How to display an image above the needed window in needed position? In Linux, I have bash script, which uses conky (for display image above windows in needed position of monitor) and xdotool (for check if needed window in focus, and if it is, then launch conky). So, can I do it in OS X? What should I use instead conky and xdotool? Maybe instead bash script Automator can do this job somehow?

P.S Sorry for my bad english.

Depending on your needs, and based on how I gotten your question, you probably need something alike Clickclick:

  “Cliclick” is short for “Command-Line Interface Click”. It is a a tiny shell/Terminal application that will emulate mouse clicks or series of mouse clicks (including doubleclicks and control-clicks) at arbitrary screen coordinates. Moreover, it lets you move the mouse, get the current mouse coordinates, press modifier keys etc.

it's what people advice to be the good compromise for xdotool.

As for conky, probably the closest alternatives for Mac would be:

GeekTool
GKrellM - a single process stack of system monitors which supports applying themes to match its appearance to your window manager, Gtk, or any other theme.
XRG
Übersicht - "Übersicht lets you run system commands and display their output on your desktop in little containers, called widgets. Widgets are written using HTML5, which means they

are easy to write and customize
can show data in tables, charts, graphs ... you name it
can react to different screen sizes"

But there are no direct alternatives, which fully accomplish the functionality of highly-customizable conky and powerful xdotool. You need to invent something else.


What's the equivalent terminal command for removing users/groups from a folder recursively? When I remove a user or a group permission from a folder and all its children files and folders, this is what I do:

Right click the folder
Click "Get info"
Unlock the padlock (typing my admin password)
Remove users and or groups
Press "Apply to all enclosed items" and confirm

How can I do this from the terminal?

You would use the chmod command, with the -a flag to delete access control list entries, and the -R flag to do so recursively.

For example:

$ chmod -R -a "admin allow read" foldername

would make all files in foldername read-only for the admin user (because you're removing the "allow read" property for "admin".

$ chmod -R -a "joe allow delete" foldername

would prevent user joe from deleting any file in foldername.

To add properties back, use +a instead of -a.

For more details and examples, see the chmod manpage, or this article.


Yosemite Mail.app - Rule stuck on 7 days I want to make a rule to delete all emails older than 200 days (they will remain on Gmail - I am using POP).

'Date Received' 'is less than' [7] days.

I can set this up for 7 days in rules fine - but if I enter any other value, save it then go back. It always says 7 days.

I guess this is a Yosemite / Mail.app bug?!

I found nothing on Google about this issue.

Copied from TunaMaxx above who doesn't have enough rep to answer:

I've found out more about this, but I don't have enough rep in this community to get over the protection on this ticket. However I have since found out this is a bug in Apple Mail, and has existed for a number of versions. The good news is the values you enter are actually recorded and respected, even though the UI says "7 days" all the time. To verify, set a rule to a number like '57' or something. Then, open ~/Library/Mail/V2/MailData/SyncedRules.plist and search for '57' in that file. You'll find it close to the matching rule info. The value survives and is respected even restarting Mail. –


Snow Leopard vs. Lion performance: what are the differences? Is Snow Leopard or Lion faster?

And how significant is the speed difference?

There's very little difference.

Check out this cnet review it shows the performance of applications like Photoshop, Call of Duty 4 etc. on a 27" 2011 iMac running Snow Leopard & Lion:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20081987-1/snow-leopard-vs-lion-performance-head-to-head/, which concludes:

  For the most part, we found only minor speed variations between the
  two operating systems.


Dashboard takes few seconds to update widgets I love the idea of the Dashboard, but there's one thing that pretty much kills it for me. When I activate Dashboard for a first time or after some extended period of time it takes it 3-15 seconds to update and actually show me things like time, calendar etc. I have a MacBook Pro and this is happening with default widgets (clock, calendar, calculator and weather). The entire idea of a dashboard that it's always one click away and the information should be available immediately.

So, does anyone know how to make OS X to update Dashboard widgets immediately or maybe somehow prefetch the data once every 15 min or so? Or does anyone else see this problem at all?

The solution comes from a System Preference pane called Dashboard Kickstart.

  This application runs in the background and reacts to the starting or re-starting of the Dock. When that happens it initiates the starting of the Dashboard. This prevents the delay you'll experience when launching Dashboard the first time you want to use it.


Keystroke commands for open recent I want to set a keystroke command (Mountain Lion) to trigger the common File menu's Open Recent option.

I've tried the System Preferences => Application Shortcuts => Keyboard Shortcuts. My shortcuts show up in the applications' File => Open Recent menu, and when I type my assigned keystrokes there's a little flash in the File menu bar, but nothing else happens.

Any ideas, y'all?

I have used FastScripts to assign a shortcut to this script:

tell application "System Events" to tell (process 1 where it is frontmost)
    tell menu bar item 3 of menu bar 1
        click
        repeat with x in {"Open Recent", "Open Recent File", "Recent Projects", "Open With"}
            if exists menu item x of menu 1 then
                click menu item x of menu 1
                exit repeat
            end if
        end repeat
    end tell
end tell

It opens an Open With menu in Finder and a menu for recent files in other applications.

There are other ways to assign a shortcut to a script using Quicksilver, Alfred, etc.


Using my Dads music on my iPhone? When my Dad died last year we put his iphone away in a drawer for safe keeping, because his music was very important to him and obviously we didn't want to lose it.

The phone is getting hard to hold a charge now and I'm wondering if there is a way to put his music into my iPhone? I bought a 64gig iPhone to have enough room to fit it all on but now I've realised it isn't as easy as I first thought.

Is there a way to do this or do I just have to hope the battery never completely fails on his phone?

There is no 'official' way to pull music from any iDevice back to a computer, but there are many unofficial apps that can do it.

The basic idea is that you get the music off the iDevice & into iTunes, from where you can then keep it or re-sync it to your own device.

I know of no way to do this directly from phone to phone, you must have a computer as an intermediary.

Googling "copy music from iPhone to computer" will give you more variants on applications than you would know what to do with - & also I don't know what computer platform you have, so I'm linking to a LifeHacker article explaining how to do it on Windows, Mac & Linux.

How to Copy Music from Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to Your Computer for Free


How can I automatically add music from a playlist into a folder? I am switching from the default music player on my iPhone to using Spotify to play music. The recent updates have meant that I can't use the music player in the same as I used to and I much prefer Spotify in general.I still want to use iTunes on my Mac to organise playlists.

What I need to set up is essentially a reverse smart playlist. I have 2000 songs in my iTunes library but I only want 500 of those on my phone. Is there a way to have the songs that get put into my smart playlist (that gets synced to my phone) getting automatically copied into a folder in Finder and have that as the 'Local File Source' in Spotify? Or would I just have to do this manually?

Hopefully that makes sense, and any kind of help would be awesome!

Thanks

You could use an AppleScript to copy the music to a specific folder. iTunes and the Finder both support AppleScript.

Use the included Script Editor.app in OS X to create your script. A starting point for your script is below:

tell application "iTunes"

    -- Get the recent purchases smart playlist
    set myPlaylistFiles to file tracks of playlist "Recent Purchases"

    -- With every local song/track
    repeat with i from 1 to number of items in myPlaylistFiles

        set localTrack to item i of myPlaylistFiles

        set myPathToTrack to location of localTrack

        -- Add copy to folder code here…

    end repeat

end tell

Feel free to ask more questions about finishing this AppleScript.


All open applications placed on main display after sleep I've got an iMac 27" i7, with a secondary monitor hooked up via its display port (adapted from a DVI cable coming out of the secondary display).

After my iMac goes to sleep, when I wake it back up, all my windows have been put on the iMac's screen. Prior to OS Lion, I had an application called Stay that helped put the windows back in the right place, but it doesn't seem to work in Lion.

Any suggestions how to prevent the windows from all being shoved back to the primary display after a sleep?

Stay works on Lion. You may be experiencing an upgrade issue. From their FAQ:

  Why won’t Stay restore my windows since I upgraded to Lion?

  A number of the interface changes in Lion have affected Stay’s ability
  to match windows stored on Snow Leopard to windows on Lion. If you’re
  experiencing difficulty with a small number of windows, the simplest
  solution is to use Stay’s window linking feature to manually link the
  troublesome windows to their stored counterparts.

  If you’re having trouble with a large number of windows you may find
  it easier to recreate your stored windows on Lion.


Is "flash storage" the same "SSD"? I'm looking to see if the two are interchangeable and if not what the differences are.

If the two in fact have a difference, perhaps adding devices or cases where each are normally used over the other.

Yes and no.

Flash storage is storage that uses electronically programmable and erasable memory modules with no moving parts. It refers to a very specific implementation of data storage. It can come in different packages though: wrapped in a hard, plastic envelope you slide in to your camera; mounted to a PCB stick with exposed connectors and docked inside your MacPro; or mounted inside a drive enclosure that's slid in to an existing drive bay.

SSD, or Solid State Drive, refers to an enclosed storage device that's meant to act as a disk for a computer, but is lean on details about what's inside the enclosure and being used to store the data.

Technically, "solid state" just refers to "electronics with no moving parts". So a "solid state drive" that used ferromagnetic fluids to store data is still an SSD.

And indeed, SSDs have been around for a long time with a variety of different solid state storage mediums inside of them to keep those 1's and 0's persistent. However, in this day and age, at the time I'm writing this, SSDs are generally filled with (you guessed it): flash-type memory modules. Though flash-based SSDs generally carry the property that their enclosure is built to mirror that of a typical 2.5" spinning drive disk enclosure with an SATA interface so that it can act as a drop-in replacement for a mechanical disk.


rEFIt menu takes around 10 seconds to even show up I'm using a macbook pro 8,1. I've installed rEFIt so that I can dual boot with Ubuntu. This is all "working" except that each time I turn on my laptop, it takes ten or fifteen seconds to even get to the rEFIt menu for me to select an OS.

At this point, I have done nothing special except to make Ubuntu the default OS and reduce the wait time in the rEFIt menu from 20 to 5 seconds.

How can I reduce this lag between startup and OS selection?

