Unexpected interfaces in ifconfig In the middle of installing a tool called mrtg, I bailed out from a perl script to set various configuration parameters for use of snmp because it became clear that I had no idea what I was doing.  I also explored some snmp commands myself, but didn't keep a record, unfortunately.

I come back to ifconfig and notice it shows three new interfaces (not there just before the previous adventure):

gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280
stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280
fw0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 4078
    lladdr 60:fb:42:ff:fe:f4:cd:9e
    media: autoselect <full-duplex>
    status: inactive

My laptop on the same LAN has a different new interface called p2p0 that I hadn't noticed before, as well as gif0 and stf0 but not fw0.

After I reset my Airport Extreme to factory default, and reinstalled OS X Lion on my machine, with a wiped disk, they are still there.  This:

sudo ifconfig gif0 destroy

makes gif0 go away, but on reboot it comes back.  There is a previous answer with some info but what I'd like to know is why are they still there despite a clean install, could they be a security risk, and should I or can I make them go away.  Should I be looking at the Airport or something in my StartupItems?

UPDATE:  Does my machine set these up at boot or does the Airport remember them?  And in either case, why didn't a clean install (or factory reset) restore them to the previous configuration?

fw0 is the FireWire network interface. It's benign.

stf0 is an IPv6 to IPv4 tunnel interface. It's a bridge connection that exists to help us transition from IPv4 to the IPv6 standard. It's benign. You can read more about it here if you like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6to4

gif0 is a generic tunnel interface. It's used to tunnel IPv4 traffic to an IPv6 network and back. It's benign. You can read more about it here: http://www.gsp.com/cgi-bin/man.cgi?section=4&topic=gif


'soft return' in iTerm2 I'm just wondering is there a way to enter a new line in iTerm 2 without executing the line being typed?
I am looking to make use of some relatively long commands to automate some things, but not being able to format things is proving to make long commands hard to read.

Is there any way to enter line breaks or soft returns so that when enter is pressed the whole command will still execute?

Not sure if I understand correctly. If you put \ at the end and press enter, it is treated as continuation of the line and control goes to next line for you to type more. Only when you press enter on a line that doesn't end in \ is when the entire piece of code gets executed on the shell. So in a way \ could be you soft return.


Trademark and other characters not working since Mojave update Prior to the Mojave update, I could type Shift+Alt+2 to produce a trademark symbol (tm superscript). This, and others (Shift+Alt+{1-6,q,p,h,j,k,l,n,m,§}) do not work any more.

Is this intentional? If so, that sucks. If not, is this a known bug?

I'm using a Macbook 2015 if that makes any difference. I also found this question very difficult to search for ("shift+alt characters", "trademark symbol mojave", etc yielded no results, so apologies if it's a duplicate).

Edit: I've tested some more and it turns out this also affects regular Alt+ keys: e, r, p, s, f, h, j, k, l, n, §

Go to system prefs/keyboard/input sources and make sure that ONLY US or ABC or British is on the list.  Remove any others, especially Unicode Hex if present.


How can I determine the maximum supported resolution on a given Macbook? I recall that Macbooks produced in 2009-2011 supported a maximum external resolution (through Thunderbolt or DVI) of 2560x1600.

An aspect ratio of 16:10 is much more useful for those who use their Macbooks mostly for work, rather than entertainment. The aspect ratio of 16:9 is more suitable for entertainment.

Yet Macbooks produced starting in 2012, and before supporting 4K external resolution, appear to provide only 2560x1440 (which is 16:9).

It's really a pity, because this may be one factor why it's impossible to find 2560x1600 monitors in the 24" and 27" variety. To get 16:10 one must move all the way to the cumbersome 30", and then the DPI is hardly impressive.

But before buying any monitor for a "legacy" Macbook, it's nice to know for sure.

How do I determine the maximum external resolution supported on a given Macbook? Is this available in System Information...? I see the type of graphics card there, but not the resolution. Under Thunderbolt I see the speed (10GB/s x2), but not the resolution.

While I don't normally like to post 'link only' answers, this needs to be an exception.  The answer to your question will largely be 'it depends on the MacBook'.

To help you figure it out, I recommend going to EveryMac.com's MacBook Pro section.  This site will list the technical specs of every MacBook, including the maximum external resolution.

For example, here's a partial tech spec for a 2010 13" MBP:


Disable "...application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?" on certain file types? Is it possible to modify which files Apple's quarantine warning pops up on?  Specifically I download hundreds of PHP files (web developer) and I'm tired of seeing "...is a script application downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?"  I don't mind the warning on most downloads, but don't want warnings on scripts I'm opening to edit.

FYI, Quarantine can be completly disabled with:
    defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices LSQuarantine -bool NO
and can be removed from existing files with:
    xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine ~/foldername

If you download files from the internet into the ~/Downloads folder, you could assign a folder action to ~/Downloads via Automator:

Open Automator
Create a new Folder Action

As the action, drag over "Run Shell Script"

Assign the following shell script:

    for f in "$@"
    do
        test "$f" == *\.php && xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine $f
    done


External Display recognized as DisplayPort, but connected via adapter using HDMI I'm trying to connect a brand new macbook Pro with 2 USB-C using an adapter with HDMI. The macbook detects the display, but the Connection Type is DisplayPort. Is there a way to change it? Screen displays the message "No HDMI signal detected"

  Chipset Model:    Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
  Type: GPU
  Bus:  Built-In
  VRAM (Dynamic, Max):  1536 MB
  Vendor:   Intel
  Device ID:    0x5926
  Revision ID:  0x0006
  Metal:    Supported, feature set macOS GPUFamily2 v1
  Displays:
Colour LCD:
  Display Type: Built-In Retina LCD
  Resolution:   2560x1600 Retina
  Framebuffer Depth:    24-Bit Colour (ARGB8888)
  Main Display: Yes
  Mirror:   Off
  Online:   Yes
  Rotation: Supported
  Automatically Adjust Brightness:  No
DELL U2917W:
  Resolution:   2560x1080 (UW-UXGA - Ultra Wide - Ultra Extended Graphics Array)
  UI Looks like:    2560 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
  Framebuffer Depth:    30-Bit Colour (ARGB2101010)
  Display Serial Number:    749DX73N346L
  Mirror:   Off
  Online:   Yes
  Rotation: Supported
  Automatically Adjust Brightness:  No
  Connection Type:  DisplayPort  # I believe this is the problem.

The system is reporting that your Dell monitor is connected via DisplayPort be because you're actually connected to the DisplayPort port.  That said, it's not what's causing the problem you're describing.

What you're doing is converting the signal from DisplayPort (DP) to HDMI and most likely using a passive adapter; what you need is an active adapter or better still, just go from DisplayPort to DisplayPort (that monitor supports it).

I describe this in further detail in these posts:

External monitors show blank screen until restart
MacBook Pro detects syncmaster (monitor) but doesn't display
USB-C to Displayport cable or adapter


Quickest way to save new text file to a folder I have a folder open in finder - what is the quickest way to save a new text file to it?

On Windows I would use "New Text" and then edit the file. On the Mac I open a new file in Sublime or Textedit but then I have to select the folder again when I want to save ...?

You can run the following AppleScript through a service with keyboard shortcut or context menu item.

tell application "Finder"
  set selection to make new file at (get insertion location)
end tell

Alternatively, drag the current directory to Terminal and type touch filename. You can alias the command to something like n for easier activation, and also add closing the Terminal window to the aliased command.


Can I plug two external monitors in to a MacBook Pro? I'd like to use two external monitors for some excels, coding, email, not games or video content.

Can someone please explain how I can go about using two external monitors with my MacBook Pro, and realistically, how good will the performance be of the 2nd external monitor?

In order to attach two or three monitors, you could use a third party device like Matrox GXM (Graphics eXpansion Modules) - you can connect two or three monitors from your Display Port, however, there are some limitations (like the OS does not know natively that there are two or three monitors connected and treats it like one). The price is about $350 for the Tripplehead and around $220 for the Dualhead one.

Here is the GXM homepage.


Macbook Pro (Unibody): Trackpad requires too much force At first I thought my trackpad was broke and the clicker didn't work because it didn't always pick up my clicks. However, I've recently realized that is not the issue. The clicker requires a lot more force than I naturally use. It works 100% of the time when I click it really hard and about %25 of the time when I click it with the natural amount of force for me.

Is there any way to make the clicker more sensitive? I feel like I'm going to wear it out or possibly even break it if I have to click this hard all the time.

PS: I already know about tap to click but this does not help with highlighting text, login screen, etc. I need to make the actual clicker more sensitive.

Yes, the physical spring action of the button as well as the springs at the top of the trackpad that connect it to the unibody are adjustable and/or replaceable.

The parts are delicate and the set screw notoriously hard for beginning technicians to work on - even with official Apple parts and training.

I'd take it to Apple and if it is indeed different than the floor models in terms of force, you should be in great hands with them adjusting or repairing the hardware if it's not properly aligned or some foreign substance has worked itself into the gaps where the trackpad needs space to move.


How to have multiple icons for multiple instances of the same program? I'm a Windows user who has to use a Mac for my job. My biggest frustration with the Mac is that I can't switch between multiple instances of multiple program easily. I have to keep a little bit of every window visible at all times so I can click on it to switch to that window.

Is there a way to easily switch between multiple instances of multiple programs on a Mac? On Windows, every instance of every program is in the taskbar, so I can just click on that instance to switch to that instance. I can also alt-tab to switch between windows easily.

There are easier ways to switch windows/apps than using the Dock. Most native, is  by using the Mission Control. You can activate Mission Control several ways, on laptops it's usually F3 (without the Fn key), from Trackpad/Keyboard (check preferences) then select which app and window you want. You can also group windows by app: Mission Control > check "Group windows by application." Use two-finger scroll to zoom-in on specific app when grouped.

Couple useful shortcuts:

⌘+Tab: Switch between apps, use w/ Shift(⇧) to go in other directions.
⌘+`: Switch between windows of current app, use w/ Shift(⇧) to go in other directions.

Check out Keyboard Preference Pane for other shortcuts, or customise any.

You should use spaces, if you already aren't, this will help you sort out apps and create a better workflow.

