Is it safe to buy a MacBook Pro from some guy on eBay? A guy on eBay seems to has a lot of new-in-box machines for sale for much less than you'd pay at the Apple store. In fact he has one with the specs I want.

(I'll refrain from linking to him as I don't want to seem like I'm advertising for him. But you can turn him up and several similar sellers in a search.)

There must be some downside. What am I missing?

And where do these eBay guys get all these newish Macs?

Also, this particular seller is offering AppleCare warranties at a discount. Is that even possible? Would Apple honor an extended warrantee they didn't sell themselves?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

This is a question with an impossible answer. Use the age-old adage "if it seems to good to be true, it is."

For the most part, eBay is a mixed bag. It really depends how you shop and what kind of items you are in the market for. Personally, I've been burned far more than I've actually saved and no longer use the service. I will likely give you a biased answer and if pressed, say "no." Unless it's a private seller (which likely won't part with their machine for "substantially" less), I would be wary. Apple maintains strict pricing on their products, which is why only marginal price savings can be found.

As for where do most people get theses Macs; if they are selling them for substantially less, then you likely won't get a genuine product, or they have likely acquired them illegally.

AppleCare must be purchased and registered through Apple. No other company can provide you with that kind of coverage. Period. Discounts on the coverage (as with select Apple devices) can be had using their educational discount, which applies to students. And to qualify, the product and the plan must be purchased through their Education Store.


How to check my iCloud text messages? Can anyone tells me how to view my text messages on iCloud? I know that iCloud will back up my messages on my iPhone 5S, and I am very curious about checking the iCloud messages. Is there any solution?

You can only access your messages on an iOS device or on a Mac with the Messages app. You cannot access the messages through iCloud.com on the web.

Mac Basics: Messages helps you chat instantly
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202549


How do I change the email address used by Calendar to send invitations? On macOS Catalina 10.15.4

How do I change the email address used by Calendar to send invitations?

Secondarily, I'd further like to receive acceptances, which don't appear to come.

Context:

I have several email adresses.
Currently Calendar sends invitations from "My Name <noreply@email.apple.com>".
I'd like Calendar to send invitations from my work address.

I've done the following so far:

In Mail >> Preferences >> Composing, I changed the Send new messages from: field to my work email.
In Contacts >> Preferences >> Template, I have a single email field
identified as "work".
In Contacts I have moved my "work" email to the top of my emails.
In Mail >> Preferences >> Accounts, I attempted to drag my "work"
email account to the top of the list of accounts.  This does not work
in Catalina.  You can't change the order of accounts.  I understand
that one could previously do this.

Nothing works.

Short of deleting the accounts above "work" and recreating them, does any other way exist to do what I need to do?

Why does Calendar send invitations from "My Name <noreply@email.apple.com>"?

This seems weird, but I may have missed something.

Any help appreciated.

Standard way:

Go into Mail preference with

Mail > Preferences > Composing

and then change the following option: “Send new messages from”

If this did not work:

Go into Contacts and create a new card or pick the one with the mail address you want to use (i.e. your work e-mail).

Afterwards, go to the Card menu and select “Make this My Card”.
This mail address should now be your default for Calendar.


Apple Watch Series 4 + iPhone XS Not Staying Connected I've done some research to determine what indicators on the status screen indicate varying levels of connectivity between the Apple Watch and the iPhone. So I now understand that without the green "phone" icon on your status screen on the watch, your watch isn't connected (via Bluetooth) to your phone.

What I have is:

iPhone XS Max -- two of them -- different iCloud accounts
Apple Watch Series 4 -- two of them -- each one is paired to one of the iPhones

I got my new devices, restored them from iCloud backups (upgrading from iPhone 8 Pluses / Series 3 watches), and paired the watches to the phones. The initial pair resulted in a successful Bluetooth connection between the watches and the phones.

Then, after some period of time, even without taking the phone out of range of the watch, the watch disconnected from bluetooth. The watches now fall back to WiFi. They are all on the same WiFi network as the phones, so they get a partial connection, but certain features like health data can't be transferred over WiFi, and also, far as I know, WiFi uses more battery on the watch than Bluetooth.

Rebooting the phone/watch does not solve the problem. Toggling Bluetooth and Airplane Mode on both does not solve the problem. The watch can update network-connected features on widgets/complications using the WiFi connection, but things like watch face settings edited in the Watch App on the iPhone never get synced to the watch because it lacks a direct Bluetooth connection to an iPhone.

It seems like there is a regression in connection reliability that is causing Watches and iPhones to stay disconnected from one another, persistently, after the first connection drops. This never occurred with my last-gen devices on iOS 11, but I am not sure if the problem is iOS 12 related or device related.

But in either case, the problem is affecting two separate pairs of Watch/iPhone so it isn't just one device. Both watches and phones are not the exact same model: one's an iPhone XS Max 512GB black, the other is an iPhone XS Max 256GB silver. One watch is 44mm cellular and the other is 40mm wifi.

How can I fix this problem?

For some reason, with the latest Apple devices, if you immediately pair your new Watch to your new phone on initial setup, the Bluetooth connection doesn't appear to "stick" beyond the initial connection. The first time your phone goes out of range of your watch, will permanently break the connection.

Once you unpair and re-pair your watch to your phone, the connection will start working properly again. So you must pair your watch to your phone after your phone is completely set up, in order to get the connection to stay.

Also, it will give you an Unpairing Error when you attempt to unpair from the phone side. You then have to completely factory reset your watch, then restore the watch from an iCloud backup when you re-pair it. This is the only way I've found to fix this problem, and so far the fix appears to be permanent.


How to open Xcode from Terminal? kmorrison@Karls-MacBook-Pro ~ $ xcode-select --install
xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed, use "Software Update" to install updates
kmorrison@Karls-MacBook-Pro ~ $ xcode
-bash: xcode: command not found

How do I open Xcode?

Xcode is an app in /Applications — there's no CLI tool called xcode.

For the GUI application, launch it from the Applications folder or with open -a Xcode.
For the CLI build tool, it's called xcodebuild.


How to install iOS 14 on an iPhone 6? I use an iPhone 6 (16-GB) and it's up to date with iOS 12.4.8 (it does not support running iOS 13).
Does the App Store just identify my phone as iPhone 6 via a physical identifier in the phone, and that prevents me from downloading any iOS version beyond 12.4.8? How might I get around this?
Maybe the drivers for the camera and fingerprint reader in the iPhone 6 are not in iOS 13? But, I might be ok without both of those. Losing GPS, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth would not be ok.
So, I'd like to just give iOS 14 on an iPhone 6 a look and learn something by doing this. But, I'll probably buy a new phone.

I think the main difference between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s that stops iOS 14 supporting the iPhone 6 is probably the fact that the iPhone 6 has 1GB of system RAM (not storage), and the iPhone 6s has 2GB of system RAM.
There is not a lot that could be done to make an OS designed to run in at least 2GB of RAM, work on a system with only 1GB of RAM.
Even if you were able to persuade iOS 14 to install on an iPhone 6, it would run like a dog, if it would run at all.


Is it possible to watch a video frame by frame on the iPhone? I am wondering if I can review a video I shot frame by frame on the iPhone.
The video was shot on the iPhone.

I have tried the feature that consists in expanding the frames under the video to get better control of the playback but it's not as precise as frame by frame for me.

I know how to do it after the video is exported to QuickTime but it's not what I'm looking for.

I couldn't find any help online.

As far as I'm aware, the only way to do this is with 3rd party apps.

Although I've never personally used VideoPix  I am aware of someone who was using it a few years back and was happy with it.

Of course there are probably hundred of apps that can do this, so you should find one you're happy with.


Backup all pictures without iTunes My mother's iPhone has collected over 1000 family pictures from the camera, emails and WhatsApp. I am definitely not an Apple guy and I don't know where to even begin.

I'd like to save all the pictures on my computer and delete them off the phone. This will help me backup the pictures + create space on the iPhone.

What is the simplest way to do this without installing iTunes?

I do not have a MacBook or any laptop with Apple operating system on it. I do have an iPad though.

Connect the iPhone to a USB socket on your computer. The iPhone should prompt you to ask whether you trust the computer, click "Trust".

Depending how Windows (I'm assuming you are running Windows) is configured on your PC you might get an AutoPlay dialog that gives you a number of options including "Import pictures and videos".

If not then open "My Computer" (or "Computer" in more recent versions of Windows), where the iPhone should be listed as a device. If you right-click it there should be an option that says "Import pictures and videos".

You can find more detailed information here: http://www.wikihow.com/Transfer-Photos-from-an-iPhone-to-a-Computer


Keyboard shortcut for restoring applications from the Mac OS X Dock? Is there a keyboard shortcut to restore a minimised application window from the Dock?

Almost all Apple Mac OS X applications respond to the Apple + M command which minimises the current application window to the Dock, which is fine.

I can then use Command + Tab to cycle through my running applications - including the minimised application, but selecting the application with the minimised window neither restores the minimised window, nor sets focus to the minimised application window in the Dock so I can restore it without having to reach for the Mouse.

Update: Thanks for the answers, however the consensus seems to be to use the 'Hide' feature (Apple + H) instead of minimising, as it's easier to get the window back using Command + Tab.

Command + Tab until you get the app's icon.
Before releasing the Command key, press and hold the Option key.

You must switch to another app and let it take focus first. In other words, you can't just Command + Tab to another app and before actually selecting that app (by releasing the Command and Tab keys), switch right back to your minimized app, which you might attempt to do if you minimized it by accident or just simply changed your mind shortly after minimizing.
Both the Command and left Option keys must be pressed on the same side (left or right) of the keyboard.


macOS not resolving IP Address I used a certain domain name temporarily to build a site on. The site has been moved to its own URL and now I want to use the same domain again for another site. I have set up the WP installation but on my computer on any browswer it will not resolve saying the ip is not found.
The WP login page resolves on my iPhone using mobile data
I have rebooted the WiFi router and also reset the MacBook High Sierra DNS cache but it still will not resolve on the macbook?