Assuming you have rEFIt installed on one of the partitions on the hard drive, the following steps should remove the delay:

Boot via the Mac OS X Install DVD/USB.
Launch Terminal (Utilities Menu).
Enter diskutil list to list all available disks and partitions.
Looking at the list of partitions for "disk0" (internal drive), identify the partition that contains your rEFIt boot files.
Enter bless --setBoot --device /dev/disk0s2 --legacy assuming that "/dev/disk0s2" was the rEFIt partition.
Enter reboot to reboot your Mac

Your Mac should now boot to rEFIt with a minimal delay.

The same method also works with Windows 7 direct booting (Boot Camp) which can present an extremely long boot delay on MacBook Airs and Minis if Windows 7 is your startup disk and the above steps have not been taken.


Mount Drive based on connection with if else statement (applescript) can someone please help me out with this script.  Where am I going wrong?
Try
set ping to (do shell script "ping -c 2 " 192.168.1.240)

if ping contains "64 bytes" then
tell application "Path Finder"
    try
        mount volume "smb://192.168.1.240/home"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.1.240/shared"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.1.240/video"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.1.240/music"

Display Dialog "Mapped Drives to 192.168.1.240 Network."

Else
tell application "Path Finder"
    try
        mount volume "smb://192.168.0.240/home"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.0.240/shared"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.0.240/video"
        mount volume "smb://192.168.0.240/music"

Display Dialog "Mapped Drives to 192.168.1.240 Network."

Your set ping to statement should have the closing quote after the IP address

In general you are missing a number of end statements. Each try should have a corresponding end try, each tell should have an end tell, each if should have an end if.

The try statements should surround the script action, not inside them. So move them before the tell statements. As you are using them without the 'on error' clause, the try statements aren't very useful - but no harm.

The application should be just "Finder"

Here's a briefer example:
try
    set ping to (do shell script "ping -c 2 192.168.1.240")

    if ping contains "64 bytes" then
        try
            tell application "Finder"
                mount volume "smb://192.168.1.240./music"
            end tell
        end try
        display dialog "Mapped Drives to 192.168.1.240 Network."

    else
        try
            tell application "Finder"
                mount volume "smb://192.168.0.240./music"
            end tell
        end try
        display dialog "Mapped Drives to 192.168.0.240 Network."

    end if
end try


Bookmark a POST request Certain online shops I use don't easily allow you to bookmark an Order Status page.
That's because they use a POST request to access that info. So, the order number is not encoded in the URL. Which means that I can't bookmark the page (a bookmark just leads to the form to enter the order number).

So, I'm looking for a way to bookmark a POST request so that I can easily view my order status page without having to enter the order number again.
I'd love to hear about a browser extension (or built-in functionality), a dedicated app, or any other ideas.

Save the page with the form locally on your hard drive.

You will then need to modify the source code to replace the textbox with a hidden field that has the same name and id as the text box and with a value of what you are searching for.   eg

<input type="textbox" id="searchtext" name="searchtext" />

and replace it with

<input type="hidden" id="searchtext" name="searchtext" value="343434" />

Replace "343434" with whatever you are normally putting into the text box.

Save this file.  And book mark it.   When you visit the page, you should just need to click the submit button and it will send the form along.

High chance that this won't work first time.  But let me know and I can guide you though any other changes that need to happen.  If its a publicly accesible site, let me know the url and I can help you out quicker.


How do I listen to podcasts on my Apple Watch? I have a few podcasts which I want to listen to on my Apple Watch. I know that it’s possible to transfer music from an iPhone to an Apple Watch, but there doesn’t seem to be a similar option for podcasts.

Specifically, I’m looking for a way to have my podcasts play from my Apple Watch’s speakers, rather than playing from my phone’s speakers.

How can I listen to podcasts with my Apple Watch?

Apple doesn't yet support this out of the box, so you've essentially got two options:

Option 1 involves using iTunes on a Mac/PC to change the metadata of your podcasts and adding them to a playlist and syncing this across
Option 2 is somewhat easier but does mean having to use third party apps

Option 1

This is the longer option, but does mean not having to pay for any third party apps.

On your Mac/PC, open iTunes
Find the podcasts you'd like to listen to on your Apple Watch
Select the podcast and press commandI (Note: You can select multiple podcasts if you want)
The Podcast Info window will appear (Note: If you selected multiple podcasts at Step 3, you will first be asked if you're sure you want to edit info for multiple items)
Click on the Options tab
Change the media kind field at the top from Podcast to Music
Click OK.
Create a playlist specifically for your Apple Watch
Add your podcast(s) to this playlist
On your iPhone open the Watch app
Make sure you have My Watch selected at bottom-left
Swipe up and tap on the Music option
Tap on the + Add Music option
Select the playlist you created at Steps 8-9

Now you have a native way to play podcasts on your Apple Watch. My belief is Apple will create a Podcasts app in a future version of watchOS, but until then this is the only Apple way to listen to podcasts.

NOTE: The above steps also work for Audio Books, but not those that have Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection (such as Audible books, etc).

Option 2

WatchPlayer transfers podcast episodes directly to the Apple Watch so they can be played without an iPhone.

Overcast used to provide this functionality, but for some strange reason this feature was removed before the Apple Watch Series 3 went on sale. My hope is that they'll offer this functionality again soon, especially since the Apple Watch has really started to mature as a product and the LTE models don't need an iPhone around while you go for a run etc.

And of course, there'll be other apps as well that offer this functionality.

NOTE: I am not affiliated in any way with either WatchPlayer or Overcast.


How can I find my Apple ID on my iPad? My mum can't find her apple ID on her iPad. I'm not with her at the moment and do not have an iPad so I don't know where to look.

She already has an Apple ID set up on this iPad, so I don't want to set up another one.

The first option should be the most reliable:

Open Settings.app, scroll down and tap on "iTunes & App Stores". The Apple ID that the device is currently signed into will be at the top of the screen next to "Apple ID".

Alternate methods (only on iOS 5 or newer):

Settings.app > iCloud (under "Account")
Settings.app > Messages > Send & Receive At (under "Apple ID")
Settings.app > Facetime (under "Apple ID")


Using NTFS External drive I'm new to MAC OS.

Using MacOSX 10.9.1 (Mavericks).

My external HDD is formatted with NTFS.

I need some rock-solid, free solution for reading and writing to this HDD. Any suggestions?

Use ntfs-3g:

Install Homebrew
Install fuxe4x and ntfs-3g

brew install fuse4x && brew install ntfs-3g

Replace (with backup) the mount_ntfs:

sudo mv /sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs.orig
sudo ln -s /usr/local/sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs

Get info on fuxe4x-kext

brew info fuse4x-kext

You should be given two lines based on your version that you need to run. Run these lines in Terminal.
Eject and remount the disk.


Chrome 79: https sites don't load while http works fine Just upgraded to Chrome 79 from 78 via its internal updater. Now only http sites load, not https.

I am on Yosemite
Chrome v 79

Chrome says "This site can’t be reached" and "ERR_FAILED". Including for
some of Chrome's own help pages.

Like the one used when trying to report this:
"https://support.google.com/chrome/go/feedback_confirmation"

And the one that is used to get per-page security report: "https://support.google.com/chrome/?p=ui_security_indicator"

My research shows:

"HTTPS sites won't work on Chrome, others don't work at all on Yosemite"

cross-browser problems with https but Safari still works for me.

It says something about "change the account profile settings to allow it to administer". I don't know what that means.

How can I apply that information or just fix https on chrome 79?

The bug, which apparently affected 10.10 (Yosemite) and 10.11 (El Capitan) only, has been fixed in Google Chrome 79.0.3945.88.

The changelog doesn't mention it though.

So download the latest installer, install it, remove any method to block Google updates¹ and be happy again with a working Google Chrome browser.

¹: I disabled access of ksfetch/Google Updater to gvt1.com and google.com with a packet filter


Prevent a program (steam) to start for a time period Out of habit I play games, but it's something that I'd like to change without deleting all of the games I have. So I was wondering if it's possible to prevent steam from starting in the same way there are apps that block you from accessing the internet.

How do you launch Steam?  I think you could create some kind of scheduled task in Automator/cron that either moves Steam.app to another location (preventing your Dock icon from working) or, if you use Spotlight, somehow breaking the application bundle.

For example, you could disable with:

mkdir ~/NoSteam/
mv /Applications/Steam.app/Contents ~/NoSteam/

And re-enable with:

mv ~/NoSteam/Contents/ /Applications/Steam.app

Kludgy but effective.


Use specific local gcc and related libraries with Homebrew I would like to use Homebrew to install some stuff,

In the mean time, I have already installed my local gcc, and I want Homebrew to use this specific one (this gcc at /usr/local/bin/gcc is frequently upgraded by myself).

Unfortunately, Homebrew always figure out its gcc dependency, and related libraries, then download them all at /usr/local/Cellar.

For instance:

On my Mac, which gcc indeed points to /usr/local/bin/gcc, when I brew install suite-sparse, it downloads gcc-4.9.1, while I already have gcc-4.9.2 locally.

I just want to keep things simple, use my local gcc with the associated library, e.g. gmp and mpfr (at /usr/local/lib), is it possible with Homebrew?

No, it's not possible. When you install gcc, you must satisfied the required dependencies, otherwise this packages will be installed to ensure that works property.

Required: gmp ✔, libmpc ✘, mpfr ✘, cloog ✘, isl ✘

Same occurs on linux system, you can install gcc without it's dependencies:

Depends: cpp-4.8 (= 4.8.2-19ubuntu1), gcc-4.8-base (= 4.8.2-19ubuntu1), binutils (>= 2.24), libgcc-4.8-dev (= 4.8.2-19ubuntu1), libc6 (>= 2.14), libcloog-isl4 (>= 0.17), libgmp10, libisl10 (>= 0.10), libmpc3, libmpfr4 (>= 3.1.2), zlib1g (>= 1:1.1.4)
Recommends: libc6-dev (>= 2.13-0ubuntu6)


Yosemite + PCI Serial Card? I have a PCIe serial card in a Mac Pro based on the 16950 that's been working fine up until Yosemite. It's been working with the built-in Apple16x50Serial.kext driver.