EDIT: I forgot to answer your big question. To have multiple icons for each window, though it's not recommended; it'll mess up the mission controls and confuse you, you'd have to do it through Terminal:
open -n -a Google\ Chrome; -n for new instance, -a specifies the name of app. You can also supply files after that so it'll open those files with the default or app supplied. Do man open to read more about it.


How to use control key with remote access app using an iPad and bluetooth keyboard? I use Apple Bluetooth keyboard with iPad. It works well, but the control key doesn't work with remote access program such as iSSH, Remoter VNC, LogMeIn and Remoter VNC. In order to use control key with those apps, I have to touch the 'Control' key on screen then hit the keyboard.

Is there any way that I can use bluetooth control key with those remote access apps?

ADDED

From http://groups.google.com/group/issh/browse_thread/thread/8b91ce601edb2283/3ed3f672964f1ae5?lnk=gst&q=bluetooth+control#3ed3f672964f1ae5

  The Apple iOS API does not make meta key statuses from physical
  keyboards available to apps.  The Option key workaround is only
  workable on Apple BT and dock keyboards.  As soon as the API changes
  I'll make sure this gets fixed in iSSH.

iSSH has a button on the toolbar for exactly this purpose:

Tap that button, view that menu, enable the feature!


I've somehow enabled overtype mode in Slack and I can't get back to insert mode No, dear readers, as the Internet might have you believe, none of these things work on a 2017 Macbook Pro, the kind with the touchbar:

Fn+Enter
Fn+M
Fn+.
Fn+Option+Enter

Somehow, someway, when I was pasting some text I ended out getting into overtype mode in Slack and now it's stuck that way.

Internet documentation might work if I had an older computer or one with keys that I don't have, but there's nothing I've been able to find that will tell me how to turn off this dratted overtype mode. And it's seriously annoying.

Any clue how to turn it off?

My original solution (crossed out below) no longer works. Things that do work:

If you have a Mac keyboard, press the Help key to toggle between insert and replace mode
If you have a Windows keyboard, press the Insert (or Ins) key to toggle between insert and replace mode
Restart Slack (quit and relaunch); refreshing no longer works

I contacted Slack support and was told to use ⌘+R to do a quick refresh and reset the mode from overwrite to insert.
From Slack support team:
> Thanks for writing in about this! We've seen this occur on Mac computers recently as well, and the good news is there is an easy way to switch! To reset the mode from overwrite to insert, this should be possible with a quick refresh using Cmd+R
Explanation: This is because slack is using electron, which is essentially a wrapper around a browser to create a desktop app. Other "web" commands work like ⌘+[ and ⌘+] to traverse your "browser history" backward and forward, respectively.


Am I likely to get a performance improvement upgrading iphone 4 from ios6 to 7.1? I have an iPhone 4 that I didn't upgrade to iO7 because I'd heard a lot of people saying it hurt the phone's performance, and my phone's performance was already pretty terrible.

I've seen people saying that 7.1 is specifically faster for an iPhone 4, but only in comparison to iOs 7.0

If I upgrade my iphone 4 to 7.1 will it run better or worse? I use it as a backup device, mainly for music, so I'm ok doing without the improvements, but if I'm likely to get a performance improvement than I'm all over it.

7.1 is probably the best performance that you'll see on the iPhone 4. While the loading times for apps seems to be cut by a half a second or more for most, there's only so much you can do for a 4-year-old processor. I'd say the upgrade is well worth it. You won't see all the features that the 4S and 5 iterations see, but its still an increase in performance -- I'd say go for it.


How to mount a DMG image created with dd? I created an "emergency" image of my dying HD using the procedure explained in
Recover a dead hard drive using dd.

Now when I try to mount the dmg file I get the message: "The following disk image couldn't be opened... no mountable files"

How can I mount the image and explore the directories and files?

I've gotten shafted doing a similar rescue using dd. I doubt this will help, but it's worth a shot: How to Repair DMG Files. Another comment on there reported success opening a problematic dd created image using filesavage, seems kinda dated and pricey for a maybe.

I don't know if your drive is still alive or not, if you can do another rescue run with different software, that would probably be your best bet.

In the comments on the webpage you linked to, there were suggestions of using ddrescue, a worthwhile read here before you go down that road and it might explain why your (and my) dd backup did not work.

You can easily install the current version of ddrescue if you have macports installed sudo port install ddrescue. Failing that, If you have xcode installed, it's trivial to download the latest source code, browse to download in terminal, extract lzip -dc /PathTo/ddrescue.tar.lz | tar -x, cd to extracted ddrescue directory, then make and sudo make install. If not, another alternative is the this ddrescue-gui that I came across, it has ddrescue bundled within the application, you'll want to download the .dmg version. This might be an easy way to go, but you lose the power of log files (you can merge multiple partial recovered images).

I've used testdisk/photorec in the past with some success, it got some of my files but not all of them, and it was not organized at all by the way, many duplicates. I'd try ddrescue or ddrescue-gui out if I were you, if you want to do the free & command line route. As always, read the manual, it's got some good practices as far as best recovery practices. Dated Mac OSX hints entry

Seek and ye shall find. Best of luck, let me know if you need help with anything.


Print All Files in Folder and SubFolders I had 5 folders each with a couple of files (2-3).
I wanted to print all of them in one shot. I found ways to do it in Linux but I couldn't get them to work here.
The two alternatives I found for Linux were:

find -type f -print0 | xargs -0 ls -t
find . -type f -printf "%T@ %p\n" | sort -nr | cut -d\  -f2-

How do I accomplish this on a Mac?
I'd prefer not downloading any package for this and to accomplish this solely through terminal.

An easy way to get the same result is

find . -type f

which basically is identical to

find . -type f -print0 | xargs -0 -n 1 ls


Problems accessing movies on MacBook Pro via Apple TV I've got a MacBook Pro and Apple TV, and I can search and select the movies found within the MacBook Pro's iTunes from the Apple TV's > Computers menu.

The problem is that when I try to play the movie from the Apple TV, it often freezes with the "loading" spinner, without playing the movie. If I hit the Menu button on the Apple TV remote, the Apple TV responds instantly, so it's not that the Apple TV has frozen.

If I instead start the movie from iTunes on the MacBook Pro, then display it on the Apple TV via AirPlay from the MacBook Pro's Display settings, the movie starts instantly and is shown on the Apple TV.

Why can I "push" the movie from the MacBook Pro to the Apple TV via AirPlay, but not "pull" the movie from the Apple TV's interface?

I had the exact same problem as this before. Any number restarts and reboots in any order did not solve the problem.

At the same time I had a DNS issue with the default router setup from my ISP. When I changed my routers DNS to use the Google DNS it also solved my iTunes sharing problems.

I don't know if this is actually what caused it or if it was just a big coincidence but it's been working fine ever since.


iMessage unread count on Mac I use iMessage/SMS on my Mac linked from my iPhone, I have been having issues with it on my Mac lately with the unread count being incorrect.

It says that there is a message unread when its been read on both my phone itself and my Mac. I have even deleted the conversation from my Mac but the count is still there.

It seems to be from the SMS messages I receive, I have tried enabling and disabling iMessage on Mac but that did not fix it.

(I have the latest versions of Mac OSX and iOS installed)

Quit Messages
Open Activity Monitor, find the process called "Dock", then hit the top left "X" icon to force it the Dock process to quit. The dock should disappear and then reappear.
Reopen Messages. Your unread count should be reset!


How do I find out what my iBooks "authorized computers" are? I saw a "Free" book on iBooks today and decided to download it.  I've never used iBooks before.

After it downloaded (and I entered my password), I clicked "Read", and iBooks said:

  Computer authorization was successful.

  You have authorized 2 computers out of your available 5.

I only have one Mac here.  (iBooks seems to be new with OS X 10.9, and this is the only Mac I've ever owned that is even capable of running 10.9.)  Is it including my old iPod Touch as a "computer"?  If not, how can I figure out what the other "authorized computer" is?

The iBooks authorization count is the same count you get for iTunes Store. They're the same thing. This covers Books, Music, Movies, etc... If you go to the Store menu item from iTunes or iBooks you can click View My Apple ID, enter your password and then you'll see the authorization count.

Basically if you have authorized another computer to use iTunes Store it counts as a computer authorized for that Apple ID. That's why you're seeing the count as 2. It's no longer just related to music. As Apple's info states on the Account Information screen:

  2 computers are authorized to use content purchased with this Apple ID

If you want to reset this, just click the Deauthorize All button and you can re-authorize your 1 computer to start fresh. You won't be able to see what computer it is, but you can see the count and reset it.


PHP incredibly slow since upgrading macOS to 10.14 Mojave? Since I upgraded my Mac to Mojave 10.14, I noticed PHP is incredibly slow.

When I do this from the terminal:

php -v

It takes about 4-5 seconds before showing the version number, which is: PHP 7.1.13 (cli) (built: Feb  1 2018 13:38:42) ( NTS )

Is there a way to fix this? And, perhaps upgrade to the latest PHP (currently 7.2) while I'm at it?

I faced a similar issue on Mojave update, I was able to fix it by updating /etc/hosts file with

::1             localhost YouMacName.local
127.0.0.1       localhost YouMacName.local

You can get YourMacName.local by running in terminal:

$ hostname

I hope it helps you


Can't rip CD into my Son's iPod because of Apple Music I'm a simple man. I want to take the CD my son got in kindergarten. Rip it into mp3/aac using my iTunes 11.3 El Capitan based Mac. Plug in my Son's 5th gen iOS 9,2 based iPod Touch. Put the ripped music into his on device's Media Library. Plug the device back into the stereo in his room. Play the good vibes and see him go crazy the toy drums once more.

Alas, Apple broke that:

This in itself is wrong, as I did enable the family package of Apple Music and added my Son's device into my Apple Music account (streaming of music works on his device).

So now I have the newly ripped music claimed by Apple Music and uploaded to iCloud (fine, whatever). The problem is can't move the files to my Son's device AND I can't share my own uploaded media using something I would imagine be called "Shared Family iCloud Music Library".

The music itself is merely uploaded, not matched and not DRM protected.

