create a service that runs a shell command.

For this, open Automator, create a new Service, check "Output replaces selected text", then add the action "Run Shell Script". In the box where you enter the Shell script write:

cat | sed 's/^/"/' | sed 's/$/"/' | sed 's/""//'

This takes the text you entered as input, and adds a quotation mark at the beginning and end.

Now, once you save your service, you can, for example, go to TextEdit, select the text you want to quote, then go to Services -> "name of your service", and your text should now be quoted!

Edit: I included the removal of trailing double quotation marks


iOS contacts app that can print data from vCards

The way to get the contacts out is to use the Workflow app as it can receive contacts from the Share Contact control and then parse the input.

If you want the address, just dump the entire contact to the printer. If you want to customize things, you can select specific fields or set variables / pass the data to a python script that runs in Pythonista.


OS X: Can I track what files are being accessed on a disk?

You can use fs_usage to see all system calls related to filesystem activities. Output is quite large, so you probably need to redirect it to a file

Run sudo fs_usage > fs.out in Terminal
Start Word and wait for the external drive to spin up
Switch to Terminal, press Ctrl-C and look through fs.out

You can also limit the output to certain processes, see the man page for details on that.


Allow apps writing to iOS Health - duplicate records?

Apps can write data to Health because this allows you to add data from other sources.

For example, you might go on a run without your iPhone but with another health tracker which could track the activity (such as steps). The linked app for this tracker could import the data into the Health app.

iOS Health will figure out duplicate data by itself and won't count activities twice.


Can I delete part of an iMessage from OS X?

Right click or ctrl+click on a message and hit "delete".


Why does Pages all the sudden need permission to print?

Open keychain and find Pages.

Right click and click on Get info

in the you can set the access and change it to what you need.

this is an example only


Disable viewing or require password to access Google Chrome History

The easiest way to keep your browser history (and everything else) to yourself is to either enable the Guest account or setup a "throwaway" account on your Mac and then use Fast User Switching to change accounts whenever somebody wants to use a browser quickly.


Option + E accent not working on Google Chrome - Macbook pro

After realizing the problem only happened in Chrome I disabled extensions and the accent option worked again.
The extension responsible is Honorlock if someone else runs with the same problem.
Thank you all


Something definitely doesn't sound right with what you're describing. Most descriptions of Launchd describe it is mostly doing nothing as described in this article titled: What Is launchd, and Why Is It Running on My Mac?:

  It’s very rare for launchd to take up many system resources, and when
  it does happen, rebooting your Mac is usually enough to fix it.
  Occasionally a buggy program trying to launch faulty daemons can cause
  launchd to use up a bunch of CPU. If you’ve installed something
  recently, try removing that and seeing if it helps.

You can check on what it's doing with this command:

$ launchctl list | head
PID Status  Label
-   0   com.apple.SafariHistoryServiceAgent
-   0   com.shazam.mac.ShazamHelper
-   0   com.macpaw.CleanMyMac4.HealthMonitor
36706   0   keybase.updater
702 0   com.apple.Finder
1256    0   com.apple.SafeEjectGPUAgent
64713   0   com.apple.quicklook
-   0   com.apple.parentalcontrols.check
-   0   com.apple.PackageKit.InstallStatus

From the sound of it with the logs being written to it sounds like Launchd is logging debug level on either one or more processes on your system. You can read more about changing the log level here:

How do I activate launchd logging on OS X?

There's also this aSE Q&A titled: New stats file created every 20 seconds in /var/log/com.apple.launchd.peruser.94? which doesn't have an answer but does describe and show another issue related to Launchd where it is excessively logging files.


Impact of Spotlight search information removal on Keynote presentation

Nothing. The file's contents won't be modified by the deletion of the Spotlight index. It's still in the location that you saved it to.


'Show Package Contents' in new iWork (Yosemite) File Formats

I've managed to expand the file by using the system (or any other) archive utility.

Here's how I got into the file:

Make a copy of the .key, .pages, or .numbers document
Change the file extension to .zip
Unarchive as you would any other .zip file to produce a folder
This folder is similar to previous show package contents bundle representations of older file versions
Make the changes you need to the document's data — in my case, this was modifying a few picture files that were used as icons throughout the multi-slide presentation
Re-compress the folder
Change the resultant zip file's extension to .key or .pages or .numbers


Folder with question mark when booting including recovery partition on MacBook Pro 2010

The differing architecture shouldn't be a problem. If you installed Mavericks on a 2012 MacBook that drive should boot okay on a 2010 MacBook. If you are unable to boot into OS X and unable to boot into the Recovery then it suggests both are corrupted in some way.

Internet Recovery might be an option, but unfortunately for Internet Recovery to work on a 2010 MacBook it would have needed to have this early 2012 EFI Firmware ROM update installed. If your MacBook isn't offering that option then I assume that means it didn't receive this update.

Two options are, to create a USB installer for Mavericks and try reinstalling Mavericks on that same hard drive, or to buy another hard drive and install Mavericks using those instructions. I'd lean towards the latter, as if the drive failed a Hardware Test that isn't a good sign. Modern hard drive are designed to cope with a certain amount of bad blocks. If the drive has enough bad blocks that it failed a Hardware Test I just wouldn't trust it.

BTW There is also this free tool to simplify the process of creating a USB installer for Mavericks called DiskMaker X.


Can autologin be set up from the command line? how?

You need to create the /etc/kcpassword file.