Sounds like the updated DNS info hasn't propagated to the DNS server your macbook is using.

If you have access to the DNS's TTL settings, set it to some low number of seconds should speed up propagation before you change the IP it points to.

More info here - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/21091321/how-to-force-dns-refresh-for-a-website?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google_rich_qa&utm_campaign=google_rich_qa


Add Folder to Finder Favorites using Terminal I'm not sure whether this is actually possible or not but I'm trying to add a newly created folder into the favorites section of the Finder window.

If it is possible how can I achieve this? I have googled for this but couldn't find anything concrete. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

The information about what appears in the Favorites section of the finder windows is kept in the configuration file:

/home/<your_user_name_here>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.sidebarlists.plist

there is an explanation of the file's contents here:
https://georgegarside.com/blog/macos/finder-sidebar-preferences-location/

and macOS includes a tool to manipulate the plists from terminal:
/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy

You can find an introduction to the tool here:
http://fgimian.github.io/blog/2015/06/27/a-simple-plistbuddy-tutorial/

and a sample discussion about using it here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/macenterprise/Ks-zHlY3h5I

However, if you don't want to figure out everything by yourself you can use an utility published on github that manages the sidebar contents from the terminal line:

https://github.com/mosen/mysides

OTH


Any iPhone app crashes whenever time radio dial is pressed Problem
A few weeks ago, I noticed that I could not add any new alarms on my iPhone.  Eventually, I figured out what was going on:

Whenever I press any button that launches a time-based radio dial (one of the pop-up context menus that has you choose a time or date), the app crashes.

Attempts to Fix It

I thought this was just a problem with the Clock app (I just use the standard iPhone clock), but when I tested other apps that have the datetime radio button, like the transit app I use, the same problem occurred.
I don't seem to have any other problems, other than this time-radio-button.  No other problems on other apps, and the phone otherwise is working fine.
I have tried all of the standard means of trying to fix something while in ignorance:

reboot the phone
reset all of the settings (that was a pain, but I did it)
uninstall and reinstall the offending apps

None of those efforts worked, and Google searching, I couldn't even find anyone who had a similar problem.
There was even an iOS update recently, and after the update, the problem was still there.

Any ideas on what could be causing the problem and what I might be able to do to fix it?
My iPhone details:

iOS version 14.2
iPhone Xs (model #: MT9J2QN/A)
256 GB, with 214 GB free

Wow, after struggling for a while, I finally tried something that should have been obvious, and it worked:

I changed the time format from 24-hr to 12-hr, and now it is working OK.
To be clear, in case anyone else has this problem:

Settings ==> General ==> Date & Time ==> Toggle 24-Hour Time off

I do not understand why that worked; I have been using the 24-hr clock since I owned the phone a little over a year ago, and this just started happening a few weeks ago.

Does anyone know where I can report this to Apple?  I suspect some auto-update introduced this bug, but I have no idea how to tell this to people who can actually track it.
(Too bad Apple does not use GitHub for anything...)


Is a partial restore from an Address Book .abbu file possible? I have an old Address Book .abbu archive that has some contact data that I need to recover. I do not want to restore the entire address book archive, and I especially do not want to overwrite my current address book.

But...  It seems like the only way to access an .abbu file is to entirely replace the current address book in a full restore.

Is there any way to browse and selectively access contacts in an address book archive?

Thanks!

You can

store the contents of your current Address Book in an archive (.abbu)
restore the contents of the old file.
purge the entries you don't want to keep
export the remaining ones
the current archive file (created in step 1)
import the file from step 4


8-16 RAM update worth it? I'm using Gopro Fusion Studio to render 5.2k content before editing with Adobe Premiere. I never had problems rendering 4k but 5.2k makes the app crash.

My Mac:
MacOS Version: 10.13.5
Model: MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)
Processor: Intel Core i7 2.9Ghz
Memory: 8Gb 1600MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536Mb
SSD disc

But I can render with this Mac:

MacOS Version: 10.12.6
Model: MacBook Pro (Retina 13-inch, Early 2015)
Processor: Intel Core i5 2.7Ghz
Memory: 16Gb 1867MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 6100 1536Mb
SSD disc

I took some screenshots of Activity Monitor when rendering with my Mac:

After reboot

Fusion Studio open ready to render

While rendering before a crash

After app crash

I admit that my computer may be in the minimum viable threshold regarding Gopro's minimum system requirements. And this got me wondering if upgrading to 16Gb 1600MHz DDR3 would make any difference or if the major problem is with my GPU.

Thanks for your time.

Only you can answer the question as to whether an upgrade is worth it or not, but I do have some observations to make.

Firstly, your mid-2012 13" MBP doesn't actually meet the system requirements in terms of GPU. The page you reference specifies the following GPU requirements for macOS:

  Intel Iris Pro Graphics (MacBook Pro 13'' or 15'' mid-2015)
  Recommended: Dedicated GPU like AMD Radeon R9 M370X or better
  Minimum Video RAM: 4 GB RAM

That is, the minimum is a 13" MBP from 2015 and yours is from mid-2012. This implies as a minimum you'd need an Intel Iris Pro 5200, not the 4000 series you have. The 13" early-2015 model you have that works better has the Intel HD Graphics 6100 which can use up to 1.5GB of your RAM.

The second observation is that the specs of your mid-2012 MBP's GPU is that it can only use up to 1GB of RAM, not the 1,536MB you specify in your question.

So, while I'm a big believer in having more RAM, in this case for this specific purpose it's probably not going to add much life to this machine. Sure, it's worth doing for other uses (especially since the Intel HD Graphics 4000 uses up to 1GB of your MBP's RAM for its VRAM, so having more is going to be useful when running multiple apps simultaneously), but the benefit you'll get with Gopro Fusion Studio to render 5.2k content is questionable since you don't meet the minimum GPU specs anyway.


El Capitan UI smoothness on Intel Iris? is there anyone who have already tried El Capitan GM on 2013 MBPr (Intel Iris, integrated video)? I'm experiencing freezes and UI smoothness issues with my MBPr 13 late 2013 on Yosemite, so now I'm really doubt about installing the El Capitan, which possibly will bring even more performance issues.

My Mac Mini 2014 has an Intel Iris Pro graphics. Upgrading from Yosemite to El Capitan definitly improved the overall smoothness. Resizing Finder windows is buttery smooth, for example. Switching the preference panes is just as smooth as it was on Mavericks.
It's noticable in about all applications. El Capitan is definitly an improvement.


Microsoft Office crashes After installing on my iMac the new system upgrade OS X Yosemite I cannot open any Microsoft office programs anymore, they crash while starting up. The following error message appers:
Microsoft Error Reporting log version: 2.0

Error Signature:
Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS
Date/Time: 2014-11-19 20:45:17 +0000
Application Name: Microsoft Word
Application Bundle ID: com.microsoft.Word
Application Signature: MSWD
Application Version: 12.3.3.120411
Crashed Module Name: unknown
Crashed Module Version: unknown
Crashed Module Offset: unknown
Blame Module Name: unknown
Blame Module Version: unknown
Blame Module Offset: unknown
Application LCID: 1043
Extra app info: Reg=en Loc=0x0413
Crashed thread: 0

You might want to start by installing the most recent update to Office 2008 which is version 12.3.6.

Failing that, try using the Remove Office tool from /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/ Additional Tools/, restart, then reinstall Office and update it to latest.


com.apple.IconServices taking up large amounts of disk space - why? Why does com.apple.IconService take up a lot of MB on the Activity Monitor?
I'm aware this is a new feature, from 10.9 onwards.

I Googled solutions to this, but haven't found anything that works... yet.

I don't want to downgrade OS X, but I am interested to know why this happens

com.Apple.IconServicesAgent uses 140.9 MB, and on the hard drive, the folder /var/folders/randomstring/C/com.apple.IconServices takes up 127.5 MB, although this could grow.

My hard drive is 319.21 GB and I have 284.69 GB left, but it was 284.82 last night (no new apps installed or uninstalled, only some temp files/caches deleted), so I'm not sure if this is part of the problem.

Fixed disk permissions as suggested on some Mac sites; no major issues to report.

Is there a way to keep it manageable without losing the icons off the desktop or menu (I did used to delete the folder, killall Dock, killall Finder, restart when I first learnt about com.apple.IconServices).

I had a look on Apple's website, other people are having the same issue but there doesn't seem to be a solution to this. (I'm not that confident with things like Terminal apart from sudo deletion of trash, but that's as far as it goes!!)

All help is much appreciated.

To be frank, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You have plenty of space left. My IconServices folder was about 4 GB large and I had 3 GB of space left on my 160 GB SSD.

I can't tell you why Apple is creating or caching those files on OS X, sadly it seems to be a kind of mystery. I wasn't able to find out anything.

Anyway, after booting my Mac in safe mode (holding down the shift key on startup until the progress bar appears) and then booting up again, I ended up with 13 GB of free space. Try this to free up more space.


How can I set up an alternative X11 window manager in Mac OS X 10.6? I've tried to install an X11 window manager in Mac OS X 10.6.5 such as ratpoison via fink, but I can't get it to start.

I am also thinking about getting xmonad to work in 10.6.5, does anyone know how to set up such a window manager?

The Xmonad help page on HaskellWiki has brief instructions for getting Xmonad running on Snow Leopard. You may need to read through the instructions for older versions if some problems arise.


How to get folder path in Automator Folder Action? How do I get a path (or a name) of the folder an Automator Folder Action is attached to and save it into a variable?
My folder action is attached to Downloads, I copy newly dropped files into a temporary folder, process them and want to move them back into Downloads. I don't want to use hardcoded value with Move Finder Items as the folder action may be attached to different folders. Instead, I need folder action to be smart enough to move items back to the folder it is attached to.