With Yosemite, it looks like the driver loads okay, but no serial port appears under /dev/, and no IOBSDSerialClient for the card appears in ioreg either.

Anyone else have the same problem please let me know, or if you have a solution even better. :-)

Thanks

Are you sure the driver loads fine? Since Yosemite kexts need to be signed. Check the kextstats man page for the status of your kexts.

Check out the TrimEnabler FAQ -- they have quite some information on kext signing and the troubles you might experience due to this.


Why do pages load quickly on Safari on macOS, but not on Chrome? For the last week or so loading the exact same URL on Chrome is practically impossible, whereas Safari loads the pages instantaneously. These are not cached pages, either.

Any thoughts on this?

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G95)

There is no specific solution or answer for such a thing. First, Chrome is a memory hungry application. However, here are the basic reasons. For others, we have to know the details.

Reason 1: Your Cache is Beyond Overworked
Reason 2: Chrome is Outdated
Reason 3: Flash is Always Enabled
Reason 4: Overzealous Plugins/Extensions

Clear the cache, revmoe extensions and disable flash if needed.

But as I mentioned earlier, these are the primary workaround. Else, you can try to reinstall your Chrome.


Is it safe or beneficial to compress a .photoslibrary file? I am trying to create external backups of all my digital data in case something bad were to happen. Is it safe, or even beneficial, to compress a .photoslibrary file to store on an external device for later use, or would it be better to save the file as it is?

All the data is highly compressed and binary. I would just save it off as it is, Time Machine or any other file copy is sufficient and efficient in storage to back up your Photos library data within the library.

It is a package which is a fancy name for a structured folder on disk, so that’s why it’s easy to copy off using a variety of tools.


Upload a new build to a "Ready for sale" version? I have an app in the Appstore that is 3.4 build 0.0.2 (Ready for Sale), but I found a small bug that I need too push out. It seems silly to update the version to 3.5 just for this small bug that we missed in testing.
(Update: I tried using @jksoegaard suggestion, but I get the below error:)

Is there anyway that I can remove the 3.4 from sale and simply create a 3.4 build 0.0.3 and submit this for review?

Submit a new build with 3.4.1 as the short version value in the Info.plist file.
The value for CFBundleShortVersionString must change between releases. The three digit semantic versioning format is described in Apple's developer documentation and is widely understood beyond Apple's platforms:

Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:

MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards compatible manner, and
PATCH version when you make backwards compatible bug fixes.

Additional labels for pre-release and build metadata are available as extensions to the MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH format.


Macbook startup problem. Once started is extremely slow I have a serious problem with my Macbook pro retina 13" early 2015.

Some days ago, after a normal shutdown, the Macbook did not startup anymore. It emitted the short start sound and it went back to off state again. Yesterday, I realized the macbook is able to startup correctly only if the power button is held down for a long time (until the apple's logo appears). Nevertheless, the boot up takes long time and the system is extremely slow. From the activity monitor, I see that "kernel_task" (PID 0) is wasting lot of cpu.

Actually, the system is not overloaded since the battery lasts for many hours and the case is not heated.

I tried to update macOS to High Sierra but an error occurred while verifying firmware.

Hardware diagnostic, temperatures, fan seem to be ok.
I tried to reset the SMC and PRAM but nothing changed.
In safe mode is still slow.
The problem remains after erasing the hard disk and reinstalling El Capitan or Yosemite.

EDIT:

I tried this.
http://blog.kosmokaryote.org/2012/12/technology-kerneltask-consumes-almost.html

It works for me regarding the kernel_task problem.

Anyway, it is clear there is an hardware issue.

Most likely a hardware defect. Does it run hot as well?

Try running Apple Diagnostics, this might give you an indication something is wrong indeed. Perhaps the fan died, or maybe one of the temperature or current sensors.

An SMC reset might be worth a try in case it is only the SMC no longer working properly.


MacBook Pro Hibernates Straight Away Whenever my Mac goes to sleep when its on battery, it straight away saves its contents to the hard drive and powers off, going into a deep sleep.

This gets really annoying when I walk away for 10 minutes to make a coffee for example and come back to have to wait up to a minute (depending on what I'm running) for the laptop to wake up. This only happens when its on battery though.

I have tried an SMC and cleared the PRAM/NVRAM but it hasn't seemed to work.

Admittedly the other day I was using a terminal command to disable hibernation when plugged into a power supply and must have mucked it up then. I don't seem to remember the command that I used and therefore can't use it to reverse it.

But yeah would there be a way to stop my laptop from hibernating the second it goes to sleep on battery power?

The default hibernatemode on Apple laptops is 3 which does the following:

hibernatemode = 3 (binary 0011) by default on supported portables. The system will store a copy of memory to persistent storage (the disk), and will power memory during sleep. The system will wake from memory, unless a power loss forces it to restore from disk image.

So, to have instant wake from sleep change the hibernatemode to 0 which does the following:

hibernatemode = 0 (binary 0000) by default on supported desktops. The system will not back memory up to persistent storage. The system must wake from the contents of memory; the system will lose context on power loss. This is, historically, plain old sleep.

To see what your current hibernatemode is set to, run the following command:

pmset -g | grep hibernatemode

To change the hibernatemode for instant wake from sleep, run the following command:

pmset hibernatemode 0


Does clean install reset everything, including SMC? TL;DR: Does a clean install reset everything (like SMC, for example)? If not, what else should I do to be sure the computer is completely reset, like it just came from the factory?

My macbook has been acting weirdly for the past few weeks, so I decided to give it clean install with Yosemite.

I think I messed up the SMC and resetting it does not help. I have a Bootcamp partition that I used to play games. My macbook pro would get very hot while gaming on Windows, so I installed Lubbo's Fan Control. That worked for a couple days, until I realized that while booted in OSX the fans were not working at all or working full speed. I tried resetting the SMC, but that didn't help. So I installed iStat Menus, and controlled my fans manually (yeah, a lazy solution). Now I have one fan controlling app on Windows and one on OSX, and neither work as expected (in iStat when I set it to 'default' the fans stop working).

Also, I have been installing a lot of things, and leftover files are all over the place.
So, now I'm getting rid of Bootcamp and clean installing Yosemite. How do I go about doing this properly and thoroughly? I'd like to make the computer fresh as it just came out of the factory. Should I do anything besides a clean install?

A fresh OS install won't reset the hardware, SMC or PRAM. It might be well worth checking both those are correctly reset before going so far as a wipe & install.

Reset the PRAM first - hold Cmd/Opt/P/R at the chimes & wait for the chimes to happen a second time.

SMC varies per machine, Mac Pro is sufficient to power off & leave the mains plug out for a minute. MacBooks are different - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964 covers all the variations.

Extract :

  Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

  Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove

  Shut down the computer.
  Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
  Remove the battery.
  Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
  Release the power button.
  Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
  Press the power button to turn on the computer.

  Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own
  Note: Portable computers that have a battery you should not remove on your own include MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and later, all models of MacBook Air, and MacBook (Late 2009).

  Shut down the computer.
  Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
  On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
  Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
  Press the power button to turn on the computer.

  Note: The LED on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

  Resetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve

  Shut down the computer.
  Unplug the computer's power cord.
  Wait fifteen seconds.
  Attach the computer's power cord.
  Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.


Download El Capitan Outside of App Store does anyone know if it is possible to download El Capitan directly, as opposed to going through the App Store?  I'd like to be able to upgrade, but App Store is blocked on my machine.

Here is a link to download the latest updates manually from Apple.

Here is a torrent file to download InstallESD.dmg, getting speeds of 1mbps+. OS X is free and open to public so this isn't illegal.

This file's SHA1 Checksum is 306a080c07e293b6765ba950bab213572704acec. Here is a list of official Apple checksums. So this is official and not been tampered with.

If you are a developer, or know one that will give you his credentials, you can download it from https://developer.apple.com/download


Make iPhoto overwrite my photos I'm new to iPhoto. Before importing any photos I unchecked the option "Copy items to the iPhoto library".

When I rotate and edit photos in iPhoto (e.g. Enhance, Straighten etc), the original photo is unchanged and iPhoto creates its own copy of the photo which it stores somewhere else.

Can I force iPhoto not to do this, and to modify the original photo?

No.

iPhoto is designed to make non-destructive edits, preserving the original photo file. Overriding this feature is rather contrary to the basic nature of the program, which attempts to be careful to preserve, and never to modify the original photo files.


AppleScript sum of a list I'm trying to get the sum from a list.

The list newTotal:

  {"30.00", "30.00"}

repeat with each from 1 to count of items of newTotal
    set myFinalTotal to myFinalTotal + each
end repeat

But the result is unexpected = 3

How should I do the math?

Modifying your original attempt:

set myList to {"30.00", "30.00"}
set myFinalTotal to 0

repeat with x in myList
    set myFinalTotal to myFinalTotal + x
end repeat

myFinalTotal

And for the joy of learning:

Recursive:

to sumItems from L as list
    if L = {} then return 0
    (L's first item) + (sumItems from the rest of L)
end sumItems

Iterative:

to sumItems from L as list
    tell (a reference to last item of {0})
        repeat while L ≠ {}
            set the contents to it + (L's first item)
            set L to the rest of L
        end repeat

        return the contents
    end tell
 end sumItems


What key does this ⇥ symbol represent in Apple help docs? Please help figuring out what this ⇥ key modifier refers to, in Apple's instructions in iPhone 6s settings below as shown in Settings app → Accessibility → Keyboards → Full Keyboard Access.

E.g., What key combo do I press on Apple bluetooth keyboard to invoke Notification Centre? I've tried Control + N, Option + N, Command + N, Fn+ N but to no avail. The keyboard is properly paired with the iPhone, and I can type text or navigate with the arrow keys.

⇥ symbol refers to the Tab key on the keyboard.

A full list of keys and corresponding symbols as used in macOS can be found here:

Can't find ⌃ symbol in keyboard


Sending images automatically via email to a specific email address I have a little problem. Maybe you can help me with it.
I am shooting many portraits for a client. Like 200 each day.
I have to email every single Portrait via Mail. A gallery with all portraits in one is not allowed because of privacy stuff.
The client wants definitely emails.
I tried to program an Applescript/Automator action to do this automatically.