There is a small utility that will do this for you: https://github.com/xfreebird/kcpassword.

This is just a simple wrapper around this script: https://github.com/timsutton/osx-vm-templates/blob/master/scripts/support/set_kcpassword.py

which is itself a python translation of the original perl script from Gavin Brock: http://www.brock-family.org/gavin/perl/kcpassword.html


Purchasing all instruments doesn't work in GarageBand 10.0.2

Apple have made all the instruments free to download. It appears older versions of GarageBand don't understand the server response after this came into effect, and therefore it's not possible to download them without updating to the latest version of GarageBand.

It may be possible to use another computer or virtual machine with a newer version of GarageBand to download them, then copy them to your own computer, but I haven't tested this.


Acrobat Reader has an option to open PDFs from the last session. You may give that a test drive since it's free. Launch Acrobat Reader and go to the file menu. 2nd option down reads "Reopen PDFs from last session". This may do what you want.


Watch: Third-Party Email App that Renders HTML

The Apple Watch OS (watchOS) does permit rendering HTML email.  However, the Watch app must be built using watchOS 5 and use Webkit for the email.  It's also a poor experience to try to read html-formatted email on a small Watch screen.

Needless to say, most developers have not updated Watch apps specifically for this purpose and some might not ever do such an update.

Because watchOS 5 is so new, it might take a while for developer to create such an app.  Keep checking the Watch App Store and your favorite app review sites to see if any are available or featured.


Can I lower the minimum display brightness? How?

My recommendation is a hitherto-little known gem, called ScreenShade.

There are several decent Mac software screen dimmers out there, of which I've found the ones whose dimming method is to apply an increasingly opaque black 'overlay' over the screen to be the most superior in appearance (providing much higher quality 'low blacks' than Shades which does its dimming via color profile/gamma level tweaking) and in doing so, also playing nice with famous color temperature regulating app, f.lux.

The best examples in this group, are Shady (whose development has been abandoned by its dev and has a no better rogue clone in the Mac App Store), ScreenDimmer, Screen Shade, and Work at Night. (N.b. these last two, confusingly appear to be clones, by the same dev on the Mac App Store.)

But if you're looking to more fully emulate the Mac's in-built hardware dimming in software, you're looking for an app that can have the dimming triggered via hotkeys, system-wide.

Annoyingly, none of the just-listed quality 'overlay method' apps actually provide keyboard shortcuts (at present).

So for all the above criteria AND having keyboard shortcuts, the only one I have found is the humble Softonic-hosted ScreenShade, est. 2008!

It's working on Yosemite 10.10 no problem, and has a decent little preferences window including even customisable support for multiple/secondary monitors! Its only drawback, is that the hotkeys' granularity in dimming up and down is a little less than one would ideally want (i.e. the jumps are fairly large), but this is a small concession given it at least provides hotkeys, and it does go down to very low levels (with fairly good clarity), all the same.

So until contenders like ScreenDimmer, Shady, or Screen Shade / Work at Night do anything about it, if you want something with hotkeys and simultaneous operation with f.lux (and to do it in software), this looks to be only app that can do it.


vba split() not working in Mac Word 2004

Office for Mac 2004 is too old. You need to upgrade to Office 2011, which has the function you want:

  Office for Mac 2011 comes with VBA 6.5, ported from Office for Windows.
  Source - Apple Store Q & A

(I'm assuming VBA 6.5 didn't remove the split() function from 6.0.)


If the formerly-free space is showing up as 'other', the implication is that your current system partition is perfectly OK?

I would recommend to start with, booting from the Recovery partition, and doing a 'Verify Disk' and/or 'Repair Disk' on the system partition.

Is the 'other' space actually a partition, or is it free unpartitioned space on the drive?

If it's a partition, you can use Disk Utility to select that partition and use 'Erase' it in the format you wanted - give it the name you want at the same time.

If not, you can just create the new partition in that space.


How to encrypt outgoing connections from a local device?

You can get a VPN to automatically encrypt all your traffic, see The best VPNs for Mac OS in 2017 or other recommendation lists for options. It depends on the VPN provider though whether they allow all kind of traffic though, some of them block/throttle torrents for instance. A VPN also doesn't protect you from ISPs throttling all VPN traffic by default.


How to change the finder services submenu threshold?

In Terminal, paste the following line and hit return:

defaults write -g NSServicesMinimumItemCountForContextSubmenu -int 99; killall Finder

You can change 99 to whatever number you prefer – when there are 99 items or more, Finder will place them in a submenu instead of appending them to the context menu. The default is 5.


How to delete all "Audio" files from my MacBook

From within Finder, select the search box at the top right corner of the window and type Audio; a list will popup, near the bottom of which will be Kinds and Audio. Select that type, and then for the scope, select This Mac. This will show all the files on your Mac (at least within your Spotlight search's view) that OS X considers to be audio files.

You should be very cautious when deleting files shown this way, as you'll find many are embedded in applications, or used by other applications, including the OS, in various ways; deleting them may render an application dysfunctional.


Mail.app won't launch Skim in Mountain Lion

I experience the same problem. I upgraded to OS X mountain Lion and I can confirm that opening .pdf attachments with skim fails when done directly from Mail.

The only workaround I know is to first save the .pdf somewhere (for instance the Desktop folder) and then skim works normally again.


How can one save a file as plain text in TextEdit?

With TextEdit in focus, select Format → Make Plain Text option in the Menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + T to change the file encoding to plain text.