I don't think you can get the folder an action is attached to, but I think a good analog would be to get the parent folder of the current file. So, the parent folder of a file in ~/Downloads/MyDownloadedFile.pdf will be the Downloads folder, and you could save that to a variable.
This action is not built in to Automator. However, if you are running macOS 10.13 or earlier, you can purchase a package of third-party Automator Actions from http://automatedwork.server323.com/products/apps/automator-actions-for-mac-os-x-10-610-7-snow-leopard-lion/. The action you want is "Get Parent Folders of Finder Items" in the "File and Folder Automator Action Pack". At the time that I bought it (a few months ago), the developer charged $20.

(You may also be able to accomplish this without third party actions by using an Applescript block—something like tell application "Finder" to return container of (input as alias). However, when I tried this myself, Automator seemed unable to save the variable properly. I'm not sure if that's due to a limitation of Automator or a problem with my Applescript.)


The connection from my macbook to my t.v. is delayed/slow I have my 2013 macbook connected to my brand new Sharp HD t.v. through an HDMI wire. I'm basically using the t.v. as a monitor.  It looks great.  The only rub is that there is a slight delay when I give a command to my computer and what shows up on the t.v. screen.

For example, the mouse will move a split second later on the t.v. than it does on the computer monitor.  It's a small thing that makes a big difference in operating the computer.  It makes for sluggish and more difficult work.  Not truly real time.

I've changed wires and got the most expensive "cinnamon" wire they had at Best Buy, which didn't make a difference. Any suggestions on how to tighten this up?

Thank you!

Mitch

Check if your TV has a mode called PC mode or Game mode. TVs now a days perform some additional processing to the input signal to supposedly improve the picture quality. This, however, can add a bit of delay. Samsung TVs have a mode called Game mode which turns this off. I am not sure what it is called on Sharp TVs. If you cant find one, cycle through each video preset and try to find one which has no delay.

Additional info:
In case your TV doesn't have a game or PC mode, it may still allow you to modify the required settings manually. Search for something along the lines of 'Picture Noise Reduction', 'Motion Enhancer' or 'Skin Tone Enhancer' in the video settings and turn it off.


Is there any way to set network preferences per Wi-Fi connection? I work on multiple physical locations with different Wi-Fi's to connect to. Certain Wi-Fi's are within local networks that have specific network settings. I have added different "Locations" in the network preferences but those need to be changed manually as it's not attached to a geo location or a specific connection.

I was wondering if there's any way to automatically update my network settings (eg. proxy settings) based on which Wi-Fi I'm connected to...so that when I switch to a different network I also switch network settings?

The locationchanger commandline tool allows changing the macOS Network Location setting according to Wi-Fi SSIDs.

Basically, after installing, you create Location settings in the Network preferences with the same name as the Wi-Fi SSIDs you connect to. The tool then changes the network location setting according to the connected Wi-Fi network SSID.
If no matched name is found, it falls back to the "Automatic" network location setting.

See https://github.com/eprev/locationchanger for download and usage instructions.

It even supports advanced features like running scripts when a specific Wi-Fi network is connected. Please see here for more info on that: https://ruimarinho.github.io/post/automating-network-location-switching-on-macos/


How do I renew my Developer Program Account? How do I renew my Developer Program Account. The Account I used to have has expired. Please give very clear and specific instructions.

Links updated Nov 2016

According to Apple, you can renew your membership anytime after it expires by signing in to Member Center with the Apple ID you used to enroll in the iOS Developer Program.

Following that link, after login, you will see an screen with renew options.

Source: Apple Developer Support


OSX High Sierra stop applications from auto launching This is driving me crazy!
Whenever I reboot in OSX High Sierra all the applications I had open automatically reboot.
In Login Items NONE of these applications are there!

How do I stop this from happening?

It's a standard feature & has been there for years.

It asks you as you shut down or reboot - just uncheck the box, it should remember.


Unable to receive USSD sessions while iPhone 5s screen is locked While my iPhone's screen is locked, I am not able to receive any USSD session on it. There is no notification of it as well. If I keep my screen on I receive it fine.

Is this a phone restriction or some network problem?

USSD session messages no longer turn on the screen. This was intended to save battery.

I for once had a problem that the USSD message would arrive when the iPhone was in my pocket and the screen would be ON until I manually dismissed it, which would drain my battery.


Override iTunes "media" keys (play, pause, etc) for Spotify? Is it possible to set Spotify as the default program when the "media" keys (play, pause, previous, next, etc) are pressed on the Mac keyboard?

For the most part when Spotify is open, the "media" keys work fine. But every once and a while iTunes will pop up when you hit them. It'd be a lot nicer if you could just specify that Spotify is the default program when these keys are triggered, as oppose to iTunes.

If it matters, I'm using Mountain Lion.

The software Beardedspice provides a user-friendly approach to prioritizing Spotify for your media keys. It runs in the background and gives you a few simple settings in the Mac menu bar. It just works.

Download and installation
It can be downloaded and installed directly from the Beardedspice homepage, or by using e.g. Homebrew:
brew install --cask beardedspice

Notes

It is compatible with macOS Big Sur.
Ensure the application is given sufficient privileges in Security & Privacy in the System Preferences.
Beardedspice supports controlling a vast amount of media players. Simply disable any unwanted players, while keeping Spotify enabled.
I am not affiliated with the developer(s), I am just a satisfied user.

Update 2021-01-16 - Use Beardedspice as the alternative app Mac Media Key Forwarder is no longer being updated
As there are reports of Mac Media Key Forwarder not working for some users, and the developer no longer updating the app, it is recommended to use Beardedspice.
Nevertheless, Mac Media Key Forwarder will still work fine for most people running on e.g. MacOS High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, or Big Sur so it remains an alternative.

Download and installation
It can be downloaded and installed directly from GitHub, or by using e.g. Homebrew:
brew install --cask macmediakeyforwarder


My MacBook Pro, gets stuck at boot screen and the graphics look weird I have a 2011 MacBook Pro i7 and I have upgraded the memory to 8 GB and the HD to an SSD 500GB. The other day I had it running for 3 days non-stop and when I tried to use it it was frozen. I reset it and when it went to the boot screen the graphics looked funny like 16bit color mode, and it got stuck after a couple of seconds. I removed the hard drive and I noticed that I can access all the files and I backed them up. I downloaded Yosemite and I tried to install it from an USB stick but after loading for a while the screen turned gray and it froze. I'm a bit baffled as what might be the problem? Do you think it's the hardrive or is the hardware failing? I'm attaching screenshots of the bootup srceens.

Unfortunately you may have hardware issues if yours is an "Early 2011" model, many owners have reported symptoms similar to yours with the culprit being failed ball grid array solder on the graphics processor. There's some info here. The article has a link for a utility that will allow you run solely on the integrated Intel HD3000 graphics so at least you'll be able to continue using your MacBook (in theory at least, we do have an Early 2011 i7 15" on campus but so far it's not had any problems).

Ultimately the fix will either be a replacement logic board or you can try any one of a number of companies offering to "re-ball" or "re-flow" the solder on GPUs. Any company offering Xbox 360 or PS3 repairs should be able to do this.

Here is a link to the "MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues" for your Mac model.


How to quickly know the dimensions of an image? I am looking for a nice and quick way to display the dimension of an image from OS X 10.9. Presently, I have to open the image in photoshop and then enter a menu to know the dimensions. The process is too slow when I have to browse through dozens of pictures and get those with dimensions big enough.

Get Info
You can get the resolution from Get Info menu. Select the image and press ⌘ CMD+i, or right click on that image and choose Get Info menu item.

Image from cultofmac.com
QuickLook plugin
If you weren't on 10.9 - this lightweight QuickLook plugin called qlImageSize which can be found on GitHub lets You check the image size on the quicklook window title. I don't have any that work on 10.9, but perhaps this will help you if you wish to search for a similar one or report 10.9 compatibility to that project for improvement.


tab to select drop-down input box In any web browser in Mac OS X, how can I choose a drop-down form input box using the tab key? When I need to input many forms including a drop-down box, I preferred to use tab key and shift+tab to move between input elements in Windows systems.

Why is it impossible in Mac, and how can I do it?

Make sure you have this set (it's not the default) in Keyboard Preferences


2009 MacBook Pro does not respond to the Option/Command keys on boot up I want to flash my 4.1 to 5.1. I then want to turn off SIP. No matter what I do, different keyboards tried, different USB ports, nothing I do will let me boot off a USB drive, or into OS recovery or OS Utils.

If you have a USB keyboard and have tried each port in a row, then the USB / logic board are the problem.
Even a PC keyboard will work to option boot - so even a PS/2 keyboard will work.

Using CMD on Very Old PC Keyboard During Boot

As above, only a quite rare keyboard won’t work with modifier keys that don’t work on Mac firmware.


Is there a battery conditioner for an iPod touch? My iPod Touch's battery is not performming as well as it should.  I've had it for a while.  Is there such thing as a battery conditioner that might help get the battery performance better?

The iPod Touch has a lithium-ion battery, which really does not need to be conditioned like the older battery technologies did.

In fact, completely discharging a lithium-ion battery too often can severely shorten its life, so I wouldn't recommend doing a full discharge too often. And I wouldn't recommend using something that goes outside the normal voltage range of the battery either.

Discharging occasionally, perhaps once every 30 charges, can help to calibrate the battery so that it can given a better indication of run-time.

Apple recommends discharging completely about once a month.

Lithium-ion has a limited life-span anyway, typically 300-500 cycles; and they degrade over time too. How quickly they degrade depends on how hot they've been stored.