This all comes down to me not knowing of a method in which I can put my ripped music on my son's iPod. Which makes it NOT OK any more.

Any suggestions?

As I suspected, once you turn iCloud library on, it is reluctant to allow you to add music using iTunes alone, as there could be file duplicates and a storage war.

Per Apple's forums, turning off iCloud musing will allow you to sync music manually, then you can turn it back on. Note this will delete all the 'iClouded' music and then re-download it, you you'll probably want to do this when you have a spare hour or so and a stable wifi connection.


iCloud Drive not syncing after macOS re-install I used iCloud Drive to store all my files.

Due to various issues with my laptop I had to wipe the hard drive and re-install macOS on it (Catalina 10.15.1). I started with that installation completely from scratch, not restoring anything. But did of course sign in with the same Apple ID as my iCloud Drive.

But now the iCloud Drive folder is not downloading any of my files. I can see them all on icloud.com though.

How do I force macOS to synchronise the iCloud Drive folder?

After several comments and clarifications, the iCloud sync process did eventually start.  It took about 12 hours of leaving the laptop plugged-in and awake for the syncing to start.

Because there's no UI (this is supposed to be a background process), you really have no good way to measure the progress.  Unfortunately, this has been a knock against iCloud for many years and Apple doesn't appear to be making any changes to improve in that area.


Does it make any sense to complain about App Store app review? Apple has refused my app, but I can not accept reason. They said it is not able to fully loaded, but on all device, conditions etc. work well for me.

Do you think is it any chance they read my complain, and tries to recheck my app, or better to submit and wait an other 1 week for review?

  We discovered one or more bugs in your app when reviewed on iPad running iOS 8.2 and iPhone running iOS 8.2 on both Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Specifically, we found that your app is unable to fully load and function.

You can request the review board to review the complaint.

However, I would ask them what screen caused the bug - I've heard of times when a tester tried to use PassBook on an iPad when that functionality only loads on an iPhone. By asking politely, you'll better understand what code to cut from this submission rather than have to do that blindly and resubmit. You could also resubmit that exact build to TestFlight and ask to have it approved so you can have coverage for that build of that device from your testing pool.

Without seeing the text of the rejection it's hard to know what or why you got the no. Absolutely, make a new build and submit that for review. Even if it takes a week or two due to the crush of new apps for Apple Watch - you can always then make an appeal if the rejection doesn't make more sense in 48 hours time once you've looked it over and/or reached out to other developers to get their opinion of the situation.

Personally, I would thank them for the rejection. Offer a fixed build to address their specific complaints and only revert to an appeal after 6 weeks of unsuccessful attempts to get the initial version passed.

You don't say if this app has ever been approved - so allowing several months for that is realistic if the app isn't clearly something that has had significant engineering put into it.

Also - I find putting the app into TestFlight for beta allows you to discover sooner what points Apple sees as problematic with your app without it being a "go live" or "die in a fire" scenario.

TL;DR - find any way to give the reviewer what they ask in all or in part and try to avoid taking it to the review board until you're sure there is no other option.


OS X Blu-ray support to read / write BD-R discs for data storage What I'm looking to achieve is to write (and read) data files on BD-R discs for storage / backup / archive purposes, just like one can do with CD and DVD discs. For clarity, I am not interested in copyrighted / encrypted / DRM'd BD-ROM HD video material / films, just plain data accessible through Finder.

Obviously, I would have to provide myself with a Mac compatible Blu-ray writer / burner first.

That being said, does OS X support reading and writing data files from / to BD-Rs natively without 3rd party software? If not, is there any open-source software that would allow that?

I'm on a MBP with Yosemite and have never used an optical drive on OS X, so I'm not familiar with that process. Online documentation on Blu-ray for Mac / OS X is pretty sparse and I can't find an authoritative source on the matter. I'd be hard-pressed to believe I'm the only one who is trying to achieve that.

Thanks!

Reading the original post carefully, I can confirm that nothing special is needed to mount a blank Blu Ray Disk in the Finder, and then burn data to it with Mac OS X's built-in disk burning tool. I just did this yesterday with a 25GB BD-R. This worked perfectly with an external LG Bluray burner I just bought from OWC. Hope that helps.


Moving back to the front or end of a long URL entery with out having to use delete? Is there a way to move to the front or back of a long sentence you type in the URL area on a iPhone with out having to get close as possible and then having to delete then retype?

Yes, just checked it on my iPhone, and have been using it on my iPad for awhile.

On an iPhone you have to do a long press(or 3D press) on the keyboard (Trackpad mode, thanks @fsb for its official name), this turns the whole keyboard into a trackpad bound to the text cursor.
The keyboard will turn grey and the letters will disapear. You can now move your finger and it will move the text cursor.

Demonstration on Youtube.

On the iPad it works with 2 fingers together as well.

The other method is holding your finger down when trying to select a spot in text till a magnifier pops up, but that is not as easy with URLs.


Is Airport Express compatible with AirPlay? I have an Airport Express that I have plugged into a speaker system. I can change the music in my house with my iPhone through Apple's Remote app. Great.

Now is my Airport Express compatible with AirPlay? Can I 'push' music or sound to my Airport Express and out the speakers that are plugged into it? Or is this only possible with an Apple TV? And if I get an Apple TV can I do what I'm trying to do? 'Push' music from someone's iPhone that is on the same WIFI network as mine to a speaker system?

With iOS 4.2 you can send music directly from your iPhone/iPad to your Airport Express from any application supporting it.
You can also stream both audio and video from your iDevices from Apples applications.
Starting with iOS 4.3 you can also stream video from any application, not just applications developed by Apple.


What is the easiest way to make a folder and every file inside of it read only? Given that locking a folder in Finder only prevents copying files into it, not changing the files inside of it!

I'm asking on behalf of a friend using macOS Mojave, who can't type, he solely uses voice recognition so terminal commands are an absolute last resort! I would only walk him through dictating those if the only other option is to spend more than $10.

Additionally, the command or utility must cause the lock symbol to appear in the Finder as well!

90% of what I do on the Mac is controlled by voice commands.  It sounds like your buddy has enhanced dictation set up on his computer already. If so, if this following AppleScript code was saved in Script Editor.app as "Make Read Only.scpt" ...

tell application "Finder"
    set selectedItemsRef to a reference to (get selection)
    set itemCount to count of selectedItemsRef
    if itemCount is 1 and class of item 1 of selectedItemsRef is folder then
        set selectedFolder to (item 1 of selectedItemsRef) as alias
        set folderItemsRef to a reference to entire contents of selectedFolder

        set locked of folderItemsRef to false

        set {everyones privileges of folderItemsRef, group privileges of folderItemsRef, owner privileges of folderItemsRef} to {read only, read only, read only}

        set locked of item 1 of selectedItemsRef to false

        set {everyones privileges of selectedFolder, group privileges of selectedFolder, owner privileges of selectedFolder} to {read only, read only, read only}

        set locked of folderItemsRef to true
        set locked of item 1 of selectedItemsRef to true

    else if itemCount is 1 and class of item 1 of selectedItemsRef is document file then
        set selectedFile to (item 1 of selectedItemsRef) as alias
        set locked of selectedFile to false
        set {everyones privileges of selectedFile, group privileges of selectedFile, owner privileges of selectedFile} to {read only, read only, read only}
    end if

    if itemCount is greater than 1 then
        set selectedFolders to (items of selectedItemsRef) as alias list
        repeat with i in selectedFolders
            set folderItemsRef to (a reference to entire contents of i) --
            if locked of folderItemsRef is true then set locked of folderItemsRef to false
            if locked of i is true then set locked of i to false
            set {everyones privileges of folderItemsRef, group privileges of folderItemsRef, owner privileges of folderItemsRef} to {read only, read only, read only}
            set {everyones privileges of i, group privileges of i, owner privileges of i} to {read only, read only, read only}
        end repeat
        repeat with i in selectedItemsRef
            set locked of i to true
        end repeat
    end if
end tell

With that new "Make Read Only.scpt" script file selected in Finder and with Dictation currently active,  out loud speak the phrase "Make This Speakable".

After speaking that phrase,  this window should pop up.

Then, just as in this next image, locate and choose the file "Make Read Only.scpt"

After that new Dictation Command has been saved, you can double check that everything was done correctly by going to System Preferences / Accessibility / Dictation... Then open the Dictation Commands window and make sure your new command is in there.

Now after all of that setup has been completed, anytime a folder or file is selected in Finder (while enhanced Dictation is enabled and active), speak the phrase "Make Read Only".  If a folder or multiple folders are selected in Finder, the Permissions of the folders and all of its contents will be set to "read only" and that the folders will be set to "locked".  If only a single file is selected in Finder, it's Permissions will be set to "read only"

I have run several tests with several different scenarios and I think I have found and corrected all the bugs in the script.  Be sure to test everything out a few times and let me know if you find any bugs In the code.


What's the easy way to convert all man pages to html? Sixteen years into the 21st century I remain baffled that we still have to go out of our way if we want to see a man page

rendered in a proportional font (that is, not Courier or similar)
with links to other referenced pages

There are tantalizing web sites with HTML man pages that have links, like this, but I haven't found such a site with pages updated for the current version of macOS. And of course a web site won't show man pages for software you've installed via Homebrew, etc.

Is there a solution to this problem? I've looked and looked. This

function manp {
  man -t "$1" | open -f -a /Applications/Preview.app/
}

renders a page and shows it in Preview (after you wait for a PostScript interpreter to convert it to PDF), but you don't get live links.

The man page for man says:

  HTML PAGES

  Man will find HTML pages if they live in directories named as expected to be ".html", thus a valid name for an HTML version of the ls(1) man page would be /usr/share/man/htmlman1/ls.1.html.

I could write a script to convert all of the man pages everywhere on my system to HTML, but I bet someone has already done this. And I bet they have also solved the problem of rendering SEE ALSO references as links, which the man command apparently doesn't do.

Install Bwana which allows you to browse the man pages in your favourite browser.

To quote the page above "Just type "man:" followed by the man page you're looking for into your browser's URL field. Hit enter and let Bwana do the rest." It has live links.