My plan is to name all the files like so: name@client.com_2847.jpg and let the action do the rest of the magic.

It kind of works, except that i am not able to extract the mail address from the jpg file.

How do I extract the Email from the file (for example deleting the last 9 digits) and putting it in as the recipient?

I saw a similar question here: Automator -> send file to email (from filename)

but for some reason I get many syntax errors.

thanks!

Since in your question, you did not include any code, error message(s), or even how you were implementing your solution, I'll offer the following as an example of how I might automate the task at hand. Note that while I looked at the link in your question, nonetheless, since it was for Outlook and you've tagged the question with mail.app, I'm going to ignore what was linked and proceed my way from scratch.

In this example scenario, I created a hierarchical folder structure under ~/Photos, e.g. ~/Photos/Clients/Name/Emailed Photos, and this is the folder that I'll drag the target photos to, that have the naming convention e.g. name@client.com_2847.jpg, and the folder to which the Automator Folder Action workflow will be attached to.

In Automator:

File > New
Select, Folder Action and click the Choose button.
In the Folder Action receives files and folders added to Choose Folder list box, select: Other...
Navigate to the target folder, the one the action is to be applied to, select it and click the Choose button.
Add a Run AppleScript action to the newly created Folder Action workflow.
Highlight the default AppleScript code, and delete it.
Copy and paste the AppleScript code, shown below, into the Run AppleScript action.
Save the Folder Action as, e.g.: Email Photos to name@client

This will be saved as, e.g.:
~/Library/Workflows/Applications/Folder Actions/Email Photos to name@client.workflow

Now when you drag photos having the naming convention, e.g. name@client.com_2847.jpg to the target folder, e.g. ~/Photos/Clients/Name/Emailed Photos, one email for each photo will be created and the target file attached. Initially the email will not be automatically sent until you uncomment, remove the -- from in front of the -- send theMessage line of code, and save the changes. This is initially commented out so you can test with one file and get your subject and message setup to meet your needs. I'd use a file that has your email address in it for testing purposes, doing one at first then several at one time.

The email message subject and content are initially set to "Portraits" and Photo attached." respectively, as placeholders. Additionally there is another line of commented code, -- delay 2, above the -- send theMessage line of code that you may need/want to implement if adding a large number of files at the same time to the target folder which has the Folder Action attached, as rapid sending may cause issues. Note that the value of the delay command may need to be adjusted higher as appropriate to accommodate the conditions and you'll just have to do some testing to see what works for you. While I did do some testing, I used a very small file (3 KB) that I replicated and sequentially named for testing purposes. I'll assume your photos will be much larger in size.

AppleScript code:

property theMessageSubject : "Portraits"
property theMessageContent : "Photo attached."

on GetTheRecipientNameFrom(theFilename)
    --      # Get the filename portion of the alias passed to the Folder Action.
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ":"
    set theFilename to last item of text items of theFilename
    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ""
    --      # Make sure the filename contains both an '_' and "@".
    --      # This doesn't guarantee a properly formed email address,
    --      # however it does attempt to validate what was passed as one.
    if theFilename contains "_" and theFilename contains "@" then
        set AppleScript's text item delimiters to "_"
        set theFilename to first item of text items of theFilename
        set AppleScript's text item delimiters to ""
        return theFilename
    else
        return ""
    end if
end GetTheRecipientNameFrom

on run {input, parameters}
    set fileCount to (count of items of input)
    set i to 1
    repeat fileCount times
        set theMessageAttachment to item i of input
        set theRecipient to GetTheRecipientNameFrom(theMessageAttachment as string)
        if theRecipient is not equal to "" then
            tell application "Mail"
                activate
                set theMessage to make new outgoing message with properties {visible:true, subject:theMessageSubject, content:theMessageContent & linefeed & linefeed}
                tell theMessage
                    make new to recipient at end of to recipients with properties {address:theRecipient}
                end tell
                tell content of theMessage
                    make new attachment with properties {file name:theMessageAttachment} at after last paragraph
                end tell
                set i to i + 1
                -- delay 2
                -- send theMessage
            end tell
        else
            set i to i + 1
        end if
    end repeat
end run

Note that as coded, if a file dropped into the target folder, the folder to which the Folder Action is attached, does not conform to the naming convention of e.g. name@client.com_2847.jpg, then no email for that file should be created, unless the portion of the filename preceding the underscore contains the @ symbol and any other characters. In other words, the only error checking the code, as is, attempts to validate is the filename contains a valid email address only on the premise if it has both an underscore and @ symbol, then it assumes the filename conforms to e.g. name@client.com_2847.jpg. More strict error checking could be coded, however I'll leave that to you if what's presented isn't adequate.

Additionally, other forms of general error checking could be implemented, i.e. making sure the file was actually attached before sending, etc., however this answer is meant to be a simple example, not necessarily a fully coded solution. The onus is on you to insure you implement appropriate error checking as conditions warrant.

As you might be able to tell by the images below, I wrote and tested this in a pre OS X 10.9 environment, OS X 10.8.6 to be specific and I have "Enable access for assistive devices" checked in Accessibility preferences. In OS X 10.9 and later, including the latest version of macOS, Sierra, you may need to add Mail and or Automator to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility in order for the Folder Action to work. I'm not in a position to test in those versions at the moment, however if it doesn't work for you, then add these apps accordingly.


How do I clear individual types of browser data in Safari? Prior to upgrading my MacBook Pro to OS X Yosemite, I was able to clear individual types of browser data (such as cookies, visited URLs and website data) in Safari. However, the  "Clear History and Website Data..." option in the new version of Safari only lets me choose how far back I want to clean the data; it doesn't let me choose what types of data to clear. How do I enable the option for choosing the data types?

I'm sure the solution is very simple, but I can't seem to figure it out for the life of me.

For cookies: The option to delete all of your cookies stored on your hard drive lies under your under the “Privacy” tab. There, click on “Remove All Website Data…” then click “Remove Now.” To delete individual cookies, click “Details…” under the “Privacy.” From there, find the specific cookie and delete it accordingly.


How can I restore an iCloud back-up to a new device when old device no longer works? My old device no longer works and I bought a new iPhone. Setting-up iCloud back-up to the new device requires the code provided to my old device (not working). Any help how to proceed

According to this Apple Support page:

When you have two-step verification for your Apple ID, you'll always need at least two of the following to sign in:

Your Apple ID password
Access to one of your trusted devices
Your Recovery Key

If you've permanently lost any two of these items, you can't sign in or regain access to your account. You'll need to create a new Apple ID. You can create a new one from the Apple ID site.


macOS Sierra Internet Accounts Google login stuck I am trying to add a Google account using System Preferences > Internet Accounts.

I already tried the following.

able to reproduce this in 10.12.3 and 10.12.2.
disabled OTP, same issue
able to reproduce in Macbook Air and Macbook Pro
same issue with both Gmail account (tried two) and Google Apps account
I am not using any iCloud
it appears to be similar to this issue but the fix does not work: Can't login with Google using Internet Accounts
adding LinkedIn works
I already tried to VPN to California and Singapore to check if something is wrong with Google mirrors
creating a new user account and adding the Google account from there, same issue
as advised by Apple Support tried https://www.google.com/accounts/UnlockCaptcha

It gets stuck right after a successful login. I took a screenshot.

Anybody experiencing the same issue?

Combining part of your solution and part of the solution from Can't login with Google using Internet Accounts, I got mine to work again by:

Opening Keychain Access > login and searching for 'google', then deleting all the 'accountsync' and 'oauth' entries. The resulted in my Google account being removed from System Preferences > Internet Accounts.
Completing this: https://www.google.com/accounts/UnlockCaptcha

I was then able to go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts and add my Google account back. It showed the spinny wheel on the gray screen for a second, then disappeared and I was in! Mail and Calendar show my Google data now.

I have 2-factor auth enabled.

Another solution to this would be to login to your GMail account via another program that access's macOS's shared accounts, like Calendar.app.


How to disable the scroll position saving in Finder? By default, the Finder always saves the last scroll position in folders and restores it when these folders are opened again later.

How can I disable this feature? I want all folders to always open in the Finder scrolled from the beginning. High Sierra is installed.

I found the answer here. In summary:

Open com.apple.finder.plist in ~/Library/Preferences (Check here if you don't know how to edit this file)
Locate StandardViewSettings > ListViewSetting and set scrollPositionY (or scrollPositionX) set to 0. (Note, there are other setting where the scroll position pops up so it depends a little bit where you experience the problem)
Save that preference
Restart the finder: hold down the option key and do a right-click on the Finder's icon in the dock and choose Relaunch.


Will Mountain Lion make an older computer run faster or slower? Performance/responsiveness is a common concern with new software, especially on older machines. In general, upgrading from Snow Leopard (10.6) to Lion (10.7) wasn't too bad, but now Mountain Lion (10.8) is adding even more features such as Notification Center.

What will be the performance impact of Mountain Lion on Macs which are nearing the lowest end of the system requirements?

Faster.

I have a Mid 2007 iMac 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM. This is the oldest iMac model that can officially run Mountain Lion (according to Apple's tech specs).

I upgraded the first day and haven't noticed any slowdowns so far. Performance actually seems faster in Finder, Mail, Preview, etc.

Safari stands out the most in terms of noticeable speed improvements.


Updating modifier keys from the command line takes no effect The goal: map "Caps Lock" to "Control" from the command-line.

I'm trying to update the modifier keys from the command-line with the following command as explained here and here but to no effect.

$ defaults -currentHost write -g "com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-611-0" '(
{
  HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst = 2;
  HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc = 0;
})'

When I do it from the "System preferences" it works right away and seem to be configured the same as when I do it the manually, as seen below:

$ defaults -currentHost read -g "com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-611-0"
(
        {
        HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst = 2;
        HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc = 0;
    }
)

This is the same exact result as when running it manually or from the GUI.