(See Battery University for more information on this)


Cherry picking applications for a backup When I started working at this company, they gave me a MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) hardly customized (new SSD, 8GB RAM, etc...) and 2 years after that it's getting kind of slow. It was another coworker's old laptop, so it has tons of her stuff: software, private files (they only changed the username to give it to me LOL), etc... so I think it's time to factory-reset it! But it's my first Mac, I've been using Windows and Unix for 25 years and I've never faced this challenge. This computer has a lot of software licences which may be or may not be in a safe place outside the computer (for example, I asked our computer maintenance guy where's my Photoshop's and Office's license key and he has no clue... classic) so I'd like to cherry pick some Applications, backup them and then re-install the backup after the factory reset. I know it's possible to backup the full hard drive, but it's this cherry picked backup even possible for my computer? Do I need third-party software to accomplish it? If not, what are my options to backup this computer data?

Thank you very much for everything!

There is no straight-forward answer to your question without a full list of applications you're looking to migrate.

Some applications that don't use installers, can easily be simply copied to an external drive and back again, and will continue to work just fine.

Some applications that don't have installers, may ask for the license keys when you restore them because it for some reason has detected a change.

However, you mention things like Photoshop and Office. Without a doubt there is no practical way of copying these to an external drive, "factory resetting" the laptop and put them back. These applications use complex installation processes that involve much more than just placing a .app in /Applications.

There might be ways to clean up the Mac though. Removing all other applications, removing configuration files you don't need with one of the many "app cleaners" on the App Store, removing unused user accounts, etc.


CM Storm Devastator Backlight on Mac OS X I have a CM Storm Devastator and cannot get the backlight working on Mac. I have followed the instructions below :

  Go here: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/samplecode/HID_LED_test_tool/Introduction/Intro.html
  Click the little "Download sample code" button
  Open the downloaded folder and go to Build / Release
  Drag the HID LED test tool file to your Applications folder
  Launch the OS X "Automator" program
  Choose "Service" document type
  Under "Library", click "Utilities", and drag "Run Shell Script" to the blank area / workflow pane.
  For "selected service receives" choose "no input" in "any application" (important)
  For "pass input" choose "as arguments" (important)
  For "shell" choose "/bin/bash"
  Paste in this script:

  /Applications/HID\ LED\ test\ tool &
  pid=$!
  sleep 3
  kill $pid
  Click "run" to test. After 3 seconds, your keyboard should remain in a state with num lock and scroll lock enabled, and all the keys should be lit up. Yay! Continue to assign keyboard shortcut to do this.
  Click "File" > "Save", "Save service as" : "Devastator LED Lighter"
  Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Services > General > "Devastator LED Lighter"
  Assign a shortcut. Scroll lock and F keys didn't work for me. I ended up choosing  "

The problems I have encountered:

The downloaded file is called "HID_LED_test_tool". This contains 3 files

HID LED test tool-Read Me.txt
HID LED test tool.xcodeproj
main.c

Problem: it does not contain a build/release folder, so I dragged HID LED test tool.xcodeproj into the Applications folder.
I followed all the instructions above renaming the HID LED... file to a simple HID. The problem is that when I run the automator program as indicated above I get the reply xxxxx is a directory.  I cannot get around this; I have tried extracting the file within the HID LED test tool folder and then executing the automator with that file name but the exact same thing happens ....
When I attempt to open the project.pbxproj file in Terminal I get the response :

Last login: Sat Feb  7 19:34:21 on ttys000
/Applications/HID\ LED\ test\ tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj ; exit;
Zakias-MacBook-Pro:~ zakia$ /Applications/HID\ LED\ test\ tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj ; exit;
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 1: //: is a directory
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 3: archiveVersion: command not found
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 4: classes: command not found
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 6: objectVersion: command not found
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 7: objects: command not found
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 9: /Applications: is a directory
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 10: syntax error near unexpected token `('
/Applications/HID LED test tool.xcodeproj/project.pbxproj: line 10: `       8DD76F770486A8DE00D96B5E /* main.c in Sources */ = {isa = PBXBuildFile; fileRef = 08FB7796FE84155DC02AAC07 /* main.c */; settings = {ATTRIBUTES = (); }; };'
logout

[Process completed]

You don't need the build folder, you just need the HID LED test tool.xcodeproj file.

Make sure you have Xcode installed on your Mac. You can download it from the App Store.
Open it and hit the play button on Xcode. It will flash on your keyboard and just hit the stop botton when everything is lit up.


How can I find out the IO throughput of an external storage device connected to a MBP? In 'Disk' of Activity Monitor' I can only see the aggregate numbers

However I want a way to measure an individual connected device.

Reason: I have recently purchased a Sandisk SSD drive and used it for time machine backup. I want to get some quantitative measurements in term of performance.

A nice leightweight monitoring tool is bwm-ng (installed with brew):

It shows network as well as disk activity:

$: bwm-ng -i ioservice
  bwm-ng v0.6.2 (probing every 0.500s), press 'h' for help
  input: ioservice disk IO type: rate
  /         iface                   Rx                   Tx                Total
  ==============================================================================
            disk0:        4063.49 KB/s            0.00 KB/s         4063.49 KB/s
            disk1:           0.00 KB/s         2579.36 KB/s         2579.36 KB/s
            disk2:        4063.49 KB/s            0.00 KB/s         4063.49 KB/s
            disk3:           0.00 KB/s         4000.00 KB/s         4000.00 KB/s
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            total:        8143.14 KB/s         6584.49 KB/s        14727.63 KB/s

The example displayed is disk activity related to the command sudo asr ... (cloning an APFS disk0s2/disk2 to disk1s2/disk3).


How to show vi mode in bash? I'm on Yosemite, using vi mode in bash (set -o vi in .bash_profile) and I want to have the prompt indicate if I'm in edit or command mode.  I looked around and found that this feature has been implemented in bash 4.3 (see https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/116385/46076) and can be turned on by setting the variable show-mode-in-prompt to on.  I installed bash 4.3 using homebrew following these instructions.  Now, when I execute bash --version I see GNU bash, version 4.3.33(1)-release (x86_64-apple-darwin14.1.0) and brew info readline returns readline: stable 6.3.8 (bottled) so it looks like I'm using the correct versions.  However, when I execute set show-mode-in-prompt on or add it to ~/.inputrc based on the readline manual, the prompt still doesn't change based on the vi mode.  What am I doing wrong?

Looks like I didn't do anything wrong and an additional reboot is all that was needed.


Is palmrest harmful for macbook pro 15 retina? I recently got a new Macbook Pro 15 retina. I already have a keyboard cover on it, and earlier today I put a palmrest and trackpad cover on it as well.

However, This Apple support website says that applying palmrests and keyboard covers might actually be harmful to the screen and display. On the other hand, interestingly though, this Apple sales website  itself lists Moshi Palmrest as one of its supported Mac accessories.

I'm thinking applying the palmrest will not do any damage as such? Please help!

Thank You.

Any palmrest has a chance that it will be in contact with the screen, when the laptop's lid is closed.

Having anything in contact with the screen raises the risk that the screen may become damaged - at least on the surface of the screen.


VMWare Fusion 7: File Not Found I screwed up big time when I tried deleting my Windows 7 VM on VMWare Fusion 7 on my Macbook Air. I put the VM in the Trash and emptied the trash. Now when I try to create a new VM, I get File Not Found. I tried moving VMWare Fusion into the Trash so I can uninstall it and then reinstall it but it's not working. How do I fix my problem so I can install a more recent Windows VM? Thank you.

Just After installing the new VM you'll get the error "File not found".

Click OK.
Right-click on the VMware Fusion icon opened in the Dock.
Select "Virtual Machine Library".
Delete any left-overs from there.


Getting 5120 X 1440 @ 120Hz on a 2018 Mac mini I recently just purchased a Samsung CRG9, which is a really great monitor. Only problem I have is that I’m not able to get the full 5120 X 1440 at 120Hz that the monitor is rated for. I can get the 5120 X 1440 at 60Hz just fine, but it would be nice to be able to get 120Hz at that resolution as well if possible. I’m using a high-quality DisplayPort 1.4 to Thunderbolt 3 Cable.
Does anyone here know how to do this? Especially if you own this monitor.
Thanks in advance!

According to EveryMac, [The 2018 Mac Mini] 'supports "up to" three displays. It can support either (1) two displays up to 4096x2304 at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt 3 and one display up to 4096x2160 at 60 Hz via HDMI 2.0; OR (2) one display up to 5120x2880 at 60 Hz via Thunderbolt 3 and one display up to 4096x2160 at 60 Hz via HDMI 2.0.'
According to Apple themselves, "Support for the following combination of maximum concurrent display setups:
Up to three displays:
Two displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt 3 plus one display with 4096-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0
Up to two displays:
One display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz connected via Thunderbolt 3 plus one display with 4096-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz connected via HDMI 2.0
Thunderbolt 3 digital video output supports Native DisplayPort output over USB-C
Thunderbolt 2, DVI, and VGA output supported using adapters (sold separately)
HDMI 2.0 display video output
Support for one display with 4096-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz
DVI output using HDMI to DVI Adapter (sold separately)


Errors backing up Photos.Sparsebundle I've been trying to backup / copy my Photos Library.sparsebundle and keep running into issues.

The original file is on a Drobo5N mount.I am trying to copy to an external SSD

The Sparsebundle is 168GB in size and the copy takes most of the night before failing at the last hurdle.

The initial error that I received, with copy reporting 164/168GB was

The operation can't be completed because you don't have persmission to access 'Photos Library.sparsebundle'

The file is not open in Photos. The Target drive was formatted APFS, encrypted and the source is DroboFS so doesn't support Mac OS permissions (owner listed as "unknown")

I tried to rsync the file last night and the copy failed with an error about not being able to set time on a file (sorry, didn't have chance to copy the error). Most of the files had copied according to the drive size but the sparse bundle was "unbundled"

I've reformatted the target drive as HFS+, journaled, encrypted and set a new copy going.

Any ideas what is happening?

So I managed to get an answer from the Apple Community boards.