How do I install OpenSSL in ElCaptain if my HomeBrew it's broken? After an upgrade from 10.10 to 10.11, my rails environment was broken.

I've removed the broken open-source projects/files and now I'm trying to install HomeBrew.

But I receive this message:

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
curl: (77) SSL: can't load CA certificate file /System/Library/OpenSSL/certs/cert.pem

But to install OpenSSL, I need homebrew. So, I'm stuck.

How can I get around this issue?

You can curl without SSL by removing the ‘s’ from ‘https’:

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

Additionally, you could just point a web browser to the page, http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install and save the code to /tmp/brew.rb as a text file and then run it

ruby -e /tmp/brew.rb


Is there a task manager for OS X El Capitan? Something's causing my Mac to bottleneck on startup and on wake. I'm curious if I can isolate this by leaving a monitor program running so I can see what's eating up the CPU.

How can I check CPU usage like Task Manager on Windows allows?

The OS X equivalent of Windows Task Manager is Activity Monitor, located in /Applications/Utilities/, or type Activity Monitor in Spotlight.

See Activity Monitor's internal Help: Activity Monitor > Help > Activity Monitor Help

For more information see Apple's Support Document: Use Activity Monitor on your Mac

Also, as mentioned by klanomath, for more specialized scenarios there is Instruments in Xcode. (Xcode > Developer Tools > Instruments)

Help for the Command Line version of Instruments, in a Terminal type: man instruments

Or see Apple's Instruments User Guide.


Where osx 10.10 notification center settings are stored Prior to Yosemite Notification Center settings stored in an sqlite db in ~/Library/Application\ Support/NotificationCenter/
Now this folder does not exist anymore, where does the OS store those settings?

TIA!

The database has moved on Yosemite. The following command takes to you to its new location:

cd `getconf DARWIN_USER_DIR`/com.apple.notificationcenter/db


Restoring finder icon I have moved certain sections (downloads, music, pictures) of my user directory from my SSD to my HDD via symlinks. I have successfully changed over the image of the folder which can be seen in the finder.

After removing the original folder the item is also removed from the sidebar, after creating the symlink I have added the folder back to the sidebar but have noticed that the default icons for such folders is no longer present and simply presented using a blank blue folder.

How can I get the original icons displayed in the sidebar?

Goto your Home Folder > Library > Preferences and delete the files:

com.apple.finder.plist
com.apple.sidebarlists.plist

If you can't find the files use this method: from the Finder menu bar, select Go > Go to Folder and copy the following line into the text box that opens:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Then, restart, or log out and in again.

Edit

Select Go > Go to Folder and copy the following line into the text box that opens:

/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/

Here is where you will find all the sidebar icons -

Now you will have to manually change the icons for the respective folders by using Get Info on the folder that is in your sidebar and by dragging and dropping the icns file onto on the Inspector panel.


iPhone SE2: Strange box with percentage appears when pressing Home button I have an iPhone SE2 (2020). When I press the home button, a strange box showing "47%" appears. When I click an app icon, it disappears. The box always shows 47%. To the best of my knowledge, no assistive features are enabled.
How do I get rid of this?

Turning off and force restart didn't help, but letting the device drain the battery completely did help. After a complete drain and recharge, the box was gone.


What features in iOS 8 make a difference? Share your experiences on exploring iOS 8 with us..

Whether you found hidden or little-known feature of iOS 8 or can explain how a big feature makes a difference, we're looking for objective reports of how the new OS affects your workflow.

Also provide details on how to achieve that feature, and if possible, include a relevant image too (hold Home and Lock for a screenshot on your iOS device).

Please post one tip per answer. Please also check to see if your answer has already been posted - duplicate answers will be deleted in favour of the original answer on any given topic. To search answers for this question use inquestion:145371 (or inquestion:this, directly from the question page) in addition to your search terms in the search box in the upper right hand corner of this page.

Third-party app extensions in the Share menu

And the ability to show/hide/reorder them to your preference:


Macbook air won't turn on So the apple service nearby told me I have to replace the motherboard. But sometimes my macbook could back normal. Yesterday after being kept in my backpack for hours outside in a sunny day, my laptop was so warm and I pressed the power button and it turned on! Now after being turned off and kept in the air con room it went dead again. If anyone knows how to fix it please help

it sounds like a hardware problem that Apple has diagnosed for you.  The way to fix it is to get a new logic board as they suggested, or a new machine.  The only other way to fix a hardware issue is to find someone with a reflow station and serious hardware skills, but that's beyond the scope of this website!


Is it possible to install a Safari extension on an iPhone? Is it possible to install a Safari extension on an iPhone, if so, how?

Safari on iOS does not support general extensions added to the web browser. Apps on iOS can provide app extensions such as action extensions and share extensions which are supported on iOS, or content blockers, but these frameworks are limited in what access the extension has.


Photos stream not delivering photos from old device to new Just replaced an Iphone 3GS with a new Iphone 4S. The old phone had 500+ pics on it and was backed up to icloud. However, photostream is only syncing 100 photos onto the new phone. Please advise.

Photostream is a funny one, I have spent some time looking at the workflow so I think I know what is happening here.

When you take a picture with an iOS device (assuming wifi etc):

It is uploaded to the iCloud.
It is stored there for 30 days.
During those 30 days it will be pushed to other photostream devices (iOS, OS X).
After 30 days it is 'purged' (deleted) from the iCloud servers.

Some points to note:

Although it is purged from iClouds servers it will STILL appear in the photostream album on your iPhone.

Thus take this example:

If I take 50 pictures on my iPhone 2 months ago, and 2 new photos today. and then bought a Brand new iPhone and signed into iCloud the following would happen,

On my original iPhone the photostream album would have 52 photos.

On my new iPhone only the 2 photos taken within the last month would push down to the phone.

Some extra points.

I guess this is why Apple says photostream doesn't count towards iCloud storage! They only store items for 30 days.
Although photos may no longer be in the cloud devices still sync - ie if you delete an old photostream photo (older than 30 days) on your iPhone it will delete on any other device that it synced to during the original 30 day period.
iOS only holds your last 1000 photos in it's Photostream album, to keep a photo forever you must save to camera roll, OS X (iPhoto, Aperture) holds them all.
A nice example of this behaviour was when I first got Aperture on my mac, I couldn't understand why so many of the photos in my iPhones 'Photostream' album were not syncing across, check the dates on the photos and you will see!

Finally You can manually add photos from iPhoto, Aperture, or the Windows desktop to your photo stream. You may want to do this if you’d like to add photos that don’t appear in your photo stream automatically.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2606

Additionally, after you asked this question, Apple has documented some of the photo stream limits, but you should be well under the volume of photos that would be capped to enter the stream assuming they were all recent photos and no device exchange in the middle.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4858


Setting environment variable for sudo in Yosemite I followed this similar question to set my environment variables in Yosemite: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/25385934/setting-environment-variables-via-launchd-conf-no-longer-works-in-os-x-yosemite/26179907#26179907

I want to do the same thing, but for sudo

do shell script "sudo launchctl setenv variablename value" with administrator privileges

but somehow, it does not show if I go in a terminal afterwards and run the command:

sudo launchctl getenv variablename

What am I doing wrong ?

Your first line of code is wrong. If you say sudo and with administrator privileges you are doing the same thing twice. If you use the terminal, as you can see, the following works:

$ sudo launchctl setenv TEST true
Password:<you have to insert your password here>
$ sudo launchctl getenv TEST
true

You could unset the variable with the command:

$ sudo launchctl unsetenv TEST

You don't need an applescript to do that.


Alternative ways to switch between applications if cmd+tab doesn't work What are alternative ways to switch between applications?

Cmd+Tab doesn't work for me in some games. For example on steam; "Crusader Kings II", "The Talos Principle".

So i have no ability to switch to another application like Safari when needed unless I quit the game. This is very inconvenient.

I also tried Cmd+ H  and  Cmd+ Alt +H, they do not work either.

Cmd+ Alt +Esc force quits the game immediately.

Command+Tab doesn't work because the game is running  in Full Screen.

In most games you can enable Window Mode within the game's Preferences and / or switch between Window Mode and Full Screen with a shortcut.

As for my experience, doing Command+M tends to do the trick.


Is there any GUI application that runs on both Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah and macOS 10.13.4 High Sierra? I'm trying to make the argument that macOS (Mac OS X) has a very long legacy as a desktop operating system, but my colleagues brought up the point that it's gone through so many iterations since 10.0 that it might as well be considered completely different.

My question is this: Is there any way to run even one GUI application on both Cheetah and High Sierra?

Dirty tricks can be used, but it has to be the same distributable (e.g. .app file). I don't really care if it's a fat binary, or if I have to install a different window server or anything like that. As long as I can somehow demonstrate to my colleagues that I have a GUI application that I can run on Cheetah that also runs just fine on High Sierra.

According to Wikipedia, Cheetah was shipped with AppleScript. So if you can have a Mac running Snow Leopard, according to comments of this question (and not the answer, it's strange), it seems that an AppleScript saved as app give a universal app (PowerPC G4 and above, or Intel). I haven't tested, but perhaps if you save this AppleScript:

display dialog "hello"

as app on the Snow Leopard's AppleScript Editor, it will run under Cheetah and High Sierra.

This AppleScript app is very simple, and display "hello" in a window, with a "OK" button. So this is a very simple GUI application.


Mac Crashed during High Sierra Update - Won't reboot My mac was turned off during the High Sierra update and now just gives me the flashing question mark when I turn it on.

If I boot into recovery I can't select my startup disk because the OSX Base System disk image is 'booted'. It won't let me unmount it either.

I can see my start up disk but I can't boot into it.

Can anyone help with this?

FTW if anyone is experiencing this I solved it by running the “faulty” computer on target mode and using its disk a boot disk on another MBP did all the update process with no problem at all. Then restarted and it came back to life.


Share iPad internet connection to PC over USB Can I use my iPad to connect to my PC over USB and receive internet? My iPad has Internet but at the moment my PC doesn't and I don't have a wireless router yet.