This will also set the extension of unsaved file to .TXT from the default .RTF.

Now, save the file normally by invoking File → Save... in the Menu bar, or using the keyboard shortcut Command + S to save the file as plain text .TXT file.


iPhone no longer syncs automatically when connected to PC

I'm guessing (since you do not state this in your question) that iTunes tells you something along the lines of "This iPhone has not been synced with this computer before so now I have to erase everything on your phone." This is because after the reformat, your iPhone and computer no longer recognise each other because the computer is seen as a different computer.

If this is the case, I don't think you have any choice but to setup your phone anew. Fortunately, you can at least transfer your iPhone content to your computer before you do this by following the instructions at iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer and/or Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store. I hope this answers your question, but like I implied earlier: some more information would be nice :-)


iTunes wont sync items to iPhone after Family Sharing set up

So I figured what was the problem. First of all its not family sharing but new Apple music which is in the cloud now and prevents from downloading songs from iTunes to your iPhone. So if you go to Settings --> Music and disable Show Apple music it restores the ability to transfer songs in old fashion from iTunes. See attached screenshot.


If you go into Settings > Messages, you should be able to choose which email addresses you get iMessages to. It's under the Receive At option which let's you input additional email addresses.

Additionally, you can even sign out of your iMessage account without affecting the iTunes account by tapping on the name of the account you are currently signed in as (on the same screen).

Here's what it looks like on an iPhone:


The Magic Mouse does work with iOS 13, you'll need to use a PIN code of 0000 to pair it. If you have trouble getting the mouse into pairing mode, remove the batteries from the mouse and re-insert them after a short while. This forces it into discovery mode, where you can pair it.

The Magic Mouse 2 is slightly more complicated, as it did not work in the betas of iOS 13 at all. It is however supported in the final release of iOS 13 - however note that the iOS 13 support for Magic Mouse 2 so far includes only pointing support and clicks. There's no support for any gestures.

There's no way to enable the Magic Mouse on iOS 12.

The video you have linked to shows an iOS Simulator running on a Mac. Here the mouse is obviously supported. This doesn't make it possible to get it working with a real iPad with iOS 12.

A few apps exists with mouse support for iOS 12 and earlier. They do not support the Magic Mouse though. They only support special hardware, and it's not supported system wide - but only limited to a single app. For example you can get a Swiftpoint GT Mouse for use with the VMware Horizon Client for remote desktopping.


The relaunch option is at the bottom of the pop-up menu you get when you alt right-click (or Control +alt left click) the Finder icon in the Dock.


My Trackpad doesn't work on my MBP when I unpaired Logitech mouse

@Allan recommended booting into safe mode, so 3rd-party extensions wouldn't be loaded. This brought the trackpad back, and I was able to run the uninstaller.

I also found that merely unplugging the Logitech transceiver dongle freed the trackpad. No reboot needed.


CD digital audio ripping tool for OS X that has accurate extraction, error detection, and verbose reporting?

XLD

It started out as decoder/encoder/transcoder tool but it's branched out in to ripping in recent years (version 20080812 and above have ripping features) and it supports most of your criteria:

Uses the AccurateRip technology, comparing MD5 sums against known-good library of rips to ensure the rip was done correctly.
Uses cdparanoia 10.2 as the ripping and error correction library. Can be used on drives that don't have Accurate Stream and utilize C2 error pointers.

(Source for above)

I can't comment on the "verbose details when errors arise" request because I've never encountered an error ripping with it.

It's free. It will multi-thread to speed up encoding of albums. And it's pretty fast. It's been my encoder/transcoder of choice for years now.


Applescript to kill open applications and log out user after 30 min. of inactivity

Have you tried using the built in tools to force a log out upon reaching a certain idle time?

It is an Advanced Option (see the bottom button) in the Security & Privacy preference pane on Lion.

If you want one user to have a different timeout you can script things easily with Automator or AppleScript:

tell application "System Events"
    log out
end tell

The trick is making your custom app keep a timer for 30 minutes of inactivity which is why the system control panel is the best option for this request.


I highly doubt you can change the appearance of sheets, even through undocumented means – that's been a core part of OS X since 10.0.

That said, I think there's a way to effectively avoid the problem you're having: in System Preferences, go to General and uncheck the box for "Ask to keep changes when closing documents".

Now, apps that support auto-save (like TextEdit) won't bug you about unsaved changes when they quit – they'll simply save the changes in the background automatically, then restore them when you next launch the app.

(Note: I think the above option is only available on Mountain Lion).


Secure erase ssd with Snow leopard (10.6.8)

Apple removed the secure erase from SSD since they do not work like HDD where you can command a secure erase. THe best you can do is fill the drive up with some other data and reduce the portion of the memory cells that still contain unerased and original data.

THe NAND controller in SSD is the only way to ensure all cells are properly sanitized, so you would need a manufacturer specific utility to force all of the cells to be over-written with whatever data the manufacturer recommends.

Depending on why you are erasing, you would spend the time to get a custom tool or just copy new data on the drive or choose to physically destroy the SSD to prevent any recovery of the data.

Going forward, the only way to secure data on an SSD is to encrypt the data before it is written and then destroy the cryptographic key that can decrypt the data. No erasure of the data is needed, just key destruction.

In your case, you might just load Rick Ashley videos from YouTube and then change any passwords you really cannot afford to lose to some unique value so that in the remote chance a hacker gets your SSD and recovers data - they would only get to accounts you can fix later.