When restarting after running the command line, I see that in "System preferences" it's set correctly, like I expect but, it doesn't work. It only works when resetting do default and setting it manually.

I even tried copying the plist file as suggested here again to no effect (even with restart).

Next I tried this with no success (ideas from here):

defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain <rest of command>
defaults write NSGlobalDomain <rest of command>
defaults write GlobalPreferences <rest of command>

Running OSX 10.9.4 (Mavrics).

Any ideas are welcome.

It's because values are written as strings not integers. You can see that using:

$ plutil -convert xml1 -o - ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/.GlobalPreferences.*.plist

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-591-0</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
            <string>30064771303</string>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
            <string>30064771302</string>
        </dict>
        <dict>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
            <string>30064771302</string>
            <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
            <string>30064771303</string>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

So the right way to update the setting is using XML format:

$ defaults -currentHost write -g com.apple.keyboard.modifiermapping.1452-591-0 -array \
'<dict>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
    <integer>30064771303</integer>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
    <integer>30064771302</integer>
</dict>' \
'<dict>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingDst</key>
    <integer>30064771302</integer>
    <key>HIDKeyboardModifierMappingSrc</key>
    <integer>30064771303</integer>
</dict>'


Change OSX Folder Icons (Working on OSX Lion) I have a certain PNG I'd like to replace a folder icon with.

I noticed that when i Command-I this .png file, it will preview on the bottom, but not on the top left part (generic ".png" text appears instead).

I also noticed that only images that DO appear on the top left side of the "Get Info" window can be successfully Command-C'ed + Command-V'ed into my target folders' "Get Info" top left area - so that the image is replaced.

My question: is there some kind of standard for images that makes or breaks their compatibility with changing a folder's icon?

Any image can be used to create an icon for a folder. The problem is that you're trying to copy the image from the Finder's preview. Not all images are saved with a preview like that, so you can't always use that as a source.

Fortunately, there's a good way around that. When you copy that icon, all you're copying is the image data. You can also do that by opening any image in Preview, selecting all (cmd+a), and copying. Go to your folder's Get Info window, select that icon at the top right, and paste.

I tested, and this works on Lion.


What safety precautions are needed when working on an iMac G3 with a CRT? I have an iMac G3 that I'm planning on playing around with but need advice on handling the CRT and how to make sure I don't kill myself.

I have read quite a lot about discharging the CRT and the one thing I'm not sure about is how to make sure that when discharging you have the tool properly grounded.

Do you keep the computer plugged into the mains, but with it off, so the earth connection is still attached and thus used when discharging.

Where is the ground lug, which seems to be referenced in a few resources, such as this one, as I want to ensure I'm connected to the correct bit, so I don't become the ground.

Will wearing electricians gloves (or gloves suitable for handling high voltage) help protect me when doing this, or will they end up being cumbersome and give a false sense of protection?

Is it a good or bad idea to wear rubber soled shoes, will this also help insulate me, or again give a false sense of protection?

I guess the more precautions the better, but just trying to figure out what's actually helpful and what's not.

I can verify that the advise in that article is correct. I have discharged and serviced CRT Macs.

I personally am not going to give you any safety advise as it is a potentially dangerous process and should not be undertaken if not confident. I would avoid servicing these machines especially if you do not have access to the official service manual.


External Hard-disk showing Input/Output error I have a 1TB External Hard drive which I'm currently not able to access. When I open the External drive in Finder, It shows it's empty. When I use the option to "Get Info", I get the dialog box stating it has about 300GB Free.

I tried to access External Drive using Terminal, but I had no luck.

Checking in Disk Utility, It showed that I have many number of files but ZERO folders. I tried to "repair disk", in the process the external Drive got unmounted in the process.

I checked this drive on Windows. I was able to open almost all the folders but I wasn't able to copy anything onto the external drive. One folder caused my windows computer to freeze.

Then I connected the drive back onto my MacBook Pro and tried to access the drive through terminal (this time it worked!) and then I tried to delete a folder with rm command, I got an "input/output error". I tried to enter in to the folder with "cd" command but my terminal got frozen.

What should i do to recover the files in that folder?  What can I do to fix my External Hard disk ?

If Windows is having trouble opening various folders and is causing your drive to freeze, it suggests that the file system is corrupted or that the disk itself is failing. The first thing you should do is run chkdsk on the drive from a Windows system to correct any errors with the NTFS file system. If you still have trouble, I suspect that there's little you can do.

As for mounting it on the Mac, understand that OS X mounts NTFS file systems in read-only mode. As such, you'll be able to copy important data off of the drive, but you won't be able to update it or write new data to it.

Repairing the drive in Disk Utility might work, but I advise against it. As for it being unmounted, that is always going to be the case. One cannot repair a volume while it's mounted, in the same manner that one cannot chkdsk /f a drive under Windows without forcing the drive to be unmounted (or reboot, which does the same thing). Importantly, though, if you want to repair NTFS, you're best off doing it with Windows.


How do I sum up specific things in Numbers? I have a spreadsheet in the newest iWork Numbers.app, with something like:

CATEGORY | POINTS
      HW | 100
      HW | 100
      NW | 12
      HW | 50
      NW | 23

I want to just sum up all the Category = HW into a cell: I'm not sure how. I think I need to use the SUMIF() function but I get stuck afterwards.

You are correct in that you need to use the SUMIF function.
This is the specification from the Function Browser:

SUMIF(test-values, condition, sum-values)

Try this in your cell:

=SUMIF(CATEGORY; "=HW"; POINTS)


Can a visitor play their Apple Music account through my Apple TV? I have an Apple TV (4th generation, with apps) hooked up to a stereo system.

My friend comes to visit, with their own Apple Music account on their iPhone/iPad. Is there some way for them to play the music from their account through my stereo?

Can their iPhone/iPad pass the music to my Apple TV, perhaps over the network?
Can we temporarily have the Apple TV login to their Apple Music account without logging out of my Apple ID?

To answer your second question, no they cannot login without you logging out.
They can, however, use AirPlay from their iOS device in Control Center (swipe up from the bottom of the screen) to send music from their device to the Apple TV.
The Apple support article talks about conference room mode but the important part to pay attention to is the discussion of AirPlay security settings.

To restrict access to your Apple TV through AirPlay, you can choose from two security settings. Go to Settings > AirPlay > Security and choose the setting that's right for you:
To give access only to users in the same room as your Apple TV, choose Passcode or Onscreen Code. Each time someone with an AirPlay enabled device tries to connect to your Apple TV, their device asks for the passcode shown on your TV.
To give access only to users who have your password, choose Password. Then any user who wants to use AirPlay on your Apple TV needs to ask you for your password. You might want to change your password periodically, because after someone enters it on their device, that device remembers the password forever.


How to create dual content display with Apple TV and iPad/iPhone? We've been looking into using the Google Chromecast with a custom receiver to allow a user to use an app on iOS, Mac, or PC (node-webkit is used for Mac and PC) and then show different content on the TV with the Chromecast to what is being displayed on their device. So that we can do stuff like reports, status boards, etc.

We'd like to also support the Apple TV... but I've not seen anything on the Apple Developer site regarding displaying HTML content other than just video and audio or mirroring the entire screen of the iPad or iPhone. We'd want dual content.

I have seen screenshots on the Apple website showing games that have different content on the the device to what is displayed on the screen.

Can anyone offer advice? As it looks like it's possible... but the resources and information on this are difficult to find.

Well, What you see in the image is simple - It's a controller for the free game called MetalStorm.

You could follow this article on "Creating a dual-screen experience for iOS and Apple TV" and look deeper into the Apple developer website about Airplay SDK and Multi Display Programming, where-in you would be able to find information about creating such a controller.


Difference between "diskutil unmount" and "diskutil unmountDisk"? Sometimes when I try to unmount a disk using the "diskutil" command I get the following message:

$ diskutil unmount /dev/disk1
disk1 was already unmounted or it has a partitioning scheme so use "diskutil unmountDisk" instead

when I replace "unmount" with "unmountDisk" it works perfectly fine.

So my question is, what's the difference between the "unmount" and "ummountDisk" commands?

From man diskutil:

 unmount | umount [force] device
     Unmount a single volume.  Force will force-unmount the volume (less kind to any open
     files; see also umount (8)).

 unmountDisk | umountDisk [force] device
     Unmount an entire disk (all volumes).  Force will force-unmount the volumes (less kind
     to any open files; see also umount (8)).  You should specify a whole disk, but all
     volumes of the whole disk are attempted to be unmounted even if you specify a parti-
     tion.

So diskutil unmount just ejects a single volume/partition, diskutil unmountDisk the whole disk (including all volumes/partitions).


Do I need to reinstall apps to take advantage of app thinning? I don't notice any difference in app sizes in iOS 9 so I was wondering if app slicing doesn't kick in until next time I update apps or reinstall them?

I realize not all apps will support it, but I have so many that it should have shown a difference anyway.

You will need to re-install or upgrade existing apps to benefit. Apple is unlikely to pro-actively thin apps already installed on iOS devices.
The roll out may also be slowed by bugs and lack of developer support. For example in iOS 9.0, Apple disabled App Slicing due to a bug:

App Slicing Currently Unavailable
September 24, 2015
App slicing is currently unavailable for iOS 9 apps due to an issue affecting iCloud backups created from iOS 9 where some apps from the App Store would only restore to the same model of iOS device.
When a customer downloads your iOS 9 app, they will get the Universal version of your app, rather than the variant specific for their device type. TestFlight will continue to deliver variants for your internal testers. App slicing will be reenabled with a future software update. No action is needed by you at this time.


Alternatives to Google Earth that can consume KMZ I'm trying to eliminate Google software from my OS X experience.

I would like to eliminate Google Earth. Are there OS X tools that can consume or work with KMZ files? Are there good online tools that can work with these files? I'm keen to visualise points of interest on maps, but while OS X Maps provides a great user experience, it does not seem to import or show externally provided data.

Marble looks like a good replacement. It's free, open source, and says it supports KML files.
I haven't tried it though.