This has been discussed on Super User:
How to connect iPhone's internet to Windows PC via USB cable?:

  Install latest iTunes on Windows PC
  iPhone Settings -> Mobile -> Personal Hotpsot -> ON
  Select "USB Cable" on window that pops up
  Connect iPhone to Windows PC

  The latest version of iTunes needs to be installed, because that will install the drivers required for Windows to see the iPhone as a modem and use it to bridge a connection to the internet.


Turn off the camera shutter sound on iPhone SE running iOS 12.1.4 I need to take a picture silently. Currently the only way I've found to silence the shutter sound is to enable Live Photo.

My iPhone 5s on iOS 10.x obeys the ringer/silent switch setting, but the following methods reported around the Web do not appear to work for my iPhone SE running iOS 12.1.4:

Enable silent mode
Turn down the sound effects volume in the control center
Turn down the ringer volume
Turn off screen lock sounds

No combination of the above produces the desired effect; the shutter always sounds unless Live Photo is enabled.

Am I missing something? As far as I know this phone has a European firmware.

You found one of the methods, Live Photo.

The other is simply to turn the ringer sound down to zero.

Source - Lifewire - How to Turn off the Camera Sound on iPhone

I think the limitation on the ringer mute no longer working is because of recent legislation. No longer is 'upskirting' merely deeply offensive, it is now actually illegal.
That there is still a workaround is possibly an oversight & may be fixed in future.


Query Apple's Servers for Update Using Script? Is it possible to have a script or some sort of command-line tool that will query Apple's update servers to see what the latest version of an OS is? For example, I'd like to alert somewhere when a new iOS version is released without me having to check tech news websites or directly on my iPhone, that all seems too reactive.

Perhaps something like this already exists? Perhaps I just need to better understand how devices talk to Apple to know if they have an update available to them?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Apple has pages up beneath https://support.apple.com/en_US/downloads/ios for each major iOS release. Looking at About iOS 13 Updates one can see an overview of all available iOS13 versions.

In the HTML source this is coded as

iOS 13.4.1

 &nbsp;&nbsp;

iOS 13.5

 &nbsp;&nbsp;

iOS 13.5.1

 &nbsp;&nbsp;

So if you are willing to adapt your script with each major release of iOS/iPadOS you could use

curl -s "https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210393" | \
    sed -n '/\/library\/content/s|.*width="76">\([^<]*\)<.*|\1|p' | \
    tail -1

to get the most recent version available (iOS 13.5.1 right now).

sed -n runs sed suppressing any printing output unless specifically told so
/\/library\/content/ applies the following command to all lines matching /library/content
s|STRING-TO-MATCH|REPLACEMENT| does pattern-based string replacement
.*width="76">\([^<]*\)<.* takes the whole line and puts the part between width="76"> and the following < into \1
\1 just replaces the whole line with the content of \1 (which in this case is the version number)
p prints the result to stdout

This obviously matches (and prints) every line (just leave out the tail to check) so at the end we just take the last line.

What changes for sure with each major release is the URL, what might change is the code to find and extract the relevant content from the page. The sed/tail combination above works for iOS12 and iOS13 at least.

PS: You could avoid tail by running

curl -s https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210393 | \
    sed -n '/\/library\/content/{s|.*width="76">\([^<]*\)<.*|\1|;h;}; ${g;p;}'

but this makes it hard to read for most people :-)


How to use iPad as presenter for MacBook? If I have a MacBook connected to a projector, how do I use my iPad as the presenter for slide switching?

There are solutions for using Keynote here

But how do I do it just with PDF slides?

It might be easier just to get a presentation remote device and forego the iPad. Exactly what utility does the iPad provide in this situation that an inexpensive device can't?


Bluetooth keyboard not working after update to Windows 10 I updated my (native) bootcamp instance to Windows 10 from Windows 8.1, but now the apple bluetooth keyboard doesn't seem to work anymore. The bluetooth screen says 'driver error' on the device.

I've tried:

Ran Apple Software Update and updated boot camp
Uninstalling the device
Unpairing + pairing again

Can someone provide guidance to get this to work?

The new Keyboard driver on Bootcamp broke the connection for my keyboard under Windows 10 and it might break yours too.

So after using the solution from Zidad for the last couple of months (thank you) I decided to find a better solution to be able to use the Fn button and all the volume and multimedia functions of the Apple keyboard, here is what you need to do:

You need the Apple Keyboard driver that comes in the Bootcamp 5, you can either download the full pack from Apple (version 5.1.5621 works), or download only the keyboard driver from my dropbox (64bit windows only):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jexvjcg2zlmjg3e/AppleKeyboardInstaller64.exe?dl=1

   •If you downloaded the file above proceed to step 4.

Unzip the BootCamp 5 pack
Navigate to the unzipped folder and go to BootCamp/Drivers/Apple
Run AppleKeyboardInstaller64.exe
It will tell you that it's installed, but it won't work yet.
Open Device Manager and go to 'Human Interface Devices', right click Apple Keyboard and select "Update Driver Software"
Click 'Browse my computer for driver software', then 'Let me pick a list of device drivers on my computer'
Select the Apple Keyboard version 5 that you just installed (NOT the newest version 6).

Profit!


Menubar for Messages in Yosemite Did Yosemite eliminate the Menubar icon for Messages? I don't see any preference to turn it back on. I found an Apple KB article that seems like it would offer the answer, but always results in a blank page.

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH15045

The irony is that I always previously disabled it, but the continuity features in iOS 8 and Yosemite have made Messages appealing to me for the very first time.

Thanks.

Update: Thanks to @Tetsujin I was able to see the KB article, but apparently something is different about my preferences since I don't see the option described.

You have to enable Bonjour or AOL IM or another service to get that option to pop up.


macOS Catalina - Keyboard and Trackpad not working I have a Macbook Pro (early) 2015 and roughly 2 years ago, the Keyboard and the Trackpad stopped working. So I stopped using it.
Two days ago, I had the idea to try it again. And it did still not work (how unfortunate!).
Then, I tried to install Pop!_OS via USB and I was able to use my Keyboard and my Trackpad already during the installation process.
I friend of mine has sent me a USB stick with OSX Catalina on it to try a fresh installation. However, the problems are back and while trying to install OSX, I am again, unable to use my Keyboard nor the trackpad.
What could be the problem here? The hardware itself works fine for obvious reasons.

It seems that your issue is not with the MacOS itself but rather due to the hardware controller inside your computer. In such cases, you should reset the System Management Controller (SMC) by following the steps below:

Turn off your computer
Press and hold Shift + Control + Option (Alt) + Power Button for 10 seconds
Release the keys and let the MacOS boot up


What is the "guest" password? I tried looking for the "guest" password by doing the command dscacheutil -q user and found the guest account. I saw that there was a "password" (I know that the usual guest account does not have a password) so may I ask what is the "guest password"?

Terminal output snippet:

name: Guest
password: ********
uid: 201
gid: 201
dir: /Users/Guest
shell: /bin/bash
gecos: Guest Account

By the way, I want to use my knowledge to show off Terminal's sudo without using login or su. (I do not want the commands passwd or anything similar from that)

Edit: As of El Capitan, the Guest user will output one star as below:

password: *

The 'Guest' user does not have a password.

The command you are using: dscacheutil -q user -a name guest always outputs 8 stars (********) no matter what password the user actually has set. As OS X only stores the hashed password, there is no easy way (besides using a password cracker) to recover passwords.

Edit: Hashed, not encrypted.


Cannot ping my local machine I have just updated my Mac to macOS Sierra 10.12. My hostname is ninjaPixels-Macbook-Pro and if I run:

ping ninjaPixels-Macbook-Pro.local
or ping ninjaPixels-Macbook-Pro

I get an error of unknown host.

host ninjaPixels-Macbook-Pro.local returns the error: Host ninjaPixels-Macbook-Pro.local not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)

This is an issue as part of our codebase at work needs to run the following python: socket.gethostbyname(socket.gethostname()) and it fails because my computer seems to have forgotten who it is.

I can successfully run ping localhost and ping 127.0.0.1

I’ve tried the following:

Rebooting.
Switching off the Firewall.
Changing my local hostname, using System Preferences > Sharing > Edit.
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
dscacheutil -flushcache
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist

Assuming the Firewall is turned off, then in order to ping $HOSTNAME, there has to be some form of sharing or service enabled in System Preferences > Sharing, or add an entry to the /etc/hosts file, depending on how/what you're trying to access by $HOSTNAME. Example, 127.0.0.1 computer_name where computer_name is what's reported by echo $HOSTNAME or in lieu of 127.0.0.1 the actual IP Address of the Network Adapter on your system.


HFS+ vs APFS: What are the pros/cons of converting HDDs to APFS? I've got a few USB 3.0 HDDs I use for backup and game storage, all formatted in HFS+.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of migrating to APFS on an HDD?

APFS (Apple File System) compared to HFS+

Almost all differences apply to Solid State Drives (SSD) and Hard Disk Drives (HDD) as well, while users of HDDs may not see an improvement in speed.

APFS disadvantages/drawbacks

Incompatible with macOS 10.12 Sierra and earlier (including OS X)
Windows drivers/tools to read/write APFS disks are not available (as of today)
Currently not supported by Fusion Drives/HDDs (coming soon)
Boot Camp doesn't read from or write to APFS-formatted volumes
No AFP support: Volumes formatted as APFS can't offer share points over the network using AFP.
Any Time Machine share points must be shared over SMB instead of AFP.
Directory Hard links are not supported
File names cannot contain unassigned codepoints in the Unicode 9.0 standard

APFS advantages

Faster disk speed in general on SSDs
Almost instant file and directory duplication
Increased maximum number of files
Space sharing
Better crash protection
Better date resolution: nanosecond timestamps
Support for dates beyond February 6, 2040
Sparse file support
Larger max. number of files (2^63 vs 2^32)
Supports Copy-on-Write (replaces journaling)

See also Apple's APFS Developer Guide and the Wikipedia's Apple_File_System.


macOS App Store alternative? The limited functionality of the App Store has me looking for an alternative view on "Apple-approved" applications. I appreciate the vetting that occurs as part of inclusion in this catalog, but I'd like to see a set of features that are common in nearly all digital purchasing interfaces: sorting and filtering by price, number of reviews, user rating, whether or not there are in-app purchases, et cetera.