I reformatted the External SSD as HFS+, Journaled, encrypted rather than APFS, encrypted and the copy went through with no problems.

I will now be treating the SSD as the Primary and the Drobo as the Backup.


Using Airport Express as a wireless repeater - Significant drop in wireless speed I'm trying to extend wireless service to parts of my office that aren't getting a reliable connection. On one end of the office, we have an Airport Extreme, with a 60Mbps internet connection. In that room and the surrounding rooms, I get a pretty reliable 57Mbps or so on speedtest.

I've set up an Airport express as a repeater to carry the signal further down the hall. While near the airport express, I get full wireless connection (full bars), but on speedtest, I'm getting about 18Mbps.

We then tried putting in another Express half way in between, and saw no significant improvement.

Could the Express be bottlenecking the connection that bad?

Any time you try repeat a wireless signal you'll sacrifice data speeds.

This "feature" isn't highly pushed on the Airports because of this. I've seen no consumer wifi routers/repeaters that do this well.

Your best bet is to run an Ethernet cable and setup the airport express as a second access point. Use the same SSID and password as your Extreme and your devices will pick the stronger signal.


Confusing Diskutil List result? I have a macbook pro with a 250 GB SSD in it. The diskutil list command gives a confusing result for me. It somehow shows a 98 GB disk. Does anyone know what this is? The result is pasted below. (also attached as screenshot)

/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *251.0 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI EFI                     209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                 Apple_APFS Container disk1         250.8 GB   disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (synthesized):
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      APFS Container Scheme -                      +250.8 GB   disk1
                                 Physical Store disk0s2
   1:                APFS Volume Macintosh HD            98.0 GB    disk1s1
   2:                APFS Volume Preboot                 19.6 MB    disk1s2
   3:                APFS Volume Recovery                518.1 MB   disk1s3
   4:                APFS Volume VM                      1.1 GB     disk1s4

If you use 'df -h' does this show about 98GB used on your hard drive?  APFS uses a container and volumes within that container that grow as needed.  What you see in 'diskutil list' is the size of the various APFS volumes rather than the containers.  E.g:

/dev/disk0 (internal):
   #:                       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            269.6 GB   disk1s1
   2:                APFS Volume Preboot                 86.1 MB    disk1s2
   3:                APFS Volume Recovery                2.1 GB     disk1s3
   4:                APFS Volume VM                      3.2 GB     disk1s4
   5:                APFS Volume Mojave Beta             38.7 GB    disk1s5

MacBook:~ rhe$ df -lh
Filesystem     Size   Used  Avail Capacity iused               ifree %iused  Mounted on
/dev/disk1s5  466Gi   37Gi  173Gi    18%  819616 9223372036853956191    0%   /
/dev/disk1s4  466Gi  3.0Gi  173Gi     2%       3 9223372036854775804    0%   /private/var/vm
/dev/disk1s1  466Gi  251Gi  173Gi    60% 1767851 9223372036853007956    0%   /Volumes/Macintosh HD


Is there a way to move all windows back to the iMac (from HDTV)? My iMac is hooked up to an HDTV, and sometimes I move windows over to the HDTV.

But sometimes, my HDTV is not powered on, or it is set to the cable box, and I can't find the windows (apps) on my iMac, and there seems to be no way to see those windows (apps) without first changing the HDTV to view the iMac and moving the windows back to the iMac screen.

Or maybe another way is to unplug the HDMI connector.

But there should be a software way to do it... either by Settings or by a script, or maybe just by some function or command key combinations?

You could try going into System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement and check Mirror Displays. From here, unchecking it should bring all your windows back to your main screen.


Airdrop between two MBPs only works in one direction - why? I have two 15" Retina MacBook Pros, a 2013 which is my work machine and a 2014 which is my personal machine. I'm trying to transfer some files between them using airdrop. Both have Yosemite on them and are on the same network. Both have been rebooted whilst on this network.

The 2014 MBP shows the 2013 MBP in airdrop and can drop files to it. In the 2013 MBP airdrop view, the 2014 MBP briefly appears whist the file is transferring and then disappears again.

The 2013 MBP does not see the 2014 MBP at all. Nor my iPhone either. And I cannot transfers files to the 2014 MBP.

I completely flummoxed by this. The only difference I can see is the hardware. I've check firewall settings, sharing preferences, disk permissions and any thing else I can think of. But nothing seems to get the 2013 MBP to see the 2014 MBP.

I've also just noticed that the 2013 MBP cannot see any of the local shares.

Any ideas whats wrong?

Thanks.

I found the answer. Something in the side bar preferences was messing with the system. I deleted this file from the 2013 MBP (which could not see the other machine or network drives):

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

and rebooted.

Then everything came back online and started working.


How can I enter the found file finder in Spotlight? I use Spotlight find my require file see bellow:

But how can I enter the file's directory?


iPad 2 vob files after FTP transfer I've transferred some VOB files to my iPad via FTP—I used UbiDisk, which stores the files in a “local” folder.

Anyway, now that I have the files on my iPad and I’m trying to play them with viPlay Lite, but I don't know how to find them.

Is there are a way to browse for files?

Unfortunately because of the way apps are sandboxed in iOS, transferring files between them isn't really possible, unless the developers of the program have included some of that functionality. Effectively, each app has it's own folder on your iPad, and no other app can access the files within. It sounds silly, but it's a big part of security in iOS.

If you want to play media from an FTP server, you'll most likely need to get it with a player app that supports FTP (it looks like viPlay might, although I don't know if that's just the paid version, or the Lite version as well).


How can I know what apps are on my phone but not in my iTunes library? I constantly get the following warning dialog when doing a backup of my device to my computer through iTunes.

Clicking yes does not prevent this from happening in the future. Clicking no does nothing to tell me what apps I'll be "losing" if I were to restore.

How can I find out which apps are only on the iPad and not on the computer? To make this even more frustrating, I originally selected to delete all apps from the device that did not exist in my library in the past during a normal sync operation; on top of that, automatic downloads for apps is enabled in iTunes settings and any app I purchase should be automatically added to my iTunes library.

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


How can I change the default text color in Apple Mail 8.2? I want the default colour of my font I use to send emails using Mail 8.2 in Yosemite be blue.

Is it possible? If no, are their any easy work arounds?

Click on the A in the right upper corner inside the new mail message you wish to compose.
That will bring up the text mark-up option, including colors.
So far I haven't seen an option in Yosemite to set this as default.


What is the weird code on my terminal? Hi I following my previous question, I realised the terminal is showing "Last login:...on ttys000" and sometimes it's showing "Last login:... on console"
May I ask if it is normal or is it a sign that something isn't right?
I tried creating a new user and open the Terminal and it's still showing the same "Last login:...on ttys000"
Can anyone advice?
Thank you so much!

It just shows the last time you've logged in/started a Terminal session, there is nothing weird about it.


What's the easiest/cheapest way to replace my battery? 2009 MBP I have a 2009 MacBook Pro (5,5);  also identified as the A1278 (EMC 2326). I can spend about $150 either taking it to the Apple Store and having them replace it or buying all the stuff from iFixit.com and doing it myself.

Is there any cheaper/easier way of doing this? Would an independent Apple repair shop be any less expensive? Are there any reliable third-party batteries? I have some crucial RAM and would be comfortable using a Crucial SSD (if I didn't already have a stock one), I'm not particular to an Apple-sourced battery if there's another one that's equally reliable.

Having recently done this for a colleague, I can answer in the affirmative that there are excellent 3rd party battery suppliers for this particular model MacBook Pro and they are quite easy to replace.

I used the Lizone battery mainly for it's high ratings on Amazon and the fact it came with an 18 month warranty (better than Apple's 1 year warranty).

Replacement was super easy.  There is a guide on ifixit.com but I didn't really need it.  I just removed the back cover, removed the screws holding the battery and used a plastic pry tool to gently pry the battery loose from the adhesive.  Installation was simply the reverse procedure.

Since I had everything opened, I maxed out the memory with 8GB of RAM and added a Samsung EVO SSD.  While I am partial to Samsung, PNY and Crucial are also very good brands.  Basically, any 2.5" SSD will work in this MacBook so pick one that you like the best.

It's important to note that the SATA interface of this particular MBP is SATA II (3GB /s transfer rate).  If you can get a SATA II drive, it will work just fine.  SATA III is backwards compatible, but you won't see increased speeds above the 3GB /s transfer rate.


how to track the pid of a process using mDNSResponder? I'm searching the right way to identify which pid/process ask to mDNSResponder to resolve dns query.

In other terms I want do identify which process do which dns query through mDNSResponder and in some way correlate it.

In another term again I want to know the pid of every dns query made through mDNSResponder.

Is there a system administrator approach to do it or I have only a programmer way and so I need to patch mDNSResponder ?

To enable mDNSResponder logging, run

sudo killall -USR1 mDNSResponder  # enable Warning and Notice log level
sudo syslog -c mDNSResponder -w   # enable syslog logging for warning messages

followed by grep DNSServiceQueryRecord /var/log/system.log to see all DNS queries:

Aug 28 19:20:11 Fourecks.local mDNSResponder[53]:  25: DNSServiceQueryRecord(api.droplr.com., AAAA) STOP PID[18](configd)

The pid at the end (18 in the above example) is the pid for configd who requested address resolution in this case.

Turning on logging generates a lot of entries into system.log so it's probably a good idea to only use it if needed. To turn it off again, just rerun sudo killall -USR1 mDNSResponder.


What is causing iTunes to open? Lately, I will go through periods where iTunes keeps opening itself repeatedly. It never plays anything or loads any files or URLs. But I can't figure out what is triggering it to open. Is there a log somewhere that shows why an app opened? Presumably it's due to a file association somewhere.