Help partitioning "free space" with utility disk I've been trying to partition my harddrive to have ~50 gb of unallocated space (right now there's one partition with the operating system on it, so I would like to have that plus the free space). This is for Windows if that matters, and is independent of Boot Camp.

I have more than enough room.I managed to do it once earlier today, but now whenever I try to create the free space partition it automatically formats it to the journaled mac os. I go to disk utility, click on my harddrive, partition, then the plus at the bottom and select free space, resize to 50 GB and apply. and it formats it. Can anyone tell me what is going on?

To clarify: when I try to create a partition of "free space" using disk utility, it is formatted automatically and against my will to HFS+ Journaled. Is there any reason this would be happening? Is there anyway to force a "free space" partition to be created

Sorry for the poor pictures. also please ignore the separate NTFS partition. I am still trying to install Windows while I am waiting for answers, so it was intentionally added and does not affect my problem.

EDIT:

The partition at index 4 was created using the terminal (but it couldve been created using the plus minus in disk utility), and i have no problems whatsoever creating non-free space partitions with either of these methods. When I tried to install windows to that partition at index 4, I received an error saying that the selected partition is of MBR and i need GPT, which indicates to me some sort of hybrid mode where mac reads gpt and windows reads mbr.

I got around this error once by creating free space and partitioning/formating it within the windows installer. However I cant make that free space anymore, as i said before i cannot create a partition of format "free space" within disk utility. I tried dragging the hdd box within disk utility as mentioned and have posted the results. As you can see it does not show up as free space, or at least it does not show up in finder as a free space partition.

Specifically Id like to know what this step does or whats causing the problem,
Remove the new HFS+ volume with gpt and its index number found above:
gpt remove -i 4 disk0

Sorry for only two pictures, apparently I cant post more than two links

System specs: Macbook Pro 15 (mid 2010), Yosemite 10.10.5

First I have to explain the gpt result:

The partition with index 1 is your EFI partition. The partitions with index 2 and 3 are your main OS X volume named Macintosh HD (also visible in the second screenshot) and your Recovery HD. The partition with the index 4 is your NTFS volume WinB (also visible in the second screenshot).

Trying to add a new partition (by using the +-button) or to resize Macintosh HD (by using the handle) with Disk Utility will downsize partition 2 and move partition 3 to the new end of partition 2.

Since adding a new partition with the +-button doesn't work properly for you, you have two options:

use the handle and resize Macintosh HD. This should create unallocated free space
or use the +-button and create a new volume. Apparently it will be formatted as a HFS+ Journaled volume.

Then boot to Internet Recovery Mode and open Terminal.
Enter diskutil list and gpt -r show /dev/disk0.
Unmount your main disk with diskutil umountDisk /dev/disk0.
Remove the new HFS+ volume with gpt and its index number found above:
gpt remove -i 4 disk0
Enter exit and quit Terminal
Reboot

This might break Boot Camp as stated in Disk Utility and is not recommended if Windows boots in MBR-mode. So backup your Mac (including the Bootcamp partition) first.

I tested this with a spare MacBook Air (Mid 2013 with a 250 GB SSD) and a vanilla Yosemite after installing Windows 8.1 R1. Regardless what I did, I had no problem to boot from either Windows 8.1 or OS X. Windows 8.1 seems to be booted in EFI-mode though.

Since you have an older Mac, Windows will probably be booted in hybrid MBR-mode. Adding a fourth partition (at position 3) will break bootability of the last one because only three partitions (and the EFI partition) are allowed.


How do I locate the contact data for the Address Book on Snow Leopard? How do I locate the contact data for the Address Book in the hard drive on Snow Leopard?

The data is stored in several places. It's best to just export the data to the desktop if you want it in one file.

The complicated answer is in ~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook as well as in various cache files if you have enabled LDAP/open directory integration or other sync options to get contacts into and out of your address book.


Is it possible to upgrade the CPU on a mac mini? I want to upgrade the CPU on my Mac Mini (Late 2012). I currently have the i5 2,5GHz version but want to upgrade to a better CPU. Will it be possible to upgrade to the i7 2,6GHz that is on some of the other late 2012 mac minis?

I know it is recommended to upgrade the motherboard instead, since the soldering is very difficult to do, but will I have compatibility issues if i manage to replace the CPU successfully?

"The soldering is very difficult" is rather an understatement.

The CPU architecture is BGA [Ball Grid Array] which requires a special machine to replace.

If all you have is a soldering iron, you can forget it.
eBay has BGA rework stations from about $£€ 400 to 4,000.

Once you've got the gear, then you could watch this YouTube video to see how easy it is… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK62KML0D04


Large external storage stops working after being connected for a long time I have a 4 TB LaCie RUGGED USB-C external hard drive, and when it's connected to my MacBook Pro (13-inch mid 2014) for a long time without being used, it stops working. I do allow drives to sleep when connected in the settings.

Icon remain on desktop, but trying to open it or ejecting it, causes Finder to hang.
When I unplug it, Finder unblocks
When I plug it in again, it’s working (for a while of course)
The drive is bus powered and does not have an external power source

I use this drive for Time Machine backups, but sometimes Time Machine fails to backup.

I’d like to isolate the issue to know if the Mac is the problem, the cable is the problem or the drive is the problem or I need to change settings.

Can I use a system log or Time Machine log to diagnose what’s happening?

I searched around and found out that there's an option in Energy Saver: Put hard disks to sleep when possible and it's checked on my Mac. You can see the option in the screen shot below:


US International (AltGr dead keys) layout on Mac OS X? everyone. On Linux there is a layout called US International (AltGr dead keys), which converts the right Alt key into an AltGr key. AltGr+a gives á, AltGr-Shift-a gives Á, AltGr-m gives µ, and AltGr-' followed by another key puts the acute accent on whatever you type next, and so on.

This is pretty much my favorite keyboard layout, because it's really convenient both for programming and for typing foreign-language text (both of which I do quite a bit) but unfortunately I can't find an option for this layout. The "US International - PC" layout uses ', ", and ` and so on as dead keys directly, which doesn't work because as mentioned I program a lot.

I found a layout called "US International w/o Dead Keys" here, but when I load it into Lion the keyboard simply stops working. Does anyone know anywhere else I could find this layout, or how I could customize one for myself?

The standard U.S. layout has a few dead key states under ⌥:

` isn't a dead key in U.S. Extended:

If you want to leave the left ⌥ free for other functions, you can create a custom .keylayout with Ukelele.


App Store forcing me to pay twice for the same app but on different devices I bought a paid app on my iMac, and a few months later tried to download it on my iPhone but it’s forcing me to pay again for it. I thought the App Store linked purchases on multiple devices?

Mac apps and iOS apps are completely separate.

If you purchase a Mac app, you can install it on any of your Macs. Likewise for an iOS app, which can be installed on any of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch devices. Mac apps can't be run on an iOS device and vice versa — they are independent systems which link purchases independently.


How can I update multiple MacBook Airs from Mavericks to Yosemite utilizing ARD? I have multiple MacBook Airs on Mavericks that need to be updated to Yosemite. I currently have a Mac Mini Server on 10.9.5 – I'm using the Caching service to download the software to have it locally available. Is there any way I can use ARD to assist in this process so that way I don't have to click through the installer screens and automate some of the process? Thank you in advance.

You should be able to use Apple Remote Desktop to copy the macOS Installer application to the Applications folder on every client Mac, then send the following UNIX command as root:

/Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app --agreetolicense --nointeraction

This command starts the in-place upgrade action to OS X Yosemite. It may take some time for the entire process to complete, but it doesn't require any user interaction.


How to unlock a "disabled" iPhone Is there any software esp. forensics and such, that allow me to unlock a disabled iPhone from putting in too many wrong attempts. I know the correct PIN but I don't want to reset it since this contains VERY important data. The screen says iPhone is disabled, and connect to iTunes, but before I do that I just wanted to inquire.

So since I know the real passcode I will make a iTunes backup of the device, and then I will restore that backup hopefully letting me input another PIN code. :)


iOS: How to see pictures on a network hard disk? Which is the best free app for browsing and displaying pictures that are stored on a network hard disk?

Yes there are many, like for example File Browser. But you would have found them with a easy google search too.

Add "free" to your search term and you find My Computer Data. I haven't used, it's just the first search result.


Can I have separate Game Center accounts on two different iOS devices registered to the same Apple ID? Our kids each have an iPod touch and share my iTunes account.  My son now has my daughter's Game Center info on his iPod touch..  Can we get a separate Game Center ID for him?

Yes - the Game Center sign-in can be the same or different than the Apple ID entered in other places (i.e. iTunes Store and iCloud).

Make your son an Apple ID for his Game Center and later he can use it for other uses.


iPhone upgrade without deleting data I have a iPhone 4, which is IOS 4.3.3. Now i need to upgrade it to the latest OS version, WITHOUT deleting any data. I have not tried to update my phone contacts in the last few years fearing it would delete the data. Can someone help me out?

Okay, let me walk you through it step-by-step. The first thing we'll need to do is sync. Then we will backup, and then put the new OS on.

Syncing

Take your iPhone and plug it into your computer (using the charging cable that came with it)(it should have a USB, and iPhone connector)
If iTunes does not automatically pop-up on your computer screen within 1 minute of pluging in, click the icon for iTunes on your computer.
In iTunes, your iPhone should pop-up after a few minutes. Make sure that you are syncing all that you will want when the whole process is over. Go to the different tabs on top to make sure that you are syncing apps, notes, calendars, etc... Once you know that you are syncing all that you want, you must look for the sync button (it should be located at the bottom-right of iTunes within your device "Summary" page). Click it.
To be extra careful, once the sync is over, you should click sync again (this will ensure that you have successfully synced your iPhone).

Backing Up

Now you will want to Backup your iPhone to make sure that you won't lose any of your note, calendars, and so on. To do this, click the "Summary" tab in iTunes which will display a picture of an iPhone. After this, scroll down to the "Backups" section of this page, and finally, click "Back Up Now".
Once this is done, you should probably do it again to ensure that your information has been successfully backed up. Just follow the same steps above.
Finally, move on to the step shown below.