Pixelmator is a great image editor for OS X if you don't need all the bells and whistles of Photoshop. It's only $30USD, an order of magnitude cheaper than PS, and has a free trial.

I think this is the best choice for beginners or those with more lightweight needs. Because it's Mac only, it integrates with the core technologies of the OS better than even Photoshop does, so it's a very natural learning curve for an OS X user.

However, if you need something totally free, you can also check out the open source GIMP project, but this is starting to approach the complexity and power of something like Photoshop.


Does the oleophobic effect of the iPhone screen wear off over time?

Unfortunately, yes, the coating does wear off over time. Apple has this to say:

  Please note that the ability of this coating to repel oil will
  diminish over time with normal usage, and that rubbing the screen with
  an abrasive material will further diminish its effect and may scratch
  your screen. —Apple

However, and this is good news, there are aftermarket alternatives to re-apply an oleophobic coating. Aculon is in the business of applying lipophobic protection (among other types) to a range of devices. I'm not sure how well they work or how much they run but a solution does indeed exist.

And for the curious bunch among you, here's what Bill Nye (The Science Guy) says on how the substance works:

  The new 3GS iPhone has a coating that helps you leave no, well hardly
  any, prints—fingerprints. The glass screen is coated with a polymer,
  a plastic that human skin oil doesn't adhere to very well. People in
  the chemical bonding business like to call the finished surface
  "oleophobic."

  Such a lovely Greek cognate may sound like it means "afraid of oil."
  And, it does, but it also connotes (or carries with) "aversion" or
  "not-like-to-be-around-tivity," if I may. Instead of sticking to the
  bonded-plastic surface of your new phone, the oil from you fingers or
  cheekbone or tip of your nose stays more or less together as its own
  smooshed droplet.

  The Applers were able to do this by bonding this oleophobic polymer to
  glass. The polymer is an organic (from organisms) compound,
  carbon-based. The glass is nominally inorganic, silicon-based… solid
  rock. The trick is getting the one to stick to the other. Although it
  is nominally proprietary, this is probably done with a third molecule
  that sticks to silicon on one side and to carbon-based polymers on the
  other side. Chemical engineers get it to stay stuck by inducing
  compounds to diffuse or "inter-penetrate" into the polymer. The
  intermediate chemical is a "silane," a molecule that has silicon and
  alkanes (chains of carbon atoms).

  If you'd like—and I hope you will—take a moment and think about
  droplets, like water droplets, on a surface. Deep in the droplet,
  water molecules stick to each other. On the surface though, they stick
  to each other as well, but they also have to opportunity to stick or
  not to stick to the surface they're resting on. When they stick, say
  to the nylon fibers in a bikini strap, the swimsuit feels wet (or so
  I'm told). When they don't stick to the surface they're resting on,
  they bead up, like in the car wax commercials.

  Well, the polymer that the 3GS iPhone screen is coated with doesn't
  let the oil of your skin stick to it very much. So, you don't leave
  fingerprints. The key is in the intermediate compounds, the silanes
  that hold the plastic to the glass.

  So grab a hold of one, and for a change, watch almost nothing happen.
  It's chemistry. —Gizmodo


Contacts first and last name order inconsistent between iCloud.com and iPhone

For the iPhone you can adjust the order of fields in Preferences -> Mail, Contacts, Calendar
For iCloud you can do the same by opening the Contacts web app and selecting Preferences (cog wheel in the lower left corner)


How can I see an iPhone Smart Battery Case serial number using macOS console?

Put your iPhone into the Smart Battery Case.
Unlock your iPhone.
Open Console.app on macOS.
Plug your Lightning cable into your computer.
Plug in the other end of the Lightning cable into your iPhone via the Smart Battery Case Lightning port.
Your unlocked iPhone may ask if you trust this computer. Select Trust and enter your iPhone passcode.
In Console.app, select your iPhone on the sidebar.
Type Accessory Identifier into the Console.app search bar.
In the Console.app window, you will see a number of items under process sharingd with text in the message containing In powersource description.
Select one of these items and look for the line "Battery Case", "Accessory Identifier" :. The serial number for the Smart Battery Case will be listed there.


How do I make Terminal.app's scrollbars disappear in Lion?

I assume you're not using a trackpad, and/or your Show scroll bars preference in System Preferences > General is set to either Automatically based on input device or Always (otherwise, you shouldn't be seeing persistent scrollbars).

Try changing this setting for Terminal only:

defaults write com.apple.Terminal AppleShowScrollBars -string WhenScrolling

Then close Terminal and reopen it for the change to take effect.


Configuring Apple Mail with Gmail Aliases

None of the other solutions worked for me right now with Apple Mail 9.3 on OS X 10.11.4. Just to make sure, my situation is as follows:

I have a primary email address xyz@somedomain.com as a Google Apps account
I added a domain alias otherdomain.com to that account
I want to send from xyz@otherdomain.com and have the receiver see this in the "from:" field (notice that this is slightly more complicated than in the original question, but includes the original question's case!)

After a lot of experimenting, this did work (both parts required, it seems).