Sites such as appcuity.com and AppsOnSale appear to have died. There was an iTunes-like client called Bodega, but it is now defunct. The iOS version of the store has AppApp.io.

What alternatives to the App Store exist?

There is no equivalent to the App Store and some functionality of macOS requires you be on the App Store to use it so there’s no competition really.

Historically however MacUpdate has a really good library.


Blank windows in some apps in macOS as guest OS in Parallels virtual machine When running Parallels 12.2.0 with macOS Sierra as the guest OS, I see windows that are blank, partially blank, or scaled improperly (zoomed in, magnified) in some apps such as non-Safari web browsers (Firefox, Opera, etc.). The behavior is consistent, either working properly all the time or improperly all the time.
I am guessing that apps handling their own window-drawing rather calling upon Apple's usual drawing libraries is the cause of the bug.
Is there any trick to getting the contents of these apps’ windows to appear correctly?
Bad
Brave 0.18.14 browser

Firefox 54.0.1

Good
In contrast, some apps including some web browsers draw properly.
Safari 10.1.2 browser

Vivaldi 1.6.689.40 browser

I don't think your guess is correct no - there's no requirement to use Apple's drawing libraries for stuff to work in Parallels.

However, it does seem likely that these programs that don't work are 3D-accelerated and you have problems with 3D-acceleration (which is a known problem-area for programs like Parallels). Therefore try disabling 3D acceleration in the Parallels settings for the virtual machine, reboot the virtual machine and your programs should work again.


Yosemite Messages blank window Messages on Yosemite used to work fine until this morning, repeatedly asking me for my Apple ID password. Months ago I had setup 2 factor authentication for my Apple ID, but it never complained. So I set up an app specific password, Facetime took it no problem, Messages didn't and kept asking for my password. I quit, log out, restart, disable/enable from my phone, nothing works. So I disable 2FA, try again and now Messages gives me a blank window when it starts.

Is there any way I can reset it somehow ?

I was certain this problem was related to two factor authentication on my Apple ID because problems started happening when I tried to login. After more investigation it turns out it was a font conflict problem preventing the UI from starting.

I found an error message in the console application regarding NSString which, after a lot of googling indicated a font problem. I then cleared the font cache and reset all non standard fonts in font book and restarted OSX. The app now works


Removing stripped screws from MacBook Pro back case I'm replacing the RAM in a 2011 MacBook Pro, something I've done before on other machines. I got all the screws from the back case off apart from one that sits in the corner on the end by the screen hinge.

After trying with a variety of screwdrivers I cannot get the screw undone, and have now stripped the head of the screw. Any ideas how I can get this screw out?

Whichever method you follow, be very, very careful. The worst case scenario may require drilling the screw out.

Try placing a wide rubber band on the screw and use a slightly bigger screwdriver. Instead of a rubber band, you could also try with a piece of cloth (anything that can provide more grip and change its shape a bit).

For other methods, see The 12 Best Ways to Remove Stripped Screws.

You could also try iFixit's Precision Screw Extractor Set.


iPad Air Not Charging on Left USB of Retina MBP '15 I am trying to charge my iPad Air via the USB ports on my '15 Retina Macbook Pro. When I plug it into the port on the right side of the device, it charges fine, but when I plug it into the left-side USB port, the battery indicator on the iPad switches from charging to normal and back rapidly and repeatedly. Is this due to different power outputs between the two USB ports, or is something wrong with my laptop that I should get checked out?

Go to the Apple on your Menu Bar and select "About this Mac".  You will get the System Information app.  Select System Report.  On the left side, under Hardware, select USB, then find all the available outlets.  If they are all similar, you may need some hardware diagnosis.  If one is significantly less than the others, that is your answer--it just can't pump out enough juice.


Closing lid for clamshell doesn't make external monitor primary under 10.7.3 on MacBook Air 13" I'm connecting a 13" MacBook Air to a Dell 22" screen using the Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, with an Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad plugged into a USB on the MacBook and a USB mouse plugged into the keyboard. Also, the MacBook is running off external power.

When I close the MacBook lid, I thought the Dell monitor would become primary and the MacBook screen real-estate would "go away." However, the MacBook screen remains primary and I can move the mouse pointer off the Dell screen and onto the invisible MacBook screen.

Am I misunderstanding how clamshell mode works?

According to Apple Support, the clamshell mode (lid closed) requires:

  Power adapter
  External keyboard, mouse, or trackpad
  External display

You meet all three criteria. The support article goes on to provide steps for both wired and bluetooth keyboard & mouse combos:

  If you are using a wired keyboard and mouse:

  Make sure the computer is plugged in to an outlet using the AC power adapter.
  Connect a USB keyboard and mouse to your computer.
  With the computer turned on connect the Apple portable (using the appropriate Apple adapter if necessary) to the appropriate port on the
  external display or projector and turn the display or projector on.
  After your computer's Desktop appears on the external display, close the computer's lid.
  When you close the lid:

  In OS X Lion, the external display will change to a blue screen, then will show your desktop.
  In Mac OS X v10.6.8 and earlier, wake the computer up by clicking the mouse button or by pressing a key on your external keyboard. You
  should now be able to use your Apple portable as you normally would,
  with a USB keyboard and mouse.

Perhaps you could try opening and closing the lid again.


Disk Utility won't let me create or resize partitions My MacBook Pro 13" Late 2011 is running Yosemite. I am trying to install a Linux distribution on a partition of my hard drive. I used Disk Utility to resize the main partition on my hard drive and it completed seemingly successfully. I was left with the following:

However, as soon as the partition was created, I was left unable to rename or resize the remaining OS X partition again (all options were grryed out). Also, Disk Utility allows me to click the "+" to make a new partition, as well as name and choose the file format for the new partition, but doesn't let me resize anything (as seen below)...

Furthermore, when I click on "Apply", I get the log message "Preparing to partition disk: .. ", but this process then hangs and never terminates (as seen below).

Disk Utility also lets me click Apply again, and the same message will appear in the log again, but with no results.

If I try switching hard drives in the left pane, and clicking back to my main hard drive, it shows me that no partition was created at all.

The drive was verified and repaired boht within the OS and upon boot many times, with success each time.

What is going on here? How can I manage to fix this so that I can create a new partition, and resize them all? Is there another partition manager I can use on OS X that'll solve the problem?

I had the same problem as you, and i searched all the forums and i found that if you turn off FileVault it should work.


Audio player for transcribing and taking notes of meeting recordings I am looking for a macOS audioplayer that helps me to relisten to my recorded meetings and at the same time make notes.

The player should

support global hotkeys (without requiring the app to be in the foreground) for rewinding a few seconds, pause, and play
and also allow adjusting the playing speed (e.g., 1.5x).

I have tried several solutions yet: VLC, iTunes, QuickTime. But none of these fulfilled all of my requirements.

Currently, I am using otranscribe.com which is tedious to use as it only supports some very basic formatting (e.g., not bullet points) in the text section. Because of that I am using GoogleDocs to write my notes which requires skipping back and forth between tabs.

Do you have any suggestions? A free solution would be nice but I am also open for paid/commercial solutions.

I finally ended up using VLC player which provides (non-global) shortcuts for the required functions (e.g., ␣ for play/pause, ⌘+⌃+← for a very short backward skip).

I then used BetterTouchTools to allow invoking these shortcuts globally by adding new keyboard shortcuts that use the action send shortcut to specific app to forward the custom-defined global shortcuts to VLC.


How does autorotation work on the iPhone (in terms of hardware, not software) I have always wondered how the orientation/autorotation hardware works inside an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.

Originally I thought it was the accelerometer but I don't think it is as an accelerometer can only measure movement and the iPhone knows it's current orientation without any movement.

I have assumed until now that there is a little tilt switch inside the phone as well as the accelerometer and that this is used, but really I have no idea and Google isn't helping much! ;)

Anyone know how it works?

It´s called a gyroscope. Have a look at  this article on iFixit, it explains it (within an iPhone 4) quite well.


Renamed external drive still appearing in terminal with both old and new names I have an external drive connected to my MacBook Air via USB 3.1 Gen 2 through a TB3 hub.
A few weeks ago I changed name of the drive from Mercury 1TB to just Mercury.  This was done in the Finder.
I find that when I in Terminal ls /Volumes I unexpectedly see both the the old name and the new name listed.
I can cd into the old volume but when I try to ls I get Permission denied.
In Disk Utility I can only see the new volume (Mercury).  First Aid function finds no problems to repair.
I have restarted many times but have not taken any other troubleshooting actions.
I also occasionally have KPs when the machine is idle, but this is likely unrelated as they started before the renaming.
Why is this old name still appearing and what can be done about it?
See screenshot from terminal:

Update to add:
The mystery volume does not appear on the desktop.  It appears in the /Volumes directory even when the external drive is powered off.
When I sudo ls -al the only file that is present is .Spotlight-V100.
Here's there result of diskutil list as requested in comments:
diskutil list
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *500.3 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     314.6 MB   disk0s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk1         500.0 GB   disk0s2

/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +500.0 GB   disk1
                                 Physical Store disk0s2
   1:                APFS Volume Macintosh HD            11.3 GB    disk1s1
   2:                APFS Volume Macintosh HD - Data     167.3 GB   disk1s2
   3:                APFS Volume Preboot                 82.0 MB    disk1s3
   4:                APFS Volume Recovery                528.9 MB   disk1s4
   5:                APFS Volume VM                      5.4 GB     disk1s5

/dev/disk2 (external, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *1.0 TB     disk2
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk2s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk3         1000.0 GB  disk2s2

/dev/disk3 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +1000.0 GB  disk3
                                 Physical Store disk2s2
   1:                APFS Volume Mercury                 11.0 GB    disk3s1

My first guess with the elements you give is that something went wrong while renaming. The old drive you see in Volume is the old mounting point of your drive and it still contains the index file for spotlight.
I would just delete this folder using:
sudo rm -rf '/Volumes/Mercury 1TB'/.Spotlight-V100
sudo rmdir '/Volumes/Mercury 1TB'

*Updated after nohillside's comment in the thread down below.