Upgrading iOS

Now, in the same "Summary" page, scroll down to the "Version" section of the page. In here (IF YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL STEPS ABOVE), click "Check For Update". In the window that appears, click "Download and Update".
Confirm all of the following prompts that appear (Terms and Conditions, and so on...), and let it do its thing.
Have a cup of Hot Chocolate and wait for the download to finish. Once this has occurred, confirm any other prompts that appear (if they do).
Watch a little TV while you wait for the OS to update into your iPhone.
Once it is done doing this, it will restore the information into your phone and do a sync automatically in order to put in your apps and everything.
Once you get any indication that it was finished (MAKE SURE THAT IT IS FINISHED)(IT USUALLY TAKES ABOUT A DAY FOR THE WHOLE PROCESS TO FINISH), unplug your phone and enjoy.
Take a break! Go to bed, have a cup of tea, whatever! You now feel wiped out, and wish you never had asked...Don't worry about it, you now have the latest iOS.


Shift movie horizontally for side by side I have two videos where the action appears on the left side of the frame.  Using iMovie version 10.0.9, I use the side-by-side overlay.  The bottom (right) video is overlapped by the top video so the action is not seen.  How can I shift the bottom video to the right so that the action appears on the right side of the side-by-side?  Can I edit the right side video 1st so the action has been shifted to the right side of the frame?

I'm looking for an answer that uses just iMovie or QuickTime editing feature but until there is an alternative provided, I will post this answer using the free VideoPad app (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/videopad-video-editor-free/id846931335).

VideoPad has a Position Video Effect that allows me to slide the video to the right (the left area is filled in black).  Saving this I can now position it side by side and have the action appear on the right half back in iMovie.

Support for positioning video within the frame is what I need in iMovie


Is is possible to replace the CD drive in a 17" macbook Pro with a SSD/second HD? Basically the Title:

Is is possible to replace the CD drive in a 17" macbook Pro with a SSD/second HD?

I'm looking at buying a 17" MBP, and I am having a hard time deciding if I want a HD or SSD.

My MBA has a SSD, and it's very fast. However, I am already almost out of space.

My desktop (a windows box) has a SSD for the OS and often used programs, and a HD for long term storage. It works extremely well

Also, I think I have used the CD drive in my desktop about twice in two years, so I don't really need one, particularly in a laptop.

What I would Ideally like to do is simply replace the CD drive with a big HD, and use a SSD for the OS.

Is this possible? I can make up a custom bracket to hold the SSD in the CD-drive enclosure. However, I do not know what kind of interface the CD drive uses.

System Profiler is an application that will show you hardware information to determine which bus the CD drive is connected. Once you know your hardware specifications, you can shop better.

Check MCE optibay and OWC Data Doubler for housings that work physically with SATA connectors. Also check Remiel's article on the issues you might face moving to an SSD / HD combination.


iPhone 7 low audio output My iPhone 7 has really low output through the headphone jack, I’ve compared it with two other  iPhone 7 using the same app and same song. The output of built in speakers is perfect but headphone jack outputs really low sound.

I updated the firmware through iTunes and restored my data through backup and I tried turning on/off sound check and volume limit in the Settings but nothing worked.

I had an iPhone 7 plus and iPhone X in the past and I used same backup for all of my phones. I had the same issue with iPhone 7 plus but iPhone X had no issue with the audio output. Is there any problem with my iPhone backup or there is an issue with my phone?

Try restoring the iPhone 7 to factory settings and dont place your backup on there.

See if the issue remains because if it doesnt then the backup is the culprit.

This is how to properly determine if the issue is hardware vs software data.

If the issue remains then send them in for repair.


If I lose access to my account after enabling two factor authentication, will I lose my entire developer account? Today I enabled two-factor-authentication for my Apple ID since they required me to do so.

Before finishing the process, a message popped up, saying:

  Apple will not be able to reset your password on your behalf.

Now, I'm a bit scared that if I lose access to my phone AND my recovery key for whatever reason - will I lose my entire developer account without any chance of recovery?

Per the Apple Developer Two-Factor Authentication FAQ's:

  What if I lose access to my trusted devices and trusted phone number?

  You can request account recovery to regain access to your account.

  Account recovery might take a few days or longer, depending on the specific account information you can provide to verify your identity.


How to delete OS X Lion installer app I re-downloaded the OS X Lion installer app to burn a DVD.  After burning the DVD I put the installer files in the trash.  Now when I try to clear the trash, I get a message basically saying I only have Read Only permissions on the file, and can't delete it.  The permissions don't appear to be editable.  How can I get rid of the file?

Have you tried rebooting before removing it from Trash again? That helps in such cases sometimes.

If that doesn't work, try opening Terminal, and entering:

cd .Trash
sudo rm Install\ Mac\ OS\ X\ Lion.app


Why is my Automator Print Plugin Only Running Every Other Time? I have set up a simple Print Plugin in Automator.  It renames the file, then moves the file to a particular directory.  No matter how simple I make the plugin, it only triggers every other time I run it.

In other words, I go into Print > PDF > then select the automator script from the dropdown box.

The first time, it appears to "print" but nothing happens; the second time, it runs as expected.

I've looked through my logs, and it appears I get an unrelated error log about Automator Runner on the second time I run the plugin -- it is as though the Automator script isn't getting run in the first instance.

I'm using Mountain Lion.

Any thoughts or suggestions?  I'm not even sure where to look next.

Jacob Walker writes:

  Just saw your note on the Apple Support webpage.  I was able to get past the apparent bug by saving the Automator Script as an Automator "Application" rather than a Print Plugin. I saved it to ~/Library/PDF Services and it shows up and works as expected.

This also worked for me.


Can you programatically tell if the webcam is in use? I'm trying to run some commands when I start and stop using the (built in) webcam on my 2015 iMac running Catalina.
It sounds like historically lsof | grep "AppleCamera" would once tell me if the webcam is being used. However I'm not getting that to work on Catalina, is there an alternative process name or other method I can use to tell if the webcam is active?

I would recommend OverSight because it's free and written by a very talented Apple technology focused security researcher. His other tools are also extremely good.
https://objective-see.com/products/oversight.html


Adobe Shockwave Player PKG installed but I can't find the application I just downloaded adobe swf on my computer. I went through the pkg file and it said that it was installed. The application support scripts are there, but where is the app? Thanks in advance!

I tried installing it twice; one to all users and one the the mac.

In the Installer.app you can view the list of files that are going to be installed by navigating to File -> Show files, of pressing ⌘ cmd+i.


Green color not so green on my mac? First I've noticed it on my activity monitor:

As you can see Free ram color is set to bright green. And in the activity monitor itself shows color somewhat between green and yellow.
Now also as you can see in bottom left corner, the dock icon's color is ok.

But in the Terminal I get the same crappy color instead of green…

Does anyone have any idea what's wrong?

EDIT

After rebooting the Activity Monitor it's colors went back to normal. Haven't tried to do it with terminal yet.

I have experienced this behaviour if I use different screens with the same windows. Somehow Mac OS seems to save the colour profile with the monitor where the window has been initially opened. If I open the same window on a different screen e.g. green looks different than it should be.


WAN connectivity failure every 5 minutes on Technicolor router Starting recently, my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.11.2 loses its Internet connection every five minutes or so.

My router, a Technicolor TC8717T (don't ask, it's the free one from my ISP) provides two wifi networks:

TC8717T88 (2.4 GHz)
TC8717T88-5G (5 GHz)

Regardless of which wifi network I'm connected to, the Internet connection will die after about five minutes. The computer will remain connected to the wifi network, at full signal strength, but I'll be unable to browse to any websites or do anything over the Internet.

When this happens, Network Diagnostics will report that the connection to my ISP is failing, and Wireless Diagnostics will report a "WAN Connectivity Failure" and advise that I restart my router.

At this point, if I do any of the following...

Switch to the other network (from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz or vice versa)
Disconnect from and reconnect to the same network
Turn my wifi off and back on
Restart my router

...the Internet connection will be restored, but only for another five minutes or so, until it fails again in the same fashion.

What could be causing this, and is there anything else I can try?

Update: two other pieces of info that I've discovered:

When the connection drops, other devices on the same wifi network remain connected. For example, my Apple TV will continue to stream a show, even though the MacBook Pro has lost the connection
...but at the same time, my MacBook Pro only exhibits this issue on my home wifi network. For example, on my office wifi, the connection is always stable

Here's a screenshot of my network settings:

I suggest you to turn off the 2.4 GHz wireless network named TC8717T88 on your router. Then your Automatic location will stop magically switching from one to the other wireless networks, thus having the valid IP for the other network (which doesn't fit the DHCP lease of the actual one).

You will be able to change this from a perfectly connected computer (ideally through Ethernet). Open your web browser, and connect to your TC8717T router with:

http://192.168.0.1

login:          admin
password:       password

goto:

Gateway > Connection > WiFi

click:

EDIT

Configure as disabled the "Private WiFi Network Configuration (2.4 GHz)".
Configure on Manual channel choice the "Private WiFi Network Configuration (5 Ghz)".

I made the hypothesis (which is quite often the case) that your 2.4 GHz
is overloaded and sometimes subject to access failure due to interfering neighbours network. Then by forcing your connexion on 5 GHz and a given channel you will get a stable one, without anymore dynamic IP renewal.


Delete (not hide) calendar events automatically or via CLI There are many answers online on how to hide old events from iCloud calendars, but not many on how to actually delete them. From the settings, it appears to not be possible to do automatically. There may be, however, a command-line way to do it. I’m looking for something that doesn’t rely on AppleScript to call the Calendar app and doing it there, as I’ve gotten mixed results with such solutions, and would rather not invoke a GUI.

Since iCloud is based on CalDAV, this shouldn’t be too hard. Deleting an event boils down to a simple HTTP request, e.g.:

DELETE /calendars/johndoe/home/132456762153245.ics HTTP/1.1
If-Match: "2134-314"

This project on GitHub could serve as a good starting point: jcs/iclouddav


To prevent text wrap in TexPad editor I did not find anywhere such an option.
I do not want this

How can you prevent text wrap in TexPad editor?