On the Gmail end:

For the primary email address xyz@somedomain.com, I went to Gmail online, then (under the top right tool icon) Settings > Account.
There I clicked: "Add another email address you own".
In the window popping up, I entered my (same) name and, under "Email address", the full alternative xyz@otherdomain.com
I left "Treat as an alias." unchecked.
Clicking the "Next step>>" button, I left the default top selection (the one that says "easier to set up")
I saved this.
(Back in the main Accounts screen, I checked "Reply from the same address the message was sent to", but that doesn't seem to be relevant to the root problem we are trying to solve here)

Using "Compose" still in Gmail online, I was able to change the from field to xyz@otherdomain.com and confirm that the receiver saw this as the "from:" field (as well as in the raw mail data).

Now in Mail, in the settings for xyz@somedomain.com I just added an alias in the "Alias:" field right under "Description:". Now Mail shows the alternative email address in the From field when composing emails in Mail, too, and the recipient sees xyz@otherdomain.com as the true sender (checked in the raw mail data again).

Notice that without the Gmail modification from Step 1, adding an alias to Mail just resulted in an additional line "X-Google-Original-From: xyz@otherdomain.com", which Mail wouldn't recognize as a sender in any form.


Command or Shift key modifiers always activated

I do experience the same issue. I have spent hours on debugging this issue. As I found it this issue exists for a long time. I don't sure about 6.3.32-4. Wacom support keeps recommending to reinstall the driver. I am also in contact for a RMA. I guess it is a driver issue. The shift click issue is reproducible using Wacom driver 6.3.35-2 and 6.3.36-2 on macOS 10.12 and MacOS 10.14.

Solution:
In my case I went back to Wacom driver 6.3.34-2, which resolves the issue.


Disabling sound output devices (e.g. Internal Speakers) in OS X

kextunload is a formal interface for unloading kexts in the Darwin OS and in Mac OS X.

Unload the system audio driver:

sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleHDA.kext

Load it again:

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/AppleHDA.kext

If not "AppleHDA.kext", another kernel extension in /System/Library/Extensions/ may be what you're looking for.


For a clean shutdown (the button solution is not clean and there is no way around it, i am afraid) i suggest you to connect to your iTunes Server via ssh from a second machine and shut it down this way.

Another option would be through Apple Script. If you have a specific time that you want to shutdown your iTunes Server, or if there is no request inbound to this server for a specific time a script could be auto-activated to archive this.

Though the first option is much easier to accomplish!


Move using keyboard instead of drag and drop

You can Cut, Copy or Paste using the keyboard - though as Finder has no actual Cut command, you move files in a slightly different way from how you would do it on Windows.

Copy is  Cmd ⌘   C
Paste is  Cmd ⌘   V
very similar to Windows, however, cutting a file leaves the potential for losing it, if for instance you forgot, or had a power cut, or copied something else before you remembered to paste, etc.

So Finder doesn't let you do that.
Instead it leaves the file exactly where it was until you make the actual call to move it.
You do that with Copy, as above, then  Cmd ⌘   Opt ⌥   V .
Think of it as 'Option Paste'.

That will securely move the file to its new location. That can be on the same volume, or a different one. It will execute the move differently for each of those scenarios, but the end result is the same, your file is now safely in its new location.

Amongst the methods for picking where it will go...

Open two Finder windows, so you can see source & destination simultaneously.
Use column view, which you can navigate using just the arrow keys.
Use Tab view, so you can have two or more locations ready in a single window.


You can make 5.6.1 work with on Mavericks with a workaround, as detailed here:

http://coreyjmahler.com/2013/10/24/airport-utility-5-6-1-on-os-x-10-9-mavericks/

  The issue with AirPort Utility v5.6.1 under OS X 10.9 Mavericks is
  that a system file upon which AirPort Utility relies was updated in
  10.9 and that update broke backwards compatibility with AirPort Utility v5.6.1. The file in question is Apple80211 in
  /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/A.
  Replacing this file with the older version allows AirPort Utility
  v5.6.1 to be run under 10.9, but only via Terminal (i.e.,
  double-clicking it will not launch it, it will throw an error).

  However, there is a way to get around this issue by importing the older library into AirPort Utility v5.6.1 before running it. That is
  what the new solution, downloadable, infra, does.


I've been using Reeder for some time now, it's pretty easy to use. There is a version for iOS and OS X. You can find all you're looking for in the settings section.

Image :


You're not going to find it in any directory because it's a builtin command (man exit):

  Shell builtin commands are commands that can be executed within the
  running shell's process.  Note that, in the case of csh(1) builtin commands, the command is executed in a subshell if it occurs as any component of a pipeline except the last.

A list of the Bash builtin commands for macOS can be found at the top of the man page (man builtin).


Welcome @user65526! So, generally speaking, more information is  needed for something like this. The closest I can guess is: some kernel extension, possible related to a graphics card or external video display (?) is getting hung up with Apple's "Power Nap" feature, also known as darkwake[s]. I'd recommended disabling the feature entirely, by entering in your terminal:

sudo pmset -a darkwakes 0

This will disable "Power Nap" in all cases. IMO its not a particularly useful feature anyway.


The first line on a TextEdit moves out of center alignment, and then when recentered it is not in alignment with the rest of the document

Unless you really want a 20 inch wide paper printing you need to adjust your settings.

In TextEdit, click on File than on Page set up.

In the new window click on Paper Size and select proper size, like US letter or other standard formats.

As you know those markers above the scale are the TAB positions (for the tab key on your keyboard.

You can move them around as you see it fit, or remove them. The First and the last one are positioned depending your settings for the page margins. If you right click on one of them you get a choice to choose what they are fore.

The centering will be always for the center of the word it self, thus some might look out of center if they are longer then others.