Bootcamp drivers for windows 10 So, I just installed windows 10, upgraded from a copy of windows 7. After the upgrade, the trackpad didn't work, the volume worked for a little bit and now it is gone. The other keys that control screen brightness, key backlights, etc. do not work also.

It seems the support drivers did not install when I installed windows 7. I upgraded to windows 10 without knowing this.

I've tried to download the windows 10 drivers from bootcamp, but it only downloads the windows 7 drivers. At first I didn't know this and when I went to install them, it said that I needed to revert back to windows 7 to install the drivers.

Is this my only option? To revert back to windows 7 and then reinstall windows 10? Is there anyone who knows or can upload the windows 10 support drivers?

If it helps, my bootcamp version is 6.0.1. Thanks in advance.

David Anderson's comment is on target, some Macs do not support Windows 10. Annoying but true. So we gotta know what Mac you have.

As an aside you can download the bootcamp.app and then right (or control) click on it and "Show Package Contents." There will be a .zip file in there somewhere (possibly an .exe, sorry it's been a while...) with all the drivers in it that you can then copy to the Windows partition and install. But that working will depend on if that package has the drivers for your specific make and model of Mac.

Also some people have had luck going into device manager in Windows and finding the make and model of the "missing" hardware and installing "generic" versions of those drivers directly from the manufacturers website. EG A video card from NVidia you would get off the NVidia website, not Apple's.


Mac Pro with permanently mounted Time Machine. Local snaps any benefit? I've found where they live, how to switch them on or off...

https://apple.stackexchange.com/search?q=time+machine+local+

What I haven't found is - if in a Mac Pro with the Time Machine volume permanently mounted & scheduled for once an hour, is there really any point in these local files?

Do they prep for what's to be backed up at next run, or do they just scavenge changed data in case the scheduled task has to wait for any reason - drive not present, etc?

In short, do I need them in this situation or can I safely just switch it off & delete the existing files?

In short, no.

I've disabled local snapshots on both my work and home iMacs, both of which use a mirrored RAID for their TM drives. I also replace the Time Machine drive units from the RAID boxes every two years as they run 24/7. I use Guardian MAXimus from OWC*, which are easy to self service. Lastly, I make a quarterly DiskDupe backup of each machine to an inexpensive 246Gb external SSD (one each) and store them at the other location (work drive goes home & visa versa.)

For suspenders as well as a belt, I store my most crucial documents on iCloud, Dropbox AND Google drive.

This Apple Support document has interesting updates about how High Sierra uses local snapshots when compared to earlier versions of macOS.

Disclaimer: I've been a satisfied customer of MacSales (OWC) for decades. No financial or other connection.


Download iOS app IPA file from App Store I have an iOS app in the App Store that I have to make some changes to. I lost part of the source code. I would like to download the IPA from the AppStore and then try to decompile it.

Can I download the app IPA file from the iOS App Store or my developer account? If yes, how?
How can I decompile the IPA if I manage to download it?

Can I download the app IPA file from the iOS App Store or my developer account? If yes, how?

No.

  How can I decompile the IPA if I manage to download it?

No, you can't decompile an iOS app IPA to obtain the source code.


Can't run on Mac after performing Wipe Free Space Only These are the steps:

I installed Windows bootcamp on my MacBook;
I used CCleaner to Wipe Free Space Only on my Hard Drive

Result: I can't start the MacBook on Mac-system, the system immediatelly chooses Windows as OS.

Try to hold command-R on startup, open Disk Utility, and repair both the OS X volume (indented below the whole disk) and the whole disk. The Repair Disk button performs different actions depending on whether a whole disk or a volume is selected.

If you still cannot start up in OS X, you can try to reinstall OS X by starting up from the recovery partition and selecting Reinstall OS X. It installs a new copy of OS X over the current installation but keeps your files and settings in place.

If you don't already have backups, you can save a disk image of the OS X volume from Disk Utility. See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553.


How to reset device passcode on iPad, as erase procedure doesn't seem to work? My iPad (2.5yo) has a device passcode that I seem to have forgotten, and only way around seems to be to "erase" the device (by pressing Home and top power button together to hard-reset), but that always simply restarts the device and does nothing else, i.e. it doesn't go into the so-called "Recovery mode" but instead boot into regular iOS where I can login to use various iOS apps. I was following procedure mentioned here: https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT204306#recovery

The device passcode is needed to "pair" the device with iTunes (on my Windows PC), as it is not paired yet, and nor is the device sync'd with iTunes.

Please note that I've already tried all passwords I could recollect and am at the 8th attempt, where device gets disabled for 15minutes, and for next wrong attempt, I think it'd get disabled for 1 hour.

Also, I am able to login to the iPad using touch-id, and launch applications etc. Only the "device passcode" is what I think I have a problem with.

To put your iPad in restore mode:

Connect your iPad to your computer (iPad and Computer turned on, iTunes opened on computer)
Press and hold Sleep/Wake + Home button until the screen goes black
Release the Sleep/Wake-Button but KEEP PRESSING THE HOME BUTTON until the iTunes logo appears on the iPad. Now in iTunes you should be able to press "Restore".

(The iPad Software will download, if the iPad exits restore mode while the download happens repeat the steps when the software finished downloading...)

NOTE: All the data on the iPad will be lost.


AppleScript: how to open the terminal fullscreen and execute commands I need an applescript, which can do the job below:

open the application Terminal with fullscreen
run some scripts

Here is what I've tried:

tell application "Terminal"
    tell window 1
        activate
        tell application "System Events"
            keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}
        end tell
        do script "cd Documents/'cpp project'/test3" in window 1
        do script "./matrix.out" in window 1
    end tell
end tell

But it doesn't work.

You need to be talking to Terminal, not window 1. This script worked fine for me.

tell application "Terminal"
    activate
    tell application "System Events"
        keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}
    end tell
    do script "cd ~/Downloads" in window 1
    do script "brew list" in window 1
end tell


How to use the new iPad (3rd gen) as a second screen? I carry my iPad everywhere, and now that I've got the new one with the high resolution display, I'd like to use it as a second monitor for my Macbook Pro.  It would be great if I could occasionally use it as a second display for my various windows computers as well, but primarily the Mac.

I'm not terribly interested in using the touchscreen or moving the audio - in other words I don't need to control the computer with the iPad.  I just want to extend the desktop with the retina display and give myself a ton more space with a tiny monitor.

What iPad secondary monitor apps support the high resolution retina display?

If there are several, preference would be given to the one that uses the least network bandwidth, if known.  I won't be watching videos, but when I'm just showing a static image on the iPad (such as a document) I don't want it using 20% of my wireless network.

There is an app called Air Display that will allow you to do this. It also recently got retina display support for the new iPad.

Some notes:

Use your iPad, iPhone or Mac as a second (or third) monitor with no
messy cables or wires.
Use your finger to draw directly on the screen. Try it with a Mac calculator app, painting tool, or music control surface!
Air Display works in both landscape and portrait configurations. Just rotate your screen, and it automatically reconfigures.

MacRumors and 9to5mac.com discussed the upcoming retnia support update coming soon last week. They issued a press release of some sort last week, many blogs covered this upcoming feature. They also covered this on their blog and how it will work.

Update - it looks like this feature is now available in version 1.6. More on MacStories as well.


Exponential CD burn times in iTunes 10.6.1 (7) on OS X 10.6.8 The more I try put on a CD and the closer I get to the 80 minute mark, the longer it takes to burn with it on occasion never finishing, the time rises exponentially. I never try and burn more than 80 minutes (not sure it will let you anyway).

Is this a known issue?

I'm using the standard 'burn from playlist' method.

Also sometimes it goes nuts and starts generating random 'time remaining' times, changing every couple of seconds (see below).

According to Wikipedia, the original playing time of an audio CD is 74 minutes.

Longer play durations are achieved by "squeezing" the data tracks closer together. Also, because CDs are written from the inside out, the write speed is much faster on the outer sides of the disc — bigger diameter means more distance travelled in the same time.

So squeezing plus faster writing needs more precision. It’s likely that an older CD writer will struggle (on a pre-OS-level) with the precision requirements, leading to claims of absurd burning times. I think you will be on the safe side when burning shorter CDs. I hope this helps!


Why does my MacBook Pro take so long to go to sleep? My MacBook Pro takes an awful long time to go to sleep when I close the lid. Considering that I generally want to close the lid and then carry it somewhere, I want it to be fully asleep so I don't have any hard drive issues. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process?

I recommend a nifty little utility called SmartSleep that allows you to control when the saving of your RAM contents to disk for the Safe Sleep / Hibernate feature Mac OS X has.

Alternatively you can disable Safe Sleep altogether by running: sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0. To change it back to the defaults, change the value to 3.

0 - Old style - just goes to sleep.
1 - Only Hibernate
3 - Default - goes to sleep but writes RAM contents to disk just in case.
5 - Only Hibernate mode but if you use secure virtual memory.
7 - The Default but if you use secure virtual memory.


Personal hotspot problem: "Set Up Personal Hotspot" I am trying to enable my the hotspot from my iPhone 6. I am in the beta program (if that matters).

I am on Verizon.

Whenever I press, "Set Up Personal Hotspot" it brings up this message,

"To enable Personal Hotspot on this account, visit https://mobile.vzw.com/hybridClient/mvm/hotspot"

My brother is on the same plan, and his works great. Same iPhone. Meaning our Verizon account is set up for hotspots. (Also, I checked on our account settings, and it is enabled.)

I already rebooted the phone, and reset network settings.

Any ideas why it won't turn on a hotspot?

Apparently back when I had a flip phone I had asked that data usage be turned off. (So that I wouldn’t accidentally get charged when I pressed the “internet” button.)

One of those switches they turned off was the use of hotspot.

I called Verizon and they simply enabled the use of hotspots again.


Shortcut to disable keyboard/mouse in OSX On more than a few instances, I have accidentally disabled the internal keyboard and trackpad by a shortcut.

The only button which works is the power-up key which I can use to wake up (if it's in sleep mode) and force quit by holding it.

My question is, which keyboard shortcut (or keyboard and mouse click combination) does this effect and what can you do to undo it? To reenable keyboard/mouse...