You cannot.
I switched to TextMate which is much more sufficient for my needs.
Some review about integrated editors here where some open sourcing of the excellent editors has happened.


Firefox 38 on OS X - there is no DRM - howto enable? I found How to disable DRM in Firefox 38

I don't have those settings in my Firefox. See screenshots:

Howto enable DRM restrictions?

It looks like you downloaded the DRM-free version of Firefox. You don't have the addon that provides the DRM in the first place.


What version(s) of Python are pre-installed on OS X 10.9 Mavericks? In the past Python 2.6 was included with OS X 10.8.

What version or versions come with 10.9 Mavericks?

It's on 2.7.5.

Python 2.7.5 (default, Aug 25 2013, 00:04:04)
[GCC 4.2.1 Compatible Apple LLVM 5.0 (clang-500.0.68)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>


Airdrop not working in mac ( OSX 10.11.6 El Capitan ) with iPhone 6s (iOS 9.3.5) Problem:
Airdrop is not working in Macbook pro 2015 model ( OSX 10.11.6 El Capitan ) with iPhone 6s (iOS 9.3.5). Both OS are latest updated.
Note: Tried mac connecting with two iphones (6 ans 6s). Although both iphones are able to connect with each other using Airdrop

When I open Airdrop in finder window in Mac it is not showing me my iPhone.
Also when i try to share some image in iPhone then it doesn't show me mac in Airdrop.

Steps Tried :-
I have set airdrop settings to Everyone.
Also bluetooth and wifi are working perfect on both the devices.
In firewall also nothing is blocked. Even tried with firewall disabled.
Also tested in safe mode and test user but not working.
Also tested with icloud signed out but that also not worked.

Should i reinstall the Mac OS X again? Any suggestions.

I would not expect AirDrop to work in SafeMode as most kernel extensions and features are hobbled / disabled. I also wouldn't reinstall unless you feel that's needed for another issue.

I don't see a good troubleshooting article from Apple - but this has some hints: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203106

Specifically - when you have hotspot enabled on iOS - AriDrop doesn't work.

Additionally, if you have any internet security, firewall, vpn software installed, that can cause problems on the Mac side.

The initial discovery of devices happens over bluetooth - so if you don't see other devices - look for bluetooth interference or issues with that hardware. If you see the other device, but the transfer is slow or fails, you can track that on the Mac side:

netstat -nr | grep awdl0

That will show all the IPv6 network connections and you can run sudo tcpdump -i awdl0 to trace the network traffic that is used to transfer files over AirDrop.

You are on the right track - powering off bluetooth and wifi, restarting both devices, powering on bluetooth and WiFi and then retesting. Worst case, you need a third device to see which of the two works with another device that you know works with AirDrop.

If that doesn't work - look at this answer on the thread below for more in-depth tools to debug AirDrop using graphical tools and the command line:

Debug AirDrop between MacBook Pro and iPhone 6s Plus


When connected to two networks, can I tell my iMac to use a specific network for a certain application? I run Spotify on wifi network "Production Internet". As the name implies, that network has internet access.
I'd also like to run Audiofusion SoundCaster over a separate hardwired network that doesn't have internet access. Well, actually the iMac would be hardwired to a different wifi router with no internet access. So the SoundCaster traffic eventually goes over a wifi network called "Monitors". "Monitors" doesn't have internet access, though. It only carries SoundCaster traffic between iPhones and the iMac.
I don't want SoundCaster traffic going over "Production Internet". How can I force all SoundCaster traffic to go to the hardwired connection so it is sent to the wifi router for "Monitors"?
Thanks for your help.

Well, I got a great answer from the Audiofusion team. It resolves my specific situation.
Per Audiofusion:

SoundCaster will only send audio over the Ethernet connection. Just
make sure the WiFi connection is listed first and the Ethernet
connection is listed second in your Network Preferences.

Thanks!


iPhone 3GS stuck in apple logo My friend owns an old iPhone 3GS(I know it's vintage) that entered a boot loop a couple of days after it was jailbroken. So how I tried tackling the problem was by performing a restore through iTunes(since it is the only way) but unfortunately that didn't work. I tried 5 different ipsw files and I even tried clicking on restore to allow iTunes to fetch the newest ipsw for me but still no luck. I tried using a different computer, still no luck. I even tried using an older version of iTunes since the iPhone 3GS's release but guess what, still no luck. Any ideas on how to tackle this problem and do you reckon the phone is soft bricked or hard bricked?

Firm-Bricked I'm afraid. It happens a lot with those.


Hide dock bar permanently Is it possible to hide dock bar permanently? I know we can make dock bar hide/appear automatically. But I don't want dock bar to appear even when the arrow moves on it.

You can try hiding it and then setting a long delay before it appears.
Something like:
defaults write com.apple.Dock autohide-delay -float 10000 && killall Dock


WiFi issues when using Magic Mouse I am having issues with WiFi connection since I started using Magic Mouse.
I'm using a 15" MacBook Retina mid 2012 with El Capitan.
The connection is much slower on the MacBook than any other devices when I run speed tests.
Ping is around 300ms instead of 10ms which I am getting on other devices. Also speed is lower on the MacBook.
Sometimes things are so bad that I cannot establish a connection to remote hosts and things go in timeout (e.g. http, Skype, and other protocols and ports).

I've read elsewhere that it's recommended to change the frequency which the router operates from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz. However this is not an option for me as I don't control the network infrastructure of the places where I use the MacBook.

Are there any other fixes for this issue? If not, do you think I can ask Apple for a refund as they clearly are incompetent dealing with this?

Update:

See result of pinging google.com, from the screenshot it's possible to see how initially the ping time seems normal but then it went up or even goes in timeout from the exact moment when I switched on the Magic Mouse

install 10.11.2 update and see if that helps.


Crontab didn't work as intended I set crontab but nothing happened,

crontab -l
03 04-22 * * * python /me/radio_alarm.py

What's the reason, the command works as intended in Linux.

Your crontab suggests that at 3 minutes past every hour from 04:00 through 22:00, invoke python to run /me/radio_alarm.py

If that's correct, and there are no other problems that we can't see*, the following correction should work:

03 04-22 * * * /usr/bin/python /me/radio_alarm.py

It is necessary to specify the complete path to python because the "cron user" does not have the same $PATH environment that you do under your user name.

* I assume that you have successfully run your script from the command line. If that is the case, you've probably cleared most of the potential errors below, but just in case here are the "usual suspects":

is your script marked as executable? (e.g. chmod 755 /me/radio_alarm.py)
does your script begin with an appropriate shebang entry? (e.g. #!/usr/bin/python)
is your script written for the same version of Python that you're invoking? (e.g. mac os has only Python2, unless you've installed Python3 as part of homebrew, etc.)

Finally, it never hurts to capture any stderr output while you're testing a new script. You can easily add an "error log" to your script as follows:

03 04-22 * * * /usr/bin/python /me/radio_alarm.py  > ~/cronjoblog 2>&1

This will redirect any error output from your script to the file cronjoblog in your user's home directory.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you have further issues or questions.


Sticky note widgets each have their cursor blinking as if active all together Using a new MBP Retina at work with Mountain Lion. I always used the sticky dashboard widgets to organize my oh-so-chaotic life on my Lion MBP.

Now that I use them in 10.8 (around 16-20 stickies) I noticed that all of them now have their cursor "on" which is really distracting!

Has anyone else experienced this?

I have this problem, too. It's SO annoying. I'm on a Macbook Pro (Early 2008) with OS X Mavericks and my dashboard has about 9 sticky notes that appear to be active with the blinking cursor, but it's not just limited to them. Other widgets such as the Dictionary and translator, and others I have downloaded that have the ability to write something, also blink. At least with those I can click on a section of the widget to stop the blinking cursor, but not with the sticky notes.


Battery on white MacBook shuts off abruptly after 30% charge is left I have a white MacBook (MacBook4,1). I have owned and used it for over two years now (30 months, as coconutBattery would have me believe). coconutBattery and Battery Health Monitor both report that the capacity of the battery has gone down to 82% at 4123 mAH charge capacity (with design charge capacity being 5020 mAH). The load cycles (cycle count) is 376, and the battery is reported to be in normal condition.

Naturally, the battery drains faster now than it did, say, a year ago, or when it was brand spanking new. I don't mind that. That's understandable. What I do mind, however, and what perplexes me is that, after the battery is drained all the way down to around 30%, the MacBook shuts off in a split second. I can hear that familiar click sound from the hard-disk that comes when the power button is held down for a few seconds to forcefully shut down the system. It took me by surprise when I first experienced it. I thought that perhaps it went to sleep because the battery may have drained completely. But it never displayed any alert about low battery (the charge was still reported to be around 30% when the event happened). When I pressed the power button, the MacBook did a POST and started as it would after a cold shut-down.

It happened to me every time I had drained the battery down to around 30%. I would think that the electronics on board the battery controller would force the system to go into hibernate (suspend/sleep) mode, while making sure there is just enough charge left to keep the system memory alive somewhere. However, as far as I can tell, obviously, the controller has no reason to think the remaining charge (at 30%) on the battery is appallingly low to warrant any such operations. But, it is as if the battery suddenly abruptly completely shuts itself off, as if its connection gets severed off there in a second.

I am clearly out of any warranty. But, I would like to know what could be the problem here. The battery is dying, but at 82% capacity, I shouldn't think so. What do you people think?

I had the exact same problem (twice!) and had my battery replaced under warranty - I seem to recall there was a battery replacement program for this issue (don't quote me) but even if there was I suppose that would have finished now.

I'd say you might have a chance if you called and explained the issue or went into an Apple store depending on what kind of person you run in to.

There was also a firmware update that was meant to help solve this issue, but it didn't help me and I suppose you'd have gotten that through software update long ago.

Long story short: It's not that the battery isn't holding enough charge, and not that it's had too many cycles - evidently they just had an issue with their battery production, and your machine has taken this long to be affected by it. Hopefully you get someone nice from Apple, but otherwise a trip to eBay or somewhere else on the internet should be able to get you a new battery for relatively cheap.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.