Now you can use the keyboard TAB key and move a word to the center, or just use the Text Center Icon, but not both at same time


How can I upgrade my MySQL 5.1 to MySQL 5.6, and migrate data

The following assume your MySQL 5.1 is installed in /usr/local/mysql-5.1.46-osx10.6-x86_64 and that MySQL 5.6 will install in /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64. The exact directory names might differ depending on the exact version number you are using.

Download the MySQL 5.6 installer, for instance in DMG format, and run mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64.pkg
Stop the server

With MySQL Workbench, go to Server Administration
open mysql@localhost (add connection if not there)
under Startup / Shupdown, click Stop Server

Create backup of 5.6 data directory: sudo mv /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/data /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/data.save
Copy data directory from 5.1:  sudo cp -a /usr/local/mysql-5.1.46-osx10.6-x86_64/data /usr/local/mysql-5.6.11-osx10.7-x86_64/
Start server (similar to stopping, see above)
Run mysql_upgrade, which checks all the tables and upgrades system tables
Check data there, with MySQL Workbench

In Server Administration, under Users and Privileges, check the expected users are present
In SQL Development, open a connection to the database, and run a few queries to check the expected data is present.

In MySQL Workbench, if getting "Error deleting password entry error when connecting with MySQL Workbench", upgrade to the latest version of MySQL Workbench


How do I use the STIX Font in Mac OS X 10.7

These fonts should get used automatically by standard marked-up text that calls for them.  Check this test site with FireFox 4 and up:

https://eyeasme.com/Joe/MathML/MathML_browser_test

Info on documentation of the fonts is at

http://voxel.dl.sourceforge.net/project/stixfonts/DocumentationOnly/STIXv1.0.0.pdf

Info on using STIX fonts with LaTeX is at

http://www.charlietanksley.net/philtex/the-unicode-math-package-for-xelatex-and-the-stix-fonts/


How to "find and replace" in a PDF on OS X?

As Tom Gewecke mentioned in a comment, Adobe Acrobat can do this.

I was also able to do this with PDFpen, as also suggested by Tom Gewecke.

Both apps seem great. Since both of them are quite pricey, though, I would also like to share a way to do this with the free and open source software LibreOffice.

Open the PDF with LibreOffice.
Click Edit in the panel, then Find & Replace.... Use the feature as desired.
Click File in the panel, then select Export as PDF.... Save the PDF.

I suspect LibreOffice probably decodes and re-encodes the document. But in my case the new document looked precisely identical to the original (except for the edits, of course.)


I have a simular issue.   Only on start up/reboot MBP defaults to PST.  I go to Preferences and as soon as I unlock padlock it reverts back to EST.


Converting HTML to PDF using convert utility in Mac OS X

Have a look at wkhtmltopdf— a command-line utility that uses the WebKit rendering engine to produce PDFs from HTML. I've found that it produces a nicer result. You shouldn't have any trouble integrating it with your current script.


5GHz capable drivers for BCM94360CS on Windows 7

The problem is that you're looking for drivers for a wireless adapter that was pretty much only on Apple devices* for an Operating System that reached End of Mainstream Support January 15th, 2015.  It went completely EOL (End of Life) in January of 2020.
Your 2015 MacBook Pro was literally released the same time, if not shortly after Windows 7 was deprecated for Windows 8.  Apple, nor Microsoft were going to spend development cycles writing a driver for it - this is why it's so rare.
Supposedly, Boot Camp 6 drivers might work for you.  However, there's no tweaking of INF files that will increase throughput - that's a function of how the driver was written.  INF files are what describe to the Windows installer what the driver name and location is, the device name and location, and what registry options to be added/modified during install.  None of it "fixes" a problematic driver.
I understand that Windows 7 is critical for you, however, it's odd that a school would require you to utilize a tool that only runs on an OS that's been dead for 5 years now.  Your next option would be Windows 8, which might have better compatibility.  Windows 10 does have Compatibility Mode which allows older software designed to run on Windows 7/8 to run on Windows 10.
Now, if this is something you've personally decided that you only want to run Win7 and/or this particular application, then you'll need to make some compromises on your end as it's extremely unlikely you'll see any development on this driver for Windows 7.
Finally, your last option is to run the App in a VM rather than in Boot Camp.  As it runs in virtualized environment with virtualized network adapters, you won't have any compatibility issues with respect to drivers.

* https://deviwiki.com/wiki/Broadcom_BCM94360CS


After system wake, Thunderbolt monitor underscans

Try resetting your VRAM by restarting your macbook and pressing CMD+ALT+P+R when you hear the starting sound and hold until you hear the sound again. If you have a firmware password enabled you will have to turn this off in order to reset your VRAM.


How to lower minimum iPhone / iOS volume listening to streaming app on bluetooth headset

the " Audio Volume Balance slider " is only a setting to either reconfigure the ear piece so that if one ear piece is more louder than the other. You can change it through that setting or to check if you think one piece is not working this will allow you to verify this, but it is NOT to lower the volume on ear pieces for that you need to press the volume buttons on your iphone or the bluetooth headsets themselves or find the " Audio slider " in the " Audio streaming apps " themselves.   To " lower the minimum volume " is based on personal preference. If changing the volume this way does not work then you may be facing a product quality issue in bluetooth headset because not all bluetooth headsets are created equally


Siri's language choice (Settings) - does it affect speech recognition?