This is a super old question, but I can admit to giving up looking for a source for a rather long time. It turns out (in my case) that the magic "4th conductor" within the headphone port that is used for the microphone also is used for the remote control. ie: Vol up/down, Play/Pause, Next/Prev, etc. This works by shorting that 4th conductor in various ways. When the cord for my headphones, with only 3 conductors, wiggled in it's loose fit, my laptop thought that I had pressed the play button, which triggered iTunes to open up.

(I have also seen a similar thing happen with bluetooth headphones, as mentioned above.)


Start by increasing the log level of launchd. Maybe the logs can tell you more about what happens right before launchd crashes.

sudo launchctl log level info

The available log levels are: debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical, alert and emergency. I believe the default level is error.


Cannot make or receive calls on my Mac from my iPhone I'm trying to make and receive calls that come into my iPhone on my MacBook.  Both devices are on the same Wi-Fi and have the same iCloud account logged in on the device (plus I had to log-in separately on FaceTime on the Mac).

I've tried turning FaceTime on and off on my phone, but that didn't work.  I have been using iMessage to text from my computer, but I can't figure out how to make calls.

This screen only shows my iPad but not my MacBook:

Devices:

iPhone 5s (Verizon) iOS v10.0.1

MacBook Pro (2013) OS X Yosemite

Facetime (on Mac) preferences window:

On your Mac, open FaceTime, go to Preferences > Settings tab and ensure "Calls from iPhone" is checked. This should cause your MacBook to appear in the list of devices on your iPhone.


Hide cloud music in iOS 8.4 When syncing playlists over from iTunes on my Windows Media Center, I have checked the "Only Sync Checked Songs" and it all worked perfectly prior to iOS 8.4.  Also, prior to iOS 8.4, I was able to hide songs that were available in the cloud but not yet downloaded on the device.

After upgrading, however, I'm getting some random songs that I don't even have in my playlist showing up on the phone.  I suspect it has to do with these songs being available in the cloud, but for the life of me I cannot find the option to hide these songs.

I thought maybe I needed to reset the phone and restore everything.  That worked great for a few days, but now I'm seeing these songs show up again.

What is the new way to hide cloud songs with the new Music App?

On the my music tab, click the drop down in the centre (mine says artists).  At the bottom of the list is the Show iTunes Purchases toggle.


'Add to Contacts' hyperlink in Pages (iOS/iCloud) I'm a one-day novice at Pages (iOS/iCloud). I just figured out how include hyperlinks for emailing (mailto:xxx@xxx.xxx) and calling (tel:+00000), but as of yet I couldn't work out how to include a hyperlink in a Pages document that adds a Contact (plus details) or something equivalent (vcard?) (or a similar action like giving the option to add the contact). Can you help out?

I suppose you could only upload the vCard somewhere and link to it from your document (note: only iOS 7 supports opening vCards that way afaik)


Uploading items to iCloud never ending (for weeks) Is there a way to relaunch the upload to iCloud Drive?

My Mac has been uploading severals files for weeks.

I already tried to relaunch the Finder without success using killall Finder.

Happened to me as well, here is what I did:

Back up all items in the Documents and Desktop folders (or wherever you are backing up your files)
Open up System Preferences
Click on iCloud
Click on Options next to iCloud Drive
If Desktop and Document Folders is disabled, enable it
If enabled, disable it.
Uncheck the Optimize Mac Storage and click Done
Redo the opposite of steps 5-7 to re-enable iCloud
Move all Documents and Desktop items back to their respective area.

It is helpful to note if you are experiencing sync issues in any of the other categories in iCloud Drive, try disabling them and then re-enabling them.


Boot straight into an application without showing the desktop How do I boot straight into an application without showing the desktop?

Essentially I would like to turn the machine on, see the grey screen with loading icon, and then see my application. The Desktop/Dock/Menubar should never be visible. (The application itself is fullscreen)

If you want to open new windows in full screen by default, I don't know any way to do it in general, but there are options for it in some applications like iTerm 2, VLC, and WriteRoom.

You could also assign a keyboard shortcut to a script like this:

tell application "Terminal"
    reopen -- open a new default window if there are open default windows
    set w to number of windows
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Terminal"
    if number of windows is w then -- if there are no full screen windows
        perform action "AXPress" of (button 1 where subrole is "AXFullScreenButton") of window 1
    end if
end tell
activate application "Terminal" -- make Terminal frontmost

To automate opening a window in full screen at login, you might use a script like this:

set old to window 1
tell application "Terminal"
    reopen
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Terminal"
    perform action "AXPress" of (button 1 where subrole is "AXFullScreenButton") of window 1
end tell
delay 1.5
activate old


Are there security risks for an iOS device? My Dad just got an iPod touch and raised an interesting question. Are there security risks for an iOS device? He was planning on storing sensitive personal information on it, but wasn't sure if it was completely safe. Is it even possible to hack into an iOS device and retrieve information?

Currently there aren't any vulnerabilities that can be used remotely to access data like this that I know of.

If someone had physical access to the device, then they could access any data on it, as the disk isn't encrypted. Of course, the high retail value etc would mean most thieves would likely just wipe and sell it, rather than try to extract data.

In short, right now there aren't any active exploits that allow remote data access (though there have been ones in the past involving tiffs and pdfs that may have allowed this).

If the device was stolen, you are out of luck though, even with a passcode lock.

It's possible to set up two things to mitigate this:

Get the passcode wrong 10 times, and device is wiped
Find my iPhone app from iCloud allows you to remotely wipe the device


What cable provides support for dual external monitors at 1920x1080 on a MacBook Air? I'm considering getting a new MacBook Air computer and would like it to drive two external monitors at 1920x1080 resolution.

What cable or adapter would I need to run such a configuration?

A related question for MacBook Pros mentions some solutions that might apply here:

Would Two Apple Thunderbolt Displays work?
Would a DisplayLink adapter work with standard 1080p displays?

My information is second-hand, but another user at my company gave an strongly enthusiastic recommendation of a "NewerTech" USB to DVI adapter. Note that this will require use of their driver, but he has had no issues with it. It is available from OWC.


Can I use tethering to share my iPhone's connection with my iPad? I own an iPhone 4 and I am planning to buy an iPad. I am wondering whether I'll be able to use the tether feature in the iPhone to access the internet from the iPad over Bluetooth. If this works, I won't need to get a 3G-enabled iPad; if it doesn't, I'll need a 3G iPad. Any ideas? Thanks.

iOS 4.3, available for free download on March 11, 2011, includes the Personal Hotspot feature introduced with the Verizon iPhone 4. You can get Internet access via 3G on the iPhone, then use your iPad via a WiFi connection to the phone to share the phone's Internet connection. It doesn't use Bluetooth, but it effectively works as well (better, in fact, since Personal Hotspot supports multiple connected devices and WiFi is faster than Bluetooth).

Here is a story from Macworld that discusses how the Personal Hotspot feature works. It's pitched to the feature on the Verizon iPhone, but it should apply to the GSM iPhone 4's running iOS 4.3 as well.


MacOS - Manually open as read only I hope this is not a repeat question—searching mostly turned up various versions of people having the opposite problem.
Is there a way to manually open a file as read-only?
The use case would be a file that I generally want write access to, but on a particular occasion want to be very confident I won't accidentally modify. For example, a shared document that I sometimes need to edit but currently only want to view. As a compulsive/instinctive saver, this would be a useful way to protect myself from myself.
I'm running Big Sur 11.2.1 on an early-2014 Macbook Air.
Obvious workarounds:

Get info, change my permissions to read-only, open; once finished, close, change my permissions back: This is a hassle.
Open, immediately Save As: Ideally I want to lock myself out before I even have a chance to break the file.
Duplicate the file, open the 'scratch' version; generally, delete the scratch version once I'm done: Still sort of a hassle, but the best Plan B I can think of.

Final thoughts:

I imagine this can be done from Terminal, and am happy to learn how, but any sort of GUI method would be best.
I imagine there's a way to create a service for this? Not sure where to start.

Thanks!!

You can do this in Finder with a simple keystroke and one click.
Before opening your file do this:

Select the file in Finder
Press Command-I (this is the same as Get Info in the File menu)
Tick the box next to Lock in the General section.

This sets the immutable bit - meaning you can't change the file in any way.
Leave the Get Info window open and, when you are finished, untick the Lock box to unlock the file.
You can create Services (or Quick Actions) to lock and unlock files, and associate a keystroke with them, but I feel is hardly with the effort.  If you want to create them, run Automator and create a new Quick Action.  This is what you need:

Save it with the name Lock.
Modify by changing the uchg to nouchg and save as Lock Off.
Now these appear as Services and in Finder's Quick Action submenu.
You can also associate them with keystrokes in System Preferences - Keyboard - Shortcuts - Services. I chose the keystroke combinations Control Command L and Shift Control Command L.


Someone has used my iTunes gift card balance to buy Someone has put themselves as my family on my iTunes gift card account and used up almost all my remaining balance. Is there something you can do about this? This person is definitely not in my family or anyone that I know.

Contact apple support immediately. This happened to me (fairly recently) and they took care of it for me. I got all the money credited back to my account.

Also (this should be a given) make sure to change all passwords. Maybe consider two factor authentication as well (if not already enabled).


In iTunes Store, how can you view the full name? When I'm looking in the store (iTunes U, specifically), many of the titles are cut off, ending in "..."  I thought the standard "hold the cursor over the text" would show a little window with the whole name, but no.  The only workaround I found was making the iTunes window wider.  Any way to make the column wider, or otherwise show the whole name?  (There's no way to change the column width by dragging at the top, like you would in your iTunes library).

If you press the small 'i' button to the right of the description column, the information is shown again, in a pop-over box.  This does seem to show the full name.


How to communicate with another computer (on another network) terminal to terminal (OS X ) I would like to be able to print to the terminal of a computer on a different network (this should work bilaterally). I understand that this should be possible by using the command ntalk, but I have not been able to figure out how.