This is a common problem for mac users, press the option key 5 times, and it will be fixed.

Source:
     http://www.mackungfu.org/cat-proofing-a-macbook-keyboard


App that allows to paste text snippets in any applicaton? I'm looking for an OS X application that will allow me to add text snippets, like common text responses to emails or signature postings or whatever standard text phrases I wish to save and resuse.

Something that perhaps runs in the background on the toolbar that allows me to select phrases and insert them when needed.

Take a look at CodeBox http://www.shpakovski.com/codebox/

or Dash http://kapeli.com/dash

or Clipmenu http://www.clipmenu.com


Error when restoring a iOS 4.3.5 backup onto a iOS 5 device I have tried several times with several backups, but i keep getting the message that the backup is corrupted or not compatible.

After the restore fails, take a look at the phone and see if your data is installed.

Restoring data after every major iOS update has failed on me, but after I put the apps back on, all my data is there.  Pick a few apps that you know contain data (Contacts, games, documents, Notes, login details) and see if your data has at least been restored.

It takes some time to put the apps and usic back on, but major iOS updates only happen once every couple of years.


Creating starred song playlist on iPhone without going to the computer Seems like one cannot create playlist of starred songs on your iPhone without going it through iTunes on your computer. Can someone verify this please? Or is there some way to do it on the phone itself?

There is no way to create a smart playlist on the iPhone itself. You have to use iTunes for that.

I think that’s really stupid.


I'd like OS X 10.8 to receive network notifications I've got some shell scripts that can send network notifications to Growl for Windows, and it's working fairly well. Can Notification Center on 10.8 (or iOS devices for that matter!) be configured to receive these? Does it even use Growl's layer 7 protocol at all?

Mountain Growl will route Growl notification through Notification Center. This way your scripts could still send the network notifications to Growl and they will show up in Notification Center.


How can you assign a custom shortcut to stop a QuickTime screen recording? I am looking to record my screen using QuickTime on my Mac, but stopping a screen recording requires you to press ControlCommandEsc. I would like to know if it is possible to create a custom keyboard shortcut, such as ControlCommandS, to stop the QuickTime recording.

I prefer not clicking the Stop button in the menu bar because the recording captures the mouse trailing up to click that button.

If it is possible, how can one create a custom shortcut to stop a QuickTime screen recording?

You may use the default stop recording shortcut: ⌘ + Ctrl + Esc to stop recording when you finished.


Where is a dmg file mounted? When I double click a dmg file it's mounted (or so I assume) in the filesystem. I want to explore the dmg file in the terminal for hidden files (like the background for example), but I'm not sure where it's mounted - I checked /media and /mnt, but it's not there.

All volumes, including DMGs, are mounted in /Volumes.

You can get a list of mounted volumes by typing ls /Volumes in Terminal.

You can navigate to a Disk Image using cd /Volumes/nameOfImage.


Why are there so many Java files in my "All My Files" section in Finder Any time I try to open the section "All My Files", it takes a long time to load because it has so many of these files on it:

I believe there are several thousand of these files. The only thing that I can think of is that these files might be from Eclipse, a Java editor (I am learning to code in Java). How do I make them go away without messing anything up? Thanks in advance!

In Eclipse preferences choose whether to auto-save or not.

Instructions found here http://help.eclipse.org/luna/index.jsp?topic=%2Forg.eclipse.jdt.doc.user%2Freference%2Fpreferences%2Frun-debug%2Fref-launching.htm

and here
http://eclipsesource.com/blogs/2012/10/26/top-10-tips-how-to-be-more-productive-with-the-best-ide/


3xHDMI out of a single Thunderbolt port - 2015 MBP I'm planning on purchasing 3 HDMI monitors to use as a workstation for my MBP. For the sake of ease and convenience, instead of using the native HDMI + 2 mini DP to HDMI adapters, is there any way to pull 3 HDMI connectors out of a single thunderbolt port?

I know that thunderbolt has the ability to daisy chain thunderbolt monitors together but I want to just break out 3 separate HDMI signals from the single port if thats possible, so that way I could just plug in power, the thunderbolt cable and that's it.

I've looked around the internet for a solution of some sort, and the only thing that has come even close is a thunderbolt hub such as the Caldigit Thunderbolt Station, but it only has 1 HDMI port. Are there any alternatives?

You're looking for an 'MST' hub.

https://www.startech.com/AV/Displayport-Converters/Mini-DisplayPort-Triple-Head-HDMI-Multi-Monitor-MST-Hub~MSTMDP123HD


Blue Box with White Question Mark On certain websites (minecraftforum.net) most images appear as a blue box with a white question mark in it on safari. On my school forums (private to the school only, so can't link) normal images work fine, but an animated GIF generates the same blue box. The images do not load in chrome or firefox. Anyone know why?

I have safari 6.1, I'm on a MacBook, and I'm running osx 10.7.5

When you access the school's forums, are you on a VPN? If so they may be filtering larger files, as suggested in a comment.

This animated .gif file works fine for me in Safari. Make sure its not working for you before we go looking for local causes to your problem, rather than forum or gateway problems you and others have alluded to.


Is Chrome Just As "Safe" as Safari with Regards to Passwords? I use two browsers: one for personal use (i.e. email, social networking, YouTube, etc.) and one for professional/school (i.e. developing, school links, school-related searches, etc.). I recently stopped using Firefox as I was tired of the lag and slowness and replaced Firefox with Chrome. I have a 2012 MacBook Pro and it has made a world of difference in my browsing experience. I've noticed that Chrome is heaps faster and more responsive.

I did some quick searching and discovered that Chrome for Mac uses the keychain on your Mac for storing/saving/remembering passwords. Does this mean having Chrome remember my passwords is just as "safe" as Safari (which presumably uses the keychain as well)?

Chrome uses a combination of an internal database (LoginDatabase) and Keychain to store passwords.

LoginDatabase stores some metadata, including usernames but not passwords, about each login that is stored. The site's URL, username and password are stored in Keychain. (The reason for the split is that extra metadata needs to be saved that isn't supported in Keychain.)

If you have your existing Keychain and a new Chrome profile, Chrome will not "remember" any logins. There has to be a matching entry in both LoginDatabase and Keychain for Chrome to display the login.

As far as password storage in Keychain being "safe", anything storing data in Keychain is only as safe as your Keychain password. Whether or not it is "safe" is a highly subjective.

(See this and this for more information.)


Stop Safari (MacOS) from suggesting password on captive portal I'm often logged into a non-public Network, where I was given a user name and password for the captive portal to gain internet access.

In Safari on my MacBook, I made a bookmark for the portal page and stored the password. Now when I connect to the network, I can open the bookmark, click on the key symbol to fill my credentials and log in.

But since a few weeks (or months? I don't remember if it is connected to some update I made) about a second after filling the saved password, Safari suggests to use some cyptic password like it does when you register for some service. It's a nice feature when you are asked to invent a new password, but completely weird when logging in with a stored password (which I can't even change!).

Now I always need to click, that I don't want that suggested password and select the stored password a second time. How can I stop this annoying "feature"?

https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/passwords-sfri40599/mac

Open safari preferences and remove any saved passwords for the captive address (or all saved passwords)
turn off password saving in Safari entirely
turn off auto join for that network if you wish that as well


Exactly what are the limitations of geofenced reminders? One of the most exciting new features since iOS5 is the ability to setup reminders - and even better - the ability to setup geofenced reminders based on when you arrive or leave a location.

I have two key questions about how these work in practice and I was wondering if anybody could answer them based on their experiences.

1.) If I am sitting in location A but plan to leave and setup a reminder that will go off when I arrive back in location A - will that work?

i.e. if you are in your office and are going to be leaving for a meeting and want to remember to do something when you get back can you setup that alert before you leave or will it just go off immediately because you are already there?

2.) I live in Manhattan and my home address (stored in my contact information) is not what my iPhone thinks my location is when I am sitting in my apartment. My iPhone thinks I am three buildings down and across the street. Will geofenced reminders work if I tell them to remind me when I get "Home" even though "Home" is not exactly where iPhone GPS thinks I live?

NB: My one-off test of this shows that it does not correctly identify me as being home. It looks like I would have to tell it to remind me when I get to the incorrect address that iPhone thinks is home. I would think it would have some radius to allow for inaccuracies of GPS - would be best if you could SET this radius!

I'll split your question into two main areas since one is easily answerable, the other isn't without inside knowledge of how location services work within iOS.

How to make a reminder for when you re-arrive at the place you sit now?
What is the special sauce and all the ways I can tweak location in iOS?

To make a reminder, start by turning on "At a Location" and then choose when I arrive instead of the default when I leave. Sometimes I have poor location signal and the alarm may go off, but that seems to happen very rarely in practice. When that happens, I just set it to when you leave. That seems to be less sensitive to radius so when it goes off, I then remember to change it back to arrival.

The deeper question of how location really works and is implemented is not publicly disclosed. As an end user, you can't set radius or other parameters that affect the location engine. It is either off or on. You either have the radios on or off.

I would encourage you to get Xcode and play with some of the demonstration projects to learn how location works in the iOS simulator and perhaps you can gain a better understanding of how iOS presents this data to apps.


If I shut down my MacBook and don't wait 60 seconds have I stopped it saving to iCloud? I was working on a project yesterday and when I finished I decided to shut my MacBook down without waiting 60 seconds.

I had just assumed everything was saved to iCloud already but when I turned it back on today, all the work I did was missing!

Doesn't everything save to iCloud instantly?

I am so frustrated and don't want this happening again.
How can I avoid this?

There's no need to wait 60 seconds before using the "Shut Down" feature in the top menu.

When you save documents and close programs, the data is saved to disk. When you use "Shut Down" the system ensures that everything is written to the disk and properly saved before turning off.

For iCloud stored data, everything is stored locally on your own disk first - and only synced to iCloud later (although "later" could be a split second later).

In total: If you have experienced data loss, it wasn't because you shut down the Mac. It is either a case of (a) you have actually saved the data, but can't find it, or (b) a mal-functioning program.

If you have Time Machine backups set up, you might be able to find a recent copy of your project in the backup.