In my experience with Siri, the initial language setting of Siri does help a lot to help it discover your accent more quickly, but it's not the only measure it uses. It will base its understanding of your accent off of its own starting point. It's pretty difficult to convince Siri you're not American if you choose American English as its language. It will eventually change, but it takes a lot of time, and might not even be completely accurate.

I speak with a pretty standard British accent. Not northern, not southern, almost Welsh, actually. Siri's accuracy shot up with I switched to a British starting point.

I suspect that over time, Siri will eventually categorise your accent correctly regardless of its own language setting. This is evidenced by the fact that after a few tries, some of contacts' names (ones that a computer would have a hard time pronouncing correctly) are recognised now whereas they weren't originally.

The key is that Siri will attempt to categorise your voice into an accent. It will not necessarily learn your own specific accent, but it will broadly put your accent into a box, with a few exceptions for how you pronounce proper nouns like places, sports teams, people, and even apps.


How can change from sync'ing an iPhone (or iPad) to a PC to sync'ing to a Mac?

You can only sync a device to one computer, however if you can locate the backup folder, these contain lots of files which all need to be moved across to the other computer and it thinks it has always backed up this device. Locate it on your PC depending on the OS below.

Windows XP: %AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Windows Vista: %AppData%\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Windows 7: %AppData%\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

and transfer this file to your Mac:

Mac OS: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

You will need to authorise your new iTunes account and transfer all your music and apps.


Time Machine doesn't backup folders with same name as user

I am assuming you have already checked in in System Preferences > Time Machine > Options to ensure those folders have not been excluded?

We can then use the tmutil utility to find out some more information about this.

From Terminal enter this command:

tmutil isexcluded ~/Xcode/Attila

This will tell you whether it has been excluded from Time Machine backup or not. If it lists

[Excluded]    /Users/Attila/Xcode/Attila

You can then remove it from the exclusions list by running

sudo tmutil removeexclusion -p ~/Xcode/Attila

For more information on tmutil, check out its documentation


How do I override the terminal command "rm" to perform the "rm -i" command by default?

Use an Alias.

The alias command allows the user to launch any command or group of
commands (including options and filenames) by entering a single word

alias rm="rm -i"

The next time you issue the command rm it will issue rm -i
You can also make a new alias in case you want to keep rm functioning as it does by default.  To create a new alias
alias rmi="rm -i"

Now, rm will have it's default behavior and rmi will have the -i option
To make it permanent, just add it to your ~/.bash_profile.  This way, everytime you open a new shell, your alias will be ready to go.


First, try restarting your device.

Second, try doing a forced-restart by holding the power and home buttons down at the same time until the Apple logo appears, and then release (this should only be done in desperate times, not as usual practice).

Third, follow these steps: (which can be seen on this site)

Go into the App Store.
Across the bottom, you will see a white bar.
On the far left, you will see a star and the word "Featured."
Tap the star 10 times. You will see the screen flash white momentarily.
Restart your device again.

Then try to download the desired app again.


Where in iOS 9 Beta 5 is the iTunes Store App?

Ensure that Restrictions (Settings > Restrictions > iTunes Store) is enabled.


How to find image compression type used in PDF?

The 'compression type' (e.g. JPG, PNG, TIFF…) can vary from image to image within the PDF document, which is why it's not shown in the general document properties. Instead, use the Preflight function to analyse all document pages and get a list of page objects including every single embedded image and its compression/encoding method.

Steps (based on Acrobat Pro XI):

In the right-hand Tools column, go to "Print Production" and click "Preflight".
In the Preflight dialog window, go to the tab "Profiles" and expand the list of profiles under "PDF Analysis".
Choose the profile "List page objects grouped by type of object", then click the 'Analyse' button and wait until the process ends.
In the 'Results' tab, expand the line "Overview", then "Images", then expand the image infos by page number and colour mode (CMYK, RGB, Grey/Black). Double-clicking the page-entry line highlights the image on the document page.


Multiple Java versions support on OS X and JAVA_HOME location

Preferring a version of Java

Use Java Preferences in the normal way.

Depending on what you have installed in addition to Apple's distribution of Java, the first tab of the utility may appear a little different.

An example, without the familiar options for applets and Java Web Start:

There is some background reading on how this works at the command line level. The command line tool java_home reports back this preference setting.

$ /usr/libexec/java_home
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0_33-b03-424.jdk/Contents/Home

The /usr/bin/java placeholder app makes use of these settings run the preferred version of Java.

$ which java
/usr/bin/java

$ java -version
java version "1.6.0_33"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_33-b03-424-11M3720)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.8-b03-424, mixed mode)

Finally when configuring JAVA_HOME in a launch script for Tomcat or Maven you can hook into the preference system:

export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home`

Answers elsewhere note that Java may be installed at several paths –

/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
~/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

– but for what's currently described in the question here, the JDK from Oracle on Mountain Lion, only one path is likely.


How to remove an image or movie from iDevice but not from iCloud Photo Library?

I assume your problem resides in the fact that Photos app is taking too much space on your iPad.

If this is the issue, your best solution for managing space and keeping a synced Photo Library across devices is to enable Optimise iPad Storage under Settings -> Photos & Camera -> Optimise iPad Storage on your iPad.

The Photos app on your iPad will then manage which photos are kept at high resolution and which are just stored as thumbnails. You can also activate the same preference on your Mac's Photos app, under Photos -> Preferences -> iCloud Tab -> Optimise Mac Storage on the top bar.