As I understand it, a way to do that would be to set up a restricted shell for a ssh user which would allow that user to print in the terminal, while not being able execute any other commands, so solutions for that would also be appreciated (as well as any other for that matter).

I'm just looking for a low security risk way to establish a point to point chat similar to IRC and with a minimal requirement to instal or configure additional software if OS X ships with something that can work.

Can ntalk work between another computer and Mac OS X?

It's unclear what you really mean with communicate!

If you want to have a chat-like communication enable ntalk on both hosts:

sudo launchctl load -w com.apple.ntalk

Then enter

talk user@host

to open a chat session.

To enable the chat session on the other side just enter the displayed command e.g.

talk otheruser@otherhost

This might fail if the system versions of the two hosts are different.

To "mirror" a session/attach your Terminal window to another one on a different host use screen:

On host1/user1 enter

screen -S test #test is the sessionname and can be chosen more or less freely

On host2/user2 enter:

ssh -t user1@host1 screen -x test #use the sessionname from above

User1's input will be visible in user2's shell but is unable to execute anything on host2. User2 can execute commands on host1. Both users see all commands entered in both "shells".

Screen is a really mighty tool. Please consult man screen for further informations.


I have to repair my external hard drive each time I plug it? I have a 2009 320GB Toshiba Hard Drive, and every time I plug it to my macbook pro 13inch Retina, I have to go to Disk Utility -> Repair Disk.

Why is that? Whats the solution? Please help!!! Thanks

Try ejecting the external drive before you unplug it. You can either use the Eject icon or use Command + E when its selected int he Finder as mentioned by Tetsujin.


Problem registering gmail in iPad I recently changed the password for my gmail account. I was able to register the account on my iPhone but when I do the same on my iPad it tells me that the user id and password are incorrect. I changed the password again but the problem persisted. When I access gmail via Safari or Chrome there is no problem.

Reset the settings on your iPad and then set up everything from scratch. Use the instructions from Apple Support article below. There's no need to change a password to use gmail account on iPad.

Add an email account to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch


How can I sync notes in iPhone with macbook pro and vice versa by using either bluetooth or using USB cable? I have iPhone 4 and macbook pro. I have some notes in my iPhone. I would like to sync those notes to my iPhone.  How can I sync notes in iPhone with macbook pro and vice versa by using either bluetooth or using USB cable which is used to charge iPhone and with out using any external account like iCloud or gmail?

Research that I have done:
I have Googled with the phrase "how to sync iphone notes with mac" and I got below result.
 along with other results.

iOS: Syncing Notes

How ever all those articles discuss the method with iCloud account. But I don't have iCloud account.

The below article seems to be very close to my question. How ever it didn't provide any solution to my problem.

Notes was removed in Mountain Lion

I have searched in apple.SE site also. How ever I found some results. But all of them are suggesting with some of the other email account.

How ever I would like to sync the notes with out Internet by using either USB cable which I used to charge iPhone or bluetooth.

You can use the following third party software:

iExplorer - http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/31722/iexplorer
iMazing - http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/27830/imazing
PhoneView - http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25347/phoneview

I believe you will have to copy/paste the information manually.


Downloading a pdf from Chrome immediately opens it I want to save some pdfs but whenever I do, it opens automatically in preview and is really annoying. How do I stop it?

When you download a file in Chrome, you have a tab at the bottom of the screen. The right hand side of the tab has a popup where you most likely have "always open with system viewer" checked. Uncheck, and it should no longer automatically open.


Send specific traffic through VPN based on the domain I'd like to access Hulu and similar sites from outside the US, so I'm using blackVPN via PPTP. Works great, no major problems.

Is there any way to use the (consisting) VPN connection only for a small list of domains like *.hulu.com or *.youtube.com, while not having the other traffic sent through the VPN?

Thanks in advance!

— Ben

You're looking for static routes and the 'route' command.  'man route' from the shell for full info, but something like route -nv add -net 66.22.138 -interface tun0 (or whatever your VPN interface is) should route traffic bound for hulu.com over the VPN.

You'll probably want to establish a default gateway so that you are assured of routing your traffic correctly.

route add default 192.168.1.1 would add a static route for your router.  Replace 192.168.1.1 with the actual IP address.

Note that these settings will not survive a reboot.  If they work for you, you'll want to put them in a launch agent file.


I can't get a new password for my gamecenter I have been trying to get a new password for my I pod apple id  it keeps saying message has been sent but i don't receive  I have tried about 20 times please help!

You can always change your Apple ID password on the web at - https://appleid.apple.com/


Always open the finder in new tab I want a folder to be always opened in a tab instead of new window. The reason I want this is so that I have only one Finder window with multiple tabs.
If apps keeps on opening new window you may miss the opened folder.
New to mac so wondering how to do.

I am using OS X 10.9.2

Currently this is possible on macOS Sierra with the new "prefer tabs" feature.

To enable it, go to System Preferences > Dock > Prefer tabs when opening documents and select Always.

What are the downsides to this? Opening a folder will force open it in a new tab. That means that if you have a Finder window open in another space, the folder will be opened in the background with hardly any visual feedback. This may prevent you from knowing if a folder actually has opened and forces you to manually go to the Finder window to see the contents of what you opened. Additionally, this option enables the feature is all apps, not just in the Finder.


Big Sur Updates Reset Apache Files Concerning these Apache files:
/etc/apache2/httpd.conf
/etc/apache2/vhosts/httpd-vhosts.conf
Unlike the previous version of MacOS, each Big Sur update resets these Apache .conf files to their original state, wiping out my changes.  These are the only files I changed, so I assume that if I had changed any others that the update would have reset those also.
At the bottom of the original httpd.conf file is this line:
Include /private/etc/apache2/other/*.conf
Any .conf files that I place in this directory are left alone during an update.  Should I leave the original httpd.conf file alone and in its original state and place all the changes I need to make in .conf files in the /private/etc/apache2/other subdirectory?  I think this would work but it seems strange because, for example, there's the line "ServerAdmin you@example.com" in the original which feels like it should be edited to be my own admin email address, but if I instead create .../other/*.conf files then I'll be setting "ServerAdmin" again, which feels very klugey but which I hope works and is kosher.
Is this the right way to do things?  Or is there a better way?
(I know that my versions of the files get placed in "Previously Relocated Items n" subdirectories in /Users/Shared, but I'd prefer not to have to perform manual restorations after each update.)
(There was a very similar question several months ago at Big Sur Update wiped my /etc/apache2/extra, and I would have preferred posting this to that thread, but the tips say not to post requests for help or clarification, which seems odd, but I'll follow the guidelines.)

Apache is not the only service whose configuration files get overwritten with every update. My annoyance is the SNMP daemon.
For Apache, I suggest that you stop using the Apple distributed Apache. Replace it with the Homebrew version.
The Homebrew version uses /usr/local/etc/httpd/ for configuration, /usr/local/var/www for document root and is completely independent of Apple's version and so will not get modified by macOS updates.
Just in case you are not familiar with Homebrew.  You will find numerous web postings about how to install and configure Apache under Homebrew - an example. And you are already aware that there have been other Apache questions in Ask Different.


After updating to iOS5, Safari will not run on jailbroken iPhone 4 Clicking Safari brings up the launch screen for Safari and then it immediately quits. Double clicking the Home button shows Safari is still running.  Quitting it and restarting does not help.  Quitting and restarting phone does not help.

It's because I jail broke the device with a tethered jailbreak. A tethered jailbreak requires you to use the jailbreak software (viz., Redsn0w) to boot the device (the option "just boot tethered") whenever it is turned off (hence "tethered").

If I don't boot the phone with the jailbreak software, Safari doesn't work (along with some other default applications). All my fault.


12" MacBook (early 2015) problems with ethernet adapters toUSB type c Iv'e got 2 Ethernet to USB type C adapters:
first one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015CKP9NK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and second one i bought in a store, here is a picture:

the one I bought from amazon is not even detected in the network preferences but the usb ports does work, and the Ethernet works fine on my friend's windows computer with usb type c.
the second one works fine on my MacBook.

I want to return the second one to the store but i am not sure how to configure the working one to be configured on my El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31) Mac.

What steps do I need to make ethernet work over USB C on Mac?

Here's how I troubleshoot a device over USB with the MacBook:

Open System Information
Select the USB section (it's in hardware)
Expand all the triangles to see all the connected devices.
Open Network system preferences (since you want to see an ethernet port appear)
Connect the device and watch for changes. After 60 seconds, refresh the System Information window if it doesn't self-refresh.

If you see the device connected in System Information but no network interface, you can try adding the interface explicitly. If that doesn't work, you would contact the vendor to see if/when their drivers are included with Apple's OS or if you need third party drivers. Or you could return the adapter and get a Belkin or kanex adapter, both of which work out of the box with all models of MacBook and Pro with USB C.

Also, consider upgrading to 10.12 if you don't have a good reason to not get the latest and greatest drivers direct from Apple.


used storage in iPhone 5 In Iphone 5 16 GB: I deleted all photos, junk files, backups, notes, videos and everything else and I reset it but after all, the available storage is just 2.8GB and 9.5GB is used. How can I free the memory? Is IOS using the storage?

Thank you

Use the Manage Storage feature to check what is using the majority of your storage. It is quite common for app data to be using a large amount of storage which can be easily missed.

Also update your device if there is an update available as it may have been downloaded to your device but not installed and can take up around ~2GB.

Keep in mind too, that iOS, when installed generally takes up about 3GB - 5GB of storage and that the actual formatted capacity of devices is usually a bit less.


Macbook Pro 2017 not detecting any screen, hdmi or VGA I have been trying to hook my 2017 13" MacBook Pro (2 thunderbolt ports, no touchbar) up to an external display but it's not detecting any screen is connected at all. I've tried going via HDMI (USB-C cable to HDMI), tried via VGA (Via a USB-C hub) but nothing. I've tried multiple different screens too (including my TV), tried several different cables... Nothing. Might as well have connected the screens via a piece of string. It would behave the same way.

Options I've tried:

PRAM reset
SMC reset
Uninstalling and reinstalling DisplayLink

(I believe it should be showing in allow 'Screen Recording' security and privacy setting, but there's no reference of DisplayLink in there.)

Weird combinations of disconnecting, powering off, reconnecting...

I'm basically out of options. I know the new screen works because I've tested it with other devices. I know all the cables work, because I've done the same with those.

Is this issue symptomatic of a specific motherboard issue, or is there another option I can try?

Well, I got a (very) hacky fix for this that may help other people so I'll detail it here.

I have a Samsung S10 phone. So I picked up the Duet Displays app that allows you to extend your PC / MAC to another device over Wifi. This meant I could use my S10 as a second screen.

Next step was to connect the phone to the monitor and mirror the display.

That sort of works.

A slightly better option was that because it's a Samsung phone that means it has the DeX OS installed, and you can run the Duet Displays app within DeX. That gives me full-screen access on my monitor (albeit at not an ideal resolution, and sometimes lag too as it's over Wifi).

If you have an iPhone then I suppose Sidecar could also do the same configuration.

So there you go. Extend Mac desktop to phone. Connect phone to monitor.


MacBook Air reduces free space from 7GB to 1GB in after a few houres I am using a Macbook Air with a 64GB HDD and Mountain Lion installed on it.

When I reboot my Air, it shows that I have 7GB free disk space. But after a couple of hours, the system says my disk is nearly full (less than 1GB free space).
What can I do about this? Is it about Sleep Image?

Several things can use that much memory - before you reboot get a picture of a few things in terminal by pasting these commands and saving the results.

du -m /var/vm/*
vm_stat

You could also look at activity monitor and see how much memory on the left and how much swap is being used:

Then, you can see how much RAM you have, how much space will be needed for the sleep image or if some other process is using space. Also, check in the System Information - About This Mac window (the tool lives in /Applications/Utilities - choose Command I and then storage) to be sure you don't also have backups being stored locally.

If you don't need them, you can turn off Time Machine and then turn it back on or use sudo tmutil disablelocal if you like terminal commands and know the risks of sudo and trusting someone on the internet giving advice.


Switch to a specific input source in OS X in Catalina with AppleScript I use different keyboard layouts and switched between them using a simple script

on changeKeyboardLayout(layoutName)
    tell application "System Events" to tell process "SystemUIServer"
        tell (1st menu bar item of menu bar 1 whose description is "text input") to {click, click (menu 1's menu item layoutName)}
    end tell
end changeKeyboardLayout
changeKeyboardLayout("German LaTeX2")

That worked well until the latest update.
I don't really speak AppleScript, but a bit of testing indicates that SystemUIServer no longer has access to a menu item with name "text input".
Trying

tell application "System Events" to tell process "SystemUIServer" to get value of attribute "AXDescription" of every menu bar item of menu bar 1

gives me Siri, blutooth, time machine, clock and a few others. So somehow the input source menu is managed differently now, but I have now clue how or how to find out (all searches pointed me to scripts similar to mine)

Update 2019/12/10

The suggested solutions so far both have defects, in one case you always get a delay of 5 seconds which is rather long and the trick with killing  "System Events" as taken from the other posting doesn't always seem to work, sometimes it results in the script getting a timeout (which is even worse then have the 5 seconds delay all the time), so it looks as if this is still in need for a better solution

Unfortunately things have changed in macOS Catalina and you''ll have to activate that menu in a different manner.

The following example AppleScript code, shown further below, works for me in macOS Catalina, however as I was testing in a virtual machine I do not know if the time lag in the running of the code, between clicking the target menu and the subsequent code, is inherent of an issue in the virtual machine or it will be the same on a physical machine.

I do not have German LaTeX2 so I used German instead, although for convenience I have replaced it in the code after testing.

The usual caveats apply for the use of this in: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility

Example AppleScript code:

tell application "System Events" to ¬
    tell application process "TextInputMenuAgent" to ¬
        tell menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
            click
            click menu item "German LaTeX2" of menu 1
        end tell

This does the same thing in a different manner, and one of these ways may be faster.

tell application "System Events" to ¬
    tell application process "TextInputMenuAgent" to ¬
        click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2

tell application "System Events"
    keystroke "g"
    key code 36
end tell

To use the example AppleScript code in a handler:

changeKeyboardLayout("German LaTeX2")

on changeKeyboardLayout(layoutName)
    tell application "System Events" to ¬
        tell application process "TextInputMenuAgent" to ¬
            tell menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
                click
                click menu item layoutName of menu 1
            end tell
end changeKeyboardLayout

Or the second version of the code:

changeKeyboardLayout("German LaTeX2")

on changeKeyboardLayout(layoutName)
    tell application "System Events" to ¬
        tell application process "TextInputMenuAgent" to ¬
            click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 2
    tell application "System Events"
        keystroke (first text item of layoutName)
        key code 36
    end tell
end changeKeyboardLayout

Note: The example AppleScript code is just that and does not contain any error handling as may be appropriate. The onus is upon the user to add any error handling as may be appropriate, needed or wanted. Have a look at the try statement and error statement in the AppleScript Language Guide. See also, Working with Errors.


How do I configure a global hotkey for iTerm 2? I'm a new OSX user, and I've used Linux for the past 1.5 years, and I really can't live without dropdown terminal. So I googled, and came across this question: iTerm as a slide-out terminal from the top of the screen

However, it doesn't work for me. There's no option whatsoever like that, and there's no updated answers covering this. Is there a way to enable it, as google doesn't really help me with this.

I've included a picture of my keys tab here:

It's not in the mappings menu either. I'm not married to iTerm, but TotalTerminal is discontinued. I did install Apptivate but it's not the same as a dropdown terminal.

You're in the wrong preferences. That's the Appearance settings, available with ⌘I or the Appearance tab in the app Preferences (⌘,). You should be in iTerm → Preferences (⌘,) to access the app preferences, then select Keys in the toolbar at the top.

Specifically:


chflags nohidden not unhiding hidden files Problem: because of an unkown reason all my desktop files and folders were hidden. i managed do unhide all folders, but i can't unhide the files
i tried to unhide the files via terminal chflags nohidden filename but it doesn't work. i also checked if the hidden flag is placed, but there is no hidden flag on the files (but they aren't visible). here is the output via terminalcommand ls -lo:
-rw-r--r--@ 1 username     13669 19 Aug 11:54 filename.txt
i also tried an app called InvisibliX (which isn't under development anymore), with no success
and of course i used the searching function, which lead me to this: How to unhide files on Mac? with no further success
I'm thankful for every hint you may have for me!
Some additional information regarding the OS:
Mac OS X Catalina 10.15.6

Once I copied files via terminal from an iPod to a Mac and somehow they appeared hidden, chflags nohidden <filename> did not work, neither the same command with different option flags. Finally, I found this answer which worked fine. So:

xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo <filename>
chflags nohidden <filename>
killall Finder (just in case)

I did it using * so I did not have to go one by one.
Hope it helps,


Why won't disk utility let me remove a partition from my external hard drive? I have an external 1.5 TB hard drive split evenly with a partition for backup and a partition that was used for Time Machine on my previous computer (OS X Lion).

Now I'm using this hard drive with a new computer (OS X Lion), and I don't want the Time Machine partition anymore. I should also point out that I've never configured Time Machine on my new computer.

I'm trying to remove the Time Machine partition, but the minus (-) option isn't available. Does anyone know why or how I could get the (+/-) options un-grayed?

Disk Utility isn't willing/able to resize partitions on MBR disks.

It a way, it's telling you now (poorly) that you can only rename or erase the partitions. It's happy to create this scheme, just won't touch it keeping any data intact.

You will need another tool to make changes to that particular flavor of partition scheme unless you are willing to let Disk Utility repartition and erase all the data.

I don't see a recent article (or have a drive to test on hand), but it sure was a limitation on Leopard.

Mac OS X 10.5: About resizing disk partitions


Use MacBook as microphone for iPhone? I have made-for-iphone hearing aids, which are great for delivering good quality speech sound over bluetooth direct to my hearing aids. They are Starkey Kinnect, which connect easily to iOS devices but have no connectivity to a computer - they do not pair with the Bluetooth on the MacBook (2014 version). With the current need for Zoom, Google Meets etc connectivity, I am often in video meetings for which I need to use my MacBook for the size of screen. The sound is preferably directed through earphones, but they do not give clear speech for me without the hearing aids and are awkward and clumsy to use over the HAs.

Starkey TruLink has an option to use the iPhone as a microphone and send this across the room (say) to my HAs. I wonder whether the 3.5 mm headphone jack on the MacBook, set as output, can plug directly in to the Lightning port on the iPhone (via what adaptor?) to use the audio stream from the computer as an external microphone for the iPhone, which can then connect to the HAs? Are the voltages and impedances compatible?

Or does anyone know of a gadget that will do this mimicry of an external mike?

I am aware of the Airfoil utility that is claimed to do this, but not sure if the iPhone will recognise this as a "microphone", and also I have seen reviews that state that the latency is about 2s so it is unsuitable for real time use.

Thanks!

Keith

I have ReSound made-for-iPhone HAs. ReSound sell a device called a "multi mic" and also a "mini mic" which is a remote microphone which will transmit direct to the HAs. It also has a 3.5mm jack so can be plugged into a computer (or TV) and the computer sound is sent straight to my HAs. Speaker is cut off. I keep a dedicated multi mic permanently connected to my computer. To hear computer sound streamed to my HAs I just have to change to the correct streaming source on my phone. Works brilliantly and has had a lot of extra use with Zoom meetings.
I would be amazed if Starkey don't make a similar device.
I would add that the multi mic is extremely useful in many other situations.