Unfortunately, there's no way to delete a photo exclusively in one device once iCloud Photo Library is enabled.


How can I recover missing iCloud storage space?

I ended up phoning up iCloud support, and they were similarly baffled. They tried a load of things (none of which worked), and eventually they then asked me to delete the WhatsApp Documents & Data storage. Despite it saying that only 350MB was being used by WhatsApp, deleting this immediately freed up around 2.8GB (350MB plus the ~2.5GB of "lost" space) in iCloud.


Single application not showing up in Spotlight

Go to System Preferences --> Spotlight --> Privacy. While that's open, go to Finder --> Applications and drag Matlab from Applications into Privacy. Close out System Preferences then reopen it and remove Matlab from the same place.

This will force a reindex for Spotlight. I've seen this work for some people and not for others but it's worth a shot.


How to stop file vault decrypting and re enable encryption?

Just wait for it to decrypt, then re-enable FileVault.


Is the iPod touch 6g compatible with Vista?

I doubt the iPod itself will be the stumbling block, however, the minimum requirement for iTunes itself is now Windows 7, so you might struggle with anything new that will require authorisation or sync via iTunes.

Ref: http://www.apple.com/uk/itunes/download/

On the other hand, this article has fixes for if you have difficulty with installation on Windows & appears to cover Oses right back to XP - https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201668

So - I guess the first test will be to see if you can get iTunes 12 onto the computer.


iPhone 4 - is it possible to do a photo recovery for photos without a previous backup

Before a sync or restore, I believe that iTunes will create a backup of your phone's contents (unless you manually cancel this backup). The backup will contain the photos and videos that were on the phone.

You can check if a backup was created by doing the following:

Launch iTunes
iTunes > Preferences > Devices
See if there is an entry with the date of the restore.

If a backup exists, you can recover your data with one of two methods:

Restore your phone using that backup; or
Use an application such as iPhone Backup Extractor to extract the images out of the backup file.


Completions for bash 4 never finish loading

It turns out the problem was with rustc. Upgrading the package with brew upgrade rust fixed it.

My current Rust version is now 1.18.0.


Can I upgrade my Mac but not to High Sierra?

Since you've clarified that you've never downloaded an installer for a later version of macOS, then you've only got three options:

Download an installer from a 3rd party (not recommended)
Acquire an installer from a trusted friend or other trusted source
Try your luck at an Apple Store (or other authorised outlet) to see if you can find one willing to do the upgrade for you

There may be other workarounds open to you. For example, if you have access to another Mac (yours or a friend's) that is not capable of running macOS High Sierra, but is capable of running El Capitan or Sierra, then you could start your Mac mini in Target Disk Mode and set it as the default startup disk for the other Mac. Then you could use the optioncommandR startup keyboard combination to upgrade to the latest macOS that is compatible with that Mac. You'd have to make sure you select the Mac mini's hard drive as the install location.

Of course, I can't stress enough how important it is you have a backup regime in place, be it via Time Machine or some other solution.


OneDrive folder keeps moving to bottom of Finder Favorites sidebar

This was bugging me as well, until I noticed one of my Macs didn't move it to the bottom. The difference? On that Mac, OneDrive was installed via the App Store, whereas the others were downloaded from the OneDrive web site.

So I uninstalled OneDrive from those affected Macs, reinstalled it from the App Store, and made sure I re-enabled the Finder Extension. Now after a restart, the OneDrive folder stays where I placed it in the Favorites side bar! :)


How do I encode mp4 files with H.264 (or x264) codec in AVIDemux?

That's a pretty old tutorial. Try this one (linked from the official Avidemux site).


There is no stand-alone application for Flash Player like most software, as it is simply a browser plug-in. If installed, the plug-in file should be located at either /Library/Internet Plug-Ins or ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins and should be named Flash Player.plugin.

Note if you have Google Chrome, it is built-in to the browser. In modern versions of OS X, Flash Player is no longer installed by default, so if you haven't installed it manually from another browser, it may not be on your system at all.


Is there an alternative to Application Switcher with search?

Alfred (free)

find any application or file
this app will learn and prioritize your searches
system commands and extended features (google search, bitly...)
you can get more powerful features when purchasing the powerpack

Quicksilver (free)

find any application or file
this app will learn and prioritize your searches
lots of free plugins with extend the functionalities

move files
execute bash commands
...

Spotlight (built-in)

...which is part of the OS and be triggered using ⌘+space (default shortcut).


I found an iPad on the street, how can I find its owner?

Go to a place with a no password (open) WiFi. If your lucky the iPad is setup to connect automatically. Once it’s connected hold down the home button to activate Siri. If you are lucky and the iPad is set up to allow you to do this ask some of the following questions to help identify who the user is.

Send a text to [random common name like Bob, John, Sam, Mike, Josh] I found this iPad and am not sure the owner if you could reply with owner and his/her contact info I colors return the iPad
Send an email to [random common name] with same message as above
What’s [common name]’s phone number? (Can be contacted separately)
Who am I? What’s my number? What’s my email? Where do I live?

Hopefully one or more of these will work and allow you to get in contact with real people who know who owns the iPad


It's extremely picky about the format of the /etc/hosts file. You have a "/" after the domain name, and this will confuse it (actually, it'll think that's part of the host name, and since you're trying to connect to the host "www.cnn.com" not "www.cnn.com/", it just doesn't match). So just remove the "/" and you should be good. There's no need to reset any